ABSTRACT
The peninsular geography of Korea meant that any belligerent with control of the sea could conduct amphibious operations. The Chinese had a substantial amphibious capability, which they had demonstrated in the capture of Hainan in 1949 (Probst 1982), but they could not apply this capability in Korea in the face of United Nations Command (UNC) sea and air power. The North Koreans carried out small-scale landings in the early days of the war and in 1952 attempted to capture offshore islands. But only the U.S.-led UNC—specifically, the United States, the British Commonwealth, and the Republic of Korea (ROK)—had the capacity to conduct a full range of amphibious operations: assaults, raids, deceptions, withdrawals, and the landing and sustaining of forces over unimproved beaches (over-the-shore operations).
