Battle of Heartbreak Ridge

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Korean War
Pusan Perimeter – Inchon – Chosin Reservoir – Imjin River – Gloster Hill– Kapyong – Hill Eerie - The Hook - Pork Chop Hill - Bloody Ridge - Heartbreak Ridge

The Battle of Heartbreak Ridge was a month-long battle in the Korean War. It was fought between September 13 and October 15, 1951, in the hills of North Korea a few miles north of the 38th parallel (the prewar boundary between North and South Korea), near Chorwon. Heartbreak Ridge, at 38°18′N 128°1′E in Yanggu County, Gangwon Province, South Korea.

This battle marked a continuation of the Battle of Bloody Ridge, as U.N. and communist forces jockeyed for position along a line running roughly east-west across the middle of the Korean peninsula after the war became stalemated in the summer of 1951.

Following within days after Bloody Ridge, it began when the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division (U.S. Army) attacked a series of hilltops forming another ridgeline just north of the previous fighting, which were defended mainly by Korean People's Army (KPA-the North Korean Army) forces from fortified bunkers atop the ridge.

All three of the 2nd Division's infantry regiments participated, with the brunt of the combat borne by the 23rd and 9th Infantry, along with an attached French battalion. The fighting was savage - no quarter was given or asked by either side - and the ridgeline (called Heartbreak by the American G.I.'s) changed hands many times in an exhausting series of attacks and counterattacks. Several units up to company size (100-200 men) were wiped out. The Americans employed massive artillery barrages, airstrikes and tanks in attempts to drive the North Koreans off the ridge, but the KPA proved extremely hard to dislodge. Herbert K. Pililaau was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the battle on September 17, 1951

After 30 days of combat, the Americans and French eventually gained the upper hand and secured Heartbreak Ridge. Both sides suffered high casualties: over 3,700 American and French and an estimated 25,000 North Korean and Chinese. These losses made a deep impression on the U.N. and U.S. command, which decided that battles like Heartbreak Ridge were not worth the high cost in blood for the relatively small amount of terrain captured. For this reason, Heartbreak Ridge was the last major offensive conducted by U.N. forces in the war.

Sporadic battles along the line of contact between U.N. and communist forces would continue to be fought until the armistice was signed in July, 1953, but from this point on, they would usually be initiated by the North Koreans or Chinese.