Jamestown Line east sector, 31 March 1953

The Jamestown Line was a series of defensive positions occupied by

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...

forces in the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top: ...

. Following the end of the 1951 Chinese Spring Offensive and the

UN May-June 1951 counteroffensive The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizin ...

, the war largely became one of attrition and trench warfare, fought along static defensive lines reminiscent of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

. As a consequence, major UN ground operations from late spring—under the direction of

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Matthew Ridgway General Matthew Bunker Ridgway (March 3, 1895 – July 26, 1993) was a senior officer in the United States Army, who served as Supreme Allied Commander Europe (1952–1953) and the 19th Chief of Staff of the United States Army (1953–1955). Alth ...

—were primarily conducted to recapture or establish durable defensive lines, including the Wyoming, Missouri, Kansas and Jamestown Lines. The Jamestown Line stretched from the

Imjin River The Imjin River ( in South Korea) or Rimjin River ( in North Korea) is the 7th largest river in Korea. It flows from north to south, crossing the Demilitarized Zone and joining the Han River downstream of Seoul, near the Yellow Sea. The river i ...

near

Munsan-ni Munsan is a town of Paju, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. It lies on the south bank of the Imjin River, close to the edge of the Demilitarized Zone and near Panmunjom and the Joint Security Area. History Munsan has a heavy military presence becau ...

then arched northeast in the strategically important sector of front from the Kimpo peninsula on the

Yellow Sea The Yellow Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean located between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula, and can be considered the northwestern part of the East China Sea. It is one of four seas named after common colour term ...

coast to a point east of Kumhwa., p. 135. The line was subsequently established during the UN counteroffensive between May and November 1951, just north of the 38th Parallel (38°N) during Operation Commando (1951). Held by the

US I Corps I Corps is a corps of the United States Army headquartered in Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington. It is a major formation of United States Army Pacific (USARPAC) and its current mission involves administrative oversight of Army units in the ...

, this sector was just from the South Korean capital,

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...

. Five UN divisions of I Corps were used in its capture, including the

US 1st Cavalry Division The 1st Cavalry Division ("First Team") is a combined arms division and is one of the most decorated combat divisions of the United States Army. It is based at Fort Hood, Texas. It was formed in 1921 and served during World War II, the Ko ...

, the US 3rd and 25th Infantry Divisions, the South Korean 1st Division and the

1st Commonwealth Division The 1st Commonwealth Division was the military unit that commanded Commonwealth land forces in the Korean War. The division was a part of the multinational British Commonwealth Forces Korea, with infantry units of the British Army, Canadian A ...

. The Jamestown Line was fought over almost continuously until the armistice on 27 July 1953; due to its strategic position, it was the scene of much heavy fighting, including the

Battle of the Samichon River The Battle of the Samichon River (24–26 July 1953) was fought during the final days of the Korean War between United Nations Command, United Nations (UN) forces—primarily Australian and American—and the Chinese People's Volunteer Army (PVA ...

just hours before the

armistice agreement An armistice is a Treaty, formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived fro ...

, which ended the war. p. 269.

References

Korean War {{Korea-War-stub