Canada's Army in Korea

Canada's Army in Korea Preface The First Canadians in Korea Background of the Conflict Formation of the CASF The Fighting in 1950 Canadian Troops in Action Political Aspects The Patricias at Kapyong Training at Fort Lewis The 25th Brigade Goes In Early RCN Operations The 25th Brigade in Action, 1951 The 2nd RCR at Chail-li Political Developments During June 1951 Canadian Operations During June and July Formation of the 1st Commonwealth Division Across the Imjin The "Rotation" of Canadian Troops Enemy Attacks During November The Political Front, July-December 1951 Holding the Line, 1951-1953 The First General Rotation Patrols Against the Boot and Hill 113 Canadian Troops on Koje Island The RCR on Hill 355 The Patricias' Second Rotation Winter on the Hook Korean Personnel with the Canadian Forces The Second General Rotation The End of the Fighting The Attack on the 3rd RCR Political Developments, 1952-53 Administration Behind the Canadian Brigade, Juny 1951-July 1953 Supporting Arms Air Support and Supply The RCN in Korean Waters, May 1951-July 1953 The Toll of the War Conclusion Main Provisions of the Armistice Agreement The Canadians After the Armistice Canadian Troops Withdraw Korea in Retrospect Books and Articles for Further Reading Abbreviations

[edit] The 2nd RCR at Chail-li

On 28 May 1951 the 25th Canadian Infantry Brigade Group, advancing astride the Pochon valley, had reached a line immediately south of the 38th Parallel and relieved the 25th U.S. Division's Task Force "Dolvin". Next day the Brigade Group crossed the Parallel with open flanks and on a two-battalion front - the 2nd Royal 22e R?giment on the right and the 10th Philippine Battalion on the left, each with a troop of "C" Squadron Lord Strathcona's Horse in support. Abandoned stores of ammunition and gasoline discovered by the Strathconas indicated that the Chinese were withdrawing in some haste. There was no serious resistance until late in the afternoon, when the Vingt-deux came under mortar and machine-gun fire from the area of Hill 467. This feature became an objective of the 2nd Royal Canadian Regiment, which early next morning passed through the Royal 22e at the village of Tonaeji-kogae.

The plan of the battalion commander, Lieut.-Colonel R. A. Keane, was for "A" Company to seize the village of Chail-li, north of Hill 467; "B" Company to occupy Hill 162, in the valley of the Hantan River west of 467; "D" Company to take Hill 467; and finally "C" Company to capture Hill 269, between 467 and Chail-li. "A" Company, mounted on half tracks, was supported by a troop of the Strathconas. The 2nd Regiment RCHA was in direct support of the battalion, while the divisional artillery was available to the Brigade as a whole. Plans for air support had to be cancelled, owing to heavy rain and strong winds. The operation began at six o'clock in the morning of the 30th. "B" Company took Hill 162 without opposition, thus securing the battalion's left flank, and "A" Company established itself in and around Chail-li. "D" Company, however, met strong resistance on Hill 467 and suffered several casualties from machine-gun fire. Early in the afternoon the enemy, while continuing to hold the hill, counter attacked the village with a company of infantry supported by artillery and mortars; Chinese tanks also were reported. Although "C" Company had reached Hill 269, in between these two points, the distances were so great that it could not give effective aid to either "A" or "D" Company. Furthermore, the situation throughout the Division was far from favourable - five miles separated the RCR from the foremost American elements on the right of the Canadian Brigade. Since it did not appear that the RCR could continue to hold Chail-li or to take Hill 467, Brigadier Rockingham ordered Colonel Keane to withdraw his companies to form a defensive position in the area of what had been the start line; the withdrawal was completed by eight o'clock that evening. The day's action had cost the RCR six killed and 25 wounded. The hill and the village remained in enemy hands until 5 June, when it fell to the 65th U.S. Regimental Combat Team.

By the end of the war's first year, 21 nations apart from South Korea had placed fighting forces or (in five cases) medical units under the U.N. Command. In the Eighth Army's eastern sector, South Korean formations had advanced to Chodo-ri, but in the west the enemy still held a salient bounded by the "elbow" of the Imjin. Operations over the whole front had ceased to be in the nature of a pursuit; their next phase was to be a relatively static one featuring extensive patrol activity.