Heartbreak Ridge Case Study

In 1951 a seven mile stretch of hills running north and south, the cries of men dying could be heard along with the retort of artillery and machine gun fire throughout the valley. This location of such destruction was Heartbreak Ridge, located just north of the 38th parallel the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division along with its NATO allies were making a push to take the ridge and hills to prevent the North Koreans and their Chinese allies from invading South Korea again. The month long campaign to take Heartbreak Ridge would push the U.S. and her allies to the breaking point but their sheer determination and fortitude would see them through to the end and to victory. In 1951 the Korean War has turned into a stalemate along the 38th parallel where

This made it to where the Americans had to fortify the road along with removing the obstacles the KPK emplaced so they could use it to attack the surrounding valleys. On October the 10th the time had come to commit to the new strategy. A battalion of 30 American M4A3E8 Sherman tanks supported by artillery would begin their assault along the new improved road while the infantry would attack the main ridge to keep the enemy engaged. This push just happened at an opportune time for the U.S. They were able to catch the Chinese forces who were moving up to replace the KPK on the ridge. The thrust by the American armor caught the Chinese completely out in the open and a slaughter ensued. This allowed the Americans to push deep into enemy territory with only losing five tanks to damage. On Oct. 12 the Americans continued their push to take two surrounding hills from Heartbreak Ridge. This time it was 48 tanks with the 23rd Regiment supporting that would take the lead. Unfortunately, the Chinese learned from the previous days of being slaughter and had prepared antitank traps and brought up several antitank guns. They waited till the American forces were in “point blank” range and opened fire. This tactic would cause great destruction in the American lines, they would lose 18 tanks to this attack. However this new tactic would not stop the assault of the American