Korean war
The Korean War (Hangul, 한국전쟁; Hanja, 韓國戰爭; Revised Korean romanization, Hanguk Jeonjaeng; McCune-Reischauer, Hankuk Chǒnchĕng) was a war conflict that occurred on the Korean peninsula between 1950 and 1953, where the Republic of Korea (or South Korea), supported by the armed forces of several countries commanded by the United States, and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (or North Korea), supported by the People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union. The war constituted one of the early episodes of the Cold War. With more than 3 million civilians and almost 15% of the northern population dead, it constitutes one of the bloodiest wars in history.
Five years earlier, after the end of World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union agreed to divide Korea in two. They drew the border on the 38th parallel, leaving the northern strip in charge of the Soviet Union and the southern strip in charge of the United States. Each superpower controlled in their respective area the constitution of two new states that came under their corresponding orbits: the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in the north and the Republic of Korea in the south.
Although negotiations for the reunification of Korea were held in the months before the war, the tension escalated with cross-border skirmishes and incursions on the 38th parallel. The escalation degenerated into all-out war when North Korea invaded South Korea South on June 25, 1950.
The United States came to the aid of South Korea to repel the invasion. In just two months the defenders were pushed into the Pusan Perimeter, a small area at the southern tip of the peninsula, before the North Koreans were stopped. A quick counteroffensive by US troops and other UN-mandated nations repelled North Korean forces and invaded North Korean territory beyond the 38th parallel, almost to the Yalu River. Then the People's Republic of China entered the conflict on the northern side, with arms support from the Soviet Union. The Chinese military launched an offensive that forced forces from the South, the United States, and the United Nations to redeploy to the other side of the 38th parallel. In 1953, the war ended with an armistice that restored the border between the Koreas near the 38th parallel. 38 and created the Korean Demilitarized Zone, a 4 km wide strip between the two countries. Since then, there have been periodic outbreaks of conflict between the two parties.
The participation of the United Nations (UN) in the war materialized with several resolutions of the United Nations Security Council in favor of South Korea, even endorsing the use of armed force. The legitimacy of the United Nations resolutions on the occasion of the Korean War was questioned by the Soviet Union and other countries not aligned with the United States, which supported Chinese intervention. The USSR tried to block the vote by absenting itself, but the UN did not count as a veto the absence of the USSR from the meetings of the Security Council in which the questioned resolutions were sanctioned. By today's standards, the operation would not have been classified as a United Nations operation through the use of force (art. 42 of the UN Charter), because it was not led by the Secretary General (as it was directed by directly by the United States, although it included forces from other nations). It was accused that the Security Council did not give both parties the opportunity to explain their position (only South Korea did) and proceeded to the direct use of armed force, without taking into account that North Korea used force unilaterally and it had conquered 90% of South Korea when the United Nations reacted.
Background
Since 1910, Korea was a colony of the Japanese Empire. On August 8, 1945, two days after the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, the Soviets launched Operation August Storm, the invasion of Manchukuo, a Japanese puppet state created in 1932 in China, where large forces of the Imperial Japanese Army were still stationed. It is not long before Soviet troops, aided by soldiers from the Mongolian People's Republic, penetrate Korea, where they will collaborate with communist partisans., as is the case with Kim Il-sung. On September 8, the Americans landed in South Korea, in the so-called Operation Black List Forty, thus preventing it from falling into Soviet hands. The American and Soviet occupation zones are divided by the 38th Parallel. The Soviet occupation ended in 1948, thus giving birth to North Korea, ruled by Kim Il-sung. The US occupation ended that same year. Syngman Rhee, the leader of the Korean government-in-exile, seizes power in South Korea, both leaders seeking to unify Korea under his leadership.
The triumph of the communist revolution in China on October 1, 1949 completely altered the geostrategic balance of East Asia. Stalin, who had just suffered serious setbacks in Europe (such as the failure of the Berlin blockade or the Yugoslav schism), wanted to regain ground in Asia and gave his approval to a North Korean attack on South Korea. Meanwhile, the destabilization campaign in South Korea against the president, accused of being a dictator, generated revolts in the pro-communist sectors of the peasantry and unions, which began a wave of assassinations and attacks that were harshly repressed by the government, unleashing a wave of violent fighting within the country.
Taking advantage of the climate of insecurity and instability in the South, on June 25, 1950, North Korean troops crossed the 38th parallel, rapidly advancing south and virtually obliterating South Korean forces as far as Pusan. The American response was practically immediate. Washington requested the convening of the UN Security Council and obtained a mandate to lead a force that would respond to the North Korean aggression. The resolution was taken without the presence of the USSR, which had refused to attend the Council meetings in protest at the US refusal to recognize the People's Republic of China. Millett, 2000, p. 250 The United Nations recognized the overthrown Kuomintang government as the legitimate representative of the Chinese nation, which after its defeat in the Chinese Civil War had to go into exile in Taiwan.
With the legal protection of the Security Council Resolution, the United States formed an expeditionary force under the command of General Douglas MacArthur, which quickly recovered the lost ground, supported by the large-scale bombardment of any route, logistics center or core of North Korea, with massive use of conventional weapons and the powerful incendiary agent napalm. On October 19, after heavy fighting as they progressed north, they took Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea.
But three days before, on October 16, China decides to intervene, and with massive Soviet military support, through a skilful infiltration operation, they manage to put enough troops behind the UN forces to endanger their forces. supply lines, with which the Americans and the rest of the United Nations forces are forced to retreat. The combined Chinese and North Korean forces manage to push the UN forces south, until they reoccupy the South Korean capital of Seoul on January 4, 1951.
At that time, MacArthur proposed the use of the atomic weapon against China. Both US President Harry S. Truman and the majority of Congress reacted with alarm at a response that could lead to a nuclear confrontation with the USSR. Truman removed MacArthur over protests from the Republican right and replaced him with General Matthew Ridgway.
The Soviet Union, for its part, expressed its intention not to intervene in the conflict and its desire for two different systems to coexist on the peninsula. The "military draw" led to the opening of negotiations that would conclude in July 1953, shortly after Stalin's death, with the signing of the Armistice at Panmunjong. In this, a new demarcation line was agreed that meanders around the 38th parallel, which continues to be maintained.
Between 12 and 15% of the total population of North Korea died in the war, with a civilian death toll of 2.5 million. South Korea and its allies are estimated to have had about 778,000 killed, wounded and maimed, while the North Korean side had between 1,187,000 and 1,545,000; in addition 2,500,000 civilians killed and wounded, 5 million left homeless and more than 2 million refugees. This makes it one of the bloodiest wars in history. Some 54,000 Americans and 500,000 Chinese died in that conflict.
Development of the war
North Korean attack
The destabilization of South Korea led it to a virtual civil war, when the repression of the capitalist dictatorship put an end to the plan to subvert order in the south (with more than notable US support). North Korean conventional forces crossed the 38th parallel, with strong artillery support, on June 25, 1950, numbering over 100,000 men. The North Korean Army 1st Corps (53,000 men) led the main offensive, crossing the Imjin River towards the South Korean capital, Seoul, while the 2nd Army Corps (54,000 men) advanced in two directionsː on one side, through the cities of Inje and Ch'unch' on, heading for Hongch'on and, on the other, passing through the route on the east coast towards Kangnung. Thanks to the Soviet equipment and their enormous reserves, their surprise attack was a smashing success, entering Seoul in the afternoon of June 28. In a few days, the South Korean military forces were in full retreat and, together with the small number of Americans, formed a defensive line south of the Han River, while on the eastern coast the withdrawal was ordered. They had to concentrate on a small area around the city of Pusan. With the logistical support and the interdiction actions of the US Air Force, the South Korean troops managed to stabilize the so-called Pusan Perimeter. It seemed that the entire peninsula was going to be occupied by the North.
Reaction from the United States
The invasion by North Korea seemed to take the United States and other Western powers by surprise; Dean Acheson of the State Department had told Congress on June 20 that war was unlikely, but a CIA report in early March had predicted an invasion for June.
At a public hearing on the invasion, US President Harry S. Truman agreed with his advisers to use the US air force, unilaterally, against North Korean forces. He also ordered the Seventh Fleet to protect Taiwan. The United States also maintained substantial forces in Japan, which allowed scope for rapid intervention. The actions were placed under the command of MacArthur, who was in charge of the American forces in the Pacific. The other Western powers immediately agreed with the US actions and offered their help in the conflict. The American action was carried out for several reasons. Truman was under strong internal pressure, as he was considered too soft on communism. Especially eloquent were those who accused the Democrats of simply counting on "Chinese defeat." The intervention was also an excellent way to launch the new Truman Doctrine, which called for opposition to communism wherever it tried to spread. Truman would later receive criticism for failing to obtain a declaration of war from Congress before sending troops to Korea, but the situation called for immediate decision and action, and that was what he was right to do.
The forces of the United States were suffering at that time problems caused by the demobilization that had begun in 1945, after the end of the Second World War, which at the beginning of the war gave the advantage to North Korea; in turn, South Korea did not have tanks. The Americans sent Special Operations Group Smith, and on July 5, the first clash of the North Korean-American war, the Battle of Osan, took place. For eight weeks, in addition to Osan, other US combat actions occurred along the Kum River, through Taejon and south of Taegu, where even US forces were outnumbered and out-equipped. In addition, they were overwhelmed by constant columns of refugees, which in the belief of the military at the time, increased the risk of North Korean guerrillas infiltrating among them. This led to the unfortunate attacks on columns of refugees and, in other circumstances, civilians in general, leading to US forces shooting some 400 refugees near the village of Nogun-ri, west of the Nakdong River, during the last week of July.
The US-led powers won a United Nations mandate for action despite the Soviets' attempt to block the vote by failing to appear at the Security Council in protest of the rejection of the People's Republic of China's entry into the Even while the ROC (Nationalist) held the Chinese seat, the intention was to buy time for a total defeat of the South Korean and US forces and to present the union of Korea under communist rule as a fait accompli. The UN reacted by interpreting that the Soviet absence was not equivalent to a veto, and only with the abstention of Yugoslavia, the Security Council resolved to support South Korea, recommending that member countries organize a military force under the command of the United States, with authorization to use the flag of the United Nations (Resolution 83). US forces were joined during the conflict by troops from 15 other UN member countries: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Colombia, the Philippines, France, the Kingdom of Greece, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Luxembourg, the United Kingdom, the Union of South Africa, Kingdom of Ethiopia, Turkey and Thailand. The nationalist Chinese, who were confined to Taiwan after the civil war in their country, requested to participate in the war, but their request was denied by the Americans, who suspected that behind this interest was only hidden the motivation of transferring the conflict to Communist China.
It was not until the first weeks of August that the North Korean advance was halted. The US 8th Army, led by Lt. Gen. Walton Walker, a leading commander during World War II, and the South Korean Army, led by Major General Chung il Kwon, performed well. The aid began to arrive through the port of Pusan, where the logistics of the 8th Army were, aided by Korean and Japanese manpower; there Walker received new armor, artillery, anti-tank weapons, etc., while the 5th Air Force and carrier-based naval squadrons attacked land targets as well as destroyers and cruisers on the east coast. Aware that supplies and reinforcements were arriving at the port of Pusan, the North Korean commander leading the offensive, General Kim Chaek, ordered an advance on the Naktong-Taegu-Yongdok river line, soon to be known as the Pusan Perimeter. In the Battle of Tabu-dong (August 18-26), troops from the South Korean 1st Division and the US 27th Combat Team halted the main armored attack on Taegu, and by September 12, the two corps of the North Korean Army numbered only 60,000 men, their armor strength had been greatly reduced, and they had fallen back in most positions to the west of the Naktong and away from Taegu and P'ohang. At that time, the initiative was left in the hands of the UN coalition.
Incheon Landing
General MacArthur, as commander-in-chief of the UN forces, believed that a landing behind enemy lines was necessary and had begun planning for it as early as July 1950, so he ordered, to relieve pressure on the Pusan Perimeter, a landing operation at Incheon, by its key port, located on the west coast of South Korea. This was an extremely risky operation, but it was also successful. The 10th Corps, commanded by Major General Edward M. Almond, had been designated for the mission and consisted of several divisions, both American and South Korean. After the naval and air bombardment on September 14, the marines stormed the island of Wolmi, located off the coast, and on the 15th and 16th, the United Nations troops managed to reach Incheon, facing only light resistance and beginning to make rapid progress to recapture Seoul. The North Koreans had to quickly withdraw from their supply lines to the north, and the UN and DRC forces, which had been confined to the south, were then able to move north and link up with the recently landed troops. Troops from the US 1st Marine Division, along with US and South Korean Army units, entered Seoul on September 25; MacArthur and South Korean President Syngman Rhee marched on the capital and declared the country's liberation.
According to US sources, the North Korean Army had nearly 13,000 soldiers taken prisoner and some 50,000 casualties in the months of August-September, which left that force very small; however, 25,000 of his best soldiers had retreated into the mountains and 10,000 partisans remained in South Korean territory. As they withdrew, they took thousands of South Korean civilians as hostages and forced labor, while massacres ensued (the most famous from this period of the war is that which occurred in Taejeon, where some 5,000 civilians were massacred).
The UN troops had managed to push their enemies back to the other side of the 38th parallel. The goal (to save South Korea) had been achieved, but the success and prospect of reunifying all of Korea under the command of Syngman Rhee they prompted the Americans to continue further and invade North Korea. It was widely believed by many in the West, including MacArthur, that the war must now be refocused to attack China as well. Truman and the other leaders disagreed, so MacArthur was ordered to be very cautious when he approached the Chinese border.
Chinese intervention
The People's Republic of China had planned to intervene directly in the war since July 1950, when the first US soldiers landed in South Korea. China had already transferred 69,200 PLA soldiers, who were ethnic Koreans, to the North Korean army in 1949 and 1950. These former Chinese soldiers made up 47% of the North Korean army in June 1950. The People's Republic China had warned that it would react if UN forces crossed the border line at the Amnok River. Mao sought Soviet help and presented the intervention as essentially defensive. "If we allow the United States to occupy all of Korea...we must be prepared for the United States to declare...war on China," was what he told Stalin. Zhou Enlai was sent to Moscow to add force to Mao's arguments, which had been cabled. Mao delayed his forces while waiting for Soviet assistance, and thus the planned attack was postponed from October 13 to October 19. Soviet assistance was limited to logistical support and air support 96 km from the front lines. The MiG-15s in PRC colors came as a nasty surprise to the UN pilots and managed to maintain local air superiority against the F-80 Shooting Stars until the new F-86 Sabres were deployed. The intervention of the Soviets was known by the United States, but they preferred to keep silent to avoid any international and potentially nuclear incident.
The Chinese offensive launched on October 19, 1950, under the command of General Peng Dehuai, with 380,000 soldiers of the People's Liberation Army repelled the UN troops and took them to the 38th parallel, the pre-conflict border. Among the Chinese volunteers was Mao Anying, Chairman Mao Zedong's eldest son, who would die in the fighting.
The Battle of Chosin Reservoir in the winter dealt a severe blow to the United Nations troops, composed mainly of United States Marines. The situation was such that MacArthur requested the shipment of 26 atomic weapons, alarming the world, which is why President Truman first denied the request and later relieved MacArthur.
The Chinese assault took the UN troops by surprise, as war had not been declared between the PRC and the United States. The withdrawal of the US Army X Corps was the longest withdrawal of a US unit in history. The Marines, on the eastern side of the peninsula, fell back in a more organized fashion, mainly due to their better training and discipline. On January 4, 1951, Chinese and North Korean forces recaptured Seoul, which in turn was recaptured by US-led forces on the following March 14.
Following failed ceasefire negotiations in January, the United Nations General Assembly passed Resolution 498 on February 1, condemning the People's Republic of China as an aggressor and urging its troops to leave Korea. General MacArthur was relieved of command by President Truman in 1951 and replaced by General Matthew Ridgway. The reasons for this decision were multiple: MacArthur had met with Chiang Kai-shek, president of the Republic of China in exile on the island of Taiwan, performing a diplomatic function for which he was not authorized; MacArthur also botched Guam, misinforming Truman about Chinese troops stationed near the Korean border; finally, MacArthur's plan to unleash a nuclear attack on China precipitated his downfall.
Stagnation (July 1951-July 1953)
From when representatives of both sides met for the first time to negotiate in July 1951, until the signing of the armistice (July 27, 1953), the Korean War was in a stagnant phase. This phase had two very specific characteristics:
- Both sides had understood the impossibility of unifying Korea by force.
- The army movement of both sides never had the intensity of the first year of the war.
The rest of the war saw only small changes of territory and lengthy peace negotiations (which began in Kaesong on July 10 of the same year). While the initial negotiations were taking place, Generals Ridgeway and Van Fleet believed that they would not prosper without new United Nations offensives crossing the 38th Parapelo; in particular, the Autumn Offensive (August 31-November 12) was launched in which battles such as Bloody Ridge, Heartbreak Ridge, The Punchbowl and Kanmubong Ridge were fought. The I and X Corps (each with about five divisions) intervened in them, to which British and South Korean units were added; there were 60,000 casualties, of which 22,000 were American. At this point in the war, the UN coalition ceded the initiative to Chinese troops, who launched counterattacks in various areas; they suffered between 100 and 150,000 casualties.
From September to November 1952, the Chinese Expeditionary Force carried out its sixth offensive, forcing the Allies back into South Korean territory for good. In particular it was characterized by night attacks and heavy use of artillery, leading to battles fought on hills, with names like White Horse Mountain, Old Baldy, Sniper Ridge, Capitol Hill, Triangle Hill, Pike's Peak, Jackson Heights and Jane Russell Hill. By the time the fighting died down in mid-November 1952, the US 8th Army had lost 10,000 men, and the Chinese forces some 15,000. Chinese commanders believed that the sacrifice made had persuaded then-newly elected President Dwight Eisenhower not to make any more crossings of the 38th parallel; but in truth both Eisenhower and his Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles, believed that the continuation of the war was incompatible with the interests of the United States. This had been decided despite the fact that South Korean President Syngman Rhee, who in 1952 had forced a questionable re-election for a new term, disagreed with such a decision. The Chinese armed forces carried out their seventh and final offensive in May 1953, against US and Commonwealth troops in the Imjin River sector. The last act of warfare was the Battle of the Kumsong Salient.
Air Campaign
The United States launched a harsh campaign of aerial bombardments against North Korea that caused severe damage to the country. B-29 Superfortress planes sent north used incendiary weapons such as napalm. The United States dropped 635,000 tons of explosives on Korea and 32,557 tons of napalm, an amount that exceeds all the bombs dropped on the Pacific during World War II.
In March 1953, the FEAF committee began to study the possibility of attacking the irrigation system for 422,000 acres of rice plantations, in the South Pyongyang and Hwanghae agricultural complexes. The fact that they were defended by North Korean units convinced the importance of that objective. They estimated that by attacking rice production, it would create shortages and the need to import rice from China, thus overloading land transportation routes, as well as diverting troops for repairs and security. On May 13, 1953, twenty F-84 Thunderjet fighter-bombers attacked the Toksan Dam, causing a flood that destroyed 700 buildings in Pyongyang and thousands of acres of rice. On May 15-16, two groups of F-84s bombed the Chasan Dam. The Kuwonga, Namsi and Taecho dams were similarly hit. The shelling of these five dams and the subsequent flooding threatened several million North Koreans with famine. According to Charles K. Armstrong, only emergency assistance from China, the USSR and other socialist countries could prevent widespread famine.
The governments of the People's Republic of China, the Soviet Union, and North Korea accused the United States military of carrying out biological weapons attacks during the war.
Naval Campaign
Because neither Korea had a significant navy, the war featured few naval battles. A skirmish between North Korea and the UN Command occurred on July 2, 1950ː the American cruiser USS Juneau, the Royal Navy cruiser HMS Jamaica and the frigate Also British HMS Black Swan fought four North Korean torpedo boats and two gunboats and sank them. The USS Juneau then sank several ammunition ships that had been present. The last naval battle of the Korean War took place at Inchon, days before the Battle of Incheon.
Five US Navy ships were sunk during the war, all by naval mines.
After the North Korean invasion (June 25, 1950), the US Pacific Fleet had been put on alert. His base on the island of Okinawa (Japan) was the place from which Task Force 77 (TF 77) left. The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Clement Attlee, reported that the British naval forces stationed in Japanese waters (the light aircraft carrier HMS Triumph, the cruiser HMS Jamaica, some destroyers and frigates, as well as a hospital ship) would support the United Nations resolution, joined on June 29 by the governments of Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The first air strikes launched from aircraft carriers occurred on 3 and 4 July with the aircraft carriers USS Valley Forge and HMS Triumph operating together. Its jets attacked Pyongyang and other targets, such as the Haeju Air Base, small ships in the Taedong Estuary, railway lines between Haeju and Yonan, and columns of enemy troops. The maritime control exercised by the Allies made it possible to protect the Pusan sector, the place where the land forces withdrew, and from where the offensive that would recover ground would later come out.
The aircraft embarked on the English aircraft carrier HMS Theseus, made 3,500 attack sorties until April 1951, when the ship was relieved by the aircraft carrier HMS Glory; This ship's aviation participated in missions in support of the 1.er Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment, when that unit was almost annihilated in its position on the Imjin River, in the context of the Chinese spring offensive. Also in the fighting at Kapyong, where British and American troops fought together.
During the recapture of Seoul (Second Battle of Seoul), the Marines of the 1st Division were supported by USMC aircraft. There were 6 squads assigned to support the Marines during the recapture of the South Korean capital; in particular, the squadrons VMF-214 (Black Sheep) and VMF-323 (Death Rattlers) stood out. The VMF-214 pilots operated from the aircraft carrier USS Sicily (CVE-118) in support of the fighting in the siege of Pusan, the landing of Inchon and the aforementioned reconquest of Seoul. For its part, VMF-323 operated from the aircraft carrier Baedong Strait (CVE-116), carrying out a total of 784 combat missions. In turn, a historic event occurred when the VM0-6 helicopter squadron was deployed to Pusan in August 1950, along with the 1st Marine Brigade, inaugurating the helicopter era..
Armistice
US President Dwight Eisenhower, elected on November 29, 1952, promised in his campaign to travel to Korea to see what could be done to end the conflict.
On July 27, 1953, the United States and North Korea signed an armistice. Said armistice was established to ensure the total cessation of hostilities and acts of war on the Korean peninsula until a definitive peace agreement is reached, which to date has not yet been reached and, therefore, both nations are Technically at war.
The signing of this armistice also established the current Korean demilitarized zone by reference to the 38th parallel north; this line between the two nations serves as a border, one of the most militarily fortified in the world. Said demilitarized zone is still defended today by North Korean troops, on the one hand, and by those of South Korea and the United States. United States, on the other.
Result
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The postwar recovery was different in the two Koreas. In the south, Syngman Rhee ruled authoritarianly until 1960, when he was forced to resign after electoral fraud was discovered.In 1962 General Park Chung-hee staged a coup. In 1953, South Korea and the United States signed a Mutual Defense Treaty that is still in force today.
In the north, Kim Il-sung continued to rule until his death on July 8, 1994, succeeded by his son Kim Jong-il. After the armistice, Kim Il-sung requested Soviet economic and industrial assistance. In September 1953, the Soviet government agreed to cancel or postpone payment of all...outstanding debts and promised to provide North Korea with one billion rubles in monetary aid, industrial equipment, and consumer goods.. Eastern European members of the Soviet Bloc also contributed logistical support, technical assistance, and medical supplies. China has canceled North Korea's war debts, provided 800 million yuan, promised trade cooperation and sent thousands of troops to rebuild damaged infrastructure.
Participation of Latin American countries
Columbia
On June 27, 1950, the UN secretary formulated a request for help for the allied forces deployed on the peninsula. Nations such as Australia, Belgium, Luxembourg, Greece, the Netherlands, France, Turkey, Canada, among others, responded to the call, reaching a total of 18 nations that offered military support. As for the other American countries, it was expected that Mexico, Argentina, Brazil and Chile would collaborate with a Regiment and that the others would contribute a Company each; many of them refused this help because they considered that, in the end, it was a fight between the Soviet Union and the United States.
On June 30, the government of Laureano Gómez Castro offered a naval unit to the allied forces and two weeks later added an infantry battalion, which did not yet exist, to its commitment. Once both units were accepted, Minister of War Roberto Urdaneta sent the frigate Almirante Padilla from Cartagena to the naval base in San Diego (California), under the command of Lieutenant Commander Julio César Reyes Canal, in order to to advance repairs and adaptation of their equipment for the war mission and a training period for the crew.
Regarding the infantry corps, Decree 3927 of December 1950 created the Colombian Infantry Battalion No. 1, destined for the United Nations Army in Korea. The battalion was made up of soldiers from all regions of the country, staying at the Army Cavalry School in Bogotá. After an instructive period, said battalion was transferred at the end of May 1951 by the USS Aiken Victory, arriving in Pusan after 23 days, after calling on the island of Hawaii.
Of the 5,100 Colombian combatants who took part in the Asian conflict, 111 officers and 590 non-commissioned officers participated in war operations and the rest in surveillance of the armistice, receiving the same intensive training as the previous ones. The final balance of the war for the Colombia Battalion was 639 combat casualties distributed among 163 killed in action, 448 wounded, 28 prisoners who were exchanged, and 47 missing. Despite these casualties, the conflict helped to modernize the Army of that country. The frigates ARC Almirante Padilla, ARC Capitán Tono and ARC Almirante Brión of the National Army made a presence throughout the Korean War, where they participated in various military actions.
Puerto Rico
The American colonial regiment "of the Volunteers" of Puerto Rico or 65th Infantry was organized in 1899 by order approved by the United States Congress. It was made up of four companies of 100 Puerto Ricans each.
"The U.S. Army did not have or felt any confidence in this regiment or its combat skills. And all of this by preconceived prejudices on the part of the Americans towards the Puerto Ricans that they were a pack of useless vagues and without any education or interest in the well-being of the North American Union. However, the reality was that this unit was very well trained and capable of handling any kind of situation... The image of this regiment in the eyes of the army changed in 1950 in a practice exercise in which the Regiment kept the 3rd Division of the U.S. Army without moving forward. Which was considered an important feat, as a regiment could hold a whole division. »
On August 25, 1950, barely seven months after the aforementioned exercise, the 65th Regiment received orders to leave for Korea, where it would participate in nine campaigns:
- 1950 UN Defensive
- 1950 UN Offensive
- 1950 CCF Intervention
- 1951 UN First Counterattack Offence
- 1951 Spring Offensive of CCF and UN
- 1951 Offensive of the Fall of the Summer of the UN
- 1951-1952 Second Korean Winter
- 1952 Korean Summer Fall
- 1952-1953 Third Korean Winter
"No matter the great achievements of the 65 Infantry Regiment in Korea, it was deactivated in 1956. The U.S. Army no longer needed a regiment in Puerto Rico and even less regiments composed of only one ethnic group. The regiment ended up being transferred to the Puerto Rico National Guard 92nd Infantry Brigade. »
Artistic representation
Artist Pablo Picasso's painting, Massacre in Korea (1951), depicted violence against civilians during the Korean War. The killings of civilians committed by US forces in Shinchun, Hwanghae province, was the subject of the painting. In South Korea, the painting was considered anti-American, making it long a taboo in the South, being banned from public display until 1990.
The Colombian play "El monte calvo" (1966) created by Jairo Aníbal Niño, uses two ex-soldiers (Sebastián and the colonel) from the Colombia Battalion and an ex-clown (Canuto) to criticize any militarist position.
In the United States, the most famous artistic representation is the book, film and television series M*A*S*H (1972-1983), which describe the misfortunes of the employees of a mobile military hospital and the way when they strove to maintain their health through the absurdities of war and rival humors. Although M*A*S*H gave a good description of the Korean War, there were some flaws in the TV series. For starters, there were more Korean doctors in the MASH units than were shown in the series. In the series, the majority were Americans.
The 2004 South Korean film Taegukgi Hwinalrimyeo ("Ties of War/Brotherhood of War") tells the story of two brothers who must fight in the Korean War, showing realistically the hardships that the men and women of Korea experienced during the war, in an open criticism of both sides involved in the war. This movie has been compared to 'Saving Private Ryan', getting rave reviews in both Korean and Western circles.
In 2010, 71: Into the fire ("Bajo el Fuego") was released. The film is based on a true story of a group of 71 South Korean wartime training students and soldiers, who were mostly killed on August 11, 1950 during the Battle of P'ohang- dong, while defending the P'ohang-dong Girls' School, a strategic point for safeguarding the Nakdong River, from an 11-hour attack by superior North Korean forces.