Amidst the snow-covered hills of the small village of Chipyong-Ni, Korea, a regimental combat team of the 23rd Infantry Division, in the midst of battle, took up a position decisive from February 13 to 15. , 1951, which would lead to the first operational victory against a much stronger and larger force. In what some considered the Gettysburg of the Korean War, the Battle of Chipyong-Ni was a hard-fought engagement between X Corp, 23rd Regimental Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, under the command of COL. Paul Freeman, the North Korean People's Army and the Chinese Communist Forces (CCF). This analysis will demonstrate that COL Paul Freemans' ability to properly utilize mission command ultimately led to the enemy's first operational defeat since the start of the Korean War. According to Army Doctrine Publication (ADP) 6-0, the philosophy of mission command is: "the exercise of authority and direction by the commander using mission orders to enable the he disciplinary initiative as part of the commander's intent to empower agile and adaptive leaders in the conduct of unified land operations. Commanders execute mission command throughout all phases of the operational process. ADP 5-0 states that “commanders direct the operational process.” The six steps that enable commanders to direct the operational process are: understand, visualize, describe, direct, direct, and evaluate. I will discuss four of these steps used by COL Freeman to analyze his ability to properly execute mission command during this battle. COL Freeman's first step in the operational process was to understand the operational environment and the problem he faced. The 23rd RCT's mission at Chipyong-ni was to dominate the road intersection in the center of the village and occupy the high ground surrounding the...... middle of paper ...... desired end state, describe the end state to his subordinates, directing forces throughout the battlefield, leading his unit to victory, and continually assessing and directing the situation. COL Freemans successfully executed these steps during the operational process, resulting in the successful execution of mission command. Department of the Army. ADP 5-0 The Operations Process (May 2012). US Department of the Army. FM 5-0 The Operations Process (March 2011). US Department of the Army. Mission Command ADP 6-0 (May 2012). “Mission Command”. StudyMode.com. 07, 2013. Accessed 07, 2013. http://www.studymode.com/essays/Mission-Command-1835554.html http://www.koreanwar2.org/kwp2/cmh/chipyong-ni_staff_ride.pdf « Leadership in Battle: The Siege of Chipyong-Ni”. Army Magazine, 2002 http://www3.ausa.org/webpub/DeptArmyMagazine.nsf/byid/CCRN-6CCS5J