Battles That Changed History – Chipyong-ni: Feb. 13-15, 1951

Reposted from Feb. 13, 2011:


The above photo was taken on about Feb. 5, 1951 showing some of the soldiers of the 23rd Infantry Regiment taking a break on a hill in Korea. Eight days after this picture was taken, they would face the fight of their lives in the Battle of Chipyong-ni. It would prove the turning point in the Korean War and it has gone into the history books as one of the greatest defensive actions of modern warfare.

The 23rd Infantry Regiment, less than 4,500 men strong, was surrounded at Chipyong-ni by an attacking force of four divisions totalling 25,000 Chinese soldiers. The Chinese started their attack on the night of 13 Feb. By the time the smoke cleared on the 15th, over 5,000 Chinese dead and wounded littered the battlefield, the Chinese march south from the Yalu was ground to a halt, and the UN forces were able to permanently regain the offensive, driving the Chinese north of the 38th parallel and stopping there only on the order of President Truman.

Read More