The Battle of Triangle Hill, also known as Operation Showdown or the Shangganling Campaign (simplified Chinese: 上甘岭战役; pinyin: Shàng Gān Lǐng Zhàn Yì),[nb 3] was a protracted military engagement during the Korean War. The main combatants were two United Nations infantry divisions, with additional support from the United States Air Force, against elements of the 15th and 12th Corps[nb 2] of the People's Republic of China. The battle was part of American attempts to gain control of "The Iron Triangle", and took place from October 14 – November 25, 1952.
The immediate American objective was Triangle Hill (38°19′17″N 127°27′52″E / 38.32139°N 127.46444°E / 38.32139; 127.46444Coordinates: 38°19′17″N 127°27′52″E / 38.32139°N 127.46444°E / 38.32139; 127.46444), a forested ridge of high ground 2 kilometers (1.2 mi) north of Kimhwa near the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). The hill was occupied by the veterans of the People's Volunteer Army's 15th Corps. Over the course of nearly a month, substantial American and South Korean forces made repeated attempts to capture Triangle Hill and the adjacent Sniper Ridge.
Despite clear superiority in artillery and aircraft, escalating American and South Korean casualties resulted in the attack being halted after 42 days of fighting, with Chinese forces regaining their original positions.
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The Battle of Triangle Hill was the biggest and bloodiest contest of 1952.[11] After 42 days of heavy fighting, the Eighth Army had failed to gain the two hill masses that were its original goal.[82] For the Chinese, on the other hand, not only did the 15th Corps stop the UN attacks at Triangle Hill, the assaults conducted by the 44th Division on the Pyongyang front also resulted in Jackson Heights' capture on November 30.[83] Although the Chinese had suffered 11,500 casualties with many units decimated during the battle, its ability to sustain such losses had slowly exhausted the US Eighth Army over two months of attrition.[58] The PVA High Command viewed the victory as vindication that attrition was an effective strategy against the UN forces,[84] while the Chinese became more aggressive on the armistice negotiation and the battlefield.[85] Meanwhile,
the high UN casualties forced Clark to suspend any upcoming offensive operations involving more than one battalion, effectively preventing any major UN offensives for the rest of the war.[86][87] General Clark and US President Harry S. Truman later confided that the battle was a serious blow to the UN morale.[84] As for the South Koreans, the modest UN gain on Sniper Ridge had convinced them that
the South Korean armed forces were now capable of conducting independent offensive operations,[1] even through the American advisers were less than impressed with their performance during the course of the battle.[84]
Despite its impact and scale, the Battle of Triangle Hill is one of the least known episodes of the Korean War within the Western media.[84]
But for the Chinese, this costly victory presented an opportunity to promote the value of endurance and sacrifice.[9] The valor demonstrated by the Chinese soldiers at Triangle Hill was repeatedly glorified in various forms of media, including several major motion pictures.[88] Qin Jiwei was also celebrated as the hero of Shangganling and eventually rose to become the Minister of Defense and the Vice Chairman of the National People's Congress.[89][90] The 15th Corps became one of the most prestigious units within the PLA, and the PLAAF selected the 15th Corps to become China's first airborne corps in 1961.[91] It remains the most elite corps-size unit in China today.[92]
Battle of Triangle Hill - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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