July 5, 1950 · Central Korea Theater

The first American ground engagement of the Korean War. Task Force Smith — a hastily assembled force of about 540 men from the 24th Infantry Division in Japan — was rushed to Korea to delay the North Korean People's Army advance. Outgunned and outnumbered, their bazookas bounced harmlessly off Soviet-built T-34 tanks. The Americans were overrun and forced to retreat with severe losses.

August 4 – September 15, 1950 · Southeast Korea Theater

Pushed to the southeastern tip of the peninsula, UN forces established a defensive perimeter around the port city of Pusan — roughly 140 miles long and 50 miles wide. General Walker famously issued his 'stand or die' order. For six brutal weeks, North Korean forces launched relentless assaults across the Naktong River while the US rushed reinforcements and supplies through the vital port. The outnumbered UN forces bent repeatedly but did not break.

September 15–19, 1950 · West Coast Korea Theater

Against the advice of nearly every senior military planner, General MacArthur executed an amphibious assault at Inchon — a port with treacherous tidal conditions requiring a 32-foot tidal swing and offering a narrow 12-hour window. The 1st Marine Division and Army X Corps struck directly at the North Korean rear, cutting their supply lines. The boldness of the operation achieved complete strategic surprise. MacArthur had wagered his reputation and won brilliantly.

September 25–28, 1950 · Central Korea Theater

Following the Inchon landing, US Marines and Army units drove east to recapture the South Korean capital of Seoul. North Korean defenders fought house-to-house through the city's streets, requiring intense urban combat that caused significant civilian casualties. MacArthur insisted on liberating the capital exactly three months after its fall, staging a dramatic ceremony to restore President Syngman Rhee to power amid streets still echoing with gunfire.

November 1–2, 1950 · North Korea Theater

As UN forces confidently advanced toward the Yalu River, Chinese People's Volunteer Army troops launched devastating night assaults against the US 8th Cavalry Regiment near Unsan. Using traditional infantry tactics — bugle calls, whistles, and flanking movements — the Chinese surrounded and destroyed much of the regiment. UN commanders initially dismissed the engagements as involving only small Chinese 'volunteer' forces, fatally underestimating the massive intervention now underway.

November 27 – December 13, 1950 · Northeast Korea Theater

In temperatures plunging to minus 35 degrees Fahrenheit, 30,000 US Marines and soldiers of X Corps found themselves completely surrounded by 120,000 Chinese troops at the Chosin Reservoir in the mountains of northeast Korea. General Oliver P. Smith's Marines executed one of history's most celebrated fighting retreats — 78 miles through enemy lines to the port of Hungnam. 'Retreat, hell — we're just attacking in a different direction,' became the battle's motto. Frostbite casualties rivaled those from combat.

January 4, 1951 · Central Korea Theater

Following the catastrophic reversal of November 1950, UN forces under the newly arrived General Matthew Ridgway conducted a disciplined fighting withdrawal as the combined Chinese-North Korean offensive drove south. Seoul fell for the second time on January 4, 1951, as Ridgway ordered the city abandoned to preserve his forces intact. The capital's population fled in terrible winter conditions. Ridgway worked furiously to rebuild UN morale and establish coherent defensive lines.

February 13–15, 1951 · Central Korea Theater

The 23rd Infantry Regiment and French Battalion — roughly 4,500 men — were surrounded at the village of Chipyong-ni by five Chinese divisions totaling over 25,000 troops. For two nights, Chinese forces launched human wave assaults against the perimeter, at times overrunning sections of the defensive line. The surrounded Americans called in devastating air and artillery support and held through desperate close-quarters fighting. A relief column broke through on February 15, ending the siege.

August 25 – October 15, 1951 · Central Korea Theater

During the grinding stalemate phase of the war, UN forces were ordered to seize a complex of ridges near Mundung-ni known as Heartbreak Ridge. What commanders expected would take a few days stretched into 52 days of savage fighting. Hill 851 changed hands five times. American and French soldiers attacked up steep slopes into withering fire, captured peaks, were counterattacked, fell back, and attacked again. Casualties mounted horrifically for terrain of limited strategic value as armistice talks stalled.

March 23 – July 16, 1953 · Central Korea Theater

Pork Chop Hill — so named for its shape on military maps — was the site of repeated bloody engagements during the final months of the war. The low but strategically positioned outpost was attacked by Chinese forces in April 1953, recaptured by US troops in desperate fighting, and attacked again in July as armistice negotiations neared conclusion. In the final assault, American commanders judged the hill not worth further sacrifice and ordered withdrawal just two weeks before the armistice was signed.

May 28–29, 1953 · Western Korea Theater

The Hook was a curved ridge position held by British Commonwealth forces in the western sector that controlled the Samichon Valley approach toward Seoul. Chinese forces attacked in massive strength on the night of May 28–29, 1953, with the Duke of Wellington's Regiment holding the position through intense close-quarters fighting. Artillery fire was so heavy that the position was described as resembling a World War I battlefield. The British held through the night.