The opposition to the invasion by the PKA was furnished by the Army of the Republic of Korea, hence forth referred to as the ROK. Unlike the PKA. which started with a trained Soviet carde, and used the veterans of the Chinese Civil War to flesh out their organization with seasoned troops, the ROK did not have the same background to call on. Though Koreans had served in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II, they were used more often then not as service troops, and limited to the NCO and junior officer ranks when promotion was allowed. Formed originally as a Constabulary, that command was then reorganized along the lines of the United States Army into the ROK Army. In June 1950, a total of 8 Divisions were In service, made up of the following elements: 1st Infantry Division: 11th, 12th, and 13th Infantry Regiments 2nd Infantry Division: 5th. 16th. and 25th Infantry Regiments 3rd Infantry Division: 22rd and 23rd Infantry Regiments 5th Infantry Division: 15th and 20th Infantry Regiments, 1st Seperate Infantry Battalion 6th Infantry Division: 7th. 8th. and 19th Infantry Regiments 7th Infantry Division: 1st. 3rd, and 9th Infantry Regiments 8th Infantry Division: 10th and 21st Infantry Regiments Capital Security Command: 2nd and 18th Infantry Regiments, 1st Cavalry Regiment Ongjiin Peninsula: 17th Infantry Regiment In addition, there existed the Korean Marine Corps. which mustered the following units: 1st Korean Marine Regiment: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, Marine Battalions 5th Separate Marine Battalion. (The Koreans regarded 4 as an unlucky number -- one may note the lack of such units, especially in the South Korean Order of battle.) On paper, each South Korean Infantry Division was to have the following in terms of COMMAND DECISION: ROK INFANTRY DIVISION (Trained, Morale 8) DIVISIONAL HEADQUARTERS 1 Command Stand 1 Jeep 1 Staff Radio Truck 1 Support (Band) Stand 1 Light Truck DIVISIONAL ARTILLERY BATTALION 1 Command Stand 1 FO Stand 2 Jeeps 1 Support Stand 4 Medium Trucks 3 Gun Crew Stands (DS) 3 105mm Infantry Howitzers DIVISIONAL ENGINEER BATTALION 1 Command Stand 1 Jeep 4 Engineer Stands 2 Medium Dump Trucks DIVISIONAL ANTI TANK COMPANY 1 Gun Crew 1 Light Truck 1 57mm AT Gun 3 INFANTRY REGIMENTS, each with; REGIMENTAL HEADQUARTERS 1 Command Stand 1 Jeep 1 Infantry Recon Stand 1 Engineer Stand 1 Support Stands 2 Medium Trucks 3 INFANTRY BATTALIONS, each with BATTALION HEADQUARTERS 1 Command Stand 1 Jeep 1 Support Stand 1 Light Truck 3 INFANTRY COMPANIES, each with; 1 Command Stand 3 Infantry Stands 1 Weapons Stand HEAVY WEAPONS COMPANY 2 MMG Stands 1 81mm Mortar Stand (DS) 1 Bazooka Stand 2 Medium Trucks 1 Light Truck SOUTH KOREAN MARINE CORPS BATTALION (Experienced, Morale 9 ) BATTALION HEADQUARTERS 1 Command Stand 1 Jeep 1 Staff Radio Truck HEADQUARTERS AND SUPPLY COMPANY 1 Command Stand 1 Engineer Stand 1 Support Stand 2 Medium Truck with AAMG 3 INFANTRY COMPANIES each with; 1 Command Stand 3 Infantry Stands 1 Weapons Stand WEAPONS COMPANY 1 Command Stand 2 Bazooka Stands 2 MMG Stands 1 81mm Mortar Stand (DS) NOTES ON THE ABOVE 1. Artillery Battalions existed for the 1st. 2nd. 6th, 7th, and the 8th Divisions only. The original weapons were the 105mm Infantry Howitzer (Mark 3), which was used in WWII by the Cannon Companies of the US Infantry Regiments. After most of these were lost, they were replaced by US 75mm Pack Howitzers. 2. The Infantry Divisions were to have a paper strength of 11,000 men, including 8,800 men in the three Infantry regiments. At the start of the war. no division had more than 9,700 men total, or 7,700 Infantry present. The start of the war only made this problem even worse. To reflect the problem I suggest rolling a die in the same manner as was done for the PKA, except start rolling from June instead of July. Hence units rolling in August would lose stands on rolls of 4, 5, or 6. Do not however subtract one if the stand is infantry. 3. The ROK Infantry Company Weapon Stands are considered as being equipped with 2.3611 Bazookas. and may use them In any Fire Phase in addition to their normal fire. 4. The 1st Cavalry Regiment served as the Honor Guard in Seoul. I have not been able to find an exact TOM for this regiment other than finding it had 27 M-8 Armored Cars, as well as a number of M-3 Halftracks. 5. For vehicle and troop statistics, use the CD data for the United States Army during World War II. Back to Table of Contents -- Command Post Korean War Supplement To Command Post Quarterly List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1992 by Greg Novak. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com