User:Jim101/Third Battle of Seoul
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Third Battle of Seoul | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of the Korean War | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
China North Korea | |||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Douglas MacArthur Matthew B. Ridgway Lee Hyung Koon[1] Paik Sun Yup Chang Do Yong[2] Basil Aubrey Coad[3] Thomas Brodie |
Mao Zedong Peng Dehuai Han Xianchu | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
US: 136,525[nb 1] |
13th Army[nb 2] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Australia: 9[6] US: 481[7][nb 3] UK: 300[8] South Korea: Unknown Chinese estimation: 19,000[9] |
China: ~5,800 North Korea: ~2,700[9] |
The Third Battle of Seoul, also known as the Chinese New Year's Offensive, the January–Fourth Retreat or the Third Phase Campaign Western Sector[nb 4] (Chinese: 第三次战役西线; pinyin: Dì Sān Cì Zhàn Yì Xī Xiàn), was a battle of the Korean War, and it took place from December 31, 1950 to January 7, 1951 around the South Korean capital of Seoul. In the aftermath of the Chinese victory at the Battle of the Ch'ongch'on River, China's Chairman Mao Zedong ordered the Chinese People's Volunteer Army to cross the 38th Parallel in an effort to pressure the United Nations forces to withdraw from South Korea. During the course of the battle, the Chinese 13th Army defeated the Republic of Korea 1st, 2nd, 5th and 6th Infantry Division along the 38th Parallel, forcing the United States Eighth Army under the command of Lieutenant General Matthew B. Ridgway to evacuate Seoul on January 3, 1951. Although Chinese forces captured Seoul by the end of the battle, the Chinese invasion of South Korea galvanized the United Nations' support for South Korea, while the Chinese People's Volunteer Army were completely exhausted after months of nonstop fighting since the start of the Chinese intervention.