Sixteen-page sections of photographs following pages [212] and [436]
Maps and Sketches
| Page | ||
| 1 | EUSAK Dispositions—15 March 1952 | [9] |
| 2 | Western Korea—I Corps Sector—1952–1953 | [14] |
| 3 | 1st Marine Division Sector—30 April 1952 | [23] |
| 4 | 1st Marine Aircraft Wing Dispositions—30 April 1952 | [25] |
| 5 | 2/5 Sector—15–16 April 1952 | [35] |
| 6 | West Coast Island Defense Element—Summer 1952 | [54] |
| 7 | East Coast Island Defense Element—Summer 1952 | [57] |
| 8 | Objectives for 1/5 Attack—9 May 1952 | [78] |
| 9 | 1st Marines Sector of JAMESTOWN (Division Center)—8 August 1952 | [110] |
| 10 | 2/1 Sector—9–11 August 1952 | [115] |
| 11 | Bunker Hill Area—2300, 12 August 1952 | [120] |
| 12 | Combat Outposts and Ambush Sites—5th Marines Sector (Division Right)—Early September 1952 | [151] |
| 13 | Combat Outposts—KMC Sector (Division Left)—5–7 September 1952 | [154] |
| 14 | 7th Marines Sector (Division Right)—Early October 1952 | [164] |
| 15 | “CCF Creeping Tactics”—March-October 1952 | [189] |
| 16 | Hook Sector of MLR—1800, 26 October 1952 | [198] |
| 17 | Hook Penetrations—26–27 October 1952 | [201] |
| 18 | Outpost Reno Attacks—27 October 1952 | [204] |
| 19 | CCF Attack Against KMC Sector (Division Left)—31 October 1952 | [219] |
| 20 | Organization of Ground Defense—Winter 1952–1953 | [252] |
| 21 | Typical Hill Defense (Cross Section)—Winter 1952–1953 | [254] |
| 22 | 5th Marines MLR Sector—26 March 1953 | [266] |
| 23 | 1st Marines MLR Sector (Division Center)—26 March 1953 | [269] |
| 24 | COP Carson—March 1953 | [272] |
| 25 | COP Reno—March 1953 | [274] |
| 26 | COP Vegas—March 1953 | [277] |
| 27 | Attack on 5th Marines Front—26–30 March 1953 | [282] |
| 28 | 25th Infantry Division Sector (Following Relief of the 1st Marine Division)—5 May 1953 | [330] |
| 29 | Eighth Army Sector—1 January-27 July 1953 | [343] |
| 30 | 7th Marines MLR Sector (Division Right)—Linear Defense—19–20 July 1953 | [380] |
| 31 | 7th Marines MLR Sector—Defense-in-Depth—20–21 July 1953 | [382] |
| 32 | 7th Marines MLR Sector—Defense-in-Depth—22–23 July 1953 | [384] |
| 33 | Eighth Army Front—27 July 1953 | [395] |
| 34 | POW Camps in which Marines Were Held | [417] |
| 35 | 1st Marine Division Post-Armistice Main Battle Position—30 September 1953 | [462] |
CHAPTER I
Operations in West Korea Begin
From Cairo to JAMESTOWN—The Marines’ Home in West Korea—Organization of the 1st Marine Division Area—The 1st Marine Aircraft Wing—The Enemy—Initial CCF Attack—Subsequent CCF Attacks—Strengthening the Line—Marine Air Operations—Supporting the Division and the Wing—Different Area, Different Problem
From Cairo to JAMESTOWN[1]
[1] Unless otherwise noted, the material in this section is derived from: 1st Marine Division Staff Report, titled “Notes for Major General J. T. Selden, Commanding General, First Marine Division, Korea,” dtd 20 Aug 52, hereafter Selden, Div. Staff Rpt; the four previous volumes of the series U.S. Marine Operations in Korea, 1950–1953, namely, Lynn Montross and Capt Nicholas A. Canzona, The Pusan Perimeter, v. I; The Inchon-Seoul Operation, v. II; The Chosin Reservoir Campaign, v. III; Lynn Montross, Maj Hubard D. Kuokka, and Maj Norman W. Hicks, The East-Central Front, v. IV (Washington. HistBr, G-3 Div, HQMC, 1954–1962), hereafter Montross, Kuokka, and Hicks, USMC Ops Korea—Central Front, v. IV; Department of Military Art and Engineering, U.S. Military Academy, Operations in Korea (West Point, N.Y.: 1956), hereafter USMA, Korea; David Rees, Korea: The Limited War (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1964), hereafter Rees, Korea, quoted with permission of the publisher. Unless otherwise noted, all documentary material cited is on file at, or obtainable through, the Archives of the Historical Division, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps.
During the latter part of March 1952, the 1st Marine Division, a component of the U.S. Eighth Army in Korea (EUSAK), pulled out of its positions astride the Soyang River in east-central Korea and moved to the far western part of the country in the I Corps sector. There the Marines took over the EUSAK left flank, guarding the most likely enemy approaches to the South Korean capital city, Seoul, and improving the ground defense in their sector to comply with the strict requirements which the division commander, Major General John T. Selden, had set down. Except for a brief period in reserve, the Marine division would remain in the Korean front lines until a cease-fire agreement in July 1953 ended active hostilities.
The division CG, Major General Selden,[2] had assumed command of the 25,000-man 1st Marine Division two months earlier, on 11 January, from Major General Gerald C. Thomas while the Marines were still in the eastern X Corps sector. The new Marine commander was a 37-year veteran of Marine Corps service, having enlisted as a private in 1915, serving shortly thereafter in Haiti. During World War I he was commissioned a second lieutenant, in 1918, while on convoy duty. Between the two world wars, his overseas service had included a second assignment to Haiti, two China tours, and sea duty. When the United States entered World War II, Lieutenant Colonel Selden was an intelligence officer aboard the carrier Lexington. Later in the war Colonel Selden led the 5th Marines in the New Britain fighting and was Chief of Staff of the 1st Marine Division in the Peleliu campaign. He was promoted to brigadier general in 1948 and received his second star in 1951, prior to his combat assignment in Korea.