7th Infantry Division (South Korea)

7th Infantry Division
제7보병사단
Shoulder Sleeve Insignia
Active	10 June 1949 – present
Country	South Korea
Branch	Republic of Korea Army
Type	Infantry
Size	Division
Part of	II Corps
Garrison/HQ	Hwacheon County, Gangwon Province
Nickname(s)	The Seven Star Unit
Colors	White, Blue
March	7th Division Hymn
Engagements	28 battles fought During Korean war; notable battles
Decorations	11 Decorations of Presidential Honour
Battle honours	Korean War Operation Pokpoong Battle of Uijeongbu (1950) Battle of Kumsong
Commanders
Current commander	Maj. Gen. Son Gwang-je

The 7th Infantry Division (Korean: 제7보병사단, Hanja: 第七步兵師團) is a military formation of the Republic of Korea Army, currently employed on patrol duty in the Korean Demilitarized Zone around Hwacheon County, Gangwon Province. It has a GOP(General outpost) brigade (5th or 8th Birgade), a reserve brigade (3rd Brigade), an artillery brigade, and a subordinate force.

Structure[]

• Headquarters:
  • Chemical Company
  • DMZ Patrol Company
  • Armor Battalion
  • Signal Battalion
  • Reconnaissance Battalion
  • Engineer Battalion
  • Support Battalion
  • Medical Battalion
• 3rd Infantry Brigade
• 5th Infantry Brigade
• 8th Infantry Brigade
• Artillery Brigade

History[]

During the Korean War, the 7th Infantry Division served a total of 28 battles. In particular, the Yeongcheon at the time to perform on the defense division president received a citation for troops to destroy the two Democratic People's Republic of Korea in battle of the world.

The division first started from Youngsan, Seoul on June 10, 1949. The division first saw combat on September 14, 1949, in an operation on Jirisan Mt. to fight Communist guerillas. This division was, after the fall of Taejon, only had a few hundred survivors to participate in the Battle of Pusan Perimeter.^[1] During the Battle of Pusan Perimeter, The 7th Infantry Division regrouped with the 3rd, 5th, and 8th infantry regiments to become what formation they have, and destroyed size of two divisions of North Korean army during the .

On 26 November 1950, a column of retreating ROK Korean soldiers of the ROK 6th and 7th Divisions from Tokchon was attacked by a battalion of the Turkish Brigade who were the first to arrive at Wawon, after the Turks mistook the Koreans for Chinese. 125 Koreans were taken prisoner and many of them were slaughtered by the Turks. The event was wrongly reported in American and European media as a Turkish victory over the Chinese and even after news leaked out about the truth to the Americans, no efforts were made by the media to fix the story.^[2][3][4]

After the Chinese intervention and attacks in November 1950, the U.S. 2d Infantry Division, the Turkish Brigade, and the ROK 6th, 7th, and 8th Infantry Divisions suffered substantial loss that they needed extensive rest and refitting to recover combat effectiveness.^[5] After recovery, The 7th Division took part of the operation as II Corps's command such as the and the Battle of Gumsung.

References[]

Sources[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 7th Infantry Division (Republic of Korea).

• Appleman, Roy E. (2008). Disaster in Korea: The Chinese Confront MacArthur. Vol. 11 of Texas A & M University military history series: Texas A and M University (illustrated ed.). Texas A&M University Press. ISBN 978-1603441285. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
• Leckie, Robert (1996). Conflict: The History of the Korean War, 1950-53 (illustrated, reprint ed.). Da Capo Press. ISBN 0306807165. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
• Leckie, Robert (1962). Conflict: The history of the Korean War 1950-1953. G. P. Putnam's Sons., New York.