Canada in the Korean War

The military history of Canada during the Korean War was very eventful. Canada participated on the side of the United Nations in the Korean War. 26, 000 Canadians participated in the Korean war, and Canada sent eight destroyers. Canadian aircraft provided transport, supply and logistics. 516 Canadians died in the conflict, 312 of the deaths were from combat.

After the war, Canadian troops remained for three years as military observers.

Background
Japan's defeat in World War II heralded the end to 35 years of Japanese occupation of the Korean Peninsula. The surrender of Japan to the Allied forces on 2 September 1945 led to the peninsula being subsequently divided into North and South Koreas, with the North being occupied by troops from the Soviet Union, and the South, below the 38th parallel, being occupied by troops from the United States.

The Soviet forces entered the Korean Peninsula on 10 August 1945, followed a few weeks later by the American forces who entered through Incheon. U.S. Army Lieutenant General John R. Hodge formally accepted the surrender of Japanese forces south of the 38th Parallel on 9 September 1945 at the Government House in Seoul.

Although both rival factions tried initially to diplomatically reunite the divided nation, it was the Northern faction that eventually tried to do so with military force. The North hoped that they would be able to unify the peninsula via insurgency, but the success of the ROK in suppressing insurgency brought about the realization for the North that they would require military force. The DPRK had expanded their army and Korean volunteers fighting in Manchuria in the Chinese Civil War had given their troops battle experience. The North expected to win with the war in a matter of days. Troops from Kim Il Sungs North Korean Army (KPA) crossed the 38th parallel on 25 June 1950 beginning a civil war.

The invasion of South Korea came as a surprise to the United Nations. The same day the war had officially begun (25 June), the United Nations immediately drafted UNSC Resolution 82, which called for:


 * 1) all hostilities to end and North Korea to withdraw to the 38th Parallel;
 * 2) a UN Commission on Korea to be formed to monitor the situation and report to the Security Council;
 * 3) all UN members to support the United Nations in achieving this, and refrain from providing assistance to the North Korean authorities.

When the North Korean Army crossed into South Korea on 25 June 1950, they advanced for the capital Seoul, which fell in less than a week.

North Korea's forces continued toward the port of Pusan, a strategic goal and the seat of the ROK government. The forces of the North conquered all of Korea except for this tiny enclave at the end of the peninsula. The war was nearly won by the DPRK. In two days, the United States offered assistance and the United Nations Security Council asked its members to help repel the North Korean attack. Canada, the United States, New Zealand, South Africa, the Philippines, Australia, Ethiopia and other countries sent troops to Korea, under a United Nations security council resolution.

Canadian Army involvement
On August 15, 1950, the 2nd Battalion was created within Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI) to be a component of the Canadian Army Special Force in response to the Chinese invasion of South Korea. The new battalion trained in Calgary and at CFB Wainwright, before boarding the USS Private Joe P. Martinez on November 25, 1950, to Pusan in South Korea. The battalion landed in Korea in December and trained in the mountains for eight weeks before finally taking part in the war on February 6, becoming a component of the 27th British Commonwealth Brigade of the IX Corps in the 8th US Army. The 2nd Battalion of the PPCLI was the first Canadian infantry unit to take part in the Korean War. By spring 1951, 8 500 Canadians troops were supporting the United Nations, alongside 12 500 Brits, 5 000 Filipino troops and 5 000 Turkish troops.



Battle of Kapyong
In April 1951, Chinese forces of the 118th Division attacked the Kapyong Valley in force, and pushed South Korean and New Zealand troops into retreat. Under heavy pressure, the Korean 6th Division broke, and the line collapsed. American and South Korean men poured through a gap under protective covering fire from Australians who were holding their section of the line despite heavy pressure.

Australian troops from 3 RAR, and Canadian troops from the PPCLI were ordered to halt this Chinese advance. The mission of the men of the 27th Commonwealth Brigade was to block the two approaches to Kapyong. In only a few hours, they managed to prepare defensive positions.

The Chinese 118th Division engaged their two forward battalions on 23 April. In the early part of the battle the 1st Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment and the 16th Field Regiment of the Royal New Zealand Artillery were all but cut off. The resistance of forward positions, held by the 2 PPCLI and 3 RAR, permitted the 1st Battalion, Middlesex Regiment to withdraw. It moved into place to provide a reserve.

The initial Chinese attack at Kapyong engaged 3 RAR on Hill 504. The Chinese then struck at the Canadian front. Wave after wave of massed Chinese troops kept up the attack throughout the night of 23 April. After a night of fierce fighting Major Bernard O'Dowd, Officer Commanding, A Company, 3 RAR, managed to get through on a radio phone to a general of the 1st U.S. Marine Division. The general was incredulous, thinking it was an enemy agent speaking. He told O'Dowd that the unit no longer existed, that it had been wiped out the night before.

The Chinese had managed to infiltrate the brigade position by the morning of 23 April. The Australians and Canadians were facing the whole of the Chinese 118th Division. Throughout 24 April the battle was unrelenting. It devolved, on both fronts, into hand-to-hand combat with bayonet charges. The Australians, facing encirclement, were ordered to make an orderly fall back to new defensive positions late in the day of 24 April.

2 PPCLI was completely surrounded. Captain Mills, in command of D Company, was forced to call down artillery fire on his own positions on Hill 677 several times during the early morning hours of 25 April to avoid being overrun. It had to be resupplied by air drops during this desperate time. By dawn the Chinese attack on the Canadian position had abated, and in the afternoon of 25 April the road through to the Canadians had been cleared of Chinese, at which time the 2nd Battalion was relieved.

The 16th Field Regiment, Royal New Zealand Artillery, also managed to withdraw and link up with the U.S. Army's 72nd Heavy Tank Battalion. These units provided close heavy gun support.

Canada lost 10 soldiers (out of allied losses of 47) and 23 wounded at this battle.

Digging in
On May 25, 1951, the 2nd Battalion PPCLI, was transferred to the 25th Canadian Infantry Brigade within the 1st Commonwealth Division. For the rest of the war, the various infantry battalions of the PPCLI, the Royal 22nd Regiment, and The Royal Canadian Regiment, squadrons of the Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians), regiments of the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery, and various units of the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps would rotate in and out of the war.

Royal Canadian Navy in Korea
RCN destroyers formed part of Canada's initial response to the United Nations' call for assistance during the Korean War, and were sent to Korean waters to join other UN naval forces. The eight Canadian ships' duties included "exciting but dangerous" shore bombardments and the destruction of North Korean trains and railway lines. Initially dispatched in 1950, Canadian destroyers maintained a presence off the Korean peninsula until 1955.

The ships were first under fire during the bombardment of Inchon in the middle of January 1951. The coastal defence fire was inaccurate, and the ships doubled back and silenced the guns. Another bombardment at Inchon two days later was also successful, without damage. The only Canadian naval casualties of the Korean War occurred on 2 October 1952 during an HMCS Iroquois (G89) patrol on the east coast from a coastal defence battery: 3 sailors died and 10 were wounded. Canadian ships destroyed 8 of the 28 trains destroyed by the Allies, and the Crusader alone hit 3 trains.

The first dispatch was: HMCS Cayuga, HMCS Athabaskan (R79) and HMCS Sioux, which were followed by HMCS Nootka (R96), HMCS Iroquois (G89), HMCS Huron (G24), HMCS Haida and HMCS Crusader. 3621 Canadian sailors participated. One RCN aviator flew with the USN.

Royal Canadian Air Force in Korea
In 1950, the RCAF was heavily involved with the transportation of personnel and supplies in support of the Korean War. No. 426 Transport Squadron was attached to the Military Air Transport Service. During the Canada's involvement during the Korean War, 600 trans-Pacific flights were flown carrying 3000 tons of cargo and 13,000 passengers. The RCAF suffered no losses

The RCAF was not involved with a combat role since no jet fighter squadrons capable of the type of combat required in Korea were yet in service, and capable fighter squadrons that later did become operational were allocated to NATO duty in Europe. Twenty-two RCAF fighter pilots, however, flew the North American F-86 Sabre on exchange duty with the USAF in Korea so that they could gain combat experience. Between them, these pilots were credited with nine Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15s destroyed, two probable kills, and ten damaged in the course of 1036 sorties. They were awarded seven Distinguished Flying Crosses, one Commonwealth Distinguished Flying Cross, and four Air Medals. One was shot down and captured due to friendly fire.

When the USAF experienced a shortage of F-86s, Canada supplied sixty Canadair Sabres.

Cessation of hostilities
On 29 November 1952, U.S. President-elect Dwight D. Eisenhower fulfilled a campaign promise by going to Korea to find out what could be done to end the conflict. With the UN's acceptance of India’s proposal for a Korean armistice, a cease-fire was established on 27 July 1953, by which time the front line was back around the proximity of the 38th parallel, and so a demilitarised zone (DMZ) was established around it, presently defended by North Korean troops on one side and by South Korean, American and UN troops on the other. The DMZ runs north of the parallel towards the east, and to the south as it travels west. The site of the peace talks, Kaesong, the old capital of Korea, was part of the South before hostilities broke out but is currently a special city of the North. North Korea and the United States signed the Armistice Agreement, with Syngman Rhee refusing to sign.

After the war ended, Canadians remained in Korea for three years as military observers.

Between 1950 and 1956, over 25,000 Canadians served in Korea, and 516 died of various causes. Of those, 312 lost their lives in combat.