Before the war began certain parameters were understood by American and South Korean planners. Geography necessitated that the North Korean offensive concentrate in the western part of South Korea on both banks of the Han River, on the Han River plain.
Both sides also understood that the contest at its most basic would be North Korean mass against American time. That is, could North Korean mass win the battle before American reinforcements arrived?
So no one was surprised when two of North Korea's four first echelon armies rolled across the border and onto the Han River plain.
This put a dozen North Korean divisions against the American 2nd Infantry Division and South Korean forces. These were of course hammered by American and South or Korean air assets which attained air superiority the moment the war began.
These were the last known-knowns of the war.
Kim was expected to concentrate his massive arsenal of artillery on Seoul, Instead. these fell upon the 1st Brigade of the 2nd Infantry Division, which was unprepared for the onslaught and pinned. The brigade, under siege within the first six hours of the war, hunkered down and waited for the 2nd and 3rd Brigades (deployed from Ft. Lewis in the lead up to the crisis), to move up.
No one expected what happened next. Advancing north both brigades were subjected to bombardment by nuclear armed artillery units. It is now known that at least have of the nuclear shells failed to detonate. No matter. Both brigade's were shattered and the 1st, isolated and cut off, fearing nuclear bombardment itself, disintegrated.
A path to Seoul was now open...
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