Tiger's Tail: The Battle of Uijongbu

For decades American and South Korean authorities feared North Korean infiltration and sabotage efforts. Indeed when the war began dozens of North Korean operatives were in the the country. These committed terrorist attacks against civilian targets, and in a few cases hacked into South Korean government computer systems. That said, most of the saboteur units that came south once the war began were easily spotted and eliminated by South Korean police. Owing to three generations of communist rule, the saboteurs stood out from the South Korean population. They were simply to thin and otherwise unhealthy looking. Overall North Korean sabotage efforts were far less effective than anticipated by both sides.

The North Koreans launched a sustained assault on South Korean forces making a stand in and around Uijongbu. One division attacked from the north against the South Korean Tiger Division. Another came in from the west. This took them across the front of the South Korean 17th Division occupying high ground southwest of Uijongbu. and north of Seoul.  The 17th delivered devastating fire into the North Korean division, compelling it to withdraw before it could even make contact with the Tiger Division in Uijongbu.

Realizing that the South Korean 17th Division held the key to Uijongbu that evening the North Koreans committed the last of their reserves and launched a two division attack on the high ground. The battle lasted into the night. The South Korean 17th Division fought on throughout, but North Korean mass eventually overwhelmed them. What was left of the South Korean 17th Division fell back to the southwest. Despite being outflanked the South Korean Tiger Division fought on in Uijongbu, its commander refusing to withdraw. It took the North Koreans the majority of the 5th day of the war to clear Uijongbu, an action which bought crucial time for South Korean and American forces assembling to the south.

North Korean forces very publicly occupied the high ground north of Seoul postings dozens of North Korean flags and flooding the air waves with threats to bombard the capitol. On the morning of the 6th day the South Korean president, in conjunction with the Trump Administration, made the decision to abandon Seoul without a fight...