Shadow Warriors: The Covert War in Korea [Hardcover]

William B. Breuer (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 047114438X | ISBN-13: 978-0471144380 | Publication Date: April 4, 1996 | Edition: 1

Praise for The Great Raid on Cabanatuan "An exciting narrative presented by a first-rate storyteller." --Publishers Weekly Acclaim for Feuding Allies "An absorbing look at the impact of Alliance politics on the outcome of WW II." --Kirkus Reviews

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

On the eve of its invasion of South Korea in June 1950, North Korea employed a trick so clever as to prompt comparisons to the Trojans and their wooden horse. Through a complex scheme involving false defectors to South Korea, North Korea created such a compelling diversion that Western military officials ignored obvious signs of the impending attack. Here, the vastly prolific Breuer (last year's Feuding Allies, etc.) shows that the "Trojan horse" episode was but one of scores of covert missions conducted by the U.S., China and both Koreas around the time of the conflict. Interweaving fresh material and much that is already known of the "forgotten war," he packs his absorbing text with colorful yarns about such missions as a U.S. Army official's attempt to infiltrate North Korea and kidnap a corpse so that he might test it for signs of the plague. But Breuer includes nuggets of key information as well, including details of the secretive Joint Services Operation, which ran American clandestine ops in Korea?making this as suitable for serious students of history as for fans of cloak-and-dagger mayhem, military-style.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Military historian Breuer (J. Edgar Hoover and His G-Men, Greenwood, 1995) offers the first history of covert activity during the Korean War. His Gcoverage ranges from clandestine missions behind enemy lines to espionage, the early evolution of the CIA, and Communist and allied propaganda programs. Firsthand interviews preserve the memory of incidents that would otherwise have been forgotten in history. The only other volume to devote any detailed coverage to this topic is Rod Paschall's Witness to War: Korea (LJ 6/1/95). Recommended for Korean War collections, not because of any special merit but because it is the only volume currently available on this topic.
Richard S. Nowicki, Emerson Vocational H.S., Buffalo, N.Y.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 260 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (April 4, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 047114438X
• ISBN-13: 978-0471144380
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #375,234 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #89 in Books > History > Military > Korean War

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Theater of War Extends Well Beyond the Battlefield, August 11, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Shadow Warriors: The Covert War in Korea (Hardcover)

Breuer, William B. Shadow Warriors
The Covert War in Korea DS 921.5 S7 B74 1996

The well published Mr. Breuer--he boasts 23 other war-related texts-- has quite a talent for writing gripping text. Readers will find alot about the Korean War here not described in other books. There is a detailed description of the myriad of deceptive tactics employed by the North Koreans to distract attention from their imminent attack in the Seoul Corridor. Several chapters describe the preparations for the Inchon landing. Operation Trudy Jackson, using surveillance garnered from the small island of Yonghung, twelve miles south of Inchon, gathered vital data on troop strength, tidal ranges, placement of enemy mines, etc. I am eternally grateful to Breuer for finally translating "Wolmi-Do" as 'moon tip island'. (By the way, sunset and moonset over the Yellow Sea are a joy to behold]

Breuer is a bit confusing when he talks simultaneously about Inchon being a 'secret', while soldiers in Pusan, Japan, and the US referred to it as Operation Common Knowledge. Not only had the Chinese wargamed an Inchon landing as a possibility (and never informed the North Koreans they had done so), but the NY Times itself ran an article suggesting the idea in its September 14, 1950 edition. Breuer acknowledges this, but then shifts his focus to the disinformation campaign designed to fool the North Koreans the landing would be at Kunsan. I think his point should be to make clear that secrets are hard to keep and it is best to sew confusion to obscure your true intentions.

Breuer says the damage done by the Philby/Maclean/Burgess spy ring was primarily leaks of UN battle plans in North Korea, especially the restrictions placed on MacArthur. The Chinese knew they did not have to worry about another amphibious landing, for example. (Even when Van Fleet wanted a series of amphibious assaults up Korea's east coast, it was shot down-- the US had decided on a limited war.) Although the spies did their best to hide evidence of planned Chinese intervention, enough evidence was available from Commanders on the ground, and through other channels (such as the Indian Ambassador).

Other intelligence operations had a mixed outcome. The Li-mi project, an attempt to distract and tie down Chinese Communist armies in Yunan Province, was largely a failure. The US missed a major propoganda coup when they failed to publicize that smallpox raged in the devastated Chinese/North Korean territory. Ironically, it was the US that later suffered a barrage of Communist accusations about 'biological warfare.' The North Koreans constantly deceived US aerial reconnaisance into thinking major damage had been inflicted on roads, bridges, tunnels, and supply convoys.
The authors references to spy operations in Manchuria are interesting but sketchy and incomplete. Readers looking for cloak-and-dagger intrigue in Manchuria might want to read Lawrence Gardella's "Sing a Song to Jenny Next," instead. And the elaborate preparations to kidnap Syngman Rhee--who was dismayed at the US's willingness to accept a permanent division of the Peninsula-- make amusing reading for those aware of the crosscurrents of loyalty vs. pragmatism in the Cold War era.

Some spy operations pay off in ways that are unanticipated. Such was the outcome of operation Moolah, which offered a hundred grand to any communist who landed a MIG-15 at Kimpo airport. Two months after the War was over, North Korean Air Force Captain Ro Kum Suk did exactly that

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Exhilarating for any fan of military intrigue, May 12, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Shadow Warriors: The Covert War in Korea (Hardcover)

In June 1950, North Korean communist soldiers crossed the 38th parallel into South Korea. The United States' stance against global communism would endure its first bloody test. Shadow Warriors: The Covert War in Korea documents the high level clandestine operations that encompassed the "Forgotten" War in the Far East. Breuer reveals that perilous cloak-and-dagger operations were equally common on both sides of the conflict. Whether it be evidence supporting direct Soviet military involvement in Korea or CIA operations deep into the Chinese mainland, Breuer writes with a flair that hooks the fan of political intrigue while presenting enough historical detail to satisfy the avid military historian.

Upon perusing Breuer's notes, most of his book is based upon memoirs of top-level officials in the Korean conflict and author interviews with key players. Nevertheless, further government documentation appears warranted to support the author's arguments. However, Shadow Warriors is highly entertaining as a work of literature and most informative into a realm of military history of which most casual historians are unaware.

4.0 out of 5 stars Good start into learning about the Korean War, December 16, 2010

By 

E. Meehan (Newport Beach, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Shadow Warriors: The Covert War in Korea (Hardcover)

I found this book to be a pleasant, easy read on a subject that is hardly covered in school. The language was short and sweet, chapters were a breeze to get through, and I feel like I learned something about a subject I am just starting to get into. If you look through your options on books for the Korean War, there are a plethora of biblical sized texts, which just wasn't going to do it for me.

The most obnoxious part of this book was the way this author made such a big deal about certain folks (mainly British communist spies) as being homosexual. I understand that in the 1950's being homosexual was considered a mental illness by most people, but the author just seemed to go on and on about these particular people's sexuality, and their traipsing around with men. Enough already.

Plus, he completely glosses over the fact that when GI's get R & R they frequent prostitutes in Japan, stating something like "many attractive young women were thrilled to have fun with the American soldiers"--har har. You're not fooling me!

Overall, however, I enjoyed it as a nice quick read about a very important time in history.