Battle of Kyongju
The Battle of Kyongju was an engagement between United Nations (UN) and North Korean (NK) forces early in the Korean War from August 31 to September 15, 1950, in the vicinity of Kyongju in South Korea. It was a part of the Battle of Pusan Perimeter, and was one of several large engagements fought simultaneously. The battle ended in a victory for the United Nations after large numbers of United States (US) and Republic of Korea (ROK) troops repelled a strong North Korean attack.
First and Second Battles of Wonju
In the aftermath of the Chinese successes, China's Chairman Mao Zedong immediately ordered another offensive against the UN forces on the urging of North Korean Premier Kim Il-sung. The offensive, dubbed the "Third Phase Campaign", was a border intrusion into South Korea that envisioned the total destruction of South Korean forces along the 38th parallel, and was aimed at pressuring the UN forces to withdraw from the Korean Peninsula. The western sector of the offensive was under the control of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army (PVA) 13th Army, and the 13th Army's action would later result in capture of Seoul on January 4. With the PVA 9th Army decimated at the Chosin Reservoir, however, the eastern sector of the offensive was handed over to the rehabilitated KPA, under the overall command of Lieutenant General Kim Ung and Commissar Pak Il-u. On December 23, 1950, General Walton Walker, commander of the US Eighth Army, died in a traffic accident, and Lieutenant General Matthew B. Ridgway assumed command of the Eighth Army on December 26, 1950.