Battle of Chosin Reservoir
1950 CE · North Korea
The Battle of Chosin Reservoir was fought in 1950 CE in North Korea between United Nations Command (chiefly the US 1st Marine Division) vs China; Chinese strategic victory; the UN forces fought their way out of encirclement and were evacuated by sea from Hungnam.
Battle of Chosin Reservoir: quick facts
- Date
- 1950 CE
- Location
- North Korea
- Belligerents
- United Nations Command (chiefly the US 1st Marine Division) vs China
- Commanders
- Oliver P. Smith and Edward Almond vs Song Shilun
- Result
- Chinese strategic victory; the UN forces fought their way out of encirclement and were evacuated by sea from Hungnam.
- Era
- 🦅 American Wars
- Quiz difficulty
- hard
What happened at the Battle of Chosin Reservoir?
In late November 1950, approximately 30,000 UN troops, primarily US Marines, were surrounded by 120,000 Chinese soldiers at the Chosin Reservoir in the frozen mountains of North Korea. In temperatures plunging to minus 35 degrees Fahrenheit, the Marines fought a legendary 78-mile fighting withdrawal to the port of Hungnam. When told they were retreating, Marine commander General O.P. Smith famously declared, 'Retreat, hell! We're just attacking in a different direction.' Despite suffering heavy casualties from combat and frostbite, the Marines inflicted devastating losses on the Chinese and evacuated successfully by sea, preserving a battle-hardened force that would fight on.
Did you know?
At the Chosin Reservoir, temperatures were so extreme that mortar rounds had to be warmed by hand before they could be fired, blood plasma froze before it could be administered, and Tootsie Rolls were air-dropped as rations and also used to patch bullet holes in fuel drums.
Sources and further reading
- Battle of Chosin Reservoir on Wikipedia for the full account, historiography and primary sources.
- How BattleGuess compiles and checks battle facts: see the About page.
Entry last reviewed 26 September 2026.