In this section we cover a chronology of the events surrounding the Korean War from 1950-1953. The Korean War officially began on June 24, 1950 with the invasion of South korea by North Korea.
The war ended on July 27, 1953 The United States, North Korea and China signed an armistice, which ended the war but failed to bring permanent peace.
1953
Jan 25
Operation SMACK. Assault
on Spud Hill by elements of the 31st Infantry Regiment (7th Infantry
Division).
March 17
Hill 355 (Little Gibraltar),
held by the 9th Infantry Regiment (2nd Infantry Division), is
assaulted by Chinese.
March 23-24
Old Baldy/Pork Chop
Complex. Held by 31st Infantry Regiment (7th Infantry Division).
The 32nd Regiment (7th Infantry Division) relieves the 31st.
March 26-30
Outposts at the Nevada
cities (Vegas-Reno-Carson), held by the 5th Marine Regiment, come
under heavy attack. A Chinese regiment is destroyed.
April 16-18
Battle of Pork Chop
Hill. The 17th and 31st Infantry Regiments (7th Infantry Division)
hit hard and suffer heavy casualties.
April 20-26
Operation Little Switch
exchanges sick and wounded POWs, including 149 Americans.
May 13
Raid on Toksan Dam.
A dramatic strike by 58th Fighter-Bomber Wing F-84s destroys a
major irrigation system. Five miles of valuable rice crops are
scoured and miles of highways and railroad tracks are destroyed.
Further attacks on irrigation dams follow over the next two weeks.
June 15
USS Princeton launches
184 sorties, establishing a single-day Korean War record for offensive
sorties flown from a carrier.
June 15
Navy and Marine Corps
aircraft fly 910 sorties—the highest combined number for a single
day.
June 30
FEAF Sabres destroy
16 MiGs, the largest number shot down in one day.
July 6-10
Battle of Pork Chop
Hill. The 7th Infantry Division is ordered to evacuate its defensive
positions after five days of fighting.
July 13-20
Battle of Kumsong River
Salient. Last Communist offensive. CCF launches a six-division
attack partly directed at the U.S. IX Corps (3rd, 40th, 45th Infantry
Divisions). The 187th RCT is attached to 2nd Infantry Division
during the fighting.
July 24-26
Final U.S. ground combat.
Heavy enemy (3,000 men) attack is launched in the Berlin Complex
("Boulder City") area held by the 7th and 1st Marine Regiments.
Last Marine ground actions of the war are fought on Hills 111
and 119.
July 27
Last air kill of the
war. F-86 pilot downs an enemy transport near the Manchurian border.
July 27
The United States,
North Korea and China sign an armistice, which ends the war but
fails to bring about a permanent peace. To date, the Republic
of Korea (South) and Democratic Peoples' Republic of Korea (North)
have not signed a peace treaty. A total of 33,651 service members
died in battle during the Korean War; 27,709 U.S. Army; 4,269
U.S. Marines; 1,198 U.S. Air Force; and 475 U.S. Navy. 7,140 service
members became prisoners of war.
Korean War is the best Korean War information resource on the Internet. We offer information on Korean War History, Korean War Timeline, Korean War Facts, Korean War Quotes, Korean War Poems, Korean War Pictures, Korean War Posters, Korean War Propaganda, Korean War Aircraft, Korean War Weapons, Korean War Battles, Korean War Memorial, Korean War Links, and more.
