Australia remembers Forgotten War in Korea

The Korean War, which started on June 25, 1950 - 70 years ago - has been termed the Forgotten War, overshadowed by WWII and Vietnam and conducted in a then little-known distant Asian nation.

A total of 14,087 Australians served there and at the peak, Australia had two infantry battalions, a fighter squadron, an aircraft carrier and two destroyers - the largest contingent after the US, UK and South Korea.

In all, 339 Australian soldiers, sailors and airmen fought and died in the Korean war, with another 1216 wounded.

It is the only large-scale, conventional conflict in which Australia has fought since WWII and the last in which Australians, 29 in all, were taken prisoner.

It was fought in dust, heat and bitter cold. From a war of sweeping advances and hasty retreats it degenerated into a slugging match reminiscent of World War I. It was the first war of the helicopter and jet age.

So how did it all happen?

After Japan was defeated in 1945, Korea was divided across the 38th parallel with the Soviets holding the north and the US the south.

Reunification plans faltered with both sides sponsoring leaders, respectively Kim Il Sung, grandfather of current supreme leader Kim Jong-un, and Syngman Rhee.

Hostilities escalated with the withdrawal of US and Soviet forces and turned into full-scale war when the communist north invaded the south on June 25, 1950.

Great power miscalculations shaped what followed. With attention focused on Europe, the US hadn't made adequately clear that it would resist North Korean aggression.

For its part, the USSR happened to be boycotting the new United Nations, allowing the US to orchestrate a combined western response which would otherwise have been vetoed.

Sixteen nations eventually contributed forces to what remains the UN's biggest and bloodiest peacekeeping operation.

Five days after the outbreak, Australia announced it would send troops. There were even some close, with the 3rd battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR), on occupation duties in Japan.

Mindful of the mauling of ill-prepared US troops who went straight to Korea from comfortable billets in Japan, Australia delayed for intensive training and reinforcement.

More promptly into action was RAAF's 77 Squadron, also from Japan. Its Mustang fighters escorted American bombers on a mission on July 1. By ceasefire, the squadron had been in action for three years, flying 4836 missions and losing 42 pilots.

By the time 3RAR arrived in late September 1950 it seemed to be all over.

North Korean forces had initially compressed UN forces into an enclave at the bottom of the peninsula.

But on September 15, UN commander General Douglas MacArthur staged the brilliant amphibious landing at Inchon, halfway up the peninsula, resulting in the virtual collapse of the North Korean invasion.

UN troops headed north towards the border with China, heedless of diplomatic warnings from China that it would intervene.

3RAR, operating as part of a Commonwealth Brigade, was marginally better placed as the weight of 150,000 Chinese troops fell on the extended UN force in late October.

So everyone headed south again. That retreat also marked the arrival of winter with a bitterness which remains an enduring memory for veterans.

The front stabilised as the Chinese outran their supply lines and UN forces settled into defensible positions. There followed a series of large and small offensives as both sides sought to win territory.

Among many clashes, Australians were involved in two major battles - Kapyong and Maryang San.

Kapyong, from April 23-25, 1951 was actually a dogged defence against a major Chinese offensive.

When the attack fell, the Commonwealth Brigade was in reserve and it moved up to support US and Korean units, forming hasty defensive positions. This was a true Anzac occasion with New Zealand gunners providing artillery support.

From the evening of April 23, 3RAR withstood repeated assaults. It gave ground but the Chinese never penetrated main positions and gave up on Anzac Day morning. Thirty-two Australians died, 59 were wounded with three taken prisoner.

Maryang San was a successful attack on strongly defended hills between October 3 and 8, 1951. After securing each objective, the diggers had to repel inevitable counterattacks, a process which continued for five days.

3RAR was relieved on the morning of October 8 having taken all objectives for the cost of 20 dead and 89 wounded.

That was the biggest and practically the last action in the war of movement. The soldiers on both sides dug in. What ensued was a period of trench warfare reminiscent of WWI.

The static war coincided with peace negotiations which continued right up to the signing of the armistice on July 27, 1953.

Like veterans of WWII, the number of Korean veterans is diminishing. Their contribution will be commemorated at events around Australia, including the Australian War Memorial's Last Post Ceremony on June 25.

Australian Associated Press