Combat· Korean War
Sudong
Sudong was the first sustained clash between the Marines and Communist Chinese forces, the moment the character of the war changed.
As the 7th Marines relieved ROK troops and pushed up the road from the coastal plain toward the high country, the Chinese sprang a night counterattack in the hills around Sudong, cutting off two Marine battalions and throwing in infantry alongside the last organized North Korean tank unit. In several days of hard fighting the Marines destroyed the enemy armor, repelled the encircling attacks, and fought through for the commanding high ground, including the bitter struggle for How Hill. Then, as suddenly as they had appeared, the Chinese broke contact and melted into the mountains, leaving the Marines to puzzle over the scale of the new threat. Sudong proved that China had entered the war in force, a warning the higher command was slow to credit but the Marines took to heart.
Record no. 613