Operation Thunderbolt-2

General Ridgway, against the very questionable advice of his cautious Staff, felt the 8th Army had regrouped enough to counter-attack. Perhaps our least recognized but probably our best General in the Korean War, he begins with a reconnaissance in force.

The first phase of Operation Thunderbolt indicated a CCF and NK shift to the east, in the Chunchon area where the ROKs were advancing in Operation Roundup. The indications were that the CCF would again attack, this time in the Yangpyong and Chipyong-ni areas near Chunchon. With the 1st Marine Division and X Corps to protect its right flank in the event the CCF attack was successful in the center, Ridgway continued pushing I and IX Corps to the Han. There, he stopped and stabilized his front awaiting the results of the expected battles in the center.

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