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President Harry S. Truman said, two days after the invasion of South Korea: “I'm more worried about other parts of the world. The Middle East, for instance. [Iran] is where they will start trouble if we aren't careful. Korea is the Greece of the Far East. If we are tough enough now, if we stand up to them like we did in Greece three years ago, they won't take any next steps. But if we just stand by, they'll move into Iran and they'll take over the whole Middle East. There's no telling what they'll do, if we don't put up a fight now.”[1] The Korean War, was one of the greatest battles Canadians have been in that had changed the world, as South Korea still remains as a democratic country. Canada supportedSouth Korea when they asked the United Nations for help, alongside with American and South Korean soldiers. With this, South Korea was able to cause the North to pull back.

On August the 15th, Korea split into the north, and the south. Ever since then, Kim Il-sung, North Korea’s leader, has been asking Joseph Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union, to support him in his invasion on South Korea. Stalin decided to support Kim. On June 25th 1950, North Korean artillery guns boomed along the western edge of the boundary separating the two Koreas. There were thousands of troops from the North Korean People’s army (NKPA) and roughly 150 Soviet tanks storming into South Korea. Hours after the invasion, South Korea’s ambassador asked the U.S. for help. President Truman and his advisors decided to ask for a special meeting of the Security Council, the most powerful branch of the UN. The next day the council voted to condemn the North Korean attack, then later agreed to send an international force to aid the South Koreans.[2] Canada, United States, and different countries in Europe including Australia supported the South Koreans.

The Canadian Government, while agreeing in principle with the moves made to halt aggression, did not immediately commit its forces to action in Korea. At the close of the Second World War the Canadian armed forces had been reduced to peacetime strength and were specially trained for the defence of Canada. Furthermore, the Far East had never been an area in which Canada had any special national interest.[3] The first Canadian to aid the hard-pressed UN forces came from the Royal Canadian Navy. On July 12, 1950, three Canadian destroyers, HMCS Cayuga, HMCS Athabaskan and HMCS Sioux, were dispatched to Korean waters to serve under the United Nations Command. Also in July, a Royal Canadian Air Force squadron was assigned to air transport duties with the United Nations. No. 426 Squadron, consisting of six North Star aircraft (later increased to 12), flew regularly scheduled flights between McChord Air Force Base, Washington, Haneda Airfield, and Tokyo throughout the campaign.[4] On August 17, 1950, as the Korean crisis deepened, the Government authorized the recruitment of the Canadian Army Special Force (CASF). It was to be speciallytrained and equipped to carry out Canada's obligations under the United Nations Charter or the North Atlantic Pact. .[5] Early in July, 1950 the North Korean People’s Army (NKPA) has already captured Seoul and was pushing further south. Like the Republic of Korea (ROK) soldiers, the first U.S. soldiers lacked weapons that could destroy North Korea’s tanks. The Americans slowed the invaders somewhat, but they could not stop them.[6]

In mid-September 1950, the military situation in Korea was dramatically reversed. The UN forces, confined within the Pusan Perimeter, were still being hard-pressed when a daring amphibious assault was launched at Inchon, the port of Seoul. Sailing from Japan, the US 10th Corps landed on September 15 and quickly overcame all enemy resistance in the seaport area. By September 26 Seoul was re-captured. The United Nations Forces then moved northward, crossed the North Korean border, captured Pyongyang the capital, and advanced toward the YaluRiver, the boundary between North Korea and China.[7] In mid-February 1951, the 2nd Battalion PPCLI entered the line of battle under the command of the 27th British Commonwealth Infantry Brigade. This formation, which had participated in operations in Korea since the early stages of the conflict, consisted of two British and one Australian battalion. The arrival of the Canadians coincided with the second general United Nations advance toward the 38th Parallel. In this new offensive the 27th British Commonwealth Brigade was to advance northeast to its final objective the high ground Northwest of Hoengsong. In the days that followed progress became more difficult. Hills ranging from 250 to 425 meters rose on either side; hill positions had to be dug through deep snow; the weather was bitterly cold and enemy resistance increased. On February 22, "C" Company sustained the battalion's first battle casualties when four soldiers were killed and one wounded in an attack on Hill 444. The other Commonwealth troops encountered similar difficulties. Yet, by the first of March, the brigade had advanced 25 kilometres over difficult country against a stubborn rearguard action.[8]

Eventually in the war, Canada sent 26,791 troops to the war, with 7,000 more remaining to supervise the ceasefire until the end of 1955. Of these 1,558 became casualties, including 516 deaths, most of them due to combat.[9] The Canadian military was revitalized as a result of the Korean War. The Korean War was the last major conflict Canadian forces participated in until the 1991 Persian Gulf War, and the last major combat by ground troops until 2002 in Afghanistan. A planned changeover to U.S.-designed weapons equipment had been planned for the 1950s, but the emergency in Korea forced the use of war stocks of British-designed weapons from World War II. In the late 1950s, Canada adopted a variety of European weapons, British and US design rather than proceeding with its planned Americanization.[10]

[1]Korean War. 2003. Otherground, LLC and Korean-War.info. October 16th, 2006. <

[2] Burgan, Michael. The Korean War. Chicago, Illinois: Heinemann Library, 2003.

[3]Canadians in Korea, 1950-1953. 08/15/2006 Ed Evanhoe. Special Forces and Special Operations Associations. October 20th, 2006. <

[4]Canadian Reaction to the Invasion.1998-10-6. Canada. October 20th, 2006. <

[5]The Canadian Army Special Force. .1998-10-6. Canada. October 20th, 2006. <

[6] Burgan, Michael. The Korean War. Chicago, Illinois: Heinemann Library, 2003.

[7]The Landing at Inchon. 1998-10-6. Canada. October 20th, 2006. <

[8]Canadian Troops in Action. 1998-10-6. Canada. October 20th, 2006. <

[9]Canadians in Korea, 1950-1953. 08/15/2006 Ed Evanhoe. Special Forces and Special Operations Associations. October 20th, 2006. <

[10] Korean War. Wikipedia. 23 October 2006. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. October 15th 2006. <