Operation Ripper, also known as the Fourth Battle of Seoul, was a United Nations military operation conceived by the commander US Eighth Army, General Matthew Ridgway, during the Korean War. The operation was intended to destroy as much as possible of the Chinese communist People's Volunteer Army and North Korean military around Seoul and the towns of Hongch'on, 50 miles (80 km) east of Seoul, and Ch'unch'on, 15 miles (24 km) further south.