The First Battle of Seoul

The United States had pulled out many of its forces from South Korea starting in 1949 and had just a small contingent of “advisors” at the time of the invasion.  This pullout was part of an agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union at the end of World War II. 

The U.S. pullout along with the fact that the U.S. intentionally provided the South Korean Army (the Republic of Korea Army) with inferior weapons due to fears of Syngman Rhee’s intentions, left the South Korean military ill-prepared for such an attack.  The ROK army lacked the tanks, anti-tank weapons and training needed to stem the tide of the opposing forces.  The North’s army on the other hand, was well equipped by the Soviets who provided around 150 Soviet-made T-34/85 tanks and almost 200 Yak fighters and Il-10 ground-attack aircraft.

 

The battle took place in a number of different sectors.  In this blog I will concentrate on the fighting in the Munsan–Bongilcheon sector.

The First Battle of Seoul took place between June 26 to 28, 1950.  It was fought for control of the South Korean capital of Seoul.  The battle began just one day after North Korea’s surprise invasion of its southern neighbor in an attempt to unite the two countries by force.  Seoul was only 35 miles from the North Korean border.

The North Korean People’s Army (NKPA) threw about 170,000 soldiers into the fight.  South Korea only had about 65,000 troops to defend the capital. 

Despite the disparity in the size and abilities of these two armies the South Korean military maintained high morale.  They also skillfully used rivers and other terrain features of their country to help withstand the onslaught from the north.

 

The Battle

The North Korean People’s Army’s 1^st Corps was the main attacking force with their 2^nd Corps performed support operations to protect the 1^st Corps advance on Seoul.

On the 25^th the South Korean 1^st Infantry Division defended the Munsan area but had lost the railroad bridge over the Imjin River resulting in the withdrawal of the 12^th Regiment.  However, they were able to stop the NKPA from crossing the river.

South Korean reinforcements came in the form of the Infantry School Training Battalion and the Korea Military Academy Training Battalion.  On the 26^th ROK forces were able to repel an attack from North Korean tank and infantry units near the city of Paju.  Also on that same day the NKPA’s 6^th Division was able to cross the Imjin River railway bridge.

After the river crossing the NKPA halted its advance while waiting for reinforcements.  Taking advantage of the halt in the north’s advance, the south’s 1^st Division immediately counterattacked successfully, allowing them to reestablish their previous defensive positions.  

The next day, 27 June, along what was called the Uijeon Defensive Line the NKPA used tanks to lead an attack against the KPA’s 15^th Regiment, which had established a defensive line using anti-tank weapons including 57mm recoilless rifles and 2.36-inch bazookas.  These weapons were unable to penetrate the armor of the NKPA’s T-34 tanks.  As a result the defenders conducted a close-quarters suicide assault against the tanks and eliminated six of them.  The result was that the NKPA stopped their attack.

On the 28^th, the last day of the battle, the ROK’s 1^st Division counterattacked but it advanced into the North Korean forces moving south, resulting in little progress for the ROK troops.  Colonel Paik Sun-yup committed the Seoul Independent Regiment and the 3rd Battalion to restore their defensive line.  North Korean resistance was not strong, so the 1st Division assessed that recapturing its main defensive line might even be possible.

But on the afternoon of the 28^th the last of the South Korean defensive lines was breached and considering their lack of ammunition and having lost communications with their headquarters, the 1^st Division began a withdrawal.

 

Result of the Battle

The battle forced the South Korean government and its president Syngman Rhee to secretly abandon the capital for the city of Daejeon (also spelled Taejon) after taking a special train out of Seoul on the night of June 26.

The South Korean forces were unable to halt the rapid advance of the attacking army.  They were forced to leave Seoul, retreating to the south bank of the Han River.

It was the shocking losses suffered by the South Korean Army led to the direct intervention in the war by the United States and 21 other members of the United Nations.

By all accounts, the battle was a striking victory for the North Koreans.