American Military History, Volume 2 by Richard W. Stewart

General MacArthur at the entry of U.S. forces into Korea had per- ceived that the deeper the North Koreans drove, the more vulnerable they would become to a turning movement delivered by an amphibi- ous assault. He began work on plans for such a blow almost at the start of hostilities, favoring Inch'on, the West Sea port halfway up the west coast, as the landing site. Just twenty-five miles east lay Seoul, where Korea's main roads and rail lines converged. A force landing at Inch'on would have to move inland only a short distance to cut North Korean supply routes, and the recapture of the capital city could also have a helpful psychological impact. Combined with a general northward ad- vance by the Eighth Army, a landing at Inch'on could produce decisive results. Enemy troops retiring before the Eighth Army would be cut off by the amphibious force behind them or be forced to make a slow and difficult withdrawal through the mountains farther east.

Though pressed to meet Eighth Army troop requirements, MacAr- thur was able to shape a two-division landing force. He formed the headquarters of the X Corps from members of his own staff, naming his chief of staff, Maj. Gen. Edward M. Almond, as corps commander. He rebuilt the 7th Infantry Division by giving it high priority on replace- ments from the United States and by assigning it 8,600 South Korean recruits, most of them poorly trained. The latter measure was part of a larger program, the Korean Augmentation to the United States Army (KATUSA).