The Korean War 1950-53

The Korean War 1950-53 Australia’s Role

By Brad Manera, Senior Historian / Curator Anzac Memorial

Ships Crest from HMAS Bataan

United Nations and Royal Australian Regiment

Aircrew Survival Handbook

Hollywood and the American media may have called the Korean War forgotten but for 17,000 Australians and their families it was terrifying and bloody.

The Korean War erupted on 25 June 1951 when tanks and infantry of the North Korean People’s Army (NKPA) crossed the 38th parallel and swept the Army of the Republic of South Korea (RoK) and token US forces before them. A report by two Australian military off icers serving with the United Nations (UN) Commission on Korea enabled the UN to declare the North Korean invasion an act of aggression and commit forces to defend the south. With Australian army, naval and air forces in nearby Japan Australia was well-placed to assist.

Within a week Australian fighters from No.77 Squadron RAAF were providing fighter escort to US bombers cutting NKPA supply lines. Warships of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) operating out of Kure in Japan were placed at the disposal of the Royal Navy’s Far East fleet. The last battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment (RAR) was preparing to return to Australia from the British Commonwealth Occupation Force in Japan. Instead they were warned to ready themselves for war in Korea.

Back in Australia a recruiting program called K-Force was created to provide volunteers for the RAR. For the domestic population, with memories of attacks by the Japanese still fresh, the invasion fueled a growing fear of communism. Australians were aware of the intensifying struggle with Chinese Communist bandits in Malaya since 1948 and the fall of mainland China to the Communists in 1949.

The initial off ensive by the NKPA drove RoK and US army units back to a small perimeter around the southern port of Pusan (modern Busan). In a daring landing by US Marines at Inchon the tide turned in favour of the UN and an Australian unit, 3RAR, arrived on the peninsula in time for a pursuit that drove the NKPA north all the way to the Chinese frontier.

The recently established Communist Chinese were startled by the UN threat to their border and retaliated by reinforcing the NKPA. Their massive numbers and logistic support drove the UN back down the Korean Peninsula until US reinforcements and other UN forces countered them with men and technology. By late 1951 this war of off ensive and counteroff ensive had bogged down to one of stalemate in which the opponents faced each other across no man’s land fighting from deep bunkers connected by trenches.

Belt Equipment and Owen Gun Bayonet

In the air east and west got to test new technologies. Jet fighters replaced Second World War surplus propeller-driven aircraft.

At sea UN warships were largely uncontested. Naval aviators provided close air support from aircraft carriers off the coast. The RAN earned a reputation for gallantry and daring during inshore operations.

The Korean War was the first test of the great powers using smaller nations to fight by proxy. While soldiers fought and died on battlefields, often frozen, across some of the most rugged terrain on earth peace talks made little progress at Pan Mun Jom.

By the middle of 1953 both sides were war weary. Eventually an armistice was agreed. On 27 July 1953 a ceasefire came into eff ect creating a demilitarized zone along the 38th parallel very close to the original demarcation line across which the war had begun three years earlier. US Arctic Pile Cap

Although the armistice remains, no off icial peace treaty has been signed. The two Koreas are still at war, the longest in modern history.

For Australia the Korean War was frequently in the newspapers but rarely in the headlines. By the time the armistice came into eff ect 339 Australian service personnel had been killed or died on active service, over 1,500 had been wounded and many more would bear mental scars for the rest of their lives. After the armistice Australian soldiers from the RAR and signals units remained on garrison duty for several years. RAN warships continued to patrol Korean waters.

Today a handful of Australian Defence Force personnel continue to play a vital role in the United Nations Command Military Armistice Commission ensuring the ceasefire of July 1953 continues to be respected until an enduring peace is finally restored in ng pe pea to the Korean peninsula.

Ships Crest from HMAS Bataan. One of the first RAN destroyers to deploy to the Korean War HMAS Bataan’s company and a reputation for courage and daring taking their ship close inshore to bombard North Korean shore batteries and lines of supply.

United Nations and Royal Australian Regiment. Patches worn on the sleeve of a member of 3RAR. The gold edged, blue rectangle is the US Presidential Unit Citation awarded to the battalion for their legendary defence of the Kapyong Valley on the eve of Anzac Day 1951.

Aircrew Survival Handbook. Carried by Naval Airman Mechanic ‘Ric’ Hammond, a helicopter crewmen aboard the aircraft carrier HMAS Sydney and Korean waters in 1951. Korea was the first war in which helicopters played a major role.

Belt Equipment and Owen Gun Bayonet. This 1944 pattern belt equipment and bayonet was carried by Cpl. Ray Parry during his heroic defence of the ridge above the Kapyong Valley, bravery for which he was awarded the Military Medal.

US Arctic Pile Cap. The Royal Australian Regiment was ill-prepared for the bitter Korean winters so US and Canadian cold weather clothing was purchased borrowed or stolen at every opportunity.