Battle of Unsan

Coordinates: 39°58′20″N 125°48′12″E / 39.97222°N 125.80333°E / 39.97222; 125.80333 (Unsan)
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39°58′20″N 125°48′12″E / 39.97222°N 125.80333°E / 39.97222; 125.80333 (Unsan)

Battle of Unsan
Part of the
Unsan, North Korea
Result Chinese victory
Belligerents  China

 United Nations

 South KoreaCommanders and leaders China Peng Dehuai
China Wu Xinquan[1]
China Wen Yucheng[1]
Paik Sun Yup
Units involved

39th Corps[nb 1]

  • 115th Division
  • 116th Division
  • 117th Division

40th Corps

  • 120th Division

United States 1st Cavalry Division

  • 5th Cavalry Regiment
  • 8th Cavalry Regiment

South Korea 1st Infantry Division

  • 15th Infantry Regiment
Casualties and losses UN estimation: 600+[3]

United States 449 killed
1,149 total casualties[4]
First Republic of Korea 530 killed and wounded[5]

Chinese estimation: 2,000[6]

The Battle of Unsan (

39th Corps attacked the unprepared U.S. 8th Cavalry Regiment
in Unsan on 1 November, resulting in one of the most devastating U.S. losses of the war.

Background

By October 1950, the UNC forces had successfully

Major General Frank W. Milburn, commander of U.S. I Corps, ordered the ROK 1st Infantry Division to secure the Sui-ho Dam on the Yalu River by advancing through Unsan.[11]

Alarmed by the rapid collapse of the KPA and UNC military forces approaching the Chinese border, Chairman Mao Zedong ordered the People's Liberation Army North East Frontier Force to be reorganized into the People's Volunteer Army (PVA) for the upcoming intervention in Korea.[12] Despite Mao's determination to save North Korea from capitulation, the Chinese military leadership expressed doubts on the ability of the Chinese army to fight against the more modernized U.S. forces.[13] As a compromise, Mao authorized the First Phase Campaign, a bridgehead building operation with limited offensives against only the South Korean forces while avoiding contacts with the U.S. forces.[7][14] Under strict secrecy, the PVA entered Korea on 19 October.[15]

Prelude

Locations and terrain

Unsan is a town in northwest Korea, and it is located 50 mi (80 km) from the

Ch'ongch'on River mouth on the Korean west coast.[2]: 672  Because of the hilly terrain at the Sino-Korean Border, Unsan is one of the few access points into the Yalu River area.[2]: 673  The town is surrounded by hills to the north, the Nammyon River to the west and the Samtan River to the east. At the south of the town, a road junction controls the road from Unsan to Ipsok while a ridge dubbed "Bugle Hill" controls the road between Unsan and Yongsan-dong. Those two roads formed the only retreat routes for the UN forces at Unsan.[16]

Forces and strategy

Acting on Milburn's instruction, the ROK 1st Infantry Division advanced north on 24 October with the ROK 6th Infantry Division on its right and the U.S. 24th Infantry Division on its left, and by the morning of 25 October, the ROK 1st Infantry Division had captured Unsan.[17] But with the UNC forces spread thinly across Korea, a 15 mi (24 km) gap was left between the U.S. 24th Division and ROK 1st Division, leaving the ROK left flank unprotected.[2]: 680 

Upon noticing the thinly held UNC frontline, the Chinese decided to launch a

8th Infantry Divisions at the east of Unsan.[18] Finally, the PVA 39th Corps would destroy the ROK 1st Infantry Division by infiltrating the gap between U.S. 24th Division and the ROK 1st Infantry Division west of Unsan.[18] Undetected by UNC intelligence, the 120th Division arrived at the blocking position on 24 October, with its 360th Regiment heavily fortified the hills north of Unsan.[19] To obscure troop movements and to prevent UNC air raids, the Chinese also started several forest fires around the end of October.[2]
: 690 

Battle

Initial skirmish

On 25 October at 10:30, the ROK 1st Infantry Division attacked north with its 12th Regiment on the western bank of Samtan River while the 15th Regiment was trying to reach the eastern bank.[17] But when the 15th Regiment was about to cross the river, the PVA 120th Division engaged the South Koreans with heavy artillery fire.[20] The South Koreans first believed the resistance to be the last remnants of the KPA, but the perception soon changed with the capture of the first Chinese prisoner of the war.[21] The prisoner revealed that there were 10,000 Chinese soldiers waiting to join the fight north of Unsan.[21]

Faced with the sudden appearance of overwhelming Chinese forces, the ROK 1st Infantry Division tried to establish defensive positions by capturing the hills around Unsan.

airdrops, the US 6th Medium Tank Battalion and the US 10th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Group, the 1st Infantry Division reopened the road on 27 October.[2]: 678  Several more attempts to advance north by the ROK made little progress,[2]: 678  and the fighting stopped by 28 October.[25]

Despite the warnings given by

salient in the UN line containing only the US 8th Cavalry Regiment and the ROK 15th Infantry Regiment.[2]
: 680 

Chinese counterattack

Still believing that the ROK 1st Infantry Division was tied up at Unsan,[7] PVA Commander Peng Dehuai gave the go ahead for the 39th Corps to destroy the Unsan garrison on 1 November.[29] The Chinese plan called for the PVA 117th Division to attack from the northeast, the 116th Division to attack from the northwest and the 115th Division to attack from the southwest.[29] At the same time, the US 8th Cavalry Regiment had taken up positions around the town, with its 1st Battalion defending the north of Unsan by the Samtan River, while its 2nd and 3rd Battalions defended the areas west of the Unsan by the Nammyon River.[30] The lack of UN manpower, however, created a 1 mi (1,600 m) gap between the 1st and 2nd Battalions.[2]: 694  The ROK 15th Infantry Regiment, on the other hand, had dug in northeast of the Unsan, across the river from the US 1st Battalion.[27]

In the early afternoon of 1 November, a combat patrol from the US 5th Cavalry Regiment, rear guard of the 8th Cavalry Regiment, was intercepted by PVA 343rd Regiment of the 115th Division at Bugle Hill.[29][2]: 691  With the trap discovered, the Chinese immediately launched their attacks at 17:00.[31][2]: 692  Supported by rocket artillery,[31][2]: 692  the 117th Division attacked the ROK 15th Infantry Regiment in full force, while four Chinese battalions from the 116th Division struck the gap between the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the US 8th Cavalry Regiment.[2]: 694 [31] By 23:00, the heavy fighting had destroyed the ROK 15th Infantry Regiment, while the US 1st and 2nd Battalions were running out of ammunition.[2]: 694–5  As the UN forces began to buckle around Unsan, Milburn finally ordered the garrison to withdraw after learning of the destruction of the ROK 6th Infantry Division on the right flank.[2]: 695 

Before the withdrawal could be carried out, however, the PVA 347th Regiment of the 116th Division had already entered the town of Unsan through the gap between the American battalions.[31] Soon afterward, several roadblocks appeared behind the US 1st and 2nd Battalions.[2]: 696–7  With the attacks gaining momentum, the PVA 348th Regiment, 116th Division, advanced southward from Unsan,[32] ambushing the UN forces at the road junction by 02:30.[2]: 698–700  With all the roads blocked, the US 8th Cavalry Regiment's 1st and 2nd Battalions had to escape by infiltrating the Chinese lines in small groups,[33] abandoning most of their vehicles and heavy weapons along the way.[2]: 700  The surviving US and ROK soldiers reached UN lines by 2 November.[2]: 700 

While the US 8th Cavalry Regiment's 1st and 2nd Battalions were under heavy attack, its 3rd Battalion was left alone for most of the night,

Hobart Gay, commander of the US 1st Cavalry Division.[2]: 704  The trapped 3rd Battalion endured days of constant attacks; the survivors managed to break out of the perimeter by 4 November.[2]: 707–8  By the end of the battle, less than 200 men of the 3rd Battalion managed to reach UN lines.[2]
: 708 

Aftermath

Immediately after the success at Unsan, the rest of the Chinese forces advanced across the US lines, intending to push the US forces back across the Ch'ongch'on River and into Pyongyang.[35] But food and ammunition shortages soon forced the Chinese to disengage on 5 November, thus ending the Chinese First Phase Campaign.[35] Besides the victory at Unsan, the Chinese First Phase Campaign also destroyed the ROK 6th Infantry Division and one regiment from the ROK 8th Infantry Division at the Battle of Onjong.[28][36] In return, the Chinese had suffered 10,700 casualties by the end of the Chinese First Phase Campaign.[37] The Battle of Unsan has been considered to be one of the most devastating US losses of the Korean War.[38]

The Chinese victory at Unsan was as much of a surprise to the Chinese leadership as it was to the UN forces.

Home-by-Christmas Offensive under the assumption that only a weak Chinese force was present in Korea,[43] resulting in the decisive battles at the Ch'ongch'on River and the Chosin Reservoir later that year.[44]

Notes

Footnotes
  1. Army
    .
Citations
  1. ^ a b Chinese Military Science Academy 2000, p. 359.
  2. ^
    ISBN 0160359589
    .
  3. ^ McMichael 1987, p. 69.
  4. ^ Ecker 2005, p. 47
  5. ^ Chae, Chung & Yang 2001, p. 124.
  6. ^ a b Chinese Military Science Academy 2000, p. 35.
  7. ^ a b c d Ryan, Finkelstein & McDevitt 2003, p. 127.
  8. ^ Millett, Allan R. (2009). "Korean War". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 29 December 2008. Retrieved 4 February 2009.
  9. ^ Alexander 1986, p. 250
  10. ^ Roe 2000, p. 156.
  11. ^ Chae, Chung & Yang 2001, p. 114.
  12. ^ Roe 2000, p. 145.
  13. ^ Roe 2000, p. 146.
  14. ^ Roe 2000, p. 150.
  15. ^ Roe 2000, pp. 145, 148–149.
  16. ^ Alexander 1986, p. 273.
  17. ^ a b Chae, Chung & Yang 2001, p. 116.
  18. ^ a b c Chinese Military Science Academy 2000, p. 20.
  19. ^ Chinese Military Science Academy 2000, p. 21.
  20. ^ Chae, Chung & Yang 2001, pp. 116–117.
  21. ^ a b Chae, Chung & Yang 2001, p. 117.
  22. ^ a b c Chae, Chung & Yang 2001, p. 118.
  23. ^ Chinese Military Science Academy 2000, p. 22.
  24. ^ Chinese Military Science Academy 2000, p. 24.
  25. ^ Chae, Chung & Yang 2001, p. 119.
  26. ^ Halberstam 2007, pp. 9–44.
  27. ^ a b Chae, Chung & Yang 2001, p. 120.
  28. ^ a b Roe 2000, p. 168.
  29. ^ a b c Chinese Military Science Academy 2000, p. 32.
  30. ^ Alexander 1986, pp. 271, 273.
  31. ^ a b c d Chinese Military Science Academy 2000, p. 33.
  32. ^ a b Chinese Military Science Academy 2000, p. 34
  33. ^ Alexander 1986, p. 276
  34. ^
    ISBN 9780891417385
    .
  35. ^ a b Roe 2000, p. 176.
  36. ^ Alexander 1986, p. 288.
  37. ^ Chinese Military Science Academy 2000, p. 44.
  38. ^ Przybyciel, Nick (3 March 2005). "The Battle of Unsan". Air Force Reserve Command. Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 7 September 2009.
  39. ^ Roe 2000, p. 229.
  40. ^ Roe 2000, p. 230.
  41. ^ Roe 2000, p. 207.
  42. ^ Roe 2000, p. 233.
  43. ^ Roe 2000, p. 224.
  44. ^ Alexander 1986, pp. 312, 313

References

External links

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