6th Infantry Division (South Korea)
Encyclopedia
History
The 6th Infantry Division was a military formation of the Republic of Korea ArmyRepublic of Korea Army
The Republic of Korea Army is the largest of the military branches of the South Korean armed forces with 520,000 members as of 2010...
during the 20th Century. The Division consisted of the 2nd, 7th
7th Infantry Regiment (South Korea)
-History:The 7th Infantry Regiment is a military formation of the 6th Division of the Republic of Korea Army. It was the first unit of the United Nations Command to reach the Yalu River, and the only unit operating under Eighth Army command to do so during the war. The 7th Infantry Regiment was...
, and 19th Regiments.
The 2nd Infantry Regiment was originally activated as the 2nd Regiment on February 28, 1946 at Taejon and was first commanded by Lt. Col. Lee Hyong Kun. The unit was initially assigned to the 1st Brigade in December 1947 and was later reassigned to the 6th Division when it was activated in May 1949.
The division became part of II Corps
II Corps (South Korea)
-History:II Corps was created July 24, 1950, just before the Battle of Pusan Perimeter.II Corps consisted of the 1st Division and 6th Infantry Division....
after the first fall of Seoul
Seoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
.
Was part of the defensive line to slow the North Korean advance from Seoul
Seoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
to Taejon.
Fought in the Battle of Pusan Perimeter
Battle of Pusan Perimeter
The Battle of Pusan Perimeter was a large-scale battle between United Nations and North Korean forces lasting from August 4 – September 18, 1950. It was one of the first major engagements of the Korean War...
.
The 6th Division, meeting little opposition and traveling fast up the Chongchon River valley, reached Huichon, nearly sixteen miles north of Kujang-dong, on the night of October 23, 1950. Passing through Onjong
Onjong
-History:Onjŏng was a ri from 1949 to 1954.In October 1950, Onjŏng was the location of the Battle of Onjong, the first contact between Chinese and United Nations Command forces in the Korean War....
, twenty-six miles from Huich'on, during the night of the twenty-fourth, the 7th Regiment
7th Infantry Regiment (South Korea)
-History:The 7th Infantry Regiment is a military formation of the 6th Division of the Republic of Korea Army. It was the first unit of the United Nations Command to reach the Yalu River, and the only unit operating under Eighth Army command to do so during the war. The 7th Infantry Regiment was...
, 6th Division, turned north and advanced toward Chosan
Chosan
Chosan is a kun, or county, in Chagang province, North Korea. It borders the People's Republic of China to the north.The terrain slopes downward from the Kangnam Mountains in the south to the Yalu River in the north. The highest peak is Namhaetaesan . Some 20% of the land is arable, with animal...
, fifty miles away on the Yalu River
Yalu River
The Yalu River or the Amnok River is a river on the border between North Korea and the People's Republic of China....
. A reinforced reconnaissance platoon from the 7th Regiment entered Chosan the next morning and found the North Koreans retreating across the Yalu into China over a narrow floating footbridge.
On October 25, in the ROK II Corps sector, the 3d Battalion, 2d Regiment, 6th Division, started northwest from Onjong
Onjong
-History:Onjŏng was a ri from 1949 to 1954.In October 1950, Onjŏng was the location of the Battle of Onjong, the first contact between Chinese and United Nations Command forces in the Korean War....
, about fifty miles from the Yalu
Yalu
Yalu may refer to:* Yalu River, river running along the border between China and North Korea* Yalo, or Yalu, village in Palestine, depopulated during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War...
, toward Pukchin. Eight miles west of Onjong the 3d Battalion encountered what was thought to be a small force of North Koreans but was, in reality, a Communist Chinese forces (CCF) trap, in which CCF troops destroyed the 3d Battalion as an organized force. On the evening of the next day the division ordered its 7th Regiment
7th Infantry Regiment (South Korea)
-History:The 7th Infantry Regiment is a military formation of the 6th Division of the Republic of Korea Army. It was the first unit of the United Nations Command to reach the Yalu River, and the only unit operating under Eighth Army command to do so during the war. The 7th Infantry Regiment was...
to withdraw south. Before it could do so, however, it needed supplies, which were airdropped on the twenty-eighth. As the 7th Regiment headed south the following morning, it ran into an enemy roadblock about twenty miles south of Kojang.
After the Chinese intervention and attacks in November 1950, the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division, the Turkish Brigade
Turkish Brigade
The Turkish Brigade was a Turkish Army Infantry Brigade that served under United Nations command during the Korean War between 1950 to 1953. Attached to the U.S...
, and the ROK 6th, 7th
7th Infantry Division (South Korea)
The 7th Infantry Division was a military formation of the Republic of Korea Army during the 20th Century.After the fall of Taejon, only had a few hundred survivors to participate in the Battle of Pusan Perimeter....
, and 8th
8th Infantry Division (South Korea)
The 8th Infantry Division was a military formation of the Republic of Korea Army during the 20th Century.-History:The unit comprises the 10th, 16th and 21st Regiments. The 16th Infantry Regiment was originally activated as the 16th Regiment on October 28, 1948 at Masan and was first commanded by...
Infantry Divisions were shattered units that would need extensive rest and refitting to recover combat effectiveness.