Tank treads crunch the crisp white snow as the behemoths of steel and olive drab trudge towards Sinch'ang-ni, preparing to counter the break in the line. The echos of machine guns and twinkles of flares still fill the sky as Lieutenant Hartong moved his platoon closer to the village in the dark. On the night of November 27th, the Chinese had crushed the 6th Republic of Korea (ROK) Division, sending them into a route towards the 7th Cavalry Lines.¹ The ROK and 7th Cavalry soldiers were engaged by the elite 125th Division 42nd Army of the Chinese Communist Forces, a crack division bloodied in the Chinese Civil War.² 10,000 Chinese troops were marching headfirst towards the American line and 7th Cavalry commander Colonel William Walker acted fast to repulse the attack. Col. Walker first ordered the 3rd Battalion to reorganize the ROK soldiers and help process the constant stream of refugees. These two tasks were difficult, with the ROKs demoralized and the refugees having North Korean and CCF infiltrators within their ranks.³

​

As this logistical chaos ensued, the Chinese forces established footholds in the neighboring high ground, firing down on the 7th Cavalry with mortars and small arms until dislodged by the 77th Field Artillery Battalion firing intensive fire on their positions.⁴ With this threat cleared, the regiment moved up just north of Sinch'ang-ni, 1st and 2nd Battalions establishing defenses along the road leading to the village while 3rd Battalion was held in reserve. The Chinese began their attack around 10:30 PM on November 29th, flares and whistles blaring as they threw everything they had at the American lines. Rifles firing, machine guns roaring, and mortars blasting against the American line. This almost collapsed the 7th Cavalry's line. The Chinese managed to temporarily break through the line, overrunning F Company and assaulting 1st Battalion's command post. Hand-to-hand fighting ensued with fierce fighting between combatants using whatever they could get their hands on. Rifle butts slammed into skulls, bayonets pierced flesh, and shovels whacked against bone.⁵