Jipyeong-ri

Jipyeong-ri
Hangul	지평리
Hanja	砥平里
Revised Romanization	Jipyeong-ri
McCune–Reischauer	Chip'yŏng ri

Jipyeong-ri is a village in Jije-myeon, Yangpyeong County, Gyeonggi-do Province, South Korea. It was the site of the Battle of Chipyong-ni during the Korean War, February 1951. A memorial has been erected at the site, which is split into three portions — Korean, American and French. The area was an important transportation and communication hub.

The battle is sometimes known as the Gettysburg of the Korean War. The battle saw 5,600 Korean, American and French forces under the command of Colonel Paul L. Freeman, 23 RCT, defeat a numerically superior Chinese force in hard fighting. Surrounded on all sides, the 2nd Infantry Warrior Division’s 23rd Regimental Combat Team with an attached French Battalion was hemmed in by more than 25,000 Chinese Communist Forces around Jipyeong-ri. United Nations Forces had previously retreated in the face of the Communist forces instead of getting cut off, but this time they stood and fought. The allies fought at odds of roughly 15 to 1.

On the third day of fighting, units of the 5th Cavalry Regiment punched a hole in the Chinese lines relieving the 23rd RCT.

The victory is considered so decisive that the Chinese began peace overtures soon after.

• William S. Sitman, a medal of Honor recipient and Bellwood, Pennsylvania native was killed during the battle.

Various older historical landmarks are also located there, including the Jipyeong hyanggyo (village school) and a three-story stone pagoda from the Goryeo period.

Notes

• http://8tharmy.korea.army.mil/20110222chipyongni-timmons.asp

External links

• History of Yangpyeong at county government web site
• Chipyong-ni in Gugeler, Russel A. Combat Actions in Korea. United States Army Center of Military History. CMH Pub 30-2.
• War Memorial of Korea
• War Memorial of Korea web link [3]
• Medal of Honor citations web link [4]
• Korean War Veterans Memorial
• Eighth United States Army