Introduction:
This paper provides a brief overview of the Korean War and, in particular, the Canadian role in the conflict. Almost 27,000 Canadians served under United Nations command in Korea or Japan. They won no fewer than 156 Commonwealth and 6 United States decorations. The Korean War involved more Canadian troops than any other war in the country’s history other than the two World Wars.1
Background:
War came to Korea at dawn on a Sunday morning. At 0400 local time on 25 June 1950 the Korean People’s Army launched its offensive against the Republic of Korea.2 The invading forces made short work of the unprepared defenders and by the following day were in the suburbs of Seoul, the capital of South Korea.
On 27 June, United States President Truman announced, “… I have ordered United States air and sea forces to give the Korean Government troops cover and support…”.3
Later the same day, the United Nations Security Council resolved to “… furnish such assistance to the Republic of Korea as may be necessary to repel the armed attack and to restore the international peace and security in the area”.4
On 30 June, 1950, a United Nations Command for the prosecution of the war was established in Tokyo under United States General Douglas MacArthur.5
Meanwhile, the South Korean capital, Seoul, was occupied on 28 June, and by the first week of August the UN forces were confined within the “Pusan Perimeter”, a small area in the southeast of the peninsula. They were still being hard pressed when, on 15 September, a successful allied amphibious landing was made at Inchon, the port of Seoul. This assault, coupled with a breakout from the Pusan bridgehead, changed the military situation overnight. The North Korean troops were soon in retreat.
1 More Canadians served in the Vietnam War, but as volunteers in United States uniforms.
2 David Rees, Korea: The Limited War, St. Martins Press, 1964, p.3
3 Ibid p.24
4 Ibid p.24
5 http://www.vac-acc.gc.ca/remembers/sub.cfm?source=history/KoreaWar/chronology
The UN forces recaptured Seoul, and on 7 October, 1950 crossed the 38th Parallel and advanced towards the border of Manchuria. Then Communist China intervened. On 25 October, to the surprise of the Allied command, strong Chinese forces crossed the frontier and launched a massive offensive which drove the UN and South Korean armies back across the 38th Parallel to positions well to the south along the Imjin River.6
The Canadians:
Lester Pearson, then Canada’s secretary of state for external affairs, believed that any Canadian participation should be part of a UN, not an American, operation. 7
The first Canadian aid to the hard-pressed UN forces came from the Royal Canadian Navy. On 12 July 1950 three Canadian destroyers, HMCS Cayuga, HMCS Athabaskan and HMCS Sioux, were dispatched to Korean waters to serve under United Nations Command.
Also in July 1950, a Royal Canadian Air Force squadron was assigned to air transport duties with the United Nations. No. 426 (Transport) Squadron flew regularly scheduled flights between McCord Air Force Base, Washington, and Haneda Airfield, Tokyo throughout the campaign.
On 7 August 1950, as the Korean crisis deepened, the Government of Prime Minister Louis St Laurent authorized the recruitment of the Canadian Army Special Force, a brigade “to be available for carrying out Canada’s obligations”.8 The original components of the Special Force included the second battalions of the Royal Canadian Regiment (RCR), Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI), and Royal 22e Régiment (R22eR); “C” Squadron of Lord Strathcona’s Horse; 2nd Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery (RCHA); 57th Canadian Independent Field Squadron, Royal Canadian Engineers (RCE); 25th Canadian Infantry Brigade Signal Squadron; No. 54 Canadian Transport Company, Royal Canadian Army Service Corps (RCASC); and No. 25 Field Ambulance, Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps (RCAMC).
6 http://www.korean-war.com/canada.html
7 http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0004370
8 Stanley, p.399
On 8 August, Brigadier J.M. Rockingham accepted command of the Canadian Infantry Brigade. Following the Inchon landings and the UN successes of September and October the war in Korea seemed to be near its end. Instead of a full brigade only the 2nd Battalion of the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel J.R. Stone, proceeded to Korea. The remainder of the “Special Force”, now designated the 25th Canadian Infantry Brigade Group continued training at Fort Lewis in the United States.
By the time the troopship carrying 2nd Battalion PPCLI steamed into Yokohama on 14 December 1950, the picture had completely changed. Communist China had intervened.
In mid-February 1951 the 2nd Battalion PPCLI took its place in the line as part of the 27th Commonwealth Brigade in time to participate in a general UN advance towards the 38th Parallel. The country was rugged, the weather bitterly cold and, although the Chinese were withdrawing, a number of sharp encounters occurred. On 23/24 February the Canadian unit made its first contact with the enemy, and suffered its first casualties. At the end of March the Canadians began to move into the Kapyong valley.
It had been suspected for some time that the Chinese were preparing another large-scale offensive, designed to check the UN advance. It came on 22 April 1951. The task of the 27th Commonwealth Brigade was to hold open a withdrawal route through the Kapyong valley and to prevent deep enemy infiltration.
A defensive position was established with the 2nd PPCLI at Hill 677, the 1st Middlesex Regiment to the left and the 3rd Royal Australian Regiment (RAR) to the right. The Patricias, completely surrounded during part of the action and supplied by air, defended one height firmly during two days and a night of heavy fighting, losing 10 men killed and 23 wounded. For their gallant action in saving the Kapyong Valley, the 2nd PPCLI and the 3rd RAR received the US Presidential Citation.
The rest of the 25th Canadian Infantry Brigade sailed for Korea in April 1951 and came into the line towards the end of May, in time to take part in a further advance to the 38th Parallel. The deployed units included “C” Squadron, Lord Strathcona’s Horse; 2nd Regiment of the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery; and the second battalions of the Royal Canadian Regiment and the Royal 22e Regiment.
These newly arrived battalions were deployed in support of the US 25th Division assault along the Ponchon River. In the course of this operation the Royal Canadian Regiment launched an attack upon the village of Chail-li and a neighbouring hill. The attack was successful, but the Brigade’s advance had created a deep salient in the enemy lines and the units, without protection on the flanks, were forced to withdraw. Following this action, 2nd PPCLI returned into the line and joined the Canadian Brigade.
The first action of the 25th Brigade, as a wholly Canadian formation, was to take up a position between the Chorwon and Chatan valleys. This involved a series of raids and patrols in exceedingly uncomfortable conditions – high temperatures, insects and vulnerability to sneak attacks by enemy forces.
Following this tasking, the Canadian Brigade was placed under the overall command of a newly formed British Commonwealth Division commanded by British Major-General J.H. Cassells.
In April 1952 the 1st Battalion Royal Canadian Regiment and 1st Battalion Royal 22e Régiment replaced their second battalions, and Brigadier M.P. Bogert took command. “B” Squadron, Lord Strathcona’s Horse, replaced “C” Squadron in June, and other units of the original force were similarly rotated. A second rotation began with the arrival of the 3rd PPCLI in November 1952, followed in 1953 by the 3rd RCR, the 3rd R22eR, and “A” Squadron of the Strathconas and other replacement units. Brigadier J.V. Allard became Canadian commander in the theatre until 1954 when Brigadier F.A. Clift succeeded him at the time of the final Canadian rotation.
In October 1951 the Chinese launched another series of attacks. In one engagement against the Royal 22e Régiment the focal point was Hill 355, an important feature which dominated most of the divisional front. During the night of 23/24 November the R22eR were attacked several times after heavy shelling, but no ground was lost, even when one of their forward platoons had been dislodged and another surrounded.
As the fighting dragged on into 1953, defences on both sides grew stronger and deeper. Canadians engaged in patrolling and ambush with the object of dominating “No Man’s Land” and securing prisoners. Early in May the 3rd Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment withstood a strong enemy assault on its position about Hill 187. The attack was repulsed, but the engagement cost the Canadians heavy casualties – 26 killed, 27 wounded and 7 taken prisoner.
Fighting in Korea finally came to an end when the Korea Armistice Agreement was signed at Panmunjom on 27 July 1953.
It must be appreciated that every phase of the Korean campaign was a combined operation in which United Nations forces on the sea and in the air played a prominent and vital role. Without naval supremacy and air power the land campaign would have been virtually impossible.
The fact that Korea is a peninsula offered unusual scope for naval support. Throughout the war, 8 RCN destroyers – 4 from Esquimalt and an equal number from Halifax – carried the colours of Canada against the Red Menace in the Far East. From Halifax were: Iroquois, Nootka, Huron and Haida and from Esquimalt were: Cayuga, Athabaskan, Sioux and Crusader. In all, about 4,000 RCN personnel saw service in Korea.9
Along with their UN and ROK counterparts, the RCN ships maintained a continuous blockade of the enemy coast. They prevented amphibious landings by the enemy and supported the United Nations land forces with the bombardment of enemy-held coastal areas, and attacks by carrier-borne aircraft. In addition, they protected the friendly islands and brought aid and comfort to the sick and needy of South Korea’s isolated fishing villages.
During the 37 months of the Korean War, the RCN led all other UN Naval Force ships in the number of communist trains destroyed. HMCS Crusader, held the title as the most proficient at ‘trainbusting’ with four. In all, the RCN managed to ‘kill’ 8 communist trains.,
9 Orrick, Bob, The Canadian Navy – Ready Aye Ready, http://www.senioryears.com/canadanavy.html
One month after the outbreak of war it was confirmed that RCAF 426 Squadron (“Thunderbirds”) would deploy to McChord Air Force Base near Tacoma, Washington. From there they operated as a unit of the USAF Military Air Transport System (MATS). Six aircraft with 12 crews and 180 support personnel on board proceeded to McChord arriving early on 26 July. The operational plan called for one departure every morning. Aircraft would be flown at 150 hours and aircrew at 110 hours per month. Three aircraft departed McChord on 27 July with slip crews and servicing personnel to set up the North Pacific route through Anchorage and Shemya to Haneda AFB at Tokyo. The round trip was 10,000 miles and the flying time was in the order of 50 hours depending on the weather conditions and enroute winds. Flying operations involved long crew days and particularly challenging weather conditions at the terminals along the Aleutian chain of islands where high winds and low clouds or fog were the norm. Many aircrew flew in excess of the planned rate and on occasion some individuals exceeded the 200 hour mark.
The statistics for the Squadron on the Korean airlift are impressive. In just under four years, 599 round trips were made to the Far East. This entailed a total of 34,000 flying hours without loss of cargo or a single passenger. No one was injured on flight operations which was a miracle when considering the numerous incidents and “near misses”.
In addition, twenty-two RCAF fighter pilots and a number of technical officers served with the US Fifth Air Force. The Canadians were credited with 20 enemy jet fighters destroyed or damaged, as well as the destruction of several enemy trains and trucks. 10
Conclusion:
Altogether 26,791 Canadians served in the Korean War and another 7,000 served in the theatre between the cease-fire and the end of 1955. United Nations forces (including South Korean) fatal and non-fatal battle casualties numbered about 490,000. Of these 1,558 were Canadian.
10 Grose, Ed, Secretary, 426 “Thunderbird” Squadron Association, http://www.kvacanada.com/cdnforces_airforce.htm
The names of 516 Canadian war dead are inscribed in the Korea Book of Remembrance.
References:
- George F. Stanley: Canada’s Soldiers, Rev. Ed, MacMillan Company of Canada, 1960
- David Rees, Korea: The Limited War, St. Martins Press, 1964
- Clubb, O.Edmund, Twentieth Century China, Columbia University Press, 1967
- Ropp, Theodore, War in the Modern World, Collier-MacMillan Ltd, 1967
- MacPherson, K. & Burgess, J, The Ships of Canada’s Naval Forces 1910-1981, Collins, 1981
- http://www.vac- acc.gc.ca/remembers/sub.cfm?source=history/KoreaWar/chronology
- http://www.korean-war.com/canada.html
- http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Para ms=A1ARTA0004370
- http://www.canadianmilitary.page.tl/The-Korean-War.htm
- Orrick, Bob, The Canadian Navy – Ready Aye Ready, http://www.senioryears.com/canadanavy.html
- Grose, Ed, Secretary, 426 “Thunderbird” Squadron Association, http://www.kvacanada.com/cdnforces_airforce.htm
- http://www.korean-war-medals.com/canada/medal_2.shtml
Captain (N) (Ret’d) M. Braham, CD – Mike Braham is a graduate of the Royal Military College (1965) and a former naval officer and senior official with DND. He has an abiding interest in military history.
