The First and Second Battles of Wonju (), also known as the Wonju Campaign or the Third Phase Campaign Eastern Sector (), was a series of engagements between North Korean and United Nations (UN) forces during the Korean War. The battle took place from December 31, 1950 to January 20, 1951 around the South Korean town of Wonju. In coordination with the Chinese capture of Seoul on the western front, the North Korean Korean People's Army (KPA) attempted to capture Wonju in an effort to destabilize the UN defenses along the central and the eastern fronts. After a joint Chinese People's Volunteer Army (PVA) and KPA assault breached the UN defenses at Chuncheon on New Year's Eve of 1951, KPA V Corps attacked US X Corps at Wonju while KPA II Corps harassed US X Corps' rear by engaging in guerrilla warfare. In response, US X Corps under the command of Major General Edward Almond managed to cripple the KPA forces at Wonju, and the UN forces later carried out a number of anti-guerrilla operations against the KPA infiltrators. In the aftermath of the battle, the KPA forces on the central and the eastern fronts were decimated, allowing the UN front to be stabilized at the 37th parallel. Background After launching a surprise invasion of South Korea in June 1950, the KPA was shattered by the United Nations (UN) forces following the landing at Incheon and the UN September 1950 counteroffensive, with the remnants of the KPA fleeing northward while seeking sanctuaries in the mountainous region along the Sino-Korean border. The destruction of the KPA and the UN offensive into North Korea prompted China to intervene in the Korean War, and Chinese forces launched their Second Phase Offensive against the UN forces near the border during November 1950. The resulting battles in the Ch'ongch'on River valley and at Chosin Reservoir forced the UN forces to retreat from North Korea during December 1950 to a line north of the 38th Parallel. On the eastern front, US X Corps had evacuated North Korea by sea by December 24, 1950. In its absence, the Republic of Korea Army (ROK) was forced to take over the defenses of the central and the eastern fronts along the 38th Parallel, including the important road junction of Wonju located near the central front. The sudden defeat of the UN forces offered the decimated KPA a brief respite,