A machine gun crew from the US 25th Infantry Division keep watch for the enemy in January 1951.
29 February 1951 Canadian infantry taking a break to catch up with the news.
Some thirty kilometres south of Seoul – Chinese troops defending a ridgeline. Note the Czech-built ZB vz 26 LMG – the ancestor of the Bren – captured from Nationalist Chinese stocks.
A staged photograph of Chinese troops flushing American soldiers from a cave in the hillside.
White phosphorous shells fall on Chinese positions facing the US 25th Infantry Division in February 1951.
30 March 1951, an American M4A3E8 76 W (HVSS) tank fitted with a flame thrower destroys an enemy pillbox in the hillside on the Han River front.
Turkish troops searching captured Chinese soldiers. When the Turks first went into action they mistook retreating South Korean troops for the enemy and killed many of them. The Turkish forces, composed mainly of tough country boys who had, for the most part, never before left their villages, gained a fearsome reputation in close combat and rarely showed mercy to their foes, so much so that only about 100 were taken prisoner by the communists. Their brave defensive actions saved the US 2nd Division from annihilation.
A wounded man is prepared for evacuation in the side pannier carried by this OH-13 to a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH).
A new weapon for the UN forces to deal with: Chinese rocket salvoes. Communist rocket artillery was used to good effect during the defeat of the 8th Cavalry Regiment at Unsan.
South Korean Police executing political prisoners near Taegu in April 1951.
Chinese soldiers captured near the Hwachon reservoir fifty miles north-east of Seoul in April 1951 await shipment at the US 24th Infantry Division headquarters.
A wrecked Cromwell tank of the 8th Hussars is recovered after the battle of Happy Valley. Its crew were either killed or captured. One of the few survivors saw captured tankmen executed in cold blood by their Chinese captors. The Chinese captured one of the Cromwells early in 1951 and it had to be knocked out by Centurion tanks several days later. The damage illustrates how destructive enemy infantry armed with explosives can be if they can get close enough to a tank.
A Chinese soldier has his photograph taken on a knocked-out M26 Pershing tank of the 1st Cavalry Division in the early months of the Chinese intervention.
June 1951 a British Mk III Centurion tank, painted with US markings runs off the road north of Seoul. A difficult recovery job for the men of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. The Centurion's 20-pdr gun (the most powerful tank gun used in Korea) was renowned for its accuracy in destroying enemy bunkers, but never met the T-34 in combat in Korea. Note the failed HE penetrations on the side skirts.
A crippled American M4A3E8 76 W (HVSS) Sherman tank is prepared for recovery in October 1951. Note the ‘A’ frame attached to the rear of the tank ready for towing. These men from the 25th Infantry Division are placing dynamite under the track to split it so the tank can be towed.
A column of 1st Cavalry Division prisoners of war is escorted by armed guards on their long journey to the communist prison camps in the far north of Korea. Hundreds would perish on these long arduous marches without food or medical attention.
Large numbers of South Korean troops were captured by the Chinese who generally attacked the weaker ROK Divisions rather than the American units with their tanks, artillery and air support.
Chinese troops running through the streets of P'yongyang as the UN forces retreat south towards the 38th Parallel.
Chinese troops fighting their way through P'yongyang on the way to the south.
Chinese troops crossing the Han River under fire.
14 March 1951 American troops crowd onto a 1st Cavalry Division tank M4A3E8 76W(HVSS) Sherman tank for a ride across the Hongchon River. The Sherman and Soviet T-34 were comparable and could destroy each other when hit. The Sherman had better optics however, which gave it a better chance of scoring a first round hit.
Chinese sniper Zhang Taofang claimed 214 UN dead in thirty-two days with his Mosin Nagant 7.62mm rifle.
A Marine sniper and his spotter search for targets in the valley below.
A Marine mortar crew firing their M2 4.2-inch heavy mortar from a well constructed dugout. The weapon had an effective range of 4,000 yards.
Men of the 14th Combat Engineer Battalion return fire at the communist forces across the river.
The Great Bug Out. UN troops crossing the 38th Parallel back into South Korea.
A temporary railway bridge is destroyed to prevent its use by the enemy during the retreat to the south.
February 1951, men of the 5th Regimental Combat Team at the Han River. This soldier is firing his Browning BAR whilst taking cover behind a M4A3E8 76 W (HVSS) Sherman tank. Note the large amount of MG ammunition stowed on the hull rear.
A forward observer team calls artillery fire onto an enemy position.
An interpreter with the Canadian Princess Patricias Light Infantry questions a Chinese prisoner.
Platoon leader Lieutenant Ralph Barnes throws a grenade as the enemy get closer.
A female Chinese medic tends to a wounded soldier as his comrades advance up the hill.
Major General Charles Palmer leads tanks of the 1st Cavalry Division through Chunchon on 21 March 1951.
Soldiers from the British Gloucestershire Regiment stop for afternoon tea. In April 1951 this battalion was overrun by a massive Chinese offensive and most of the men were taken prisoner.
April 1951, the Chinese launch their Fifth Offensive. Note the captured American trucks and 105mm artillery driving past. The photo also shows the use of good camouflage and concealment by Chinese soldiers to avoid UN air strikes and artillery.
A Chinese machine gun crew fire across the Imjin River in April 1951.
Chinese troops assaulting across the Imjin River. Their objective was the recapture of Seoul.
Chinese infantry assaulting a hill. Their human wave tactics were costly in manpower but very effective.
An 8-inch howitzer opens fire north of Seoul in May 1951 as UN troops move up behind withdrawing Chinese. The gun had a crew of fourteen and an effective range of 18,000 yards.
7 May 1951, a Marine uses his flame thrower to destroy an enemy pillbox.
April 1951, Chinese prisoners trudge down a hill under escort as UN troops advance past them.
Hongchon, 15 May 1951, Marines take cover while an M26 Pershing tank engages a target further down the valley.
May 1951, South Korean refugees queue to cross the Han River by a pontoon bridge hastily constructed alongside the railway bridge, whose destroyed piers can be seen in the distance.
The peace talks finally began in July 1951 at Kaesong, just north of the 38th Parallel and in enemy occupied territory. Communist guards surrounded the area to ensure the safety of the negotiators.
The burnt uniform on this dead Chinese infantryman is still smoking at this collection point near Chunchon on 17 May 1951 after UN forces halted a major enemy offensive.
A mine clearing party sweeping a main road in June 1951, escorted by an M4A3E8 76 W (HVSS) Sherman tank.
13 July 1951, Chinese tank crews stand in front of their camouflaged T-34 tanks before the start of the Fifth Chinese Offensive.
The Chinese would use human wave tactics to overrun a position, with inexperienced, poorly equipped soldiers in the first waves. Once the defenders began to run out of ammunition the following waves of well equipped veterans would join the battle. In the meantime other units would encircle the defenders and cut off their line of retreat or reinforcement. Note the supporting T-34 tanks.
This wounded GI was hit in the back in a grenade duel in July 1951.
The Chinese had little in the way of anti-aircraft weapons. This gunner is firing his Japanese made machine gun at a UN aircraft. The LMG is a type 96, which was based on the Czech ZB vz 26, the ancestor of the Bren.
General Matthew B. Ridgway (left), Far East Commander
, confers with Brigadier Rockingham of the Canadian Army in July 1951.
August 1951, a US soldier warily bypasses a booby trapped Chinese roadblock on a narrow mountain pass near Ynaggu.
The caption supplied with this propaganda photograph reads ‘A Chinese Peoples Volunteer rescues a wounded civilian’.
16 September 1951, an American soldier from the 2nd Engineer Special Brigade throws a hand grenade through the entrance to a Chinese bunker in the hillside.
20 September 1951, a Sikorsky H-19 drops elements of the 1st Marine Recon Company on Hill 812 to relieve troops from the 8th ROK Division.
Men of the Chinese 46th Army discuss tactics for their attack on Nanshan Village. Usually they would try to encircle enemy positions and establish road blocks on the line of retreat.
Waves of Chinese troops leave their trenches and hurl themselves into the valley below. By the autumn of 1951 the war on the ground had reached stalemate and both sides dug in to consolidate their positions.
A machine gun crew from Company K, 35th Regimental Combat Team, US 25th Infantry Division wait for the enemy to appear.
The Chinese 122nd Infantry Regiment prepares to go into battle. These men are armed with the Soviet PPSh 7.62mm submachine gun with a seventy-one-round drum magazine. The main tactic used in the assault was to equip one platoon with nothing but bags of grenades and another with sub machine guns.
North Korean dancers entertain Chinese troops behind the lines.
This photograph apparently shows a Chinese recoilless rifle crew destroying a UN tank. The US had provided the Nationalist Chinese the blueprints to manufacture the weapon and they fell into the hands of the Communists who produced their own version.
Royal Northumberland Fusiliers hitching a lift forward on a British Mk III Centurion tank. Note the US stars on the front and sides to aid identification. American gunners would often open fire on aircraft or vehicles that they did not recognize.
A unit from the 67th Chinese Army celebrates the capture of the 5th ROK battalion flag.
Wounded men from ‘L’ Company, 31st Infantry Regiment, US 7th Infantry Division take a smoke break after having their wounds dressed during the fighting for Hill 598 near Kumwha in October 1952.
Chinese troops celebrate victory at Triangle Hill. American and South Korean troops tried for forty-two days to capture the hill but were unsuccessful.
‘A’ Company, 31st Infantry Regiment prepare to defend their ridgeline. The regimental battle flag was captured by the Chinese in November 1950 and is now on display in the Peoples Military Museum in Beijing.
Chinese infantry from the 68th Army advancing towards the UN lines.
The members of this Chinese T-34 tank crew are presented with an award for their heroism. Although the Chinese had four tank regiments in North Korea, they were spread amongst the infantry units and tank to tank battles were rare.
Canadian Sherman M4A3E8 76W(HVSS) tanks from C Squadron, Lord Strathcona's Horse crossing the Imjin River. Note the cover on the muzzle brake at the end of the gun barrel.
This Chinese photograph allegedly shows a raid by a dozen men from the 607th Regiment, 203rd Division, 68th Army Group on the headquarters of the South Korean White Tiger Regiment in July 1953. Led by Lieutenant Yang Yucai, deputy commander of the recon platoon and wearing South Korean uniforms, they caused heavy casualties and escaped with the Regimental flag.
A self-propelled M41 155mm Howitzer in action. Based on the M24 Chaffee light tank chassis, the gun had a range of 16,000 yards.
In October 1951 the 3rd Royal Australian Regiment captured Hill 317 from the 19th Chinese Division. The two Chinese soldiers nearest the camera are manning a Soviet DP light machine gun.
This is Bloody Ridge, occupied by the survivors of the 9th Infantry Regiment after it was captured on 5 September 1951. It cost 2,700 American and South Korean casualties and an estimated 15,000 North Korean casualties. The battle of Heartbreak Ridge, which followed Bloody Ridge, claimed 3,700 American and French casualties and an estimated 25,000 North Koreans and Chinese.
An Australian soldier armed with a Bren gun stands guard near the body of a North Korean soldier.
Wounded men from the US 2nd Division are carried to a first aid post during the fighting for Heartbreak Ridge.
11 October 1951, Colonel James Murray USMC senior US negotiator and Colonel Chang Chun San of the North Korean army study maps of the proposed cease-fire line at Panmunjom.
At the Panmunjom peace talks, DPRK delegation Deng Hua (third from left), Li Xiang-Chao (fourth from left), and Zhang Ping Chan (fifth from left).
In October 1951 Operation Polecharge was launched to seize a few hills south of the Wyoming Line, still held by the Communists. As a result of the six-mile advance the badly-mauled US 1st Cavalry Division was withdrawn to Japan for refitting.
Men of the 19th Infantry Regiment wait for the enemy counter attack to begin. Note the machine gun positioned to fire through the gap in the wall.
22 October 1951, prisoners of war from the 1st Commonwealth Division, captured during Operation Commando, a six division offensive against elements of four Chinese armies. It would be the last major UN offensive of the war.
Chapter Four
The Long Road to an Armistice
August 1951 – August 1953
Both sides now began to dig in and fortify their positions. The Chinese had learned to respect UN firepower and now conducted their operations at night. They were unable to use their traditional tactics of surrounding and outflanking the enemy; they would have to attack him head on and take heavy losses for their trouble. Their supply lines were now several hundred kilometres long and under attack by UN aircraft. According to the Chinese, UN forces dropped some 690,000 tons of bombs during the Korean War; five tons for every square kilometre in North Korea. The Chinese trucks had to operate at night, without lights on badly damaged roads; as a result the front line troops received only 30–40 per cent of their minimum needs. Although the Chinese had captured a large amount of UN heavy equipment and vehicles during the campaigns, most were destroyed immediately by UN aircraft. They had neither adequate air cover nor enough trained drivers to take the equipment away.
The peace talks began on 10 July 1951 at Kaesong, on the 38th Parallel but in Communist controlled territory. Vice-Admiral C. Turner Joy, commander of the US Naval Forces Far East was the chief US representative at the negotiations. He and the other four main members of the US team arrived by helicopter and took their seats opposite five negotiators representing China and North Korea, headed by General Nam II. The Communist delegation had three proposals for consideration: a cease fire; the establishing of a demilitarized zone along the 38th Parallel; the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Korea. The American list contained nine items, including the identification of prisoner of war camps and access for the International Committee of the Red Cross. Arrangements would also have to be made for the exchange of prisoners of war.
The talks broke down after only two days. On 12 July the US delegation of sixty-five members arrived at the security entrance together with twenty journalists. As the presence of the journalists had not been agreed with the Communist delegation, they refused entrance to the journalists. As a result the Admiral and his team turned around and returned to their base at Munsan. It was an arrogant and needless act by the US side. The communists were prepared to agree to the presence of journalists, but only when some sort of agreement had been reached at the negotiating table.
Another source of dissatisfaction was the amount of security around Kaesong, through which the US delegation had to pass. General Ridgway had agreed to meet the communist representatives at Kaesong, but thereafter regretted the decision. These side issues kept both sides occupied until October.
Korea Page 7