This month's Forgotten Battle is...
The Battle of White Horse Hill (Hill 395)
Intro
The Battle of White Horse Hill occurred from October 6 to October 15 of 1952. It was fought between soldiers of the South Korean 9th Infantry Division and airman from the American 5th Air Force against four Chinese regiments from the 38th Corps during the Korean War. This battle would prove the worth of South Korean soldiers in the fight against communism.
Part I
By the year 1952, the Korean War was in its second year. By now, talks for a ceasefire had been going on since October of 1951. This began a new phase of the conflict called, "the War of the Hills". It was a brutal struggle for pieces of real estate along what both sides believed would be the new border between North and South Korea. Both sides knew that hostilities might break out in the future after the ceasefire was enacted and were determined to seize the highest ground possible to give their side the advantage.
From 1951 onward, multiple battles were fought for control of hills, mountains, ridges, and river-crossings. The most notable of these battles were fought in what would later become the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). Certain hills like Heartbreak Ridge, Pork Chop Hill, Old Baldy, The Hook, and Hill Eerie changed hands multiple times between the UN soldiers and the Communists.
One outpost of particular interest was the one on Hill 395. This hill was located just north of Choerwon Town (present-day Cheorwon County) just along the DMZ. It was part of a twenty to thirty mile area that was the location of the heaviest fighting during the War of the Hills. This area was called, "the Iron Triangle". Hill 395 was important due to its perfect view of the nearby Yokkok-chon Valley which in turn dominated any western approach to Cheorwon Town. If this hill was captured by the communists, the American IX Corps would be denied access to the Cheorwon road and the entire region would be open to enemy penetration.
Part II
The unit that was selected to defend Hill 395, was the Republic of Korea (ROK) 9th Infantry Division. In command, was Major General Kim Jong-oh. The division was originally formed two years earlier and had already seen combat at the beginning of the war. When the North Koreans invaded in October of 1950, the Republic of Korean Army was soundly defeated and nearly annihilated. Only the intervention of the United Nations (mainly Americans) saved South Korea from falling under communist rule.
By 1952 however, many of the ROK units (including the 9th Infantry Division) had been reformed and rearmed. These soldiers were better trained and more determined to protect their country. The soldiers of the 9th Infantry assigned to defend Hill 395 included three full regiments with 4,000 men in each (12,000 in all). They were reinforced with 22 tanks, artillery pieces, and mortars and called their division the, "baekma" or "White Horse". Because of this, Hill 395 would later be referred to as, "White Horse Hill". In the case that their positions were overrun, planes from the American 5th Air Force were on standby to give air support.
Their opponents were four infantry regiments from the Chinese 38th Corps (45,000 men). Under the command of General Jiang Yonghui, they had orders to capture Hill 395 and advance towards the Cheorwon road. Fortunately for the South Koreans, a Chinese defector was captured on October 3, and revealed that the assaults on the hill were imminent. When the fighting began three days later, the men of the White Horse Division were ready.
Part III
The Chinese began their attack with a massive artillery barrage at mid-day. They then launched a diversionary attack on Arrowhead Hill (Hill 281) which was occupied by a battalion of French soldiers. The French easily repelled the Chinese and inflicted heavy casualties on them. But the attack had succeeded in drawing attention away from their main target. Just after 7 PM, more than 40,000 Chinese soldiers launched their first attack on White Horse Hill.
The fighting began when four Chinese companies attacked at 7:15 that night. The South Korean 10th Company spotted them coming and opened fire with rifles and machine-guns. In spite of suffering heavy casualties, the Chinese continued their attacks all throughout the night until they finally reached the South Korean positions. Although they were initially forced to abandon the crest of White Horse Hill, they successfully retook it hours later after calling in air strikes from the 5th US Air Force.
For the next nine days, both sides launched attacks and counter-attacks on White Horse Hill. Throughout the week, the hill changed hands a total of twenty-four times with through 12 attacks and counter-attacks. In some cases, the fighting devolved into hand-to-hand with bayonets, knives, shovels, and even rocks. Finally, on October 14, the South Koreans of the 9th Infantry launched a decisive flanking maneuver that forced the Chinese off the hill for good. With the 5th Air Force continuing to pound them from the sky, the Chinese finally pulled back what remained of their forces. By October 16, the fight for White Horse Hill was finally over.
Epilogue
During the nine-day battle, the 5th Air Force had flown a total of 745 sorties and dropped more than 2,700 bombs (including 358 napalm bombs) on White Horse Hill. In addition to this, the Chinese had fired more than 55,000 artillery shells while the South Koreans fired more than 185,000. The casualties were severe for both sides. The South Korean casualties are reported to have been 3,422 killed, wounded, or missing. The Chinese casualties are unknown. But modern estimates have put their losses as more than 14,000 killed, wounded, or missing.
Although the War of the Hills was far from over, the men of the ROK 9th Infantry had won an important and hard fought victory at White Horse Hill. Not only had they successfully stood their ground against overwhelming odds, they had done so without any American ground units to support them. For the American generals, it was proof that the South Koreans could hold their own in battle and were convinced to deploy more of them to the front.
For his valor during the battle, General Kim Jong-oh (along with two others) received the US Distinguished Service Cross. Today, a memorial tower now stands near the original battlefield for those who fell in defense of White Horse Hill. Locals refer to the area itself is referred to as "Baengmagoji", for a white horse lying down.
