Operation Thunderbolt (1951)

Coordinates: 37°45′N 126°11′E / 37.75°N 126.183°E / 37.75; 126.183 (Han River)

Operation Thunderbolt
Part of the Korean War
Date January 25 – February 20, 1951 Location Han River, South Korea Result United Nations victory
Belligerents
United Nations  South Korea  Turkey  United Kingdom  United States	China  North Korea
Commanders and leaders
Matthew B. Ridgway Frank W. Milburn John B. Coulter Bryant E. Moore	Peng Dehuai Liang Xingchu[1] Zeng Zesheng[2] Lee Kwon Mu[3]
Units involved
Eighth Army 3rd Infantry Division 24th Infantry Division 25th Infantry Division 1st Infantry Division 6th Infantry Division 27th Infantry Brigade 29th Infantry Brigade Turkish Brigade	38th Corps[nb 1] 50th Corps I Corps
Strength
94,147[4]	Unknown
Casualties and losses
US: ~3,500[5][nb 2] Total: Unknown Chinese estimation: 10,000[6]	Heavy[6]

Operation Thunderbolt, also known 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 8th US Army, General Matthew Ridgway. It followed a period of defensive stagnation after the Chinese Third Phase Campaign had forced UN forces south of Seoul.

Operation

Thunderbolt was preceded by Operation Wolfhound, a reconnaissance in force by the 27th Infantry Regiment 'Wolfhounds' that began on 15 January 1951.^[7] At this time the Chinese forces in the central sector were still in possession of Wonju and a full assault could not be made until this sector was under US control. Thunderbolt itself began on the 25 January, when troops of I and IX Corps advanced from the western sector of the front northwards towards Seoul. This attack was heavily supported by artillery and air support, in accordance with Ridgway's policy of attrition^[7] by superior firepower against a numerically superior foe. By 9th February, the offensive had reached the Han river with the rest of the Chinese defenders retreating to the north of Han River by the end of February.^[7]

Impact and aftermath

X Corps, once again part of the 8th Army, held the central sector^[8] and moved forwards as Operation Roundup on 5th February. Responding to the UN advances, Chinese forces under Peng Dehuai then counter-attacked as the Fourth Phase Campaign, achieving initial successes at the Battle of Hoengsong. But they were soon held off at the Battle of Chipyong-ni and the Third Battle of Wonju. The concentration of firepower and reliance on close air support in the face of large numbers of light infantry employed here^[7] would later become an influence on US doctrine during Vietnam.

Thunderbolt was followed almost immediately by the second UN counter-offensive, Operation Killer.

See also

• Battle of the Twin Tunnels

Notes

Footnotes

1. ^ In Chinese military nomenclature, the term "Army" (军) means Corps, while the term "Army Group" (集团军) means Army.
2. ^ This is the total casualty number of the US Army from January 25 to February 20, 1951, minus the number from the US X Corps. See Ecker 2005, p. 83.

Citations

1. ^ Chinese Military Science Academy 2000, p. 371.
2. ^ Chinese Military Science Academy 2000, p. 372.
3. ^ Chinese Military Science Academy 2000, p. 373.
4. ^ Appleman 1990, p. 149.
5. ^ Ecker 2005, p. 83.
6. ^ ^{a b} Chinese Military Science Academy 2000, p. 232.
7. ^ ^{a b c d} Malkasian, Carter (2001). The Korean War. Osprey. pp. 38-40. ISBN 1841762822. 
8. ^ Edwards, Paul M. (2006). The Korean War. Greenwood. p. 26. ISBN 0313332487. 

References

• Appleman, Roy (1990), Ridgway Duels for Korea, 18, College Station, TX: Texas A and M University Military History Series, ISBN 0890964327 
• Chae, Han Kook; Chung, Suk Kyun; Yang, Yong Cho (2001), Yang, Hee Wan; Lim, Won Hyok; Sims, Thomas Lee et al., eds., The Korean War, Volume II, Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, ISBN 9780803277953 
• (Chinese) Chinese Military Science Academy (2000), History of War to Resist America and Aid Korea (抗美援朝战争史), Volume II, Beijing: Chinese Military Science Academy Publishing House, ISBN 7801373901 
• Ecker, Richard E. (2005), Korean Battle Chronology: Unit-by-Unit United States Casualty Figures and Medal of Honor Citations, Jefferson, NC: McFarland, ISBN 0786419806 
• Millett, Allan R. (2010), The War for Korea, 1950-1951: They Came From the North, Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, ISBN 9780700617098 
• Mossman, Billy C. (1990), Ebb and Flow: November 1950 – July 1951, United States Army in the Korean War, Washington, D.C.: Center of Military History, United States Army, http://www.history.army.mil/books/korea/ebb/fm.htm, retrieved 2009-12-25 
• Spurr, Russell (1988), Enter the Dragon: China's Undeclared War Against the U.S. in Korea 1950-51, New York, NY: Newmarket Press, ISBN 1557040087 
• Zhang, Shu Guang (1995), Mao's Military Romanticism: China and the Korean War, 1950–1953, Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, ISBN 0700607234 

Further reading

• Bowers, William T. (2008), The Line: Combat in Korea, January - February 1951, Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky, ISBN 9780813125084