The Pusan Perimeter: Korea, 1950

Korean War #1

by Edwin P. Hoyt

"The Pusan Perimeter" recreates the first three nightmare months of the Korean War. After a desperate series of fighting retreats, the Americans and South Koreans finally held. Fifty miles short of the sea and the port of Pusan, a perimeter was formed through which the North Koreans did not break. The Korean War had begun.

Genres: History, Military History, Nonfiction, Military Fiction

310 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Edwin P. Hoyt was a prolific American writer who specialized in military history. He was born in Portland, Oregon to the publisher Edwin Palmer Hoyt (1897–1979) and his wife, the former Cecile DeVore (1901–1970). A younger brother, Charles Richard, was born in 1928. Hoyt attended the University of Oregon from 1940 to 1943.

In 1943, Hoyt's father, then the editor and publisher of The Oregonian, was appointed by President Franklin Roosevelt as the director of the Domestic Branch, Office of War Information. The younger Hoyt served with the Office of War Information during World War II, from 1943 to 1945. In 1945 and 1946, he served as a foreign correspondent for The Denver Post (of which his father became editor and publisher in 1946) and the United Press, reporting from locations in China, Thailand, Burma, India, the Middle East, Europe, North Africa, and Korea.

Edwin Hoyt subsequently worked as an ABC broadcaster, covering the 1948 revolution in Czechoslovakia and the Arab-Israeli conflict. From 1949 to 1951, he was the editor of the editorial page at The Denver Post. He was the editor and publisher of the Colorado Springs Free Press from 1951 to 1955, and an associate editor of Collier's Weekly in New York from 1955 to 1956. In 1957 he was a television producer and writer-director at CBS, and in 1958 he was an assistant publisher of American Heritage magazine in New York.

Starting in 1958, Hoyt became a writer full-time, and for a few years (1976 to 1980) served as a part-time lecturer at the University of Hawaii. In the 40 years since his first publication in 1960, he produced nearly 200 published works.

While Hoyt wrote about 20 novels (many published under pseudonyms Christopher Martin and Cabot L. Forbes) the vast majority of his works are biographies and other forms of non-fiction, with a heavy emphasis on World War II military history.

Hoyt died in Tokyo, Japan on July 29, 2005, after a prolonged illness. He was survived by his wife Hiroko, of Tokyo, and three children, Diana, Helga, and Christopher, all residing in the U.S.

Reviews

[Checkman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Edwin Hoyt was a prolific writer of military history during his lifetime. He wrote dozens of books and I've read a few of them. In my opinion he was the American counterpart to Charles Whiting. Whiting was a prolific British military historian. Both men had a formidable work ethic and they relied heavily on other folks research which they then synthesized into very readable books. Hoyt would inject his own opinions into his books whereas Whiting opted for the distance of the professional historian.

In the mid-1980's Hoyt wrote a series of books about the Korean War in connection with the 30th anniversary. At that time the Vietnam War veterans were beginning to experience a reconsideration and Korean War vets were feeling left out and overlooked. The war has been called "The Forgotten War" for good reason. Starting just five years after WWII it ended in a draw and for many Americans that was almost as bad as outright defeat. As a result Americans forgot about it (more or less). Even M.A.S.H. just used the Korean War as a substitute for Vietnam. There wasn't all that much information in print about the war. At least not very much that was easily accessible to the general public. So Hoyt and a few other military historians set out to rectify that sad state of affairs.

Right up front I have to warn you that this is a true nuts and bolts account of the first four months of the Korean War. Much of it consists of blow by blow accounts of small unit actions as well as infantry battalions and regiments. At times the lay reader (i.e. non-military) might feel a bit lost as Hoyt goes on for page after page about battalion A being flanked by unit C and General D having a hasty meeting with General K while regiment 1 was having to fall back from the assault of the fourth North Korean Division. However that's what military history consists of if you want to know what happened on the battlefield. I give Hoyt high-marks for being able to impart some drama to such dry accounts. Another thing that helps is he breaks up the unit maneuvers with chapters explaining how the situation in Korea came about and also reviewing what was going on within the political arena while the troops were fighting. I like that. Context and perspective is a good thing.

There are a couple minor quibbles. They aren't new. They concern maps and photos. Fairly standard among readers of military history accounts. I read the paperback edition and the publisher reproduced the maps from the hardback edition. However they made them smaller! So while it appears that the maps are very detailed I can't see them! Well not without a magnifying glass. So lots of maps, but too damn small. *sigh*

In regards to photos they needed more. But they always do don't they......or almost always.

In the end a fair account of the vicious fighting at the beginning of the Korean War. Nothing earth shaking, but it does move along and is full of information. Might be a little dry if tactical accounts aren't your thing.

[Jim Gallen · Rating 3 out of 5]

“The Pusan Perimeter” is a chronicle of the desperate defense of the Korean Peninsula from the North Korean attack of June 1950 through the days of the stable defensive line behind which the Inchon landings, that were to reverse the tide of the Korean War, we being prepped. The narrative is very much in journalistic style with detailed accounts of units and personnel involved, in keeping with the author Edwin Hoyt’s background. The text is supplemented to advantage by and black and white photos. The bibliography provides helpful, though now dated, guides for further reading.

The narrative describes America’s shortcomings in the early days of the war. South Korean President Syngman Rhee’s predictions of disaster fell on deaf ears in Washington. Having dismantled its military after World War II, the United States was demonstrated to have been unprepared for war. Few troops and naval vessels were available. Obsolete bazookas were ineffective against advancing modern Soviet manufactured North Korean tanks. Available maps had been prepared by prior Japanese occupiers employed Japanese, rather than Korean, toponyms The situation gradually changed as fresh American troops slowed the North Koreans drive and a halt to the United Nations’ retreat stabilized the lines. The morning of August 8, a counterattack on the southwestern front seized the initiative for the Americans. By September 15 the Pusan Perimeter was quiet with U. N. Forces holding Taegu and Pusan.

My general preference is for what I call “big history”, the story of the overall movements, the incidents that determine the turn the flow of history. This brief book fits into what I call “little history”. It consists of deeds of individual units and engagements, which are fit into the bigger story. I suggest readers start with other histories of the Korean War and commend “The Pusan Perimeter” to those possessing a general familiarity and seeking to deepen their knowledge and understanding.

[readsbyem · Rating 4 out of 5]

I basically read the whole thing for school so I'm logging it 🤷‍♀️

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

After the invasion of South Korea by the North, the country almost fell. American forces desperately attempt to hold while the Marines quickly piece together a combat division of active duty and reserve Marines to turn the tide.