Conditions inviting the North Korean attack were created by the [[United Nations]] which issued a resolution for withdrawal of both Soviet and American troops. Troops began withdrawing September 15, 1948, leaving only about 7500 Americans lightly armed. This left in South Korea 16,000 Koreans and 7500 Americans, both groups lightly armed, against 150,000 fully armed North Korean Communists. General Roberts, head of the U. S. Military Mission said the South Koreans were not permitted to arm adequately.
On January 12, 1950, Secretary of State [[Dean Acheson ]] gave a speech to the National Press Club excluding South Korea from the defense perimeter.<ref>https://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/korea/large/documents/pdfs/kr-3-13.pdf</ref> Omar Bradley blamed Truman and Acheson in his memoir ''A General's Life'', and historian Bill Shinn concurs.<ref>A General's Lifeby Omar N. Bradley, pg. 528</ref><ref>The Forgotten War Remembered, Korea: 1950-1953: A War Correspondent's Notebook & Today's Danger in Korea by Bill Shinn, pg. 52</ref>
=== Outbreak ===
Pusan is a large port on the southern tip of Korea, through which came thousands of UN troops and hundreds of tanks and other heavy equipment. By August, enough troops had come through that they could successfully hold the line against the North Koreans. Knowing that time was not on their side, [[Kim Il-Sung]] ordered his soldiers to breach the line by any means necessary. The North Korean army attacked repeatedly, but every attempt failed.<ref>''Battle'', by R.G. Grant, DK Publishing, 2005</ref>
Air power played a huge role in the defense of the perimeter. With the skies firmly in UN control, American and British fighters and bombers had free reign. [[B-29 Superfortress]]es, based on [[Okinawa]], hit North Korean supply lines and rear areas. [[P-51 Mustang|F-82 Twin Mustangs]], F-80 Shooting Stars (America’s America's first combat jets), and propeller-driven medium bombers flew from Japan constantly, usually targeting North Korean troops. [[P-51 Mustang|F-51 Mustangs]] operated from rough airfields inside the perimeter itself, some only a few minutes flying time from the enemy lines. In addition, the carrier USS ''Philippine Sea'' had arrived, and joined the ''Valley Forge'' and ''Triumph'' in strikes on the North Koreans. By the second week of September, UN planes were averaging around 700 sorties per day in support of the troops holding the line.<ref name="MyFirstRef"/>
In early September, enough UN troops had entered Pusan that the perimeter was secure, and attention could be turned toward a counter-attack. Time, for the North Koreans, had run out.
[[Category:1950s]]
[[Category:Veterans]]
[[Category:Korean War]]