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It wasn't until November 6, that clearing had progressed to the point that an ROK YMS and barges could safely make the passage into port.  As pockets of enemy troops had been bypassed in the rapid advance northward on the east coast of Korea, it now became necessary to clear out these enemy troop pockets.

On November 3, two LSTs loaded with ROK troops made an unopposed landing at Kosong some 60 miles to the south of Wonsan, North Korea. By November 8, this mopping-up operation had been completed and the ROK troops were reembarked to return to Wonsan.  Plans were formulated to move the Eighth Army back to Japan by Christmas. Very soon, however, reality set in. By November 6, General MacArthur reported that "men and material in large forces" were streaming across the Yala bridges and could threaten "the ultimate destruction of the forces" under his command. General MacArthur wanted the Yala River bridges bombed out of existence to prevent this from happening.  As the ROK Corps I continued to advance northward along the east coast, calls were put out to sweep ports further and further to the north.  On November 7, General MacArthur felt that the urgency of his earlier request concerning the Yala River bridges was significantly reduced and he restated his earlier belief that the Chinese would not move to aid the North Koreans on any major scale. The Joint Chiefs authorized air attacks against only the Korean end of the Yala River bridges while at the same time reemphasized the importance of not violating Manchurian territory or air space.

On November 8, the first all-jet air battle in history took place between F-80s and MIG-15s. The F-80s were definitely outclassed in aircraft performance by the MIG-15s but the training and gunnery of the U.S. pilots was superior, giving the U.S. pilots the advantage.

By November 19, the mines protecting Songjin, North Korea on the east coast had been swept clear. This city is some 120 air miles north of Wonsan. Before long, the ROK Corps I on the east coast had advanced to near Chongjin, some 68 air miles north of Songjin.  In a radio broadcast on November 19, Moscow promised a great offensive that would destroy the U.N. armies. CincFE issued orders on November 20, detailing the extent of U.N. operations at the Manchurian border and promised to leave untouched the hydroelectric plants that served both North Korea and Manchuria.

By November 23, total enemy strength was estimated as being between 143,000 and 167,000. However, the presence of Chinese troops in the mountains of central North Korea was reported. The Marine Division on the eastern sector had been moving north toward the Chosin Reservoir near Sudong, North Korea and reported that a brief encounter with Chinese forces had taken place.  However, in early November 1950, Admiral Joy, ComNavFE, had expressed doubts that the war would soon be over. By the middle of November, Admiral Joy came to the opinion that the Chinese had sufficient strength to expel all U.N. forces from all of Korea. Yet somehow on November 25, the U.N. forces seemed confident that the war would soon be over. If not by Thanksgiving at least no later than Christmas.

By November 26, the Chinese Communist forces began their onslaught for real. On November 27, the ROK II Corps became disorganized from the extreme pressure by the Chinese Communist forces.  Admiral Joy considered the possibility that the Soviets might now actively follow in the footsteps of the open Chinese involvement. To diminish the chance of being caught off guard, he reinstituted the submarine patrol of La Pe'rouse Strait and intensified the scheduled air search missions in the Yellow Sea and in the Sea of Japan. He knew that the Seventh Fleet must now more than ever be ready to move at an instant to take up any new challenge.

Many advanced MIG-15 jets were known to be operating from the safety of Manchurian airfields, crossing the Yala River, and providing an air umbrella for the Chinese and North Koreans in their push southward. Once challenged, these planes would quickly retreat to the safety of the anchurian airfields.

By November 28, the Eighth Army was in a full retreat. Soon thirty Chinese divisions would be identified as being in North Korea with a strength of as many as 250,000 men. This huge force quickly combined with an estimated 180,000 North Korean troops and the rout was complete.  As early as November 29, CTF 95 had issued a warning to all its west coast units of the possibility of an air attack from across the Yellow Sea (Port Arthur). On November 30, special antisubmarine patrols and precautions were put in place to increase the security of our base at Sasebo, Japan.  Eighth Army troops and civilians were evacuated from Chinnampo, North Korea on the west coast beginning on December 4, The operation was deemed complete on December 6. On December 5, Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, was abandoned to the rapidly advancing enemy. The future abandonment of Seoul to the advancing enemy was already being considered. The evacuation of Wonsan, North Korea had already taken place on December 7, removing troops and some 7,000 civilians with the exception of one ROK Marine battalion assigned to provide cover for the removal of MAG 12 equipment from Kalma Pando.

As the days passed, the U.N. forces were pressed ever southward by the combined overwhelming onslaught of North Korean and Chinese Communist troops. The Marines at the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea had begun their trek with all their equipment over some 48 miles of mountainous terrain southward in hopes of being evacuated. The evacuation of the Marines and others at Hungnam, North Korea took place from December 10 through December 24, 1950. When the evacuation of Hungnam was complete some 91,000 civilians had been removed as well as 105,000 U.S. and South Korean military personnel, along with 350,000 tons of cargo and 17,500 vehicles. In the west the Eighth Army retreated so rapidly that contact with the Chinese was broken for three weeks.  The evacuation of military forces, equipment, and a large number of civilians from Inchon was completed between December 7 and January 5, 1951. Before the evacuation was over all the Han River bridges were leveled. By January 15, the U.N. forces had retreated to a line across South Korea about 27 miles south of Seoul.  By late January 1951, the crisis for the U.N. forces was over and they started their drive northward. Their immediate objective was to push the Communists back to the 38th parallel. By this time the Chinese forces had broken contact with the U.N. forces.

On February 10, 1951, Inchon was retaken by the ROK Marines from Tochok To (an island to the west of Inchon) and later that night American troops reached the banks of the Han River once again. On February 11, the Chinese launched a heavy counterattack against the ROK lines in the Wonju area in the center of Korea. This attack brought about a local collapse which existed for four days. Then again on February 15, the Chinese again disappeared from the front lines.  By February 28, the U.N. forces had advanced to form a front from just south of Seoul in the west, eastward to Hoengsong in the middle, then northeast to a point 10 miles south of Chumunjin on the east coast. On March 15, 1951, Seoul was retaken without a sustained fight.  A widening gap between the aims of President Truman and his advisors and the policy advanced by General MacArthur concerning the direction of the United States' policy of the war in Korea continued to grow.

 

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