The M-26 Tank vs. the Russian T-34 at Obong-Ni: the 90mm Wins the Day

The North Korean People’s Army (NKPA) had almost everything going its way during the earliest Korean War battles. The opposing South Korean and American forces, weak and unprepared, were pushed into a shrinking perimeter around the small port city of Pusan. That perimeter was steadily being reinforced, with an eye toward an eventual breakout and counteroffensive. One of the units sent into the Pusan perimeter was the 1st Marine Provisional Brigade, an ad hoc unit formed to get a force into the fight quickly while the 1st Marine Division properly formed up. The brigade included a small M-26 tank force for support.

These tanks were hurriedly readied for service to provide a counter to the NKPA’s Soviet-Supplied T-34 tanks, which had so far ranged almost unopposed against the light tanks and anti-tank weapons available to their opponents. The two tanks had never met in combat before, but it was hoped the M-26’s 90mm gun and thick armor would prove a match for the Soviet vehicle.