Battle of Pork Chop Hill

Battle of Pork Chop Hill
Part of the Korean War
Painting of the 45th Infantry Division at Pork Chop Hill in 1953
Date 16–18 April / 6–11 July 1953 Location North of Yeoncheon, Korea 38°14′29″N 127°1′10″E / 38.24139°N 127.01944°E / 38.24139; 127.01944 Result UN victory in April battle Chinese victory in July battle
Belligerents
United Nations  South Korea  Ethiopia  United States  Colombia Thailand	China
Commanders and leaders
James Van Fleet Arthur G. Trudeau	Peng Dehuai Chung Kuo Chu
Units involved
7th Infantry Division 21st Infantry Regiment[1]	67th Division (in July battle)
Strength
19,000 men	20,000 men (UN estimate) 6,800 (in July battle)
Casualties and losses
US: 347 killed 1,036 wounded 9 captured China estimate 3,500 killed or wounded	UN estimate 1,500 killed 4,000 wounded Chinese source: 533 killed 1,242 wounded (in July battle)
class=notpageimage| Location within North Korea

The Battle of Pork Chop Hill, known as Battle of Seokhyeon-dong Northern Hill (Chinese: 石峴洞北山戰鬥) in China, is a pair of related Korean War infantry battles that took place on April 16 and July 11, 1953 while the United Nations Command (UN) and the Chinese and North Koreans were negotiating the Korean Armistice Agreement.

In the United States, the battles were controversial because of the large number of soldiers killed for terrain with no strategic or tactical value, but according to US sources, which are disputed by Chinese sources, the Chinese lost many times the number of US number killed and wounded. The first battle was described in the eponymous history Pork Chop Hill: The American Fighting Man in Action, Korea, Spring 1953, by S.L.A. Marshall, from which the film Pork Chop Hill was drawn. The UN won the first battle, but the Chinese won the second battle.

The UN forces, supported primarily by the United States, won the first battle when the Chinese broke contact and withdrew after two days of fighting. The second battle involved many more troops on both sides and was bitterly contested for five days, when the UN conceded the hill to the Chinese by withdrawing behind the main battle line.