Battle of Chatkol

The Battle of Chatkol (also known as the 55 Nights of Chatkol) was the name given to the series of skirmishes between UN forces and Chinese forces near the village of Chatkol at the centre of the "Iron Triangle" during the Korean War. The position was held by the Belgian UN contingent for 55 consecutive nights, during which time they came under heavy attack.

Chatkol

The small village of Chatkol (Korean: 찻골, sometimes "Chat-kol") lay in the centre of the zone labelled "Iron Triangle" between Chorwon and Kumhwa in the South, and Pyonggang in the north. Chatkol was viewed as a decisive communications hub by both Chinese and UN commanders owing to its proximity to the railway running north-east through the triangle.

Defences around Chatkol

The villages of Chatkol and Sandong-ni were surrounded to the north to east by an arc of defensive fortifications known the "The Boomerang" on the "White Horse Mountain Range" hill line On the northern portion of the defensive line, there were three "outposts" codenamed (from left to right) "Alice", "Barbara" and "Carol". The first letter of each outpost denoted which company of the Belgian contingent was responsible for their defence, while the Heavy Weapons Company defended the eastern arc of the "boomerang." The Belgians' command post was established at Sandong-ni to the north-west of the trench line.

Each outpost was manned by as few as three men during the day, but at night - the preferred time for Chinese assaults, this could be increased to over ten men. Both the main positions, and the outposts themselves, were heavily built and easily defensible, incorporating bunkers and trench lines.

In the east, the Belgian positions bordered the South Korean 9th Division.

8–9 March: Retaking Outpost Carol

Outpost Carol was located at a vulnerable point on the far right of the northern sector of the defences, 200 meters in front of the Belgian front line. Carol had been manned by seven soldiers and two machine guns when it was overrun by over 100 Chinese soldiers. The Belgians could not react to the loss of the outpost immediately as they came under heavy and accurate artillery fire from nearby Chinese positions.

The next morning, at 06:45 and with US artillery support and smoke screen, Belgian soldiers successfully assaulted and re-took the position. In this action 5 Belgians were killed and 17 wounded while Chinese losses were estimated at 25 killed, 40 wounded.

13 March: Retaking Outpost Alice

Outpost Alice was attacked at 00:15, first by an artillery bombardment, then by a massed Chinese attack. Retreating to their lines under fire, one soldier from the original garrison was found to be missing. When Alice was retaken, patrols were sent out to find the missing soldier. By 06:00, a wounded soldier - survivor of Outpost Alice - was seen crawling towards the front line and was evacuated to a MASH hospital by helicopter.

7–8 April

Realising that a Chinese breakthrough was a distinct possibility, Corporal Raymond Beringer of the Luxembourg Platoon, A Company moved his Water-cooled .30 Machine Gun to the roof of his bunker to enable a broader field of fire. After the battle, the bodies of over 20 Chinese soldiers were found within 200 meters of his bunker alone. For this action, Cpl. Beringer was awarded the American Bronze Star and recommended for the Silver Star. Despite this, the paperwork containing the recommendations for both medals were lost and the award was only made in 1992.

External links

• The Chatkol Battles, 28 February - 21 April 1953
• Cpl. Beringer at Chatkol
• Battle of Boomerang, 14-15 June 1953
• (Dutch) De Gevechten in 1953 : Chatkol