Edward L. Rowny
While we proceeded to plan the Inchon invasion, we assembled our staffs. I was
somewhat amused to pick up a lieutenant on my personal staff because I was now
a temporary brigadier general. I was also assigned a full colonel as my deputy and
two other full colonels to command engineer brigades. Major General Clarke
Ruffner, then an Army general in Hawaii, was named chief of staff of the X Corps.
Because Ruffner had worked closely with the Marine Corps, it was natural that we
would take charge of planning for the landing. He brought with him Colonel Tom
Fomey, a highly capable Marine Corps officer who was an expert on loading ships
for amphibious operations. He also knew a great deal about the organization and
capabilities of Marine Corps units. This was very useful since I knew little about
the Marine Corps.
Another problem we anticipated was the strong current of the Han River, which,
as I recall, was in excess of eightfeet per second. We doubted that we could make
the river crossing in the little plastic boats the Army used for river crossings. This
turned out to be the case. Accordingly, we planned on using the powerful amtracks
of the marines for the river crossing.
One of the curious and entirely unexpected problems we faced was that the marines
assigned to us had no prior training in river crossings. They knew how to assault
a beach, but they didn't know how to make a river crossing. I had to convince
them that the two types of operations were closely related. Two or three days after
we landed at Inchon, I had to conduct classes at the Kimpo Airfield for the marines
who were scheduled to make the river crossing. In the end, we turned over the
amtracks of the marines and a marine driver for each to the 7th Division. The 7th
Division, which had been trained in river crossing, made the main crossing of the
Han River; the marines made a feint crossing upstream.
Immediately after landing at Inchon, a rift occurred which continued to widen
between General Almond and General Oliver Smith, the commander of the 1st
Marine Division. Following Marine Corps doctrine, Smith believed it necessary
to "tuck up his tail" and get everything in good shape before moving inland from
the beach. Almond didn't give a fig for Marine Corps doctrine. He believed that
when you've got the enemy on the run, you should continue to push him and not
let up. The tension between Almond and Smith was further exacerbated when
Almond jumped the chain of command and dealt directly with Smith's regimental
commanders. The marines had very good regimental commanders who seemed to
enjoy dealing directly with Almond. One was Chesty Puller, a highly decorated
marine who had two Navy Crosses. Another was "Big Foot" Brown, an
soldier. The third, whose name I don't
artilleryman who preferred to be a
recall, was also very good. After being shot in the leg, this officer continued to
command the regiment while on crutches.
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