The Korean War Part II
On September 15th, U.S. X Corps landed at Inchon, and moved east as the 7th Infantry Division, also a component of X Corps, came in behind to strengthen its numbers. At the same time, the Eighth Army forged north from Pusan with the 7th Infantry Division leading the way. As the troops at Inchon pushed east and south, they severed supply lines, running the invaders out of the area and into the mountains. By September 26th, Seoul was liberated. On October 7th, the first Cavalry pushed northward, as X Corps and ROK soldiers continued by sea northward, working to clear mines as they went. On October 19th, the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, fell under United Nations control and by October 28th, ROK troops and X Corps had reached the northern border of North Korea.
General McArthur and the U.N. Command continued north to gain control of the entire Korean Peninsula, based on the tenet that the Chinese would not get involved unless the U.N. and ROK forces crossed the Yalu river. However, China had threatened to engage the invaders if the 38th parallel were crossed, therefore Chinese soldiers had already infiltrated south of the Yalu. Heavy numbers of Chinese troops were also concentrated just northeast of the Yalu, similar to a mine ready to detonate. The U.N. forces were walking on eggshells as they worked to relocate troops and equipment into North Korea , circumventing the Sino-Korean border. Suddenly, on November 1st, Chinese forces ambushed the ROK divisions near the border. On November 26th they also swept the right flank of the forward forces, in an effort to cut the forces off from the south. Under the push of the Communist forces, the EUSA was driven west and south.