The Marines had inflicted astonishing casualties: Song’s forces had suffered an estimated 30,000 killed in action and more than 12,500 wounded. The Marines, on the other hand, had lost 750 dead, with 3,000 wounded and just under 200 missing. Though Mao could technically claim a victory in the Chosin engagement—and he loudly did—it was a Pyrrhic one at best. Mao, said one account, had “committed the unforgivable sin, of defeating an enemy army while failing to destroy it.”
