Ridgway Launches Operation Piledriver on the Iron Triangle
May 30 - June 17
The iron triangle, referred to as the ganglion of the enemies power consisted of three villages, Chorwon, Kumhwa and Pyongyang. This area was home to many railways and highways which supplied the communist troops and made possible many of the attacks on south Korea. Operation piledriver was an offensive tasked with capturing chorwan and Kumwha and establishing the defensive line Wyoming twelve miles north of the preexisting Kansas line. A major difficulty faced by operation piledriver was the conditions brought about by frequent monsoons which transformed highways and lakes into quicksand, their advance was further hindered by skirmishes with groups Korean and Chinese soldiers. Low clouds, heavy rains and dense fog also prevented the Air Force from rendering much assistance. Some of the greatest threats to the offensive were central Korea’s rivers which were swollen from heavy rain, these threats were dealt with by pontoon builders and engineers. On the tenth of June the army reached Chorwon and Kumhwa which had been abandoned to occupation by the communists. The American forces pushed past the newly established Wyoming line and briefly held Pyongyang on the fourteenth of June, however it was retaken by Chinese forces three days later. During the course of this offensive 231 Americans were killed and 1,787 wounded. This operation forced communist forces out of their some of their strongest and most fortified positions. This was the last large scale offensive undertaken by America during the war and led to a cease fire on June 23 and opened up communist leaders to peace talks.
The iron triangle, referred to as the ganglion of the enemies power consisted of three villages, Chorwon, Kumhwa and Pyongyang. This area was home to many railways and highways which supplied the communist troops and made possible many of the attacks on south Korea. Operation piledriver was an offensive tasked with capturing chorwan and Kumwha and establishing the defensive line Wyoming twelve miles north of the preexisting Kansas line. A major difficulty faced by operation piledriver was the conditions brought about by frequent monsoons which transformed highways and lakes into quicksand, their advance was further hindered by skirmishes with groups Korean and Chinese soldiers. Low clouds, heavy rains and dense fog also prevented the Air Force from rendering much assistance. Some of the greatest threats to the offensive were central Korea’s rivers which were swollen from heavy rain, these threats were dealt with by pontoon builders and engineers. On the tenth of June the army reached Chorwon and Kumhwa which had been abandoned to occupation by the communists. The American forces pushed past the newly established Wyoming line and briefly held Pyongyang on the fourteenth of June, however it was retaken by Chinese forces three days later. During the course of this offensive 231 Americans were killed and 1,787 wounded. This operation forced communist forces out of their some of their strongest and most fortified positions. This was the last large scale offensive undertaken by America during the war and led to a cease fire on June 23 and opened up communist leaders to peace talks.