The 9th Infantry Division (,

Hanja Hanja (Hangul: ; Hanja: , ), alternatively known as Hancha, are Chinese characters () used in the writing of Korean. Hanja was used as early as the Gojoseon period, the first ever Korean kingdom. (, ) refers to Sino-Korean vocabulary, ...

: 第九步兵師團), also known as White Horse Division (;

hanja Hanja (Hangul: ; Hanja: , ), alternatively known as Hancha, are Chinese characters () used in the writing of Korean. Hanja was used as early as the Gojoseon period, the first ever Korean kingdom. (, ) refers to Sino-Korean vocabulary, ...

:白馬師團) after the victory of Battle of White Horse, is an infantry division of the

Republic of Korea Army The Republic of Korea Army (ROKA; ko, 대한민국 육군; Hanja: 大韓民國陸軍; RR: ''Daehanminguk Yuk-gun''), also known as the ROK Army or South Korean Army, is the army of South Korea, responsible for ground-based warfare. It is the l ...

. The unit is composed of the

28th 28 (twenty-eight) is the natural number following 27 and preceding 29. In mathematics It is a composite number, its proper divisors being 1, 2, 4, 7, and 14. Twenty-eight is the second perfect number - it is the sum of its proper diviso ...

, 29th and 30th Regiments.

History

Korean War

The 9th Division was hastily created in late 1950 during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

and operated in the mountainous terrain of

Seorak Seorak Park (; born December 26, 1981), also known by her stage name SeoRock, is a South Korean singer and former VJ for MTV Korea. She currently lives in Manhattan, New York and studies law. Seorak is one of the first Korean singers to success ...

and Odae in the northeast, not far from the 38th parallel. The North Korean II Corps cut it off in late 1950 and the Division suffered heavy casualties. During October 1952, all three 9th Division regiments, the 28th, 29th and 30th (12,000 men) held Hill 395, northwest of

Cheorwon Cheorwon County (''Cheorwon-gun'' ), also spelled Chorwon, is a county in Gangwon Province, South Korea. It is located right next to the border with North Korea. History *Goguryeo - First named ''Moeuldongbi''. *Silla Dynasty - name changed to ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

, known as White Horse Mountain. The Division prepared for a Chinese assault. A captured North Korean officer who knew of the impending attack and did not want to be in the fight betrayed his comrades and told the ROKs about it. Many support units helped the 9th Division, but at the end of the day, it was the 9th Division pitted squarely against the Chinese 38th Army. The 9th Division was renamed after the battle and is known as the White Horse Division. Three 9th Division men received the US

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is a military decoration awarded to ...

(DSC) for their service in the Battle of White Horse Mountain, near Chatkol. The DSC is the second highest military decoration of the United States Army, awarded for extreme gallantry and risk of life in combat with an armed enemy force. The ROK recipients were

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

Kim Chon O, 9th Division;

2nd Lt. Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

Chung Nak Koo, 11th Co., 28th Regiment; and Sergeant Kim Man Su, 9th Co., 29th Regiment.

Vietnam War

The 9th Division arrived in Vietnam between 5 September and 8 October 1966 and was positioned in the Ninh Hòa District at the junction of Route 1 and Route 21. The 28th Regiment was stationed in the

Tuy Hòa Tuy Hòa () is the capital city of Phú Yên Province in south-central Vietnam. The city has a total area of and a population of 202,030 (in 2012). The city is located approximately midway between Nha Trang and Qui Nhơn. The city is formulate ...

area, the 29th Regiment at the division headquarters at

Ninh Hòa Base Ninh Hòa Base is a former Republic of Korea Army base north of Nha Trang in Khánh Hòa Province, Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, ...

and the 30th Regiment on the mainland side to protect

Cam Ranh Bay Cam Ranh Bay ( vi, Vịnh Cam Ranh) is a deep-water bay in Vietnam in Khánh Hòa Province. It is located at an inlet of the South China Sea situated on the southeastern coast of Vietnam, between Phan Rang and Nha Trang, approximately 290 kil ...

. With these three areas under control, the 9th Division could control Route 1 and the population along that main road all the way from Tuy Hoa down to

Phan Rang Phan may refer to: * Phan (surname), a Vietnamese family name * Phan District, Chiang Rai Province, Thailand * Phan River, Bình Thuận Province, Vietnam * Phan (tray) Phan ( th, พาน, ) is an artistically decorated tray with pedestal. It ...

, from Tuy Hòa north to

Qui Nhơn Quy Nhon ( vi, Quy Nhơn ) is a coastal city in Bình Định province in central Vietnam. It is composed of 16 wards and five communes with a total of . Quy Nhon is the capital of Bình Định province. As of 2019 its population was 457,400. H ...

, and as far north of that city as the foothills of the mountains in southern

Bình Định Province B, or b, is the second letter of the Latin-script alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is '' bee'' (pronounced ), plural ''bees''. It r ...

. Significant operations and actions involving the Division include: * Operation Ma Doo I (), an operation by the 28th Regiment in Phú Yên Province from 21 January to 7 February 1967 results in ROK claims of 160 People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) killed and 167 weapons captured * Operation Baek Ma I (), a search and destroy operation in

Khánh Hòa Province KH may refer to: Places * Cambodia (Kampuchea, Kambuja, ''Srok Khmer''), a sovereign state with ISO 3166-2 alpha code KH ** .kh, the Internet country code top-level domain for Cambodia * Kutná Hora District, Czech Republic (vehicle plate code) * ...

by the 29th and 30th Regiments from 29 to 31 January 1967 results in ROK claims of 390 PAVN killed and 302 weapons captured for no friendly losses * Operation Oh Jak Kyo (), to link up the Division's tactical area of responsibility with the

Capital Division The Capital Mechanized Infantry Division ( ko, 수도기계화보병사단, hanja: 首都機械化步兵師團), also known as Fierce Tiger Division ( ko, 맹호부대, hanja: 猛虎部隊), is currently one of the six mechanized infantry divisio ...

in Phú Yên Province from 8 March to 18 April 1967 results in ROK claims of 831

Vietcong , , war = the Vietnam War , image = FNL Flag.svg , caption = The flag of the Viet Cong, adopted in 1960, is a variation on the flag of North Vietnam. Sometimes the lower stripe was green. , active ...

(VC) killed and 659 weapons captured for the loss of 23 ROK *

Operation Hong Kil Dong Operation Hong Kil Dong (홍길동작전) was the largest South Korean operation of the Vietnam War. The 48-day-long operation was claimed by South Korea as a major success as they claimed to have thwarted People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN)/Viet ...

(), with the

in Tuy Hòa Province from 9 July to 21 August 1967, ROK claiming 638 PAVN killed for the loss of 26 ROK. 98 crew-served and 359 individual weapons were captured

Commanders during Vietnam War

Maj. Gen. Yi So-dong Maj. Gen.Cho Chun-sung

Order of battle during Vietnam War

9th Infantry Division :::Armored Company :::Direct Control Company :::Reconnaissance Company ::Engineering Battalion ::30th Field Artillery Battalion ::51st Field Artillery Battalion ::52nd Field Artillery Battalion ::966th Field Artillery Battalion :28th Infantry Regiment :29th Infantry Regiment (Commanded by future ROK President

Chun Doo-hwan Chun Doo-hwan (; or ; 18 January 1931 – 23 November 2021) was a South Korean army general and military dictator who ruled as an unelected strongman from 1979 to 1980 before replacing Choi Kyu-hah as president of South Korea from 1980 to 198 ...

, 1970-71.) :30th Infantry Regiment

Unit statistics for the Vietnam War

Coup d'état of December Twelfth

In 1979, the 9th Division was involved in the

Coup d'état of December Twelfth The Coup d'état of December Twelfth (Hangul: 12.12 군사반란; Hanja: 12.12 軍事叛亂) or the "12.12 Military Insurrection" was a military coup d'état which took place on December 12, 1979, in South Korea. Republic of Korea Army Major Gen ...

, when its commander, Major General

Roh Tae-Woo Roh Tae-woo (; ; 4 December 1932 – 26 October 2021) was a South Korean politician and army general who served as the sixth president of South Korea from 1988 to 1993. Roh was a close ally and friend of Chun Doo-hwan, the predecessor leader ...

led the unit to

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...

without orders, away from its normal position near the

DMZ A demilitarized zone (DMZ or DZ) is an area in which treaties or agreements between nations, military powers or contending groups forbid military installations, activities, or personnel. A DZ often lies along an established frontier or bounda ...

, and supported the take-over of the South Korean government by Lt. General

Chun Doo Hwan Chun Doo-hwan (; or ; 18 January 1931 – 23 November 2021) was a South Korean army general and military dictator who ruled as an unelected strongman from 1979 to 1980 before replacing Choi Kyu-hah as president of South Korea from 1980 to 198 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:9th Infantry Division (Republic Of Korea) InfDiv0009 InfDiv0009SK Military units and formations established in 1949 Military units and formations of South Korea in the Vietnam War