Haean-myeon, Yanggu-gun, Gangwon-do

Gachilbong Battlefield (가칠봉지구전투전적지)

www.ygtour.kr (Korean, English, Japanese, Chinese)

The entire
town of Haean-myeon is contained in Haean Basin. Also known as Punch Bowl, Haean
Basin is surrounded by high peaks and one of these peaks is Gachilbong.

The
nature of the terrain in the Gachilbong area made it difficult to conduct
military operations during the Korean War. The North Korean military utilized these natural features to build a solid defense position and launch counterattacks, while the
South Korean soldiers in the lowland were in a disadvantageous position. South Korean soldiers were under the command of 5th
Division Commander Brigadier General Min Gi-sik and 24th Regiment Commander
Colonel Yu Ui-jun. On the North Korean side, the 7th, 14th, and 32nd Regiments of the
27th Division and the 23rd Regiment of the 12th Division under the 2nd Corps fought back.

By
sending a military deployment and conducting search operations, the
South Korean military completed a reconnaissance of the area on August 30 and
advanced to counterattack. On August 31, after defending their position for two
days, the South Korean soldiers were able to break the North Korean resistance.
Each unit secured a strongly fortified position to draw the North Korean
soldiers out. Thereafter, South Korea launched an all-out attack and captured Hill
1241. However, North Korea attacked again and South Korea retreated. After several attacks and counterattacks,
South Korea was able to take back Gachilbong and the surrounding areas. Although
it resulted in heavy casualties on both sides, this battle ultimately
gave South Korea possession of Haean Basin.

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