V.

North Korean Victories

During the summer of 1949, South Korea had expanded its army to about 90,000 troops, a strength the North matched in early 1950. The North had about 150 Soviet T-34 tanks and a small but effective air force of 70 fighters and 62 light bombers—weapons either left behind when Soviet troops evacuated Korea or bought from the USSR and China in 1949 and 1950. By June 1950 American data showed the two armies at about equal strength, with roughly equal numbers amassed along the 38th parallel. However, this data did not account for the superior battle experience of the North Korean army, especially among the troops who had returned from China.

The fighting began around 3 or 4 am on June 25 at the western end of the parallel. Initial intelligence reports were indeterminate as to who started the fighting, but by 5:30 am the formidable 6th Division of the (North) Korean People’s Army (KPA) had joined the fighting in the west. At roughly the same time, KPA forces in the center of the peninsula dealt a heavy blow to the ROK Army (ROKA) south of Cheorwon. The ROKA fell back and two KPA divisions and an armored brigade crashed through the 38th parallel, beginning a daunting march toward Seoul, which lay just 50 km (30 mi) to the south.

Just 20 km (12 mi) north of Seoul stood the town of Uijeongbu, a critical line of defense for the South maintained by an ROKA division. By the morning of June 26, the division at Uijeongbu had not committed its forces to battle, probably because it was waiting to be reinforced by another division from the interior of South Korea. However, when the reinforcing division finally arrived on June 26, troops panicked, mutinied, and fled. The reasons for the mutiny were many, including the relative lack of ROKA firepower, poor training, and ultimately the unpopularity of the Rhee government—which had nearly been voted out of office in relatively free elections held a month earlier. The collapse at Uijeongbu left a gaping hole in the South Korean defensive line, and North Korean troops poured through. The ROK government fled Seoul, which was taken on June 28 by a force of about 37,000 North Korean troops.