U.S. Marine Operations in Korea, 1950-1953, Volume 5 (of 5): Operations in West KoreaUnited States. Marine Corps
History
U.S. Marine Operations in Korea, 1950-1953, Volume 5 (of 5): Operations in West Korea
United States. Marine Corps
Korean War, 1950-1953 -- Campaigns; United States. Marine Corps -- History -- Korean War, 1950-1953
Frontline units, from the west, were the 1st KMCs, the 5th, and
1st Marines. To the rear, the 7th Marines, designated as division
reserve, together with organic and attached units of the division,
had established an extensive support and supply area. As a temporary
measure, a battalion of the division reserve, 2/7, was detached for
defense of the Kimpo Peninsula pending a reorganization of forces in
this area. Major logistical facilities were the division airhead,
located at K-16 airfield, just southwest of Seoul, and the railhead at
Munsan-ni, 25 miles northwest of the capital city and about five miles
to the rear of the division sector at its nearest point. Forward of
the 1st Marine Division line, outposts were established to enhance the
division’s security. In the rear area the support facilities, secondary
defense lines, and unit command posts kept pace with development of
defensive installations on the MLR. Throughout the 1st Marine Division
sector outpost security, field fortifications, and the ground defense
net were thorough and intended to deny the enemy access to Seoul.
_The Marines’ Home in Western Korea_[16]
[16] Unless otherwise noted, the material in this section
is derived from: 1stMarDiv ComdD, Mar 52; CIA, _NIS
41B_, South Korea, Chap I, Brief, Section 21, Military
Geographic Regions, Section 24, Topography (Washington:
1957–1962); Map, Korea, 1:50,000, AMS Series L 751,
Sheets 6526 I and IV, 6527 I, II, III, and IV, 6528 II
and III, 6627 III and IV, and 6628 III (prepared by the
Engineer, HQ, AFFE, and AFFE/8A, 1952–1954).
In western Korea, the home of the 1st Marine Division lay in a
particularly significant area. (See Map 2.) Within the Marine
boundaries ran the route that invaders through the ages had used in
their drive south to Seoul. It was the 1st Marine Division’s mission
to block any such future attempts. One of the reasons for moving the
Marines to the west[17] was that the terrain there had to be held at
all costs; land in the east, mountainous and less valuable, could
better be sacrificed if a partial withdrawal in Korea became necessary.
At the end of March 1952, the division main line of resistance
stretched across difficult terrain for more than 30 miles, from Kimpo
to the British Commonwealth sector on the east, a frontage far in
excess of the textbook concept.
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