The 4th Infantry Division was a military formation of the
Korean People's Army during the 20th Century.
History
Activated in late 1948, the 4th Infantry Division in the summer of 1950 consisted of the
5th
Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five.
Fifth or The Fifth may refer to:
* Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth"
* Fifth column, a political term
* Fifth disease, a contagious rash tha ...
,
16th
16 (sixteen) is the natural number following 15 and preceding 17. 16 is a composite number, and a square number, being 42 = 4 × 4. It is the smallest number with exactly five divisors, its proper divisors being , , and .
In English speech, ...
, and
18th
18 (eighteen) is the natural number following 17 and preceding 19.
In mathematics
* Eighteen is a composite number, its divisors being 1, 2, 3, 6 and 9. Three of these divisors (3, 6 and 9) add up to 18, hence 18 is a semiperfect number. ...
Infantry regiments, plus an artillery regiment and antitank, self-propelled gun, engineer, signal, medical, and training battalions. Each infantry regiment had three battalions, while the artillery regiment had a battalion of 122-mm howitzers and two battalions of 76-mm guns. The division's basic triangular organization strongly resembled that of an American infantry division, except for its smaller artillery contingent and its much reduced logistical apparatus. The division's authorized strength was 10,381 officers and men, with most of its fighting power concentrated in the 2,590-man infantry regiments.
Commanded by Maj. Gen. Lee Kwon Mu, a veteran of the Chinese Communist Forces and former NKPA chief of staff, and composed largely of ethnic Koreans who had fought in the
Chinese Civil War, the division had played a major role in the capture of the South Korean capital,
Seoul. Its success in that campaign had won it the title of "Seoul Division." Continuing southward, the 4th Division had defeated Task Force Smith in early July, and it had been pushing the
US 24th Division backward ever since. In exchange for the ground gained, however, the 4th Division had suffered severely. By the time it reached the
Naktong River
The Nakdonggang River or Nakdonggang () is the longest river in South Korea, and passes through major cities such as Daegu and Busan. It takes its name from its role as the eastern border of the Gaya confederacy during Korea's Three Kingdoms E ...
, its strength was estimated by the Eighth Army Intelligence Section to be no more than 8,000 men, and its artillery component had been reduced to only twelve guns. Nevertheless, the 4th Division still held the initiative and began immediate preparations to launch an assault across the river. At 0001 on August 6, 1950, elements of the
16th Infantry Regiment began crossing the Naktong in the vicinity of the Naktong Bulge on rafts constructed earlier in the day. Opposing the 4th Division was the
24th Infantry Division's
21st
21 (twenty-one) is the natural number following 20 and preceding 22.
The current century is the 21st century AD, under the Gregorian calendar.
In mathematics
21 is:
* a composite number, its proper divisors being 1, 3 and 7, and a defici ...
and
34th Regiments, along with the
ROK 17th Infantry Regiment.
The division fought in the
Battle of Pusan Perimeter.
References
{{reflist
InfDiv0004
InfDiv0004NK
Military units and formations established in 1948