S3: What warfighting functions contributed most to Americans’ continual defeat and withdrawal to the Pusan Perimeter in the summer of 1950? Answer generally or focus mainly on Task Force Smith for examples to support your analysis.

The biggest factor that contributed most to the Americans’ defeat and withdrawal would be their lack of readiness. In reference to Task Force Smith, there were a combined 400 soldiers that had old, worn our weapons, a mere 120 rounds of ammunition, and only 2 days of rations going into this mission. Not only were these weapons of the World War II era, they weren’t fit to fight the capabilities of the NKPA. During the battle, a lieutenant fired 21 bazooka rockets at a T-34 without any penetration or damage to the tank. The only capabilities they had to combat these tanks were 6 anti-tank rounds. This was the total of all anti-tank rounds in Korea and Japan. They had no mines or air support during this engagement with the NKPA.

Poor equipment aside, Task Force Smith consisted of overweight soldiers who had never “heard a round fired in anger”. The new breed of soldier was made to feel at home like civilians. They were very cocky and had lost sight of what a soldier’s duty was: to fight. Discipline had disappeared. This was shown during the engagement when soldiers left their foxholes leaving their machine guns, recoilless rifles, and mortars for the enemy.

Overall, the lack of readiness caused this mission to fail. Task Force Smith only delayed the NKPA by 7 hours. T. R. Fehrenbach says it best when describing this unit intended to be a display of power, “Task Force Smith had neither arms nor training.”