-ed note, the following is the intro and a taste sampler of Mark's brilliant new publication, available from him in the UK (see address on page 3 or me in the U.S.). It explores the history, gives some rules, and provides scenarios, along with conversion factors for existing rules and applicable Tables of Organization and Equipment. It is the most complete product a wargamer could ask for and the Korean War is an emerging gamer's era...chm In January 1997, Dave Ryan of Caliver Books asked me to look at writing a wargamers` guide to the Korean War. I guess like most wargamers, I knew little about the conflict, other than it spawned the hit TV comedy show M.A.S.H. in the 1970`s. So I originally expected the project to be a dull 30 page effort, completed in a month. At that time, I never imagined just how absorbing nor how suitable for tabletop wargaming this conflict which heralded the Cold War would turn out to be. Strangely, the Cold War officially ended last year, but the Korean War is a spectre which continues to haunt us. The cease-fire of July 27th 1953, brought an end to the fighting, but we, on paper at least, remain at war with North Korea. As I cast a last glance over my 100 page plus manuscript, here in August 1998, I bid you to keep a watchful eye on the news. The economy of South Korea has collapsed, the rice harvests have failed, and in the Peoples Republic of North Korea they have mobilised their army. Will this be where the next "mother of all battles" will be fought. Pusan to Panmunjom deliberately concentrates upon the first year of the war from June 1950 to July 1951, as this was a period of see-saw advances and retreats by the UN forces led by the US Army, up and down the length of the Korean Peninsular. Stalemate was reached in June 1951 and the conflict settled down to two years of patrol actions by platoon commanders and peace talks punctuated by localised offensive operations. In the main, the unit T.O.E.`s have been gleaned from the excellent C20th unit organisation charts from Micromark with the permission of their author, Mark Bevis. Interpretation into a format to compliment Rapid Fire! lies solely with myself. You may find some discrepancies with place names and dates of events, this is due to confusion not only between references but even within the same source. I have tried to be as consistent as possible but must acknowledge that some may have slipped through the net. My thanks go to Rolf Hedges and Mark Bevis for helping with information and Dave Popplewell for pushing me to complete this project and simply being a good mate throughout. The Korean War The Korean War At 4 a.m., on Sunday, 25th June, 1950, 70,000 troops of the North Korean Peoples Army, trained along Soviet lines and spearheaded by 120 Soviet T-34/85 tanks, crashed across the 38th Parallel. As the inadequately armed Army of the Republic of Korea was sent hurtling rearward toward their capital of Seoul. President Harry S. Truman appealed to the United Nations to take "police action" against the "unwarranted" North Korean attack. Two days later, the United Nations called on the countries of the world to unite in assisting to drive the invader from ROK soil. The UN Security Council named the United States as executive agent to implement this resolution and direct UN military operations in Korea. General Douglas MacArthur, Commander-in-Chief, Far East Command, was authorised to provide whatever assistance was needed to repel the North Korean invasion. U.S. Air and Naval forces were committed immediately in support of ROK forces and on 24th July MacArthur established General Headquarters, United Nations Command, in Tokyo. From this time, the Korean war can be divided into three principal phases: 1) The North Korean invasion, followed by the defence of the 'Pusan Perimeter', MacArthur`s landing at Inchon and invasion of North Korea. 2) Chinese intervention, leading to the withdrawal of UN forces from North Korea and fluid fighting on all fronts. 3) Stalemate, with hill battles during the peace talks. Here's the table of contents, just to show you where else this pub leads... Introduction The Korean War - Principal Military Events Korea: Map The North Korean Peoples Army - NKPA NKPA Rapid Fire Organisations The Chinese Peoples Liberation Army PLA / CCF CCF Rapid Fire Organisations The United Nations Command - overview The Army of the Republic of Korea - ROK ROK Rapid Fire Organisations The U.S. Army US Army Rapid Fire Organisations US Marine Corps US Marine Corps Rapid Fire Organisations British & Commonwealth Forces British & Commonwealth Rapid Fire Organisations MiG Alley Partisan & Covert Warfare At War in Korea: Armoured Warfare, Napalm, Naval Support Terrain: Overview Wargaming the Korean War Sample Scenarios Additional Rules: Generic Rules to Add Flavour Rapid Fire & Point of Attack Suggested Amendments Take The High Ground: Korean War Infantry Assault Rules Select Bibliography For Information on obtaining Pusan to Panmunjom contact mhannam@aol.com Mark Hannam (Scotland) gauntlet2@hotmail.com Craig Martelle (US) Back to The Gauntlet No. 13 Table of Contents Back to The Gauntlet List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 1998 by Craig Martelle Publications This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. 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