The Battle of Jangsari (Korean: 장사리전투; Hanja: 長沙里戰鬪; RR: Jangsari Jeaontu) or Operation Jangsa Landing (장사상륙작전; 長沙上陸作戰; Jangsa Sangnyuk Jakjeon) was an amphibious invasion and battle of the Korean War. The official report name for the operation was 'Operational Order 174' (작전명령 174호).
| Battle of Jangsari | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Korean War | |||||||
 LST Munsan and troops at Jangsari | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 South Korea |
 North Korea | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Lee Myung-heum[3] | Unknown | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
|
Independent 1st Guerrilla Battalion (ko:독립 제1유격대대) | 5th Division | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 772 (estimate) | Unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 39 killed (estimate), 32 captured | ~120–130 killed in action (estimate) | ||||||
Background
editIn September 1950, UN Forces planned to launch an all-out offensive along the entire Pusan Perimeter, in coordination with the Inchon landing.
The main objective of the Jangsari operation was to block the supply route and therefore achieve disruption of the North Korean Korean People's Army (KPA) forces around Pusan Perimeter by hit-and-run tactics[4] and to draw KPA forces away from the Inchon landing.
Battle
editLanding
editThe landing force consisted of 'Independent 1st Guerrilla Battalion' comprising approximately 772 student volunteer soldiers specially trained and armed with Russian-type weapons, led by Republic of Korea Army Captain Lee Myung-heum.[5]: 568
On 15 September, at about 02:00 in the morning in the middle of Typhoon Kezia, the battle group landed from LST Munsan. The entire beach and the adjacent Hill 200 was captured by 14:50 at the cost of about 150 casualties (60 Killed in action, 90 Wounded in action)[6] The LST Munsan, was stranded in the landing. The landing took place in the rear of the KPA 5th Division. Its mission was to harass the enemy rear while the ROK 3rd Division attacked north from Pohang.[5]: 568
Also on 15 September, UN Forces began the Inchon Landing. On 16 September, UN Forces began their Pusan Perimeter offensive.[5]: 548
Defence
editOn the evening of 15 September, the KPA 12th Regiment sent a battalion to engage the Independent 1st Guerrilla Battalion. The U.S. Navy 7th Fleet bombardment task force had to rush to its assistance and place a ring of naval gunfire around it on the beach, where KPA fire had driven the battalion, saving it from total destruction.[5]: 568
Withdrawal
editHonor
editIn 1960, Douglas MacArthur sent the letter to commander Lee Myung-heum[7][8] (He later changed his name to Lee Jong-hoon)
Dear Chairman Lee Jong Hoon:
I was delighted to receive your letter of recent date telling of the formation of the 772 Volunteer Comrade Club. The operation they performed in support of the Incheon Landing was a brilliant one and worthy of the highest commendation. The valor and sacrifice of its members will always be a shining example for the youth of Korea. Please extend to its members my heartiest greetings and affectionate regards. I shall always remember them as loyal and devoted comrades-in-arms.
With best wishes, Most sincerely,
Douglas MacArthur
Memorial
editSince 1960, comrade club had a memorial service.[9]
On 14 July 1980, the surviving Independent 1st Guerrilla Battalion formed the Jangsa Landing Operation Guerrilla Comrades Association. (장사상륙작전참전유격동지회), 51 years since the Jangsa landing operation, the comrades association held a national fund-raising campaign together with the monk of Cheongunsa Temple in Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi-do and established memorial monument on September 14 1991.[10]
On 6 March 1997, the forgotten battle of the Korean War was revealed to the public when the members of the 1st Marine Division Special Reconnaissance Unit, who were searching the shore in front of Jangsari, discovered LST Munsan in the tidal flat under the sea.[11]
A 2,000 tons replica of the LST Munsan was constructed as the Jangsa Landing Operation Commemorative Park, which opened on 16 November 2020.[12][13][14][15]
In the popular culture
editReferences
edit- ↑ at that time, called Jangsa-dong
- ↑ 향토문화전자대전 - 장사리
- ↑ He later changed his name to Lee Jong-hoon
- ↑ Action Report - Operation 174 from National Archives of Korea
- 1 2 3 4 5 Appleman, Roy (1961). United States Army in the Korean War: South to the Naktong, North to the Yalu June - November 1950 (PDF). United States Army Center of Military History. ISBN 0160359589.
{{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. - ↑ 독립 제1유격부대
- ↑ 꽃다운 영혼과 뜨거운 구국혼, 당신들을 잊지 않겠습니다
- ↑ 장사상륙작전, 잊혀진 영웅들을 찾다
- ↑ 盈德上陸戰(영덕상륙전)11周(주) 戰歿將兵慰靈祭(전몰장병위령제)
- ↑ 최초공개 - 장사동상륙작전 중 좌초한 문산호(汶山號) 선장·선원 명단
- ↑ 영덕앞바다서 좌초 문산함…47년만에 인양
- ↑ "문화재방송에 오신걸 환영합니다". www.tntv.kr. Archived from the original on 2021-08-25. Retrieved 2021-08-25.
- ↑ "문산호 복원, 학도군 기념탑 설치 … '장사상륙작전 기념공원' 조성 착착". JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). 2015-06-17. Retrieved 2021-08-25.
- ↑ "'장사상륙작전 전승기념관' 영덕 바다 위에 떴다". The Dong-a Ilbo (in Korean). 2020-06-03. Retrieved 2021-08-25.
- ↑ "장사상륙작전 전승기념관 준공식 개최 | 뉴스로". www.newsro.kr. Retrieved 2021-08-25.
External links
edit
- Official website of Memorial Museum
- The Jangsa's Landing Operations during the Korean War - South Korean Institute for Military History
- US Army Combinded Arms Center - Over the Beach US Army Amphibious Operations in the Korean War (pp. 183–186)
- 비사(秘史), 1950년 9월 장사 상륙작전 - South Korean Ministry of National Defense TV