Thread by @USArmyCMH

10 JUNE 1953 – BATTLE OF OUTPOST HARRY BEGINS

The Battle of Outpost Harry (10 JUN – 18 JUN 1953) was one of the last engagements of the Korean War. A small hilltop artillery observation post in the vital “Iron Triangle,” Harry was manned primarily by a company from the 3d ID.

The Iron Triangle was a heavily fortified zone commanding the approach to Seoul, and Harry was one of the UN's most important observation posts in the area, allowing UN forces to view and call accurate artillery strikes against the Chinese Army.

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The Chinese planned to use indirect fire to soften the Harry’s defenses and pave the way for its capture. Meanwhile, the Americans used a series of interlocking fields of fire, pre-arranged artillery, barbed wire, and mines to cover the perimeter of their outpost.

After the battle started, a rhythmic sequence quickly developed in which both sides would mutually bombard each other during the day, while the Chinese launched mass infantry attacks after nightfall.

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Beginning with a company on 10 JUN, the Chinese added two battalions and penetrated the position. The company-sized U.S. unit holding Harry beat back the advance in a desperate struggle that devolved into vicious hand-to-hand combat.

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On the night of 11 JUN, the enemy returned with an estimated regiment and the pattern of the preceding encounter was repeated. Nearly every night for the next week, new companies were rotated in and out of Harry as the Chinese tried again and again to storm the outpost.

Chinese efforts to take Harry proved futile and extremely costly. The 3d ID estimated that the enemy had incurred over 4,200 casualties during the nine-day period. The UN casualties amounted to 699 killed, wounded, or missing.