Korean War timeline 1951

[Ed Evanhoe <evanhoe@arbuckleonline.com>]

KOREAN WAR TIMELINE 1951
Jan. 1-15
Third Phase CCF Offensive: 500,000 enemy troops push U.N. forces 50 miles 
south of the 38th Parallel and recapture Seoul.
Feb. 1
Battle of the Twin Tunnels. The 23rd Infantry Regiment (2nd Infantry 
Division), French Battalion and 347th Field Artillery Battalion confront 
several CCF regiments, killing at least 1,300 Chinese.
Feb. 13-15
Battle of Chipyong-ni. First mass assault by CCF: 18,000 troops. CCF 
offensive contained by 23rd Regiment (2nd Infantry Division), French 
Battalion, 1st Ranger Company, 37th Field Artillery Battalion, and Battery 
B of the 82nd Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion.
Feb. 16, 1951 - July 27, 1953
Siege of Wonsan. Task Force 95 (U.N. Blockade and Escort Force) blockades 
Wonsan Harbor. An unprecedented 861-day naval operation——it is the longest 
effective siege of a port in U.S. Navy history.
March 7 - April 4
Operation RIPPER. Drives the Communists back to the 38th Parallel and 
retakes Seoul. Seven U.S. divisions participate (U.S. Army's 1st Cavalry 
Division, 2nd, 3rd, 7th, 24th, and 25th Infantry Divisions, and the 1st 
Marine Division.)
March 23
Operation TOMAHAWK. One hundred twenty C-119s and C-46s drop 3,437 
paratroopers of the 187th Regimental Combat Team near Munsan-ni in second 
largest airborne operation of the war.
April 12
War's first major aerial duel. More than 40 MiG-15s attack a B-29 
formation, shooting down two bombers. Eleven of the MiGs are destroyed, 
seven by B-29 gunners.
April 22-29
CCF First Spring Offensive. Largest single battle of the Korean War. CCF 
launch their Spring Offensive with 250,000 men in 27 divisions. Five U.S. 
Army divisions (2nd, 3rd, 7th, 24th, 25th) participate.
May 17-22
CCF Second Spring Offensive. Four U.S. divisions (U.S. Army's 2nd, 3rd and 
25th Infantry Divisions, and the 1st Marine Division) participate.
May 20 - Sept. 20
Operation STRANGLE. Massive all-out air interdiction campaign 20 is carried 
out by FEAF, TF 77 and the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing (MAW).
June 10-16
Battle for the Punchbowl (vicinity Hwach'on Reservoir). The 1st Marine 
Division encounters heavy North Korean resistance, but succeeds in taking 
its objective.
Aug. 18 - Sept. 5
Battle of Bloody Ridge (Hill 983). The 15th Field Artillery Battalion sets 
a record by firing 14,425 rounds in 24 hours.
Sept. 13 - Oct 15
Battle of Heartbreak Ridge (Hill 931). The 2nd Infantry Division seizes 
Heartbreak Ridge.
Sept. 21
Operation SUMMIT. A company of 228 Marines is lifted by 12 Sikorsky S-55s 
(Army designation H-19, Marine designation HRS-1) in the first helicopter 
deployment of a combat unit.
Nov. 30
In a rare air battle with Communist bombers, 31 Sabres knock down eight 
Tu-2 bombers, three La-9 propeller-driven fighters, and one MiG-15.
Korean War truce talks began July 10, 1951. Although the talks started 
slowly, on Nov. 27, 1951, the two sides agreed on the 38th Parallel as the 
line of demarcation and almost immediately military operations slowed down. 
When Gen. Mark Clark assumed command of U.N. forces in Korea, on May 12, 
1952, he was confronted with a military deadlock on the front lines, 
stalled Armistice negotiations, and a violent prisoner of war situation on 
the island of Koje-do, off the southern coast of South Korea. Clark 
believed that the Communists only understood force and stepped up military 
pressure on the enemy to break the stalemate at Panmunjom.

Ed Evanhoe, PO Box 916, Antlers, OK, 74523-0916
Author: DARKMOON: Eighth Army Special Operations in the Korean War
Life member: Special Forces & Special Operations Associations
Web site:  http://www.korean-war.com