[Illustration: (Map of Korea, indicating battle fronts in July, 1950.)] [Illustration: THE PUSAN PERIMETER AUG.-SEP. 1950 GENERAL DISPOSITION OF 8TH ARMY & NORTH KOREAN FORCES] U. S. MARINE OPERATIONS IN KOREA 1950–1953 VOLUME I _The Pusan Perimeter_ by LYNN MONTROSS and CAPTAIN NICHOLAS A. CANZONA, USMC [Illustration] Historical Branch, G-3 Headquarters, U. S. Marine Corps Washington, D. C., 1954 Foreword An ability to furnish skilled forces to meet emergency situations on short notice has long been a hallmark of the Marine Corps. When the call came for such a force to be dispatched to Korea on 2 July 1950, the Corps was handicapped by the strictures of a peacetime economy. Nevertheless, a composite brigade consisting of a regiment and an air group was made available within a week’s time. With a reputation built largely on amphibious warfare, Marines of the 1st Brigade were called upon to prove their versatility in sustained ground action. On three separate occasions within the embattled Perimeter--south toward Sachon and twice along the Naktong River--these Marine units hurled the weight of their assault force at the enemy. All three attacks were successful, and at no point did Marines give ground except as ordered. The quality of their performance in the difficult days of the Pusan Perimeter fighting made them a valuable member of the United Nations team and earned new laurels for their Corps. [Illustration: (Signature)] LEMUEL C. SHEPHERD, JR., _General, U. S. Marine Corps, Commandant of the Marine Corps_. Preface This is the first volume of a planned series dealing with United States Marine Operations in Korea during the period 2 August 1950 to 27 July 1953. Volume I is designed to give the military student and the casual reader an accurate and detailed account of the operations in which Marines of the 1st Provisional Brigade and Marine Air Group 33 participated during the fighting in the Pusan Perimeter, from the date of their landing on 2 August until their withdrawal on 13 September 1950, in preparation for the Inchon landing. Since this is primarily a Marine Corps story, the activities of other services during this period are not described in detail except to present a proper background to the overall account.