Battle of the Soyang River

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Battle of the Soyang River
Part of the Korean War
Battle of Soyang River map
Date 16–22 May 1951 Location Soyang River Result PVA victory[1][2] Collapse and retreat of ROK forces[3] Disbandment of III Corps in 26th of May[4]
Belligerents
United Nations  United States  South Korea  France  Netherlands	China  North Korea
Commanders and leaders
Matthew Ridgway James Van Fleet	Peng Dehuai
Units involved
2nd Infantry Division I Corps III Corps French Battalion Netherlands Battalion	12th Army 15th Army 20th Army 27th Army 60th Army II Corps V Corps
Strength
	138,000 Chinese 38,000 North Korean
Casualties and losses
UN sources: 8,769 total casualties 1,221 casualties[5]: 666  Chinese estimate: 44,000 total casualties[6]	Chinese sources: 40,000 total casualties[6] UN estimate: 90,609 total casualties [5]: 666

The Battle of the Soyang River, also referred to as the "May Massacre",^{[7]: 330–334} or Battle of Hyeon-ri (Korean: 현리 전투, Chinese: 縣里戰役) in Korean and Chinese was fought during the Korean War between United Nations Command (UN) and the Chinese People's Volunteer Army (PVA) and Korean People's Army (KPA) during the Spring Offensive of April–May 1951. The attack took place across the entire front but with the main thrust below the Soyang River in the Taebaek Mountains. The objective of the main effort was to sever the six Republic of Korea Army (ROK) divisions on the eastern front from the remainder of the US Eighth Army and annihilate them and the US 2nd Infantry Division. Secondary attacks would be mounted by PVA and KPA forces across the entire front.

The attack was launched on 16 May 1951 and succeeded in swiftly pushing back the ROK I Corps which retreated in good order and III Corps which was routed, while the US 2nd Infantry Division to their left mounted a stronger defense before gradually giving up ground. By 19 May the PVA/KPA advance was losing momentum due to reinforcement of the UN forces, supply difficulties and mounting losses from UN air and artillery strikes. On 20 May the UN launched a counterattack on the west of the front and the PVA/KPA began to withdraw after suffering heavy losses with the offensive coming to an end on 22 May.