KapYong Battle April 1951 The Korean War - Term Paper Example

? Number] We Are the Best People on the Hill – Kap’Yong Battle April 1951 Introduction The Kap’Yong battle is one of the shortest but important and intense battles fought during the Korean War. The battle was combatted between the Chinese and UN forces. In the Kap’Yong battle the Canadian battalion was led by the Lieutenant Colonel Jim Stone who was the veteran of Second World War (Gardam, p37). He used his war experience and expertise to manage and direct the 2nd Battalion of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (2PPCLI) that arrived in Korea in December 1950. The battalion was not the regular army of Canada but it was sent by the Canada at relatively time of peace and its main intention was to perform the garrison duty. However, the Stone used his wartime expertise and provided training to his men and enabled them to contribute against the renewed Chinese offensive force. The Canadian battalion was then attached to the 27th British Commonwealth Infantry Brigade during which it remained engaged in different battles and skirmishes. These fights added to their confidence and they learnt to fight on the harsh and hilly terrain of Korea. They became part of the UN force and marched north in order to fight the Chinese force and North Koreans in order to remove from the South Korea. Though the Chinese were considerably greater in number as compared with the battalion but the Canadian battalion consisted of volunteers resisted and fought with them will their full potential and didn’t allowed the Chinese force to attain their war objective by overcoming the Canadian battalion. The training provided by Jim Stone and effective communication and coordination between the members of the battalion and their leaders resulted in their success in the battle. The following essay aims to examine the contribution of battalion in the war that did not had proper training and war equipment to fight against the Chinese force in the Kap’Yong battle but they succeeded to defeat the huge Chinese army. The basic objective of the essay is to examine the effectiveness of the decision of Canada not to use its regular army but to deploy the volunteers that proved to be the most effective and efficient war force sent by Canada throughout the Korean War. The battalion was equipped with some excellent attributes that allowed them to succeed against Canada. They overcame and adopted the circumstance of war and show dedicated commitment to their leader. The essay describes the initial strategies and war tactic employed by the Lieutenant Colonel Jim Stone who struggled very hard and efficiently to accomplish his mission of defeating China and not to let it invade the city of Seoul. The decision of Canada to create special battalion for the war was a different but successful step. The battalion comprised of two third volunteers that take some unconventional moves in the war and bravely fights against the Chinese force. It has been unveiled that Canada decision of using volunteer force in the Kap’Yong battle was an important and successful war strategy that allowed the army to hold their position. Kap’Yong Battle – Historical Background The battle of Kap’Yong began on the 22nd of April and lasted till the 25th of April 1951. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army was fighting with the UN forces comprising of the forces sent by Australia, Canada and Britain. The Chinese soldiers were almost five to one UN force but the outnumbered UN force prevailed and Chinese forced had to take backward steps after the Kap’Yong battle. The Chinese were better than the UN force in many ways because they were well equipped with the war weapons and war training. They were also huge in numbers due to which it was expected that the Chinese would be able to successfully overcome the UN force at Kap’Yong but it was due to supportive contribution of the Canadian battalion that these Chinese were failed at this spot and Seoul was protected by the UN forces. The ground for the Kap’Yong battle was prepared in April 1951 when the Chinese People’s Liberation Army launched the Fifth Phase Offensive. It was also called the Chinese Spring Offensive in which three field armies were involved consisting of almost 700,000 men. The huge Chinese force blew towards Kap’Yong and faced the U.N force. Despite the fact that the Chinese were greater in numbers they had to face very strong resistance from the UN forces. At the Imjin River and Kap’Yong the UN forces encounter them with all their force and destroyed their moral and strength. As a result, the Chinese forces had to stop at the defensive line at the north side of the Seoul that is also known as the No Name Line. On the 22nd of April, 1951 the Chinese Spring Offensive was began with the intention of recapturing Seoul by defeating the UN forces. The 27th Commonwealth Brigade faced the Chinese attack with courage and high spirit and failed the Chinese plan to recapture Seoul. The Canadian battalion was also the part of this 27th Commonwealth Brigade and the less training Canadian soldiers also played very important and defining role in pushing the communist forces back from the border of Seoul. The battle was fought under very high pressure on both the sides. There was a gap in the line held by the Australian forces that was filled by the South Korean and American forces whereas the 27th Commonwealth Brigade was up to the task of taking the defensive position in order to block the Chinese approaching towards Kap’Yong (Wood, p56) The Commonwealth Brigade took just few hours in taking their positions and they blocked the way for Chinese to enter the city. The Chinese attack was led by the two forward battalions. They proceeded on the evening of 23th April and initiated the battle with the UN forces. In the first phase of the battle, the Chinese forces were faced by the 1st Battalion of the British Middlesex Regiment and the 16th Field Regiment of the Royal New Zealand Artillery however, they were badly defeated by the Chinese force and most of the soldiered were cut off by the Chinese (Wood, p66). The 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (2 PPCLI), and the 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR) resisted on the forward positions and the first battalion moved to the reserve place after withdrawing from the battle. The Chinese attacks engaged 3RAR on Hill 504 after which they hit the Canadian front. There was wave of Chinese soldiers that was coming one after another to attack the Canadian battalion throughout the 23rd April night however, despite being little in number, the Canadian forces fought very well and managed to held Chinese back. The fierce fighting continued for the whole night and by the morning the Chinese succeeded to access the brigade position. The Chinese forces were then faced by the Australian and Canadian forces and they continuously fought for the whole day. The Canadians were surrounded by the Chinese forces. The Canadian Captain Mill called down artillery fire to avoid overrun. By the dawn of 25ht April, the Chinese attacks on the Canadian forces were declined and within few hours the Canadian force succeeded to push Chinese force out of the area. The Chinese were defeated in the battle by the Commonwealth Brigade though Chinese had enormous number advantage over them. The battle also shows lack of training and discipline among the Chinese soldiers due to which lesser Australian and Canadian soldiers outgunned them. In the battle over 1,000 of Canadian men were killed and unknown were badly injured. Canadian Lieutenant-Colonel James R. Stone was awarded with the Distinguished Service Order for his courageous performance and competent leadership in the battle (Bjarnason, p58). Canada’ Military Strategy The preparation of force to send for Korean War was major task for the Canadian authorities. The government initiated authorized general recruitment in the army in August 1950. They published a full page add in all the major Canadian newspaper informing people that the Canadian army needs men to take part in Korean War. The force made from the common people was very unique and one of its kind in the history. The people were taken from different walks of life and they were motivated to take part in the war against Chinese. It was not an easy task to build a force from the scratch (Johnston, p29). These people were also provided with some training however, they lack adequate army training as well as weapon. Despite lagging some basic thing they still fought very well and the war significantly added to their experience. It was a distinct strategy employed by Canada was not to send the regular force for the battle. The Canadian battalion was mainly comprised of the volunteers. They were the citizen soldiers straight from the central casting. Some of them were truck drivers, radio operator, construction workers and some over bored farm boys and out of high school students (Bjarnason, p83). The constituted an outnumbered and outgunned battalion that took part in the Korean War but this unequipped and untrained battalion proved to be very useful as they outraged the toughest Chinese troop. Members of the battalion realized the sensitivity of the situation and all of them performed well committed and dedicated role in the battle. The battalion had diverse experience in the Korean War. The Chinese fighting with the battalion were huge in number. Moreover, they were well equipped with the war equipment’s and training. They reacted to the raid of the Canadian battalion with shelling and answered them with local attacks and use of self-propelled guns and machine guns (Gardam, p86). On the other hand the Canadian battalion was not the regular army but they had Great Spirit to combat Chinese attacks. The communication between the members of the battalion was also very efficiently and effectively managed. The combined tanks remained in continuous contact with the leader of the battalion and all the actions of the force were well planned and well-coordinated. Stone himself realized the role of good communication in their war success that without the proper support of the tanks that 2PPCLI would not be able to attain its war objective (Bjarnason, p83). The Canadian battalion was a distinguished regiment to be deployed in the war. The soldiers of the battalion ware not properly and formerly trained for the patrol operations and they were also in intense need of Canadian kit and clothing to use during the war operations (Watson, p38). Besides, there were several other problems also faced by the members of the battalion. Korea was not their home land and many of them has problem in understanding the Korean language. They were not familiar with the Korean food and its smell that also added to their difficulties. The Canadian battalion faced some very critical challenged in the battle. They did not get proper medical treatment for their injuries during the war. Many of the Canadian soldiers were injured badly but unfortunately they received appalling medical treatment due to which the wounds became traumatic and deadly for many of them. Many of the soldiers suffered from the diseases like dysentery and malaria. The VD epidemic also broke out in the battalion and many of them also got the hemorrhagic fever (Watson, p131). They had unsafe drinking water and rat and snakes were not present at the place where they had to spend their time. The climatic conditions were also difficult and different for them (Gardam, p43). The Canadian battalion also faced problem with the war weapons. They had problems in using the 9mm Sten gun that was used mostly during the World War I. However, they show the dynamics of group work through their performance in the battle (Watson, p68). They worked along with the Korean Service Corp (KSC) and prepare them to fight with the highly capable Chinese army. In the beginning the Canadian battalion was not able to conduct the successful patrols because they lack the adequate training for patrolling (Watson, p80). They were supposed to perform simple police actions however the situation of the battle required them to go beyond this assumed action and they took active part in the battle like a regular war force. Analysing Canada’ Military Decisions The war experts widely believe that the Canadian took great decision by sending the force consisting of volunteer to the Kap'Yong battle. Through this battalion they effectively contributed in the Korean War and played very supportive role being part of the UN force. The battalion sent by Canada proved to be the best unit sent to the war by Canada as compared with any of its other contribution to the war (Gardam, p1). The members of the battalion were not the regular soldiers but they were the people having desires and motivation to take part in the war. Their sentiments make them competent to fight as a worrier and credited them with success against the strong Chinese force. The decision proved to be right because in the end the Canadian battalion succeeded to achieve their war goals and they also get valuable experiences and practical training from the battle (Stephen, p32). It is unveiled from the analysis of the situation evolved during the battle that the Canadian battalion spent very hard time at the battle. They faced several hardships and deprivations that added to their unhappy experience in Korea. however, it is a sad side of the picture that when the battalion was returned home after their courageous and supportive role in the Korean war it was very disappointing for them that their significant war performance were not appraised and they were not greeted with a parade. They spent time under the adverse and pathetic conditions but managed to achieve their war objectives but their efforts were not appreciated as they deserve it. The soldiers deserve great respect and recognition for their contributions made to Korean War especially during the Kap’Yong battle (Bjarnason, p83). The decision of the Canadian authorities not to send the regular force and to employ common people in the war was a good decision however, it was found that the Canadian authorities failed to give due credit to the volunteers after their successful participation in the war. Though the Canadian battalion successfully managed to perform their duties and safeguarded the Korean city but it also a fact observed by many war experts that the contribution of the battalion were not duly appreciated by the authorities and rather learning lessons from the war, the contributions of the 25th Regiment was overlooked (Watson, p96). It is important to notice that the force did not simply took the police action on the peacekeeping mission but it took part in the war and went through the tough and challenging situation of the war that resulted in the killing of several Canadians but still they defeated Chinese at their spot. Though the Canadian battalion played much supported role in the battle and faced the Chinese army that was well equipped and well trained as compared with them but their contributions were not widely appraised as they deserved to be. They are also given the name of forgotten people that passed intensely tough and challenging time during the battle without having basic comforts and weapons (Watson, p142) Impact and Outcome The battle ended up with some unexpected outcomes. Keeping in view the numbers and military capabilities of the Chinese force it could be predicted that they would easily accomplish their goal of invading Seoul however, the Canadian strategies worked to make difference in the situation and generated some unpredictable war result. The Canadian inexperienced force was not adequately trained and armed but the experience they got from the battle was much important for them than to have weapons and training. It was the real life training or practical experience that they get from the battle and learnt the lessons that no training program could teach them (Bjarnason, p51). Hence, it is unveiled that the Kap’Yong battle is an important part of the Canadian army history because it was among the initial major war fought by the Canadian army. The Canadian authorities experiment the inclusion of people of different walks in the force and sent an inexperienced force to the Korea with little weapons, uniforms and formal training. However, the battle provided that dedicated followers working under the command of competent and courageous leader could also make difference in the situation. The defeat of huge Chinese army by the little and inexperience Canadian force proves the importance of leadership, group dynamics, motivation and encouragement to achievement the war goals. Work Cited Bjarnason, Dan. Triumph at Kap’Yong: Canada’s pivotal battle in Korea. Ontario: Dundurn, 2011. Print. Gardam, John. Korean Volunteer: An oral history from those who were there. Ontario: General Store Publishing House, 1994. Print. Harris, Stephen. Canada and the Korean War. Montreal: Art Global, 2002. Print. Johnston, William. A war of patrols: Canadian Army operations in Korea. Vancouver: UBC Press, 2003. Print. Watson, Brent Byron. Far Eastern tour: The Canadian Infantry in Korea, 1950 – 1953. Canada: McGill-Queen’s University, 2002. Print. Wood, Herbert Fairlie. Strange battleground: The operations in Korea and their effects on the defence policy of Canada. Ottawa: Queen’s Printer, 1966. Print. Read More