Battle of Wawon The Battle of Wawon ( ) , also known as the Battle of Wayuan ( ) , was a series of delay actions of the Korean War that took place from November 27 – 29 , 1950 near Wawon in present - day North Korea . After the collapse of the US Eighth Army ' s right flank during the Battle of the Ch ' ongch ' on River , the Chinese 38th Corps advanced rapidly towards the critical road junction at Kunu - ri in an effort to cut off United Nations forces ' retreat route . In what was considered to be Turkey ' s first real combat action since the aftermath of World War I , the Turkish Brigade attempted to check the Chinese advances at Wawon . Although the Chinese forces destroyed the Turkish Brigade in subsequent battles , the Turkish Brigade ' s delay actions managed to defend Kunu - ri until it was secured the by the US 2nd Infantry Division . Background . After the destruction of the Korean People ' s Army by mid - 1950 , China entered the Korean War by sending the Chinese People ' s Volunteer Army ( PVA ) against the United Nations ( UN ) forces in Korea . In a series of surprise attacks , Chinese forces managed to cripple the US Eighth Army ' s right flank by decimating the Republic of Korea ( ROK ) II Corps , completely stalling the UN advances towards the Yalu River by November 4 , 1950 . Despite the seriousness of this setback , the undeterred General Douglas MacArthur ordered the Eighth Army to launch the Home - by - Christmas Offensive on November 24 , 1950 . As part of the offensive , the newly arrived Turkish Brigade was assigned as the reserve of the US IX Corps , and was placed directly behind the center of the Eighth Army ' s advances . Despite MacArthur ' s optimism , a massive Chinese counterattack soon developed on the night of November 25 . Hoping to repeat their earlier successes against the US Eighth Army , the Chinese again attacked the ROK II Corps , and the UN right flank was routed by November 26 . Encouraged by this development , PVA commander Peng Dehuai instructed the PVA 38th Corps to advance westward from the UN right flank and cutoff the US IX Corps at the road junction of Kunu - ri . As a counter , the Turkish Brigade was ordered by IX Corps to advance east from Kunu - ri on the afternoon of November 26 . Because the Turkish soldiers understood neither English nor Korean , the deployment of the Turkish Brigade quickly ran into difficulties , and the lack of accurate intelligence on Chinese forces further added to the chaos . During their advance eastward , the Turks were forced to conduct long marches in the Korean countryside because of misunderstanding of the IX Corps ' instructions . At the same time , fleeing Korean soldiers from the ROK II Corps were mistaken by the Turks as Chinese , and deadly friendly fire was exchanged as a result . The incident left 20 ROK soldiers killed and 4 wounded , while another 14 Turkish soldiers died and 6 other wounded . On the night of November 27 , the exhausted Turkish Brigade entered the village of Wawon to the east of Kunu - ri , and Brigadier General Tahsin Yazıcı of the Turkish Brigade ordered a semicircular perimeter to be established towards the northeast . Battle . On the night of November 27 , the advancing PVA 114th Division of the 38th Corps — under the command of Zhai Zhongyu — ambushed and destroyed the Turkish Brigade ' s reconnaissance platoon , alerting the entire brigade in the process . Knowing that the Chinese attacks were imminent , the advance battalion of the brigade quickly took up defensive positions on the road leading into Wawon . They were soon met with the PVA 342nd Regiment of the 114th Division , and the Chinese concentrated their attacks in an effort to penetrate the Turkish defensive lines . Heavy fire from the Turks managed to drive back the Chinese advances , but the attacking Chinese regiment continued to spread towards the left flank of the defenders . By dusk on November 28 , the entire advance battalion was engulfed by the Chinese ; sword and bayonet fighting ensued , resulting in 400 Turkish casualties . Observing that Wawon was surrounded by hills occupied by the Chinese , Yazıcı ordered the Turkish Brigade to withdraw westward to the village of Sinim - ri . As the Turkish Brigade withdrew at night , the PVA 342nd Regiment followed closely behind . Upon arriving at Sinim - ri , the Chinese immediately cut off the brigade by launching surprise attacks on the rear artillery units and the 3rd Battalion . At the same time , communication was lost between the Turkish headquarters and its battalions , leaving the rest of the brigade isolated from the outside world . Undaunted by the difficulties , the trapped Turks fought back stubbornly and , once out of ammunition , the Turks continued to resist with fists , swords and rocks . The fierce fighting forced the Chinese to call in the 340th Regiment to reinforce the 342nd . Despite the hard fighting , the Turks were close to being overrun by the morning of November 29 , and only a timely air strike allowed the Turks to escape encirclement . In the aftermath of the fighting , the Turkish Brigade was completely fragmented , with most of their equipment and vehicles lost , but Yazıcı still remarked : " Withdraw ? Why withdraw ? We are killing lots of them . " With the US 2nd Infantry Division entering Kunu - ri on the night of November 28 , the Turks had successfully covered the withdrawal of the US IX Corps . The remnants of the Turkish Brigade fell back towards Kunu - ri and joined up with the US 38th Infantry Regiment of the 2nd Infantry Division . Aftermath . Although the US IX Corps managed to safely pull back into Kunu - ri , the Turkish Brigade ' s ordeal was not over . By the afternoon of November 29 , the PVA 114th Division linked up with the 112th Division of the 38th Corps and renewed their attacks against the Turkish Brigade and the US 38th Regiment . At the same time , the PVA 113th Division of the 38th Corps had cutoff Kunu - ri from the south , completely surrounding the US 2nd Division and the Turkish Brigade at Kunu - ri . In the ensuing battles and withdrawals with the US 2nd Division , the Turkish Brigade was effectively destroyed as a fighting unit with 20 percent of its men becoming casualties . Yet despite the heavy losses , the sacrifice of the Turkish Brigade was not forgotten by the US Eighth Army . On December 13 , 1950 , General Walton Walker of the Eighth Army presented 15 Silver Star and Bronze Star medals to the Turkish Brigade for their gallantry in action against the Chinese , and this occasion was proudly remembered by the Turkish soldiers in Korea .