War of Patrols: Canadian Army Operations in Korea

448 Pages·2003·8.31 MB·English

by  William Cameron Johnston

A
W a r
OF PATROLS
Studies in Canadian Military History
The Canadian War Museum, Canada’s national museum of military history, has a three-
fold mandate: to remember, to preserve, and to educate. It does so through an interlocking
and mutually supporting combination of exhibitions, public programs, and electronic
outreach. Military history, military historical scholarship, and the ways in which Canadians
see and understand themselves have always been closely intertwined. Studies in Canadian
Military History builds on a record of success in forging those links by regular and innova-
tive contributions based on the best modern scholarship. Published by UBC Press in asso-
ciation with the Museum, the series especially encourages the work of new generations of
scholars and the investigation of important gaps in the existing historiography, pursuits
not always well served by traditional sources of academic support. The results produced
feed immediately into future exhibitions, programs, and outreach efforts by the Canadian
War Museum. It is a modest goal that they feed into a deeper understanding of our nation’s
common past as well.
1 John Griffith Armstrong, The Halifax Explosion and the Royal Canadian Navy:
Inquiry and Intrigue
2 Andrew Richter, Avoiding Armageddon: Canadian Military Strategy
and Nuclear Weapons, 1950-63
3 William Johnston, A War of Patrols: Canadian Army Operations in Korea
A
W a r
OF PATROLS
Canadian Army Operations in Korea
WILLIAM JOHNSTON
© UBC Press 2003
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without prior written permission of the
publisher, or, in Canada, in the case of photocopying or other reprographic copying, a licence
from Access Copyright (Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency), www.accesscopyright.ca.
09 08 07 06 05 04 03 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in Canada on acid-free paper.
National Library of Canada Cataloguing in Publication Data
Johnston, William Cameron, 1956-
A war of patrols : Canadian Army operations in Korea / William Johnston.
(Studies in Canadian military history 1499-6251)
“Published in association with the Canadian War Museum.”
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN0-7748-1008-4
1. Korean War, 1950-1953 – Participation, Canadian. 2. Canada. Canadian Army –
History – Korean War, 1950-1953. I. Canadian War Museum. II. Title. III. Series.
DS919.2.J63 2003 951.904'24'0971 C2003-910028-6
UBC Press gratefully acknowledges the financial support for our publishing program of
the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program
(BPIDP), and of the Canada Council for the Arts, and the British Columbia Arts Council.
Publication of this book has been financially supported by the Canadian War Museum.
This book has been published with the help of a grant from the Humanities and Social
Sciences Federation of Canada, using funds provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities
Research Council of Canada.
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To Emma
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CONTENTS
Maps and Illustrations / viii
Preface / xi
Abbreviations / xiii
Introduction / xv
Prologue: Verrières Ridge, Normandy, July 1944 / 3
1 War and Recruitment, June-August 1950 / 11
2 Rocky’s Army, September 1950-April 1951 / 29
3 Into Battle, December 1950-March 1951 / 55
4 Kap’yong, April 1951 / 80
5 The Brigade Arrives, May-July 1951 / 108
6 The Commonwealth Division, July-October 1951 / 138
7 The First Rotation, October 1951 / 172
8 No Withdrawal, No Panic, November 1951 / 201
9 The Active Defence, December 1951-April 1952 / 227
10 The Professionals, May-June 1952 / 255
11 The Inactive Defence, July-October 1952 / 283
12 On the Hook, November 1952-April 1953 / 316
13 The Third Battalions, May-July 1953 / 346
Epilogue / 371
Notes / 378
Bibliography / 408
Index / 411
MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS
Maps
1 Operation Spring, 25 July 1944 / 4
2 Korea, 1950-3 / 10
3 Invasion and counterstroke, 25 June-26 November 1950 / 19
4 Chinese intervention, 26 November 1950-21 April 1951 / 43
5 Eighth Army fronts, 25 January-24 June 1951, showing corps areas on
24 June / 68
6 27th British Commonwealth Infantry Brigade operations, 19 February-
11 March 1951 / 71
7 27th British Commonwealth Infantry Brigade operations, 29 March-
16 April 1951 / 84
8 The action at Kap’yong, 24-5 April 1951 / 94
9 The action at Chail-li, 30 May 1951 / 119
10 25th Brigade along the Imjin, Operations Dirk and Claymore,
August 1951 / 150
11 Operations Minden and Commando, 11 September-5 October 1951 / 154-5
12 Defence of Hill 355,23-5 November 1951 / 213
13 Operation Janus III, 10-11 December 1951 / 233
14 1st Commonwealth Division front, 31 March 1952 / 248
15 Attack on B Company, 1 RCR, 23 October 1952 /307
16 The Hook positions, 7 December 1952 / 328
17 Attack on C Company, 3 RCR, 2-3 May 1953 / 352
Illustrations
39 Lt.-Col. J.R. Stone and Brig. J.M. Rockingham watch soldiers board the
American transport USNS Private Joe P. Martinez,25 November 1950.
DND Z6252-1
72 Soldiers of 2 PPCLI move forward to renew the attack on Hill 419 on 24
February 1951.NAC PA155531
77 Patricias climb past an abandoned Chinese bunker during the March 1951
advance. NAC PA171230
92 View looking north from the village of Kap’yong toward Hill 677,
September 1953.DHH681.009 D2
95 View looking west-southwest across the Kap’yong valley toward Hill 677.
DHH681.009 D2
Maps and Illustrations ix
100-1 Looking northwest toward Hill 677 from the valley road.
DHH681.009 D2
117 Maj.-Gen. A.J.H. Cassels chats with Maj. R.D. Medland, 22 May 1951,
the day 25th Brigade joined the I Corps advance north of the Han River.
NAC PA183422
128 A Chinese shell explodes in the Imjin River on 10 June 1951, not far from
the2 PPCLI positions in the Hwangji-ri area. NAC PA171319
129 Soldiers of 2 R22eR patrol past a Korean farm in the Imjin salient, 14 June
1951.NAC PA183804
131 The layout of 25th Brigade’s main headquarters, 20 June 1951.
NAC PA177319
133 A battery command post in action. NAC PA128280
136 Weary Canadian soldiers returning from patrol in the Ch’orwon hills,
22 June 1951.NAC PA143367
163 Canadians improving occupied Chinese entrenchments overlooking
the Nabu-ri valley during Operation Commando, October 1951.NAC
PA193470
166 The view north from Hill 187 (east of Hamurhan village) along the line
of hills occupied during the Commando advance, 26 June 1952.DHH
410B25.014 D2
168 Looking west-northwest from Hill 187 toward the enemy positions on the
far side of the Nabu-ri valley. DHH410B25.014 D2
170 Continuation of the view across the Nabu-ri valley from Hill 187,26 June
1952.DHH410B25.014 D2
185 Artillery spotters report the fall of shot on Hill 166 during Operation
Pepperpot, 23 October 1951.NAC PA183974
187 Two soldiers of D Company, 2 R22eR, watch the explosion of Canadian
shells from the base of Hill 166 during Operation Pepperpot. NAC
PA185023
192 Dead Chinese of the 1st Battalion, 568th Regiment, 190th Division, 64th
Army, 3 November 1951, after that unit’s night attack on A Company,
2 RCR, holding the Songgok feature in the Nabu-ri valley. NAC PA184292
193 Soldiers of 2 RCR search the lower slopes of the Songgok feature for
wounded Chinese, 3 November 1951.NAC PA183960
195 The handover parade from 2nd Battalion to 1st Battalion, Princess
Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, 5 November 1951.NAC PA133399
212 The view looking west down the Bowling Alley from the ridge east of Hill
210.DHH410B25.014 D3
215 Hill 210 as seen from the ridge to its east. DHH410B25.014 D3
216 The81 mm mortars of 2 R22eR fire in support of the battalion’s
D Company, holding out on the lower western slope of Hill 355,23-5
November 1951.NAC PA184317