Background
After withdrawing from Bloody Ridge, the Korean People's Army (KPA) set up new positions just 1,500 yards (1,400 m) away on a seven mile (11 km) long hill mass. If anything, the Communist defenses were even more formidable here than on Bloody Ridge. The U.S. 2nd Infantry Division's acting commander, Brigadier General Thomas de Shazo, and his immediate superior, Major General Clovis E. Byers, the X Corps commander, seriously underestimated the strength of the North Korean position. They ordered a lone infantry regiment, the 23rd, and its attached French battalion, to make what would prove to be an ill-conceived assault straight up Heartbreak's heavily fortified slopes.
Read more about this topic: Battle Of Heartbreak Ridge
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