Operation Thunderbolt (1951)

Operation Thunderbolt
	Part of the Korean War
	; Operation Thunderbolt map
Date	25 January – 11 February 1951
Location	Han River, South Korea
Result	United Nations victory
Belligerents
United Nations USA; UK; Turkey; South Korea; Colombia;	China; North Korea
Commanders and leaders
Douglas MacArthur; Matthew B. Ridgway; Frank W. Milburn; John B. Coulter; Bryant E. Moore	Peng Dehuai; Liang Xingchu; Zeng Zesheng; Lee Kwon Mu
Units involved
Eighth Army 3rd Infantry Division; 24th Infantry Division; Colombian Battalion; 25th Infantry Division; 1st Infantry Division; 6th Infantry Division; 27th Infantry Brigade; 29th Infantry Brigade; Turkish Brigade;	38th Army; 50th Army; I Corps
Strength
94,147	50,000
Casualties and losses
US: 2,228 killed ; ~7,000 total casualties; Total: Unknown; Chinese estimate: 20,000	18,600

37°45′N 126°11′E / 37.750°N 126.183°E / 37.750; 126.183 (Han River)

Operation Thunderbolt, also known in China as the Defensive Battle of the Han River Southern Bank (Chinese: 汉江南岸防御战; pinyin: Hàn Jiāng Nán Àn Fáng Yù Zhàn), was a US offensive during the Korean War.

It represented the first offensive under the new commanding officer of the US Eighth Army, General Matthew Ridgway. It started less than three weeks after the Chinese Third Phase Campaign had forced UN forces south of Seoul.