Battle of Sniper Ridge

Battle of Sniper Ridge (狙擊稜綫戰鬪, English: Battle of Sniper ridge) was a contest over outpost positions in which the ROK 2nd Infantry Division, deployed in the Kimhwa area of the central front in 1952, fought the Chinese 15th Army for six weeks to seize outposts in front of the main line of resistance.
The area was an unnamed ridge rising near the Namdae Stream, about 7 km north of Kimhwa, extending from Osan Mountain at the centre of the Iron Triangle toward Kimhwa to the right. Its elevation was about 590 m and the ridge measured roughly 1 km² in area and rectangular in shape. The name "Sniper Ridge" arose in October 1951, when the US 25th Infantry Division, advancing toward the Nomad Line, entered the Kimhwa area and faced the Chinese 26th Army. Chinese troops deployed on this ridge fired on US troops advancing to Hill 538, inflicting considerable casualties. US soldiers therefore called this unnamed ridge "Sniper Ridge" or "Sniper's Ridge."

Background

In October 1952, when the Chinese army launched large-scale attacks on the outposts, US Eighth Army commander General Van Fleet judged that small-scale attacks were needed along the entire outpost line to seize the initiative. Accordingly, he launched Operation Showdown, a plan to seize limited objectives with battalion-sized forces. Under this operation, the US 7th Infantry Division began attacking Triangle Hill, while the ROK 2nd Infantry Division began attacking Sniper Ridge with its 17th, 31st and 32nd Regiments, together with the 30th and 37th Regiments that were added as reinforcements, and 16 artillery battalions.
Before the battle began, the Chinese 15th Army had deployed three of its divisions around Osan Mountain, of which the 45th Division set up an outpost position on Sniper Ridge and deployed a security unit. The unit deployed was only the size of a company, but it could receive support at division and corps level.

Course of the Battle

ROK Preemptive Attack

The battle of Sniper Ridge began with an attack by the ROK 2nd Infantry Division. At 05:00 on 14 October, the division began with an attack by nine artillery battalions, and the 3rd Battalion of the 32nd Regiment launched the first assault. However, the first attack failed.
The 3rd Battalion was therefore reinforced with one company and attacked again at 13:40. This time, however, it attacked with support from six formations of US fighter-bombers and concentrated fire from the division's nine artillery battalions. As a result, the Chinese positions were completely destroyed, and after fierce hand-to-hand fighting the 3rd Battalion of the 32nd Regiment fully occupied Sniper Ridge. After seizing it, the battalion deployed one company each on Y Hill and Dolbawi Hill and three companies on A Hill to prepare for Chinese counterattacks.