The Attack on Inchon, September 1950

By Mid Joe Reilly RN

Message from the Editor

The author examines the difficulty of planning Operation CHROMITE, General MacArthur’s daring amphibious assault on Inchon during the Korean War. MacArthur’s ability to situate the landing in the strategic context of the Cold War, and his mastery of operational warfare, ensured that the local tactical difficulties were overcome. Winner of the Professor Eric Grove Memorial Prize at BRNC Dartmouth. A 15 minute read.

“[On] whether such an expedition is advisable: we should not decide matters of such major importance on such superficial consideration and allow foreigners to sway us into entering a war which is none of our concern.”1Thucydides, The Peloponnesian War (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009), p. 313. On the 23rd of August 1950, on the sixth floor of the Dai-Ichi building, General Douglas MacArthur received a scathing verdict from his peers regarding his plan for Operation CHROMITE.2Admiral Forrest Sherman (Chief of Naval Operations) and General Joe Collins (Army Chief of Staff), advocated for a…

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