| UN retreat from North Korea | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Korean War | |||||||||
 Map of US Eighth Army retreat, 1–23 December 1950 | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 South Korea |
 North Korea China | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
 Douglas MacArthur Walton Walker Frank W. Milburn John B. Coulter Edward Almond Earle E. Partridge Chung Il-Kwon Shin Sung-Mo |
Choi Yong-kun Kim Chaek Kim Ung Kim Mu Chong Peng Dehuai | ||||||||
| Units involved | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| 423,000[1] |
 ~97,000[1]: 49 ~300,000[1]: 53–5 | ||||||||
 | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (May 2023) |
The UN Forces retreat from North Korea was the withdrawal of United Nations (UN) forces from North Korea that took place from 2–25 December 1950.
On 30 September Republic of Korea Army (ROK) forces crossed the 38th Parallel, the de facto border between North and South Korea on the east coast of the Korean peninsula and this was followed by a general UN offensive into North Korea to pursue the shattered North Korean Korean People's Army (KPA). Within one month UN forces were approaching the Yalu River prompting Chinese intervention in the war. Despite the initial attacks by the Chinese People's Volunteer Army (PVA) in late October-early November, the UN renewed their offensive on 24 November before it was abruptly halted by massive Chinese intervention in the Second Phase Offensive starting on 25 November. Following their defeat by the PVA at the Battle of the Ch'ongch'on River and tactical withdrawal at the Battle of Chosin Reservoir, UN forces evacuated North Korea in its entirety on 25 December. UN forces then prepared new defensive lines above Seoul for an expected renewal of the PVA offensive. The UN withdrawal from North Korea included many migrations of refugees fleeing from Chinese and North Korean forces that quickly recaptured North Korea. Two notable mass refugee escapes from North Korea include the Hungnam evacuation and the evacuation of Pyongyang.[2]
- ^ a b c Mossman, Billy (1988). United States Army in the Korean War: Ebb and Flow November 1950-July 1951. United States Army Center of Military History. p. 23.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ "Pyongyang taken as UN retreats, 1950". BBC Archive. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
