The Tank Battle at Obong-Ni Ridge, Korea 1950

We take a look at this Korean War clash between American and Communist armour. The scenario can be used with our own in-house tank rules (offered as a supplement to our WWII rules FUBAR, available in our Downloads Section) or as an add-on for your own favourite rules system.

Introduction

Having amassed a collection of the excellent 28mm die-cast corgi armoured vehicles I had been drawn to the idea of re-fighting some of the Korean War armour clashes as a way of using the models.

The inspiration for this scenario came from a visit to the local bargain book shop where I picked up a copy of George Forty’s recent book ‘Tank Action’ which is a great source of inspiration for tank battles from WW1 through to the first Gulf war. My vision had been to use my collection of 28mm armour, but the scenario would work equally well with smaller scale models.

Historical Background

On Sunday, June 25th 1950 a long and intensive barrage of artillery and mortar fire heralded an attack by around 90,000 Russian armed North Korean People’s Army (NKPA) troops.

Organised into seven assault infantry divisions they smashed into the unsuspecting units of the army of the Republic of Korea (ROK). The attack was supported by over 150 T34/85 tanks, and closely supported by nearly 1,700 122mm howitzers and SU76 self-propelled guns.

Air cover came from over 200 Russian-supplied YAK ground-attack aircraft, which effectively gave the NKPA total domination of the skies. At their disposal the ROK had eight divisions of troops, but only four deployed along the 38th parallel which marked the border between the two sides. To this limited amount of manpower, at least in terms of measuring their limitation against the enemy approaching them, the ROK army had no air force of any consequence, no heavy mortars, no medium artillery, no recoilless rifles and no armour!

Lightning Strike

Spearheading the NKPA assault was the T34 tank. Some have argued that this was one of the best tanks developed during WWII. Its simple design and lethal gun made it a deadly enemy.

The T34/85 weighed in at 31.5 tons and had an armour thickness that ranged from 18mm to 75mm; it could generate a top speed of over 30 mph and had stunning cross country performance. It was a formidable opponent for any army to contend with, and for the ROK forces it proved too much.

Even desperate deeds of heroism, where ROK troops died under the treads of T34s, trying desperately to stop them with satchel charges and hand grenades, were not enough. Excellent infantry tactics supported the ‘Blitzkrieg’ assault by the NKPA. Troops advanced in an inverted Y formation that was used to sweep around ROK opposition with the arms, encircling them, and eventually crushing the opposition when it was surrounded.

In a mere two days Seoul, the South’s capital, was abandoned to the 1st, 3rd, 4th and 5th NKPA divisions, with the NKPA 6th division moving swiftly down the rugged east side of the Taebaek mountains. In the first week of combat over 34,000 ROK soldiers - a third of the army – had been killed, captured, or were missing.

Driving South

The speed of the assault left not only the ROK in turmoil but also the US forces in Korea. The combined forces of the defenders were pushed steadily south with nothing seemingly capable of stopping the onslaught.

By August 4th the NKPA began a serious assault on the Pusan Perimeter and this lasted for six weeks. Pusan was a vital port in the area and the US forces and UN representatives knew it must be held at all costs. The T34/85s of the NKPA appeared unstoppable. The ROK Army had no armour to speak of and the US forces could only muster some M24 Chaffee light tanks, these were no match for the mighty T34/85.

The South fights back

After the initial speed of their assault and the staggering gains in territory at the start of the campaign the NKPA forces were to eventually encounter a significantly more powerful enemy.

By the time the NKPA forces crossed the Naktong to begin a violent assault along the entire Pusan Perimeter the army had around 98,000 troops at its disposal. This compared to around 180,000 US and ROK troops available to the defenders in the Pusan pocket.

The US forces had reinforced their armour and now had had something like 600 main battle tanks available to them against roughly 100 T34/85s that had survived the war so far. It now seemed like the balance of the war would swing the way of the US and ROK forces. But the intensity of combat was to only increase, and by the time of the ‘Second Battle of the Naktong’ heavy casualties were inflicted on both sides.

As an example of the type of engagement being fought around August 24th near Masan around 7,500 NKPA troops with 25 tanks attacked 20,000 US troops with 100 tanks, and almost broke through. The Truman administration had removed many battle hardened professional soldiers and replaced them with garrison-style troops and this had an impact on the fighting. The NKPA were the opposite, with many of their soldiers being veterans of the Chinese conflict and resolute in their mission.

The Scenario – Obong-Ni Ridge

In order to get a feel for the combat that took place in the Pusan Perimeter we have looked at a single action that took place on August 17th, 1950 around the Obong-Ni Ridge. The combat is intended to reflect the arrival of the US main battle tanks, the M26 Pershing and the M4 Sherman. In creating the scenario I’ve taken some liberties with the historical engagement. I’ve done this in an attempt to balance the game and to give the NKPA player an improved chance of winning.

In reality the events on August 17th led to the demise of several T34/85s with little or no loss to the US forces in the area. The scenario is intended as a pure tank action although US troops were engaged on the Southern edge of the table and can be represented if you wish.

The Americans have identified that an NKPA armoured assault is being planned down the Main Supply Road (MSR) and have set up an ambush position. The NKPA player has a simple task, punch through, leaving the board by the eastern table edge and destroying as much US armour as possible. Their aim is to link up with forces to the South East and form an attack on and around the Observation Hill.

Terrain

As you can see from the map we recommend a 6’ by 6’ terrain board which has several key elements modelled on it: the Main supply Road (MSR), four key hills (Hill 125, Hill 102, Hill 109 and the Observation Hill) and Finger Ridge.

The road is a relatively straight one and is, as is usual for the terrain in the Pusan Perimeter, banked and sandy. This can cause some problems for the vehicles when traversing it. Use pockets of vegetation and scrub areas along with large to allow the armour to go hull down or indeed hide completely from view. This can prove a little tricky in terms of accurate terrain, but we used the excellent trees from ‘The Last Valley‘ to provide masses of cover for the armour.

As to the area around 'Tugok' you have a couple of options: firstly, you could ignore it and simply not have any buildings. Secondly, you could scatter a few 'hooches' of you have them. If playing in 20mm then you will find that somebody like Britannia Miniatures sells a couple of 'hooches', or in 28mm Chiltern Miniatures offers a choice of stunning hooches. Although both options are designed for Vietnam they work very well in Korea!

US Player’s Order of Battle and Objectives

You have at your disposal the following:

• 2 x Companies of Armour

• 1 x Recoilless Gun Platoon

• 1 x Rocket Assault Section

Each company of US armour consists of three tanks. Strictly speaking the game should use the M26 Pershing, but as my collection contains several of the Corgi M4A3s we elected to use these instead.

The Recoilless Gun Platoon is equipped with 2 M20 75mm Recoilless Rifles. The 75mm ‘reckless’ gave US infantry some much sought after firepower when it came to close proximity combat with armour. It had the potential to take out a T34 at 400 yards, it could destroy pillbox or cave positions, and it could also act as enfilading artillery support. You will note that we have a ‘rocket section’ indicated on the map. By the time of the Korean War the Bazooka was referred to as a rocket.

In this case the rocket section is armed with M9A1 2.36in Rocket Launchers, which could fire white phosphorous rounds. It has to be said that the 2.36 in bazooka was not very effective against the rugged T34/85. It was barely capable of penetrating the armour of the tank unless firing from a flanking ambush, or catching the T-34 rounding a corner, an infantryman faced with the 3.5 inch sloping front armour stood little or no chance. If you want you can modify the scenario by reducing the number of US tanks in play and replacing them with a couple of tank killer teams armed with the M20 Super-Bazooka.

This 3.5in rocket launcher was a two-piece, smooth bore weapon that was fired electrically. A bipod and rear support permitted firing from a prone position. The M20 fires high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) rockets that are capable of penetrating heavy armour at angles of impact up to 30 degrees and up to 11 inches in depth.

The objective for the US player is simple: destroy the NKPA armour and prevent it leaving the gaming table's eastern edge.

NKPA Player’s Order of Battle and Objectives

You have at your disposal the following:

• 2 x Companies of Armour

You arrive on the Westerly edge of the table heading down the MSR and each of your two companies of tanks has four T34/85 tanks within it. The tanks will advance down the road, but can break off at any given point once they come under enemy fire. If required infantry support could be provided as it was common for NKPA to provide support to their tank units in the form of the 45mm Russian anti-tank guns.

The use of these guns is optional, and we would recommend having no more than two AT guns towed by Gaz trucks. Some infantry sections used as tank riders would also allow the NKPA to seek out and destroy any US infantry, the rocket section or the recoilless guns on Finger Ridge being an example.

The objective of the NKPA forces is to punch through the American lines, taking as little punishment as possible and avoiding losses.

The tanks must exit the table’s eastern edge.