Combat· Korean War
Battle of Soyang River
The Battle of the Soyang River marked the defeat of the Chinese spring offensive, the last great Communist mobile offensive of the war.
When the enemy launched the second blow of his Fifth Phase Offensive, the main weight fell to the east of the Marines, against the South Korean corps and the U.S. 2d Infantry Division, where massed Chinese divisions broke through and flooded into the gap. The 1st Marine Division stood on the shoulder of the penetration rather than in its path, and the Marines fought off the enemy's end-run thrusts against their flank and the vital supply road, their infantry and tanks counterattacking while Marine artillery, mortars, and close air support cut down the attackers as they pressed in and later as they fled. With the offensive shattered, the Marines went over to the pursuit, driving north and seizing the commanding hills above the Soyang in hard fights against the rear guards covering the Communist retreat.
Record no. 629