INTO THE BREACH AT PUSAN: The 1st Provisional Marine Brigade in the Korean War
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Written by Kenneth W. Estes, a man uniquely qualified to speak with authority on the subject matter, “Into the Breach at Pusan—The 1st Provisional Marine Brigade in the Korean War” not only sets the record straight regarding the U.S. Eighth Army saving itself during the perilous Pusan Perimeter campaign in August 1950, but also fills a long-recognized gap in Marine Corps literature: the neglected analysis of the 1st Provisional Marine Brigade’s role during the initial 90 days of the North Korean invasion.
A retired Marine lieutenant colonel who served from 1969 to 1993, Estes also penned “Tanks on the Beaches: A Marine Tanker in the Pacific War” and “Marines Under Armor: The Marine Corps and the Armored Fighting Vehicle, 1916-2000,” and serves as editor of the enduring “Marine Officer’s Guide.” He draws upon combat records, command reports and biographical materials to provide readers with fresh insights and interpretation of the joint performance between U.S. Army and Marine personnel along the 150-mile-long defensive perimeter around Pusan, a port on the southeastern Korean coast, as U.S. troopships began assembling for a possible evacuation.
Lest you’ve forgotten, here’s a brief summary of the Korean War: At 3:30 a.m. on June 25, 1950, Communist North Korea, egged on by the Soviet Union and supplied by Red China, attacked across the 38th parallel into the Republic of South Korea. The United States immediately responded by obtaining a U.N. resolution approving the use of force. President Harry Truman selected General of the Army Douglas MacArthur as supreme commander to defeat the North Koreans and unify the country—not just repel the invaders and restore the status quo.
After the North Korean Army quickly seized Seoul, the capital, and drove the U.N. forces down the peninsula to the outer hills of Pusan, GEN MacArthur staged a daring, almost sensational, landing at Inchon, cutting off the enemy supply lines. That, plus the breakout from the Pusan Perimeter, allowed the allies to push north toward the Yalu River and the border of Communist China. However, it wasn’t long before hundreds of thousands of Chinese troops poured across the river into North Korea. GEN MacArthur wanted to take the war to China (including the use of nuclear weapons). President Truman, fearful of provoking the Russians, relieved GEN MacArthur.
In 1952, Dwight D. Eisenhower was elected President, and he assisted in the armistice agreement. The result of the 1,000-plus-day war was some 54,000 U.S. casualties, more than 500,000 Chinese and Korean casualties, and the NK-SK boundaries unchanged. We consoled ourselves that we had at least contained Chinese communist aggression.
Estes, however, focuses upon an early aspect of this “not-so-forgotten” war. He writes that his in-depth research and efforts were to recognize the significant role the 1st Provisional Marine Brigade had in the early days of the war, and in doing the research, he found frequent “contradictions,” especially in the Pusan Perimeter campaign.
In the preface he writes: “It became clear that the Pusan Perimeter campaign loomed much larger than most Marine Corps observers realized at the time, and was really the U.S. Eighth Army’s finest hour, still unheralded. Yet the interservice rivalries stand out in most accounts. A closer examination reveals considerable cooperation by all units and services directly engaged at Pusan.”
What he writes next and covers in detail in his book is what many Marines will find most interesting. “It remains my chief finding that the Marine Corps’ efforts in the Pusan Perimeter fighting did not ‘save the Army,’ as Marine historians have claimed, but did in fact contribute significantly to the Eighth Army’s successful defense of the perimeter.”
Slight in size and focused in scope for such an intense military study, “Into the Breach at Pusan,” nonetheless, proves to be a remarkable blend of writing: brief, well-organized, authoritative, and so admirably direct in presentation that it will be read and understood by any interested reader. However, for the military-minded reader, Estes’ frankness and clarity of strategic exposition, along with his shrewdness in evaluating and depicting complex perimeter fighting, as well as elucidating the human factors of high command in battle decision making, lead us not only to a whole new appreciation of the Pusan defense, but also catapults “Into the Breach” as a permanent high-level reference that all military people must read.
INTO THE BREACH AT PUSAN: The 1st Provisional Marine Brigade in the Korean War
By Kenneth W. Estes
Published by the University of Oklahoma Press. 216 pages
Stock #0806142545
$26.96 MCA Members. $29.95 Regular Price
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Related Content
- 40 Years Ago: The Korean War (Magazine Page)
- Marines In Korea (Magazine Page)
- Warrior Six And The First Provisional Marine Brigade: June-September 1950 (Magazine Page)
- Fire Brigade: U.S. Marines in the Pusan Perimeter (Photo Gallery)
- The First Provisional Marine Brigade in Korea: Part I (July 2000) (Magazine Page)
Today in USMC History
1888 – Marines landed in Korea and marched 25 miles to protect the Seoul Legation.
Related Articles: The March From Chemulpo To Seoul, Korea By H.C. Reisinger Marine Corps Gazette (June 1929)
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Historic Leatherneck Magazine Covers
Leatherneck Staff Artist, Technical Sergeant Robert Fleischauer, felt that our July cover should be commemorative of the Fourth of July. Since the members of the missile units are probably the Corps' best rocketeers, he picked them to perform a standard Fourth of July action. Whether or not the "Honest Johnny" is useful as a combat piece is a matter for debate, but you can't beat it for morale." [July 1957.]
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The oldest post of the Marine Corps, Washington, DC, is celebrating 200 years of excellence. Posed near the Barracks main gate were members of the official Color Guard of the United States Marine Corps (left to right): LCpl Joseph N. Keough, rifleman; Sgt Blake L. Richardson, Color Sergeant of the Marine Corps; Cpl Gerardo A. Guajardo, organizational color bearer; and LCpl Gregory A. Serwo, rifleman.
Photo of Candidate Kenneth Williamson of Company C, Officers Candidate School Class 173.
GySgt Verlando Frazier, East Coast Food Service Management Team, looked ready to dig into some of the new items included in MREs.
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"We Are Proud To Claim The Title Of United States Marines"
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"First To Fight For Right And Freedom": The Marine expedition in Cuba in June, 1898.
"On The Land As On The Sea": The "Bon Homme Richard" encounters the "Serapis," September 23, 1779.
"We Fight Our Country's Battles": The fall of Fort Fisher, North Carolina, in 1865.
"On The Land As On The Sea": The "Bon Homme Richard" encounters the "Serapis," September 23, 1779.
"We Fight Our Country's Battles": The fall of Fort Fisher, North Carolina, in 1865.
"First To Fight For Right And Freedom": The Marine expedition in Cuba in June, 1898.
“To The Shores Of Tripoli”: Storming the fortifications at Derne, Tripoli, 1805.
"From The Halls Of Montezuma": The assault on Chapultepec Castle--Mexico City, 1847
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FROM OUR ARCHIVES: U.S. Marines And Miskito Indians: The Rio Coco Patrol Of 1928, published in the Marine Corps Gazette, November 1996.
“To The Shores Of Tripoli”: Storming the fortifications at Derne, Tripoli, 1805.
"From The Halls Of Montezuma": The assault on Chapultepec Castle--Mexico City, 1847
Marine patrol fired on while fording the Coco River.
FROM OUR ARCHIVES: U.S. Marines And Miskito Indians: The Rio Coco Patrol Of 1928, published in the Marine Corps Gazette, November 1996.
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Originally Published December 1973 -- That's either a big tree or a small Marine!
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Originally Published December 1968 -- This cover expresses the wishes of Marines, both to their fellow Marines and to their families waiting at home, for a "Merry Christmas."
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This November 1992 article in the Marine Corps Gazette looked at the uniform regulations of 1859 and the attempt to standardize uniforms within the Corps. Read the story and see more pics.
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