The Korean War: 1950-53
The
Korean War was the first test of American military strength at the beginning of
the Cold War. On June 25th, 1950, the Soviet backed Communist army
of North Korea invaded the American backed South Korea to try to unify the
nation under Communism. Both the South Korean army and their American advisers
were caught off guard, and unequipped to deal with the massive threat. Tanks
were especially in short supply, and the American advisory force had no heavy
weapons.[1]
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| American M-24 in Korea US Army |
Equipped with over two hundred
surplus Soviet T-34-85 medium tanks, the North Korean army was able to
overwhelm South Korea’s paltry defenses. The first American tanks and crews to
meet the Communist armored threat were M24 light tanks of the 24th
Infantry Division. Hideously over-matched, the M24s were largely replaced with
M4A3 and M26 medium tanks, which although holdovers from WW2, had better main
guns than the M24, ones that could penetrate the angled armor on the T-34.
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| Knocked out North Korean T-34/85 National Archives |
The tanks battles that did take
place between American and North Korean armor were largely small-scale affairs.
On the September 21, 1950, M26’s of the 73rd Tank Battalion engaged
a pair of T-34’s near Suwon, Korea. Both sides lost one tank in the night-time
encounter, with the Americans finding and destroying two more T-34’s later that
night.[2] As the
US Eighth Army and the Republic of Korean Army counterattacked along a broad
front, using tanks to support the infantry’s advance against the Communist
forces. Again, tank battles were rare, but American tanks tended to gain the
upper hand in the typically small engagements. By the end of September 1950,
American and U.N. forces counted almost 240 enemy tanks destroyed or abandoned,
most of the strength they had possessed at the beginning of the war.[3]
As October progressed, U.N. forces
continued to engage T-34s as they surged North to the Yalu River. However, the
surprise entry of the Communist Chinese would hurl the U.N. forces back. Even
though the Chinese did not possess heavy weapons of their own, through sheer
numbers of infantry managed to force the abandonment of many vehicles as they
forced coalition troops back down the peninsula. By 1951, the war had
stagnated, with tanks being used to support infantry in the battles for places
like “Heartbreak Ridge” and the “Iron Triangle.”[4] The war
remained largely static until the armistice of 1953.
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| US Army M46's US Army |
In the immediate aftermath of the
Korean War, the US Army was quick to shift its doctrine and implement the
lessons learned in the conflict. Research and development of newer vehicles and
equipment was stressed. A study by John Hopkins University argued American
success in the small, tank versus tank skirmishes was tied to better training
and familiarity with their equipment. This study further advocated increased
gunnery training to better increase the American odds of successfully engaging
and destroying their opponents.[5]
Recognizing the threat posed by masses of Soviet armor poised in Europe, the US
Army was quick to reactivate dedicated armored divisions. However, the largest
tanks battles of the Cold War era would be fought not by NATO and the Eastern
bloc, but by the Israelis and the Arabs in the Sinai desert.
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