HAMMER: Korea was the first war where the US Army rotated Soldiers in and out of theatre in significant numbers, a practice that has continued ever since. In doing practical and instructional knowledge is lost and lessons have to be re-learned, sometimes at great cost. How would you change the manner in which we now rotate Soldiers into different…[Read more]

Charlie: What do you think soldiers thought of their leadership at this point in the war? Why?

Soldiers had different opinions on their leaders depending on where the leader fell in their Chain of Command. The Soldiers at the lower echelons had faith in the leaders at the echelon they belong to. Most saw their direct leaders as someone who was…[Read more]

S6: The Eighth Army did not realize that a hole eight miles deep and six miles across was penetrated in the front lines until two regiments were “disintegrated.” Why was there a lapse in communication between the front lines and the Eighth Army mission command? With these defeats, the Mission Command commanders under General Walker became…[Read more]

The Chinese treated all POWs the same regardless of rank. This resulted in the degradation of discipline among POWs. Do you think this was the intended outcome or just 2nd and 3rd order effects? In addition what would you do to combat the loss of morale among POWs?

This was not the intended outcome. The Chinese  initially did not recognize the…[Read more]

HAMMER: As UN forces marched north, there was evidence of the Chinese joining the conflict. Despite the evidence, General MacArthur and his staff believed “the Chinese would not dare intervene” They assessed that they lacked the Military capability to bring significant forces into the conflict and even if that was possible the US air superiority…[Read more]

S2: Why did the US not know or understand the armor threat in Korea already?  Where was the national level intelligence apparatus to collect such information?  Why didn’t the US not equip the US Forces to deal with one of the biggest threats (armor) of the war?  Are we not doing the same thing today with respect to the CBRN threat (decon, li…[Read more]

S3: What factors made Korea vulnerable and appealing for military occupation? What geopolitical factors in the 20th century led Korea’s invasion and occupation in June 1950?
The natural resources of Manchuria and the ease of access to Manchuria from the Korean peninsula makes Korea vulnerable and appealing for military occupation. These factors in…[Read more]