The Darkest Summer: Pusan and Inchon 1950: The Battles That Saved South Korea--And the Marines--From Extinction

By Bill Sloan

Book Overview

One of the darkest periods in American military history began on June 25, 1950, when hordes of North Korean troops stormed across the 38th Parallel into South Korea. The Communists' blitzkrieg-style invasion came less than five years after the end of World War II, when the United States had owned the world's mightiest war machine, but it caught a carved-down, ill-equipped U.S. Army woefully unready.The Darkest Summeris the dramatic story of the first three months of the Korean War, captured through author interviews with dozens of surviving U.S. veterans, as it has never been told before. Seldom have American forces faced so grave a challenge or has faith in their ability to halt the enemy sunk lower.During July, the tank-led invaders advanced almost at will, slapping outmanned, outgunned American and South Korean troops with defeat after defeat. By August, the defenders were bottled up in a shallow perimeter around the port of Pusan at the southeastern tip of Korea and perilously close to being driven into the sea.Then a miraculous reversal began taking shape. A small "Fire Brigade" of Marines reached Pusan to reinforce the U.S. Eighth Army and try to stabilize the front. At the time, the axes of Washington budget cutters were threatening the Marine Corps -- whose ranks were painfully thin -- with extinction. But in brutal, weeks-long combat, portrayed here inBand of Brothersfashion through the eyes and emotions of men who endured this darkest summer, the Marines managed to stop the enemy for the first time.General Douglas MacArthur's brilliantly executed amphibious strike far behind enemy lines at the port of Inchon -- also led by the Marines -- along with the Eighth Army's breakout from Pusan, broke the back of the North Korean Army, saved South Korea from Communist takeover, and rescued the Marines from extinction. The men who fought there disproved forever the idea that hellish fighting in mud, blood, and chaos was obsolete in the nuclear age.The Darkest Summerreveals how one ninety-day period changed the course of modern history. But unfortunately, the Korean "police action" didn't end there. MacArthur's reckless advance to the Yalu River and China's entry into the war resulted in U.S. forces meeting disaster that winter in the icy wastes of North Korea, forfeiting many of their earlier gains and bogging down in a long, unnecessary stalemate.The Darkest Summeropens a unique and revealing window on this all-but-forgotten war. A narrative studded with gripping eyewitness accounts, it focuses on the three fateful months when the Korean War's most decisive battles were fought and the Americans who fought them went -- however briefly -- from the depths of despair to the exultation of total conquest.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1416571744
• ISBN13: 9781416571742
• Release Date: November 2009
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 385 Pages
• Weight: 1.02 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.1" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Fast Paced Accurate Read

Bill Sloan again does an excellent job with his treatment of the first few months of the Korean War. There are many fine books out there that give the Army's view of the first disasterous months of the Forgotten War. Sloan justly gives them credit in his extensive notes(Blair's "The Forgotten War"; Fehrenbach's "This Kind of War"). Kudos to Mr Sloan for his written work on the First Marine Brigade's efforts to stem the tide and greatly backstop Walker's Eighth US Army. The action sequences and insertions of valorous deeds by young Marines do the Corps proud. This book is written in the same gritty factual fast paced style as Sloan's efforts describing the Okinawan campaign in "The Ultimate Battle." As an Army veteran it always pains me greatly to read about the initial painful efforts of the US Army's attempts to halt the initial onrush of NKPA forces into South Korea. Sloan provides a succinct overview of those weak initial efforts and the causes that led to the post-war draft Army's weakened condition. The Marines as a fighting force have never been equaled and were much needed during this trying time. Sloan's book is an excellent example of the perils of unpreparedness by our nation for armed conflict, but also a shining example of the fighting spirit of volunteer forces who are aptly supplied and ably led.

NICELY DONE ACCOUNT. VERY READABLE.

Before I get into the review proper of this book I have to confess that I am a fan of Bill Sloan and his writing. While his work may not be as scholarly as some would like, i.e. it is written in a rather informal mode, he never-the-less is quite readable and for the most part, quite accurate. Now that being said, it should also be realized that with the study of the Korean War, as with every war ever written about, there are many, many different opinions and versions of what happened as in when, where, who, why and of course for the most part, war is written about through the advantage of hindsight. This is okay though. We need as many opinions as available. All of us have the capability of thinking and reasoning for ourselves and if a fact here and there in any such work as this is contested, then so much the better. This gives us all incentive to do a bit more reading and research on our own part if we are interested in such matters. It should also be noted, that with most studies of war, the Korean War being no exception, there is plenty of room for finger pointing after the fact for everyone interested in such. We all have our little prejudices and I doubt seriously if any historian or writer of history is without his or hers; at least I have never read one and I have been such works for a lot of years now. As an example, I am in no stretch of the imagination an admirer of MacArthur's actions during this war, so I was delighted when Sloan indulged in a bit of MacArthur bashing. On the other hand, I have always been an admirer of Truman, so I was in a state of chagrin when Sloan turned his been on President Harry. Honestly though, I could not fault Sloan's logic and facts for the most part. The Darkest Summer is an account of the beginning to the Korean War, or conflict, if you will which began with the invasion of South Korean by North Korean Forces on June 25, 1950. The book follows and in primarily concerned with the Pusan Defense Perimeter as established by U.S. and ROK Forces and then the invasion of Inchon and the eventual defeat of the North Korean Army. We of course know that this was only the start of what could arguably be called the most brutal war in U.S. History, and that upon the event of U.S. Forces nearing the Yalu River and the boarders of Manchuria, the Chinese Army intervened. This work does not cover the disasters which followed. One of the reasons I liked this work, as with other accounts by Sloan of other battles and other wars, is that he is quite meticulous in including the personal story of literally hundreds of men who were the unfortunate participants. Other works by other authors cover grand strategy and minutely examine the politics ins and outs of the given situation, but Sloan is a master of telling the story of the men who were actually doing the shooting and dying. As with some of his other works, the author of course probably pays closer attention to the Marines than the other services, but

Another excellent military book by Bill Sloan

This is my first Korean War book. I've read all of Bill Sloan's WWII books and really enjoyed them. They stand alone from a lot of military history books because of the way Mr. Sloan slices out a story from or about a group of men or unit or action and tells a story. It's not dry history, but storytelling, and by that I do not mean made-up or embellished either. It's telling a story but not so deep you can't enjoy the read. ( Some military history books require great effort ). I'm almost done reading this book and will edit ( update ) when finished, but can already remark on how satisfying this book is to read. Since this is my first Korean War book, I am only judging this book and how it satisfies my desire to learn about the premise of the book and so far, Sloan sets it up nicely and then is clearly and richly, filling in on the premise. I'm thoroughly enjoying it. It's quite clear to me that this was an awful time to be in the armed services and the veterans of this war deserve great honor and our support. The Korean War is still forgotten by too many. This book, with others, is a great way to learn more.. UPDATE: 4/29/10: Finished book a few weeks ago. It is excellent throughout and I recommend it. Well done and satisfying.

USMC -KOREAN WAR

Fantastic read on the beginning of the Korean War!!! The only good thing to come out of the war was that it saved the Marine Corps from being put "out to sea" by President truman and the powers that be in D.C.. It also shows that General Douglas MacAuthur had lost his mind in handling the battlefield decisions during this war. Countless lives would not have been lost if he wasn't so greedy and full of himself. This will be one of those books that you won't be able to put away, once you begin to read it....

The Forgotten War, but a memorable book

Bill Sloan's work here is extraordinary, in that its a very truthful telling of how the Marines stopped the North Korean onslaught at the commencement of the Korean War. I've read alot of books on the war, and like a lot of them, this one is justifiably unkind to the Army. However, this brings new insights, as the Marines were on the brink of extinction prior to the war, something alot of folks do not know about. Also, unlike alot of the books on the Korean War, this one utilizes alot of first person interviews, from a quickly dying breed of veterens of the conflict, including my late father. This is an honest history, warts and all, of what really went on. All marines, current and ex, should be proud of the accomplishments which described throughout the book. A very fine book.