Battle of Chipyong - ni The Battle of Chipyong - ni ( ) , also known as the Battle of Dipingli ( ) , was a decisive battle of the Korean War , and it took place from 13 – 15 February 1951 between members of the US 23rd Infantry Regiment and various units of the Chinese People ' s Volunteer Army ( PVA ) . It took place in the village of Chipyong - ni , present - day Jipyeong - ri . The result was a United Nations Command victory . The battle , along with the Third Battle of Wonju , has been called " the Gettysburg of the Korean War , " and represents the " high - water mark " of the Chinese incursion into Korea . Due to the ferocity of the Chinese attack and the heroism of the defenders , the battle has also been called , " . . . one of the greatest regimental defense actions in military history . " Background . After Chinese forces entered Korea in November 1950 , the UN Forces , uncertain about the intentions and warfighting capabilities of the Chinese , drew back behind the 38th parallel and waited to see what the Chinese would do . Plans were even made for complete withdrawal from the peninsula . In this climate of general uncertainty , Lt . General Matthew B . Ridgway decided to make a stand at Chipyong - ni and also at Wonju . He recognized that the Chinese had overstretched their supply lines , and would not be able to keep up their advance much longer . He intended to use the 23rd RCT to blunt the Chinese attack so that the Eighth Army could carry out a counterattack before the Chinese had a chance to consolidate their forces . Prelude . Following the Battle of the Twin Tunnels on 1 February 1951 , the 23rd Regimental Combat Team under the command of Paul L . Freeman , Jr . reached important crossroads town of Chipyong - ni on 3 February and immediately set up a perimeter defense . Over the next few days , they dug in and were reinforced by artillery , tank , and engineer elements . By February 13 , their strength consisted of three infantry battalions ; the French Infantry Battalion and First Ranger Company , both attached to the regiment ; the 37th Field Artillery Battalion ; Battery B , 82nd Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion ; Battery B , 503rd Field Artillery Battalion ; Company B , 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion ; and a platoon from the 2nd Medical Battalion . In all , Freeman had 4 , 500 men under his command , including 2 , 500 front - line infantrymen . On February 11 , the Chinese attacked X Corps at Wonju and Hoengsoeng as part of their Fourth Phase Offensive , driving back two divisions and leaving the 23rd Regiment at Chipyong - ni behind enemy lines and exposed to a Chinese attack . The Chinese then sent the entirety of the 39th Army , and divisions of the 40th and 42nd armies to encircle and destroy Chipyong - ni . On the morning of the 13th , after a patrol revealed a significant Chinese presence on Route 24 to the north of the town , Lt . General Edward Almond , commander of X Corps ordered the 23rd Regiment to withdraw to the Yoju area , 15 miles to the south , due to concerns that it would be encircled by Chinese forces . However , later on the same day , Ridgeway reversed this decision after meeting with his superior , Douglas MacArthur . He insisted on attempting to hold Chipyong - ni , and directed Almond to attack north in order to relieve the regiment if it was cut off . Informed of this , Freeman began to bulk up his defenses , and requested resupply by air and airstrikes for the 14th . He deployed his 1st Battalion to the northern part of the perimeter , the 2nd to the south , and the 3rd on the east , with the French on the western side . The 1st Battalion ' s Company B and the Rangers were kept in reserve behind the 1st Battalion line . Battle . Day 1 . During the afternoon of the 13th , the Chinese forces took up positions around the 23rd ' s perimeter , but any attempts to advance were stopped by artillery . The U . S . forces observed heavy flare activity throughout the afternoon . Early in the evening , Freeman gathered his unit commanders and told them to expect an attack during the night . Between 22 : 00 and 23 : 00 hours , the Chinese directed small arms and mortar fire at the Americans from the northwest , north , and southeast . C Company , positioned near Route 24 on the northern perimeter , was hit hardest . Slightly after 23 : 00 , Chinese infantrymen moved down hill 397 , attacking E and G Companies . They were driven off , but shortly before 24 : 00 hours , an intense mortar and artillery barrage hit C Company . After this , the defenders heard bugles , whistles , and bells , followed by a concerted infantry attack all along the perimeter . By midnight , only 3rd Battalion in the east was not engaged . The attack was fierce but brief , intended to probe the American defenses , ending in most places soon after midnight . It was followed by an assault on 1st Battalion at 01 : 00 , but when this was repulsed the Chinese forces dug in beneath the 1st Battalion positions . At 00 : 15 , a bloody assault was made from the east against K Company . The attack was fought off , but the shooting remaining fierce enough that no ambulance could get through to evacuate K Company ' s wounded . In the north , the French were attacked from hill 345 . C Company was forced to withdraw slightly , but it counterattacked and its positions were regained . G Company was attacked at 02 : 30 and 04 : 00 . During the 04 : 00 attack , it was in danger of being overwhelmed , so a regimental tank was dispatched for support . At 05 : 30 , the attacks began to let up . There was still fighting in the west and east , however . At first light the Chinese renewed their attack in the west , against the 3rd Battalion . However , as daylight approached the Chinese knew they would be vulnerable to Air Force strikes ; at 07 : 30 a Chinese bugler blew a call to withdraw . Day 2 . At dawn on the 14th , Freeman had sustained about 100 casualties and been hit in the leg by mortar fire himself . He retained command despite his injuries . Air support kept the Chinese away during the daylight hours of the 14th , but the Americans were running dangerously low on ammunition . At dusk , artillery fire began to come down on the perimeter , followed soon after by infantry assaults . The 3rd Battalion was hit hard , and mortar fire rained down on the regimental command post for an hour . At midnight the main assault began , with a Chinese wave attack striking A Company , then veering over towards C Company and the French . By 01 : 30 , K Company in the east had been assaulted twice , and everywhere the ammunition shortage was critical . Air Force planes dropped ammunition down to the soldiers , but many of them were shot when they tried to get to it . Throughout the night , C - 47 Skytrain transports dropped flares to provide illumination . At 02 : 30 , I Company ' s perimeter was penetrated , the first successful penetration of the battle . Units of I Company , however , supported by L Company and the machine - gunners of M Company , counterattacked and restored the perimeter . Fighting was fiercest , however , in the south , where at around 03 : 15 , Chinese forces broke through the perimeter and forced the defenders out of their positions , a serious threat to the beleaguered regiment . At daybreak on the 15th , Freeman ordered the Ranger company , a platoon from F Company , and 14 men from G Company to counterattack , but they were driven back at 06 : 15 after sustaining heavy casualties in hand - to - hand fighting . At noon on the 15th , B Company , in full view of the Chinese and across open ground , attacked once more and this time but was pinned down by Chinese machine guns . By 12 : 30 , it was still 9 , 000 yards from what remained of the earlier counterattack . In desperation , the regiment sent out four tanks under Captain Perry Sager to attempt to flank the Chinese . Right about this time , at 15 : 45 , units of the 5th Cavalry Regiment ( Task Force Crombez ) moved out from a town to the south to support the men at Chipyong - ni . At 14 : 00 , the Chinese retreated from their position inside the perimeter under the pressure of an Air Force napalm bombardment and an attack by B Company , in which they lost 50 % of their men . When they gained the position at 16 : 30 , they could see Task Force Crombez in the distance , which arrived at 17 : 25 with nearly 20 tanks . The Chinese withdrew . Aftermath . Casualties on the UN side of the conflict were 51 killed , 250 wounded , and 42 missing . The Chinese lost approximately 1 , 000 killed and 2 , 000 wounded . （ source missing ） The battle offered an incredible boost to the morale of Eighth Army , which had up until now seen the Chinese as an invincible juggernaut . Soon afterwards , Operation Killer was launched , followed by Operation Ripper . The Chinese , who had had hopes of driving the UN forces to the sea , were themselves driven back . Eventually , this led to the start of peace negotiations in July 1951 . Matthew Ridgway , speaking to Congress in May 1952 , said of the battle : The Chinese leadership , in a critique of the battle , stated that Awards . On February 20 , Sergeant First Class William S . Sitman , a machine gun section leader in M Company , was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for bravery during the battle when he threw himself on a grenade to save 5 other comrades . After the battle , the 23rd RCT and all attached units were awarded the United States Army Distinguished Unit Citation .