First and Second Battles of Wonju

First and Second Battles of Wonju
Part of the Korean War
US 2nd Infantry Division move through a mountain pass at the south of Wonju
Date December 31, 1950 – January 20, 1951 Location Wonju, South Korea 37°21′09″N 127°56′58″E / 37.35250°N 127.94944°E / 37.35250; 127.94944 Result United Nations victory
Belligerents
United Nations (UNC)  France  Greece  Netherlands  United States  South Korea	China  North Korea
Commanders and leaders
Matthew B. Ridgway Edward Almond Lee Hyung Koon[1] Yu Jae-hung Robert B. McClure Clark Ruffner Ralph Monclar[2] M. P. A. den Ouden[3] Dionysios Arbouzis[4]	Peng Dehuai Kim Ung Pak Il-u Ch'oe Hyon Pang Ho San
Units involved
II Corps III Corps X Corps 1st Marine Division 2nd Infantry Division 7th Infantry Division 187th Regimental Combat Team French Battalion Dutch Battalion[5] 5th Cavalry Regiment Greek Battalion[6]	II Corps III Corps V Corps 42nd Corps[nb 1] 66th Corps
Strength
US: 79,736[7][nb 2] South Korea: Unknown	~61,500[8]
Casualties and losses
~600 dead[9][nb 3] ~18 killed	~18,000 (estimated)[8]

The First and Second Battles of Wonju (French: Bataille de Wonju), also known as the Wonju Campaign or the Third Phase Campaign Eastern Sector^{[nb 4]} (Chinese: 第三次战役东线; pinyin: Dì Sān Cì Zhàn Yì Dōng Xiàn), was a series of engagements between North Korean and United Nations (UN) forces during the Korean War. The battle took place from December 31, 1950, to January 20, 1951, around the South Korean town of Wonju. In coordination with the Chinese capture of Seoul on the western front, the North Korean Korean People's Army (KPA) attempted to capture Wonju in an effort to destabilize the UN defenses along the central and the eastern fronts.

After a joint Chinese People's Volunteer Army (PVA) and KPA assault breached the UN defenses at Chuncheon on New Year's Eve of 1951, KPA V Corps attacked US X Corps at Wonju while KPA II Corps harassed US X Corps' rear by engaging in guerrilla warfare. In response, US X Corps under the command of Major General Edward Almond managed to cripple the KPA forces at Wonju, and the UN forces later carried out a number of anti-guerrilla operations against the KPA infiltrators. In the aftermath of the battle, the KPA forces on the central and the eastern fronts were decimated, allowing the UN front to be stabilized at the 37th parallel.

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