Battle of the Bowling Alley
Battle of the Bowling Alley | |
---|---|
Part of the Battle of Cheonpyeong | |
Chilgok, South Korea | |
Result | United Nations victory |
In the Battle of the Bowling Alley (August 21, 1950),
For another week, KPA divisions launched all the troops they had in massed attacks against the ROK and US lines. Their attacks, which usually occurred at night and were supported by armor and artillery, advanced with infantry and tanks in close support of one another. Each KPA attack ran into well-established UN lines, where US tanks, mines and entrenched infantry were positioned to counter them. Strikes by US aircraft ravaged the attacking KPA. The fighting was fierce with many casualties on both sides, particularly where the KPA and ROK fought one another. The repeated attacks eventually broke and pushed back the ROK forces. The KPA continued their push against the Pusan Perimeter until they were outflanked in the Battle of Inchon.
Background
Outbreak of war
Following the invasion of South Korea by North Korea on June 25, 1950, the United Nations voted to use force to defend South Korea. The United States simultaneously committed ground forces to the Korean peninsula with the goal of pushing back the North Korean invasion and preventing South Korea from collapsing. But US forces in the Far East had been steadily decreasing since the end of World War II, five years earlier, and at the time the closest force was the 24th Infantry Division, headquartered in Japan. The division was understrength, and most of its equipment was antiquated due to reductions in military spending. Nevertheless, the 24th was ordered to South Korea.[1]
The 24th Infantry Division was the first US unit sent into Korea with the mission to take the initial "shock" of KPA advances, delaying much larger KPA units to buy time to allow reinforcements to arrive.
North Korean advance
After the fight at Taejon, UN forces were pushed back repeatedly before finally halting the KPA advance in a series of engagements in the southern section of the country. Forces of the 3rd Battalion,
Taegu
Meanwhile, the Eighth Army commander
Five KPA divisions amassed around Taegu to oppose the UN forces in the city. From south to north, the 10th,[16] 3rd, 15th, 13th,[17] and 1st North Korean Divisions occupied a wide line encircling Taegu from Tuksong-dong and around Waegwan to Kunwi.[18] The KPA planned to use the natural corridor of the Naktong River valley from Sangju to Taegu as its main axis of attack for the next push south, so the KPA divisions all eventually moved through this valley, crossing the Naktong at different areas along the low ground.[19] Elements of the KPA 105th Armored Division also supported the attack.[15][20]
Prelude
US and ROK forces assemble
During mid-August, the US 27th Infantry Regiment was mopping up KPA resistance from the southern part of the
At 12:00 the next day, August 17, Eighth Army ordered the 27th Infantry to move its headquarters and a reinforced
North Korean forces assemble
In its engagements during the Perimeter battle, the KPA 13th Division, with 9,500 men,[26] had forced ROK troops into the Tabu-dong corridor and started advancing on Taegu.[27] This division had battled the ROK 11th and 12th Regiments in the Yuhak-san area for a week before it broke through to the corridor on August 17.[28] A regimental commander of the division said later it suffered 1,500 casualties in the process. On August 18, the 13th Division was concentrated mostly west of the road just north of Tabu-dong.[24]
To the west of the KPA 13th Division, the KPA 15th Division with 5,000 men
On August 18, the KPA 13th Division was astride the Sangju–Taegu road just above Tabu-dong and only 13 miles (21 km) from Taegu. The Eighth Army ordered the 27th Infantry Regiment to attack north along the road to counter the threat.[25] At the same time, two regiments of the ROK 1st Division were to attack along high ground on either side of the road.[23][24] The plan called for a limited-objective attack to restore the ROK 1st Division lines in the vicinity of Sokchok, a village 4 miles (6.4 km) north of Tabu-dong. M26 Pershing tanks of C Company, 73rd Tank Battalion, and two batteries of the 37th Field Artillery Battalion were to support the 27th Infantry in the attack.[30]
Terrain
In front of the 27th Infantry position, the
Rising from the valley on the west side was the Yuhak-san mountain range which swept up to a height of 2,700 feet (820 m). On the east, a similar mountain range rose to a height of 2,400 feet (730 m), culminating 2.5 miles (4.0 km) southward in a mountain called
Battle
August 21 attack
That evening, the 27th Infantry placed two belts of antipersonnel mines and
American artillery and mortar fire bombarded the KPA, trying to separate the tanks from the infantry.[34] US machine gun fire opened on the KPA infantry only after they had entered the mine field and were at close range. The US M26 tanks in the front line held their fire until the KPA tanks came very close. One of the American tanks knocked out the lead KPA tank and a bazooka team from F Company knocked out a towed gun, the third vehicle in column. The trapped second tank was disabled by bazooka fire and abandoned by its crew.[32] It was during this fight that the battle received its name. The US troops at the battle noted the tank shells being fired up and down the valley in the dark looked "like bowling balls."[35][34]
Artillery and 90 mm tank fire destroyed seven more KPA T-34s, three more SU-76 towed guns, and several trucks and personnel carriers. This night battle, which was at times very intense, lasted about five hours. The US B Battery, 8th Field Artillery Battalion alone fired 1,661 105 mm rounds, the 4.2-inch mortar platoon fired 902 rounds, the 81 mm mortar platoon fired 1,200 rounds, and F Company, 27th Infantry fired 385 60 mm mortar rounds. The KPA column was completely destroyed.[32] US patrols after daylight estimated the KPA had suffered 1,300 casualties in the fight.[36][34] Eleven prisoners captured by the patrol said the action had decimated their units and that the division was only at 25 percent strength.[32]
Aftermath
The confirmed KPA losses from August 18 to 25 included 13 T-34 tanks, six SU-76 self-propelled guns, and 23 trucks.[37] The KPA 13th Division's troops suffered heavy casualties during the fight, with an estimated 3,000 killed, wounded and captured. The division withdrew to rebuild.[25] The North Koreans' total casualties from August 12 to 25 were 5,690 killed.[38]
US losses during the battle were extremely light; unusual for fighting at a time in which other UN offensive forces were paying a heavy price when making similar pushes against the KPA.[39] The US infantry forces suffered only five killed and 54 wounded in the 27th Infantry, plus three killed and 16 wounded in the 23rd Infantry. This brought the total US casualty count to 8 dead, 70 wounded.[40] ROK troops suffered much more heavily during the fight. An estimated 2,300 soldiers were killed in the fighting; 2,244 enlisted men and 56 officers.[38] However, these losses were not crippling, as volunteers poured in from the surrounding countryside to fight for the ROK.[41]
References
Citations
- ^ Varhola 2000, p. 3
- ^ a b Alexander 2003, p. 52
- ^ Catchpole 2001, p. 15
- ^ a b Varhola 2000, p. 4
- ^ Alexander 2003, p. 90
- ^ Alexander 2003, p. 105
- ^ Fehrenbach 2001, p. 103
- ^ Appleman 1998, p. 221
- ^ Alexander 2003, p. 114
- ^ Catchpole 2001, p. 24
- ^ Catchpole 2001, p. 25
- ^ Appleman 1998, p. 247
- ^ Fehrenbach 2001, p. 135
- ^ Appleman 1998, p. 335
- ^ a b Appleman 1998, p. 337
- ^ Appleman 1998, p. 253
- ^ Appleman 1998, p. 254
- ^ Leckie 1996, p. 112
- ^ Appleman 1998, p. 336
- ^ Catchpole 2001, p. 31
- ^ a b c Appleman 1998, p. 353
- ^ Millett 2010, p. 220
- ^ a b c d e Millett 2000, p. 464
- ^ a b c d Appleman 1998, p. 354
- ^ a b c d Millett 2010, p. 221
- ^ a b Appleman 1998, p. 255
- ^ Paik 1992, p. 36
- ^ Paik 1992, p. 34
- ^ Millett 2000, p. 466
- ^ Appleman 1998, p. 355
- ^ a b c Appleman 1998, p. 356
- ^ a b c d e Appleman 1998, p. 359
- ^ Paik 1992, p. 43
- ^ a b c d Millett 2000, p. 467
- ^ Paik 1992, p. 42
- ^ Alexander 2003, p. 146
- ^ Appleman 1998, p. 362
- ^ a b Paik 1992, p. 45
- ^ Ecker 2004, p. 29
- ^ Ecker 2004, p. 30
- ^ Paik 1992, p. 46
Sources
- ISBN 978-0-7818-1019-7
- Appleman, Roy E. (1998), South to the Naktong, North to the Yalu: United States Army in the Korean War, ISBN 978-0-16-001918-0, archived from the original on 2013-11-02, retrieved 2010-12-22 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- Catchpole, Brian (2001), The Korean War, ISBN 978-1-84119-413-4
- Ecker, Richard E. (2004), Battles of the Korean War: A Chronology, with Unit-by-Unit United States Casualty Figures & Medal of Honor Citations, ISBN 978-0-7864-1980-7
- ISBN 978-1-57488-334-3
- Leckie, Robert (1996), Conflict: The History Of The Korean War, 1950–1953, ISBN 978-0-306-80716-9
- Millett, Allan R. (2000), The Korean War, Volume 1, ISBN 978-0-8032-7794-6
- Millett, Allan R. (2010), The War for Korea, 1950–1951: They Came from the North, ISBN 978-0-7006-1709-8
- ISBN 0-02-881002-3
- ISBN 978-1-882810-44-4
- Attribution
This article incorporates public domain material from South to the Naktong, North to the Yalu: United States Army in the Korean War. United States Army Center of Military History. 36°04′N 128°32′E / 36.067°N 128.533°E