Time and time again, history proves that warfare isn't entirely a numbers game. And
one of the best examples of this rule in action took place during the Korean War, when a small
Filipino force held their ground against a far larger Chinese division. While the numbers were
almost certainly blown out of proportion for the purposes of propaganda, some of the more
conservatives estimates still speak of victory against all odds. In this video, we pay our
respects to the 900 brave Filipinos who fought in the highly exalted Battle of Yultong or Yuldong.
Before we get stuck into the Battle of Yultong,
just what were the Filipinos and Chinese doing in Korea anyway?
The Korean War was one of the bloodiest wars of the Cold War era. At the end of the Second World
War, Korea was essentially divided in the two halves — the Soviet Union-administered north half,
and the United States-administered south half. Both Korean governments were certain that they,
and not their north or south counterpart, were in charge of the country, however,
and on the 25th of June 1950, the North Korean Korean People's Army marched into South Korea.
In response, the United Nations started deploying its forces, with 21 UN member countries ultimately
answering the call. The Philippines was one of such countries, deploying the *Philippine
Expeditionary Force to Korea* or PEFTOK in August that same year. PEFTOK entered Korea
at a strength of 1,486, but it grew to include some 7,500 during the conflict. One of the units
under PEFTOK was the 10th Battalion Combat Team or simply the 10th BCT, which we'll get to soon.
Sharing a border with Korea and maintaining different ideologies to the Western Bloc,
it's no wonder that China watched the Korean War with weary eyes. In the words of Chinese Premier
Zhou Enlai, directed at the UN, "Korea is China's neighbour [...]. The Chinese people cannot [help]
but be concerned [with] a solution [to] the Korean question."When UN forces invaded North Korean
in October, China mustered the Chinese People's Volunteer Army or PVA, crossed the Yalu River into
North Korea, and startled the UN forces positioned there into a hasty retreat. This was the first of
the PVA's five major offensives in the Korean War, with their last being the Fifth Phase Offensive or
Spring Offensive, during which they messed with the wrong group of Fighting Filipinos.
When UN forces invaded North Korean in October, China mustered the Chinese People's Volunteer
Army or PVA, crossed the Yalu River into North Korea, and startled the UN forces positioned there
into a hasty retreat. This was the first of the PVA's five major offensives in
the Korean War, with their last being the Fifth Phase Offensive or Spring Offensive, during
which they messed with the wrong group of Fighting Filipinos.
An artillery barrage lit up the night sky, landing on the Turkish Brigade and blowing them to shreds.
Some four hours later, artillery and mortar shells pummelled the entire 3rd Infantry Division front,
paving the way for machine-gun and small-arms fire. Now, falling upon the 10th BCT was
an entire PVN division — either the 34th Division of the 12th Army, according to the UN, or the
44th Division of the 15th Army, according to the Chinese. Either way, the division was at least
10,000 troops strong, with propaganda estimates reaching as high as 40,000. What ensued was a
series of close-quarter engagements, in which the Filipino 10th BCT managed to hold its ground. The
Americans and Turks, however, couldn't handle the heat, and retreated several hundred meters
south, leaving the 10th BCT standing like a lone island in a relentless red sea.
Stranded and severely outnumbered, the 10th BCT put its foot down and decided it would stop the
Chinese advance then and there, or die trying. Either way, they gave the PVN division a fight
that China will never forget. Filipino drivers, medics, clerks, typists, cooks,
and even the unit's chaplain took up arms and threw themselves into the battle, which raged
in pockets throughout the 10th BCT's position. In the words of Fighting Filipino Luminoso Cruz, "The
Chinese attacked us in waves all night. My buddy and I just kept firing and firing our rifles."
Slowly but surely, however, the PVN attack eroded the 10th BCT's position,
and most of the unit complied with an order to fall back to a secondary line — most. But for the
10th BCT's tank company, this was not an option. Under the command of Filipino Captain Conrado Yap,
the company drive towards a hill captured by the PVN, where the company aimed to rescue as
many Filipino survivors and recover as many dead Filipino bodies as they could.
To this end, the company succeeded, saving the lives of an incredibly grateful 10th BCT squad.
For his bravery, however, Captain Yap himself paid the ultimate price,
receiving his Philippine Armed Forces Medal of Valour posthumously. The citation read:
"[...] Captain Yap, in a desperate effort to rescue the lost unit ordered for covering
support from the other units under his command and personally led a furious counterattack to
regain the hill position and rescue the trapped unit despite an authority that he may withdraw
which he has already received. [...] [H]e proceeded to assault an enemy emplacement
about 300 yards away despite the hail of enemy fires until he fell dead from an enemy bullet."
Captain Yap also received the United States Distinguished Service Cross,
with the citation reading:
"[...] [H]e fearlessly led a daring charge [...] to reach the beleaguered platoon.
[Under] [...] heavy fire received from flanks [...], they relentlessly pressed the assault,
regained the hill, evacuated the casualties, and rescued the isolated unit.
Observing a stricken soldier on the slope of the hill, Captain Yap
immediately started toward the man but was mortally wounded by a burst of enemy fire.
Inspired by his heroic conduct, his men continued the fight with such determination and skill
that the enemy attack was contained and numerous casualties were inflicted."
By dawn, the 10th BCT had scarcely given any ground to the Chinese division, and, in covering
the 3rd Infantry Division's retreat, the Filipinos had utterly exhausted their enemy, whose offensive
was growing weaker by the second. Tireless, the 10th BCT then launched a counterattack,
pushing the Chinese back a few places on the board and putting an end to the Battle of Yultong.
While the Filipino 10th BCT suffered 56 casualties in total, these fearless soldiers,
cooks, and chaplains — and whoever else was able to pick up a gun — managed to kill more than
500 Chinese troops throughout the battle. It's safe to say that the Filipinos proved
themselves a force be reckoned with over those two days in April 1951, but maybe this
was better expressed in the words of Filipino Major Maximo Young, who was actually there:
"The Battle of Yuldong was the greatest Filipino victory in the
Korean War. [...] It was one of many battles fought by the [United Nations Command] in an
effort to repel the biggest offensive of the Korean War: the communist's 'Great
Spring Offensive [...]'. [...] By 6 a.m. of 23 April, the 10th BCT was only one of the only
two UNC units on the Western Front not overran or wiped out by the tremendous
Chinese assault. [...] PEFTOK, to me, is the embodiment of Filipino patriotism."
But what do you think? Had you heard about the Battle of Yultong/Yuldong before this? Did the
10th BCT really face off against as many as 40,000 Chinese troops, or was that just propaganda?
Lastly, would you have agreed when American General Douglas McArthur said, "Give me 10,000
Filipino soldiers and I will conquer the world"? Please share your thoughts in the comments.