korean war

On July 5, when the North Korean force that had been sent to capture Pusan reached the place where Smith's troops were waiting, the North Koreans did not hesitate to fight. Within a few hours, Smith and his men were in full retreat; they lost more than one-third of their men. The United States had been beaten in its first encounter with North Korean troops.
             Then the Twenty-fourth division arrived in Korea. It was under the command of Major General William Dean. He quickly went into action and placed his soldiers in positions to ward off oncoming North Korean troops. The Twenty-fourth division was soon to find themselves outnumbered and with few or no weapons to fight off enemy tanks. They were unable to stand against the North Koreans, so they were pushed back in retreat. General Dean was cut off from escape and was captured.
             Without the command of General Dean, the soldiers of the Twenty-fourth Division managed to hold off the North Korean advances for several days. More and more U.S. troops landed in Pusan. These troops were under the command of Lieutenant General Walton Walker and were called the "Eighth Army." They formed a ring around Pusan. The North Korean soldiers were almost successful in pushing trough the lines, but the American soldiers managed to fight off the North Koreans. Then, General MacArthur, who on July 7th had been appointed Supreme Commander of United Nations forces, made a move that suddenly changed the course of the war.
             General MacArthur had worked out a plan for the United Nations forces to move into South Korea behind the North Korean army that was advancing in to Pusan. This would cut off the North Korean army from its source of supplies. MacArthur planned to land troops at the port city of Inchon on Korea's west coast, but there were many risks to his plan. North Korea had captured Inchon, and North Korean troops were stationed there. This meant the United Nations landing force would have to fight its way to shore.