Combat· Korean War
X Corps Counteroffensive
With the Chinese spring offensive spent and the enemy in retreat, the United Nations command launched a general counteroffensive to recover the lost ground and punish the withdrawing Communist armies.
The 1st Marine Division, shifted back under X Corps, drove north through the mountains in pursuit, pressing the enemy hard to deny him the chance to break contact, reorganize, and dig in. The advance carried the Marines up through the rugged east-central highlands against delaying positions and rear guards, retaking the territory yielded during the spring fighting and pushing the front back toward and beyond the line it had held before the offensive. It was demanding work in steep, trackless country, but the enemy's defeat at the Soyang had robbed him of the strength to make a stand. The counteroffensive set the stage for the division's assault on the ring of heights around the Punchbowl.
Record no. 630