Chromite
The operation name for the Inchon landing. A named operational object of Battle of Inchon (15-19 September 1950 (landing and city; Seoul follows to 28 Sep)).
Darker cells mean a higher score for this topic on that metric.
Scale24
Intensity64
Duration10
Tech shift45
Political impact66
Cultural memory58
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Last reviewed Sources & creditsMedia creditsMethodology
Quick answers
Are the scores a ranking of nations or armies?
No. Scores are browsing aids inside an era-bounded atlas — not live league tables of countries.
How many died?
UN/ROK killed in the Inchon-Seoul operation are usually given in the hundreds. KPA dead and captured were much higher. Civilian deaths in Seoul's recapture are part of a wider 1950 urban ledger -- use ranges, not a fake precision.
Why did it work?
Surprise, naval/air preparation, KPA overstretch in the south, and a plan fitted to tides. It was not magic and not costless.
Why was the Navy sceptical?
Tides, mudflats, channels, and seawalls -- Inchon was a hydrographic nightmare on paper. The sceptics were not cowards; they were sailors who could read a chart.
Did it end the Korean War?
No. It ended the first campaign. The war continued until 27 July 1953, after Chinese intervention.
Who commanded?
MacArthur at UNC; Admiral Doyle afloat; General Almond (X Corps); Marine generals (Smith and others) on the landing force; ROK units under the same operation.
JTF 7, X Corps (1st Marine Division, 7th Infantry, ROK attachments), naval gunfire and carriers -- a US-run UN force with Korean soldiers in the capital fight.
KPA garrison at Inchon was thin; KPA main force was still pointed at Pusan.
Systems
X Corps
Almond's landing force -- Marines, 7th ID, ROK attachments.
Douglas MacArthur's command
Forced Chromite through, then overreached north. Relieved 11 April 1951 for a later argument.
Arthur Dewey Struble's command
The naval joint commander of the landing -- under-photographed.
Wolmi-do
1950-09-15-am: Morning tide; island taken.
Pusan saved from the rear
Logistics of the KPA cut.
Meters
Geographic / demographic scale
24
Peak intensity
64
How long it defined a period
10
Tech or method shift
45
Borders, regimes, law, alliances
66
Film, school, ritual density
58
Hotspots
Argument
Aug 1950: Pusan plus a map of Inchon. Named as historical geography of Battle of Inchon, not as a targeting list.
The tides
15 Sep: Wolmi and the city pulses. Named as historical geography of Battle of Inchon, not as a targeting list.
Seoul
16-28 Sep: Capital recapture. Named as historical geography of Battle of Inchon, not as a targeting list.
Exploitation
Oct 1950: KPA collapse in the south; UN goes north. Named as historical geography of Battle of Inchon, not as a targeting list.
Memory
After: USMC liturgy; Seoul museum; the Yalu shadow. Named as historical geography of Battle of Inchon, not as a targeting list.
Materials
Chronology (15-19 September 1950 (landing and city; Seoul follows to 28 Sep))
Battle of Inchon is bounded as 15-19 September 1950 (landing and city; Seoul follows to 28 Sep). 1950-08 opens the usual narrative (Pusan holds); 1950-10-25+ closes it (China enters).
Theatre: Inchon (Incheon) harbour and the approach to Se.
Place is evidence. Inchon (Incheon) harbour and the approach to Seoul, Korea is where Battle of Inchon happened -- a map for readers, not a guide for repeating it.
Human-cost band
UN/ROK dead in the hundreds at Inchon-Seoul; KPA dead and captured much higher -- published bands vary Keep the figure as a range. Spectacle integers are not a census.
Wolmi-do
The island taken on the morning tide. A material of the Battle of Inchon vocabulary, dated to 15-19 September 1950 (landing and city; Seoul follows to 28 Sep).
1950 organisations, not a current ROK-US landing plan or a tide-assault guide.
Seawalls and LSTs are historical objects.