Operation Thunderbolt (1951)

37°45′N 126°11′E / 37.750°N 126.183°E / 37.750; 126.183 (Han River)

Operation Thunderbolt
Part of the Korean War
Operation Thunderbolt map
Date 25 January – 20 February 1951 Location Han River, South Korea Result United Nations victory
Belligerents
United Nations  USA  UK  Turkey  South Korea  Colombia	China  North Korea
Commanders and leaders
Douglas MacArthur Matthew B. Ridgway Frank W. Milburn John B. Coulter Bryant E. Moore	Peng Dehuai Liang Xingchu[1] Zeng Zesheng[1]: 372  Lee Kwon Mu[1]: 373
Units involved
Eighth Army 3rd Infantry Division 24th Infantry Division Colombian Battalion 25th Infantry Division 1st Infantry Division 6th Infantry Division 27th Infantry Brigade 29th Infantry Brigade Turkish Brigade	38th Army 50th Army I Corps
Strength
94,147[2]	50,000
Casualties and losses
US: 2,228 killed ~7,000 total casualties[3] Total: Unknown Chinese estimate: 20,000[1]: 232	18,600[1]: 232

Operation Thunderbolt, also known in China as the Defensive Battle of the Han River Southern Bank (Chinese: 汉江南岸防御战; pinyin: Hàn Jiāng Nán Àn Fáng Yù Zhàn), was a US offensive during the Korean War.

It represented the first offensive under the new commanding officer of the US Eighth Army, General Matthew Ridgway. It started less than three weeks after the Chinese Third Phase Campaign had forced UN forces south of Seoul.