Battle of Uijeongbu (1951)
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The Battle of Uijeongbu, also known as the ''Battle of Uijongbu'', was a battle fought between 1–4 January 1951, at
Uijeongbu Uijeongbu () is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. Overview Uijeongbu is located north of the Korean capital Seoul; it lies inside a Defile (geography), defile, with mountains on two sides, and com ...
,
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
, as part of the
United Nations Command United Nations Command (UNC or UN Command) is the multinational military force established to support the South Korea, Republic of Korea (South Korea) during and after the Korean War. It was the first international unified command in history, an ...
(UN) retreat after the third
Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
People's Volunteer Army The People's Volunteer Army (PVA) was the armed expeditionary forces deployed by the People's Republic of China during the Korean War. Although all units in the PVA were actually transferred from the People's Liberation Army under the order ...
(PVA) offensive after entering the
Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
.Coulthard-Clark 2001, p. 262. The
3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment The 3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (3 RAR) is a mechanised infantry battalion of the Australian Army, based in Kapyong Lines, Townsville as part of the 3rd Brigade. 3 RAR traces its lineage to 1945 and has seen operational serv ...
(3 RAR) had been defending the approaches north of
Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...
, as part of the withdrawal of the United Nations forces and tasked with slowing the Chinese advance to allow the withdrawal of the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
8th Army.Odgers 2009, p. 58.


Background

After the PVA launched their
Second Phase Offensive The Second Phase Offensive (25 November – 24 December 1950) or Second Phase Campaign () of the Korean War was an offensive by the People's Republic of China, Chinese People's Volunteer Army (PVA) against United Nations Command (U.S./UN) forces, ...
on 25 November 1950, UN forces retreated from North Korea towards a defensive line north of Seoul. The
27th British Commonwealth Brigade The 27th Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Army that saw service in the First World War, the Second World War, and the Korean War. In Korea, the brigade was known as 27th British Commonwealth Brigade due to the addition of Ca ...
having withdrawn some formed the UN rearguard in the Uijeongbu Valley, north of Seoul, covering the approach to Seoul.


Battle

The 27th British Commonwealth Brigade was sent north on 1 January 1951 to cover the withdrawal route of the US 8th Army, with the 3 RAR in the most forward position at Tokchon. By dusk, the Australians were cut off by forward PVA forces and under increasing risk of being wiped out, 3 RAR was ordered to withdraw south to Uijeongbu. During the withdrawal south the battalion came under heavy fire and the lead elements had to drive through PVA roadblocks, suffering one wounded, while "A Company" and "C Company" 3 RAR went into action to clear the road, killing seven and suffering four wounded. After reassembling on 2 January, 3 RAR was tasked to undertake company strength patrols north of Seoul and manning Seoul's northern perimeter with the 1st Battalion, Middlesex Regiment. The 1st Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highland Regiment meanwhile protected the main bridges out of Seoul across the Han River. On 3 January, 3 RAR was again sent to Tokchon to cover the withdrawal of the last elements of the US 8th Army, which filtered through the lines of 3 RAR by 20:00.Odgers 2009, p. 59 At 23:30, "D Company" 3 RAR came under heavy fire from the enemy's forward patrols, suffering four wounded and throughout the night enemy attacks were repulsed. The outposts of 3 RAR were withdrawn back to company headquarters at 05:30 on 4 January to prevent being cut off by increasing PVA forces sweeping in from the west. The expected major attack did not take happen and by 08:30 after being ordered south to Seoul, the soldiers saw the PVA taking up the positions just vacated by them. Withdrawn to the northern perimeter of Seoul, positions were held while the city was evacuated. At 20:30 on 4 January, 3 RAR were ordered to withdraw south across the Han River, south of Seoul.


Aftermath

The fighting at and around Uijeongbu, allowed the US 8th Army to withdraw and Seoul to be evacuated. PVA casualties were at least seven killed and an unknown number wounded, while Australian casualties were at nine wounded. The 1st Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highland Regiment was the last UN unit out of Seoul, while 3 RAR were the last troops across the railway bridge across the Han River. The bridges across the Han River from Seoul were then blown up by US Army Engineers. The 27th British Commonwealth Brigade withdrew to positions around Yoda-nae.Odgers 2009, p. 59


Notes


References

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Further reading

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Uijeongbu Battles and operations of the Korean War in 1951 Battles of the Korean War Battles of the Korean War involving the United Kingdom Battles of the Korean War involving Australia Battles of the Korean War involving China Battles of the Korean War involving North Korea January 1951 events in Asia