75 years ago, December 1950 was a dark period for United Nations Command. While the month started with UNC and ROK forces standing on the Yalu River at Hyesan, Chinese forces were already overrunning both 8th Army in the west and X Corps in the northeast. Freezing weather and larger Chinese forces soon pushed both wings of the UNC advance southward. In the west, the US 2d Infantry Division was mauled as it, along with the UK 27th Brigade, withdrew through the gauntlet at Kunu-ri. A desperate defense by Turkish forces barely prevented the division from being overrun. 8th Army forces continued to withdraw in the face of strong Chinese attacks, first to Pyongyang, before repositioning south of the 38th Parallel by 15 December. In the northeast, UNC forces withdrew to the coast, consolidating on Wonsan and Hungnam. Elements of the 7th Infantry Division’s 31st and 32d Infantry Regiments, operating as Task Force MacLean/Faith, named for the successive commanders of the force, were overrun and destroyed east of the Changjin/Chosin Reservoir. Operating on the western side of the reservoir, Marines of the 1st Marine Division fought through Chinese forces to withdraw first to Hagaru-ri, at the southern end of the reservoir, before closing on Hungnam on the East Sea. The US 3d Infantry Division withdrew from the mountains of central-north Korea to Wonsan. ROK Forces withdrew from northeast of Sinpo along the coast to join the UNC defense at Hamhung and Hungnam. UNC air power targeted communist forces with bombs and napalm, ensuring UNC ground forces could withdraw. As the ground forces concentrated along the coast, UNC naval forces pulled off one of the most remarkable sea evacuations in history, pulling 7000 troops from Chinnampo on the West Sea, nearly 4000 troops and 7000 Korean civilians from Wonsan, and by 24 December, over 105,000 troops and 91,000 Korean Civilians from Hungnam. Despite this bright spot, by the end of December, UNC forces were defending along the Imjin River, just north of Seoul and back on ROK pre-war territory. Adding to the dark news, Lt Gen Walton Walker, 8th Army Commander, was killed on December 23 in a jeep accident just outside Uijeongbu. His replacement, Lt Gen Matthew Ridgway arrived on December 26 and found 8th Army and UNC demoralized after their brutal fight in north Korea and long withdrawal. Assuming Command, Lt Gen Ridgway worked to instill a mindset for victory. That would take into 1951 to achieve.
As an additional note, among the Korean civilians rescued from Hungnam were the parents of Moon Jae-in, who would later be elected as the 12th President of the Republic of Korea. As a conscripted Special Forces soldier, Moon also participated in Operation Paul Bunyan on August 21, 1976, where he assisted in securing the engineer work party that ultimately removed the poplar tree, focal point of the JSA Axe Murder Incident just three days earlier.