The6th Infantry Division(Korean:제6보병사단;Hanja:Đệ lục bộ binh sư đoàn) is a military formation of theRepublic of Korea Army.
6th Infantry Division | |
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![]() 6th Division Insignia | |
Founded | June 14, 1948 |
Country | ![]() |
Branch | ![]() |
Type | Infantry |
Role | Zone defense |
Part of | V Corps |
Garrison/HQ | Cheorwon County,Gangwon Province |
Nickname(s) | Cheong Seong(Blue Star) |
Battle honours | Korean War |
Commanders | |
Current commander | Sim Jin Seon |
Notable commanders | Lt. Col. Lee Hyong Kun Major GeneralKim Jong-oh Major GeneralChang Do-yong |
Structure
edit- Headquarters:[1]
- Headquarters Company
- DMZ Patrol Company
- Air Defense Company
- Anti-Tank Company
- Armor Battalion
- Signal Battalion
- Reconnaissance Battalion
- Engineer Battalion
- Support Battalion
- Military Police Battalion
- Medical Battalion
- Chemical Battalion
- 2nd Infantry Brigade
- 7th Infantry Brigade
- 19th Infantry Brigade
- Artillery Brigade
History
editThe Division initially consisted of the 2nd,7th,and19thBrigade.[2]
Korean War
editThe 2nd Infantry Regiment was originally activated as the 2nd Regiment on February 28, 1946, atTaejonand 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.[3]On June 25, 1950, the 6th Division took part in theBattle of Chuncheonduring the North Korean attack.
The division became part ofII Corpsafter the first fall ofSeoul. It was part of the defensive line to slow the North Korean advance fromSeoultoTaejon.
Fought in theBattle of Pusan Perimeter.[4]
The 6th Division, meeting little opposition and traveling fast up theChongchon Rivervalley, reached Huichon, nearly sixteen miles north ofKujang-dong,on the night of October 23, 1950. Passing throughOnjong,twenty-six miles fromHuich'on,during the night of the twenty-fourth, the7th Regiment,6th Division, turned north and advanced towardChosan,fifty miles away on theYalu River.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.[5]
On October 25, in the ROK II Corps sector, the 3d Battalion,2d Regiment,6th Division,started northwest fromOnjong,about fifty miles fromYalu River,towardPukchin.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 its7th Regimentto 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 ofKojang.[5]
On 26 November 1950, a column of retreating South Korean soldiers of the ROKA 6th and7th DivisionsfromTokchonwas attacked by a battalion of theTurkish Brigadewho were the first to arrive at Wawon, after the Turks mistook the South Koreans for Chinese. 125 South Koreans were taken prisoner and many of them were slaughtered by the Turks. The event was wrongly reported in U.S. and European media as a Turkish victory over the Chinese and even after news leaked out about the truth to the Americans, no efforts were made by the media to retract the story.[6][7][8]
After the Chinese intervention and attacks in November 1950, the U.S.2nd Infantry Division,theTurkish Brigade,and the ROK 6th,7th,and8thInfantry Divisions were shattered units that would need extensive rest and refitting to recover combat effectiveness.[9]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^"공격!" "엄호!"… 긴장감 넘치는 쌍방 교전 ‘실전 방불’ Fnnews Korea 2022-09-06
- ^Pike, John."6th Infantry Division".www.globalsecurity.org.
- ^Pike, John."2nd Infantry Regiment".www.globalsecurity.org.
- ^Webb, William J.The Korean War: The Outbreak.United States Army Center of Military History.CMH Pub 19-6. Archived fromthe originalon 2010-06-12.Retrieved2010-07-14.
- ^abGammons, Stephen L.Y."The Korean War: The UN Offensive".United States Army Center of Military History.CMH Pub 19-7. Archived fromthe originalon 2010-06-12.
- ^Appleman 2008,pp. 88-89.
- ^Leckie 1996[permanent dead link],p. 203.
- ^Leckie 1962,p. 203.
- ^Stewart, Richard W.The Korean War: The Chinese Intervention.United States Army Center of Military History.p. 14. 19-8. Archived fromthe originalon 2011-12-03.Retrieved2010-07-14.
Sources
edit- Appleman, Roy E. (2008).Disaster in Korea: The Chinese Confront MacArthur.Vol. 11 of Texas A & M University military history series: Texas A and M University (illustrated ed.). Texas A&M University Press.ISBN978-1603441285.Retrieved18 April2014.
- Leckie, Robert (1996).Conflict: The History of the Korean War, 1950-53(illustrated, reprint ed.). Da Capo Press.ISBN0306807165.Retrieved18 April2014.[permanent dead link]
- Leckie, Robert (1962).Conflict: The history of the Korean War 1950-1953.G. P. Putnam's Sons., New York.ISBN9780306807169.Archived fromthe originalon Feb 19, 2008.
External links
edit- Media related to6th Infantry Division (Republic of Korea)at Wikimedia Commons