| Battle of Chaegunghyon | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Korean War | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 United Kingdom |
 China | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Hank Carson | |||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
|
Royal Ulster Rifles | |||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
~200 killed or captured 10 tanks | Unknown | ||||||
The Battle of Chaegunghyon or the Battle of Happy Valley was an engagement in the Korean War fought in YangjubyChinese People's Volunteer Army and the British Army[1] The Battle of Chaegunghyon took place on the night of 3–4 January 1951 and held back the advancing Chinese and North Korean forces, helping to facilitate the evacuation of Seoul.[1]
Chaegunghyon is currretly near Samha-ri, Jangheung-myeon, Yangju[2]
In December 1950, having been swept from North Korea by a shock Chinese offensive, defeated UN forces stood at bay in the South. On New Year's Day, 1951, the Chinese stormed over the border and South Korean forces disintegrated. As a result, Britain's 29th Infantry Brigade was thrust into the line near Yangju and Koyang, 12 miles northwest of Seoul.[3]
Amid blizzards, the brigade dug a shaky line over the hills. On the left flank, reinforced by ten 8th Hussars Cromwell tanks (Cooper Force), stood the Royal Ulster Rifles (RUR). By 3 January there was nothing between them and the onrushing Chinese.[3]
Before dawn that day, indistinct figures appeared in front of the RUR trenches. A patrol descended into the valley and men on the hills heard a staccato burst of gunfire - then silence. The patrol had blundered into the main assault force and from nowhere the Chinese broke cover and charged. Two RUR platoons were overrun.[3]
Galway native and acting battalion commander Major Tony Blake orchestrated the firepower of tanks, artillery and US jets in an immediate riposte. Second Lieutenant Mervyn McCord was part of a patrol that counter-attacked their previous position following a napalm strike.[3]
The men took the ridge without casualties and stood around congratulating themselves until a major arrived, roaring: "This is not a funfair!" Meanwhile, ‘B’ Company prepared to retake the other lost peak.[3]
"We lined them up," said Captain Robin Charley, a Belfast man who had volunteered for Korea. "That attack went in exactly by the book — just like at the School of Infantry!"[3]
The Ulstermen were ecstatic at having beaten off the previously undefeated Chinese. To their right, the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers had also fought a bloody, but successful battle. Elsewhere, though, the front had buckled. UN forces were falling back. Seoul was to be abandoned.[3]
The RUR would be the last UN unit to withdraw, the US division on its left flank had already departed.[3]
A memorial was subsequently erected on the battlefield to the memory of those who fell at Chaegunghyon. It was later transported back to Ireland in H.M.S. Belfast and re-erected at the Royal Ulster Rifles barracks in Ballymena, Co. Antrim. These barracks were closed in March 2008 and, following a request from the British Korean Veterans' Association, Belfast City Council gave permission for the memorial to be relocated to the grounds of the City Hall, near the cenotaph.[4][5]
