Korea

by Philip Chinnery

  Finally, it was agreed that any prisoners who did not want to return home would be handed over to representatives from India – a neutral country, where they would remain for ninety days while their governments subjected them to ‘explanations’ and tried to persuade them to come home. At the end of ninety days they would revert to civilian status and the neutral commission would help them to relocate to a new home. South Korean President Rhee did not agree with this though; as far as he was concerned, on the day the armistice was to be signed any North Korean who did not want to return home would be set free to live in the South. He went even further on the night of 18 June when the ROK guards at the four main POW camps threw open the gates and the first of 25,000 North Koreans who did not want to be repatriated walked out into the night. They were met by ROK soldiers and police and given civilian clothes and directions to private houses where they would be taken care of.

  The Chinese reaction was swift and violent. They launched their heaviest offensive in over two years and fired so many artillery rounds at the UN lines that they used up most of the shells they had stockpiled during that time. They then threw three Chinese armies totalling 100,000 men against five ROK divisions of less than half that number and pushed them back several miles until UN artillery and air support stalled the offensive. The fighting continued into the early days of July and clearly shook President Rhee's determination to continue the war without UN support.

  The armistice was finally signed on 27 July 1953, and on 5 August ‘Operation Big Switch’ began with the first exchange of prisoners of war from both sides desiring repatriation. The United Nations Command began the transfer of 75,823 enemy prisoners of war (70,183 North Koreans and 5,640 Chinese) and the communists began the transfer of 12,773 Allied prisoners including 7,862 South Koreans, 3,597 Americans and 1,000 British in return.

  It soon became clear that the numbers did not add up. On 6 August the Commander in Chief of the United Nations Command, General Mark Clark, flew back to the United States and held a news conference in the Pentagon. The New York Times reported his concerns that the Communists were holding back a large number of prisoners: ‘General Clark pledged to press the communists for further information on the additional troops he believed they held and for a possible exchange. He said that he pointed out the wide discrepancy between his information and that supplied by the communists on prisoners during the truce negotiations. He had been advised by his superiors in the Pentagon, he said, not to delay the armistice negotiations over the discrepancy but to reserve the privilege of later protest.’

  General Clark was of the opinion that the only way of obtaining the release of all missing prisoners of war was by the application of force and in that respect his hands were tied. It was with great reluctance that he announced at the press conference that he would retire from the army on 31 October 1953. His opinion was echoed the following day by General James A. Van Fleet, commander of the Eighth Army, when he stated: ‘A large percentage of the 8,000 American soldiers listed as missing in action in Korea are still alive.’

  Almost 3,000 American prisoners of war had died or been killed whilst in captivity – 38 per cent of the total of 7,190 captured. However, there were hundreds, if not thousands more who were being kept back as the exchanges were under way. Returned prisoners told stories of comrades who were taken away from their waiting areas and never seen again. This was in addition to the many intelligence reports of American and UN prisoners being taken across the Yalu River into China and the train loads of prisoners seen crossing the Manchurian frontier into Russia.

  On 6 September both sides declared that ‘Big Switch’ had been completed for all individuals who had elected to return home to their own sides. Three days later the UNC presented a list to the Communists of 3,404 UN and South Korean personnel who were still not accounted for. The list included the names of 944 United States servicemen and was compiled from statements made by the communists themselves, propaganda radio broadcasts made from Peking, letters written from POW camps or from the observations of repatriated comrades. On 16 December Peking radio stated that the list was fake and designed to obscure the fact that the Allies were forcibly detaining Chinese and North Korean prisoners of war. At this point an impasse was reached. The UN Command now knew that the enemy was holding back some prisoners and had no intention of returning them. On the other hand the fact that tens of thousands of communist soldiers had refused to return home was of enormous political value. The communists had a small victory of their own in that twenty-one Americans and one British Royal Marine refused to return home, as well as over 300 South Koreans. However, 22,604 Chinese and North Koreans were handed over to the Indian delegation of the Neutral Nations Repatriation Commission on 23 September, having turned their backs on their communist masters. When added to the 25,000 North Koreans Rhee had freed in June, it meant that over 46,000 Communist soldiers had refused repatriation.

  Was it worth it? After the negotiators at Panmunjom had agreed the cease-fire line in November 1951, the repatriation question was the only substantial issue left. By insisting on voluntary repatriation the United States had prolonged the war by fifteen months, during which 125,000 United Nations and over 250,000 Communist soldiers had become casualties.

  By the time the guns fell silent for the last time, the United States had lost 23,196 killed in action and a further 105,871 wounded. A total of 13,108 had been listed as missing in action, although 5,131 had returned during the prisoner exchanges. Nearly 8,000 were still listed as missing in action and although many may have died or been killed, there were at least 944 others who had been alive in enemy hands at one time or another.

  The armistice was never replaced by a formal peace treaty and technically both North and South Korea are still at war. A demilitarized zone was established between both countries and it has been transformed into the heaviest defended place in the world. The Chinese troops eventually marched back into China and most of the UN forces returned home, leaving a strong force of American troops to help the South Koreans patrol the frontier between the two countries.

  And so the years have passed. The last ten years have seen the return of a number of former ROK soldiers who were kept back at the end of the war and sent to work in coal mines in North Korea. As a succession of famines have ravaged North Korea, so have refugees crossed the Yalu River into China and made their way back to South Korea.

  In the last year or so the North Koreans have torpedoed a South Korean war ship and shelled a coastal village in response to US naval exercises in the area. The North is also reportedly in possession of a handful of nuclear weapons and is working hard to produce an inter-continental ballistic missile to carry the warheads. Peace is as far away as ever.

  Chinese 85mm anti-aircraft artillery was positioned throughout the North in order to protect their supply lines from UN bombers.

  Two Chinese sentries stand guard on the edge of the neutral zone at Panmunjom, midway between the communist and UN lines, where the two year truce talks were largely held. Chinese sentries were also positioned on hilltops to give advance warning to supply convoys of approaching American aircraft.

  The Freedom Gate bridge over the Imjin River was built by the 84th Engineer Construction Battalion. The original was destroyed by bombs on 10 March 1952.

  Enemy 82mm mortar bombs exploding on Marine ridgeline trenches on 8 April 1952.

  April 1953, a North Korean supply train is hit by napalm dropped by a B-26 as it waits in the marshalling yards.

  The 90mm M2 gun had a dual role, functioning as an anti-tank as well as an anti-aircraft gun. The gun could fire up to twenty-four rounds per minute due to its upgraded ammunition feed and automatic fuse setter/rammer. The gun was not ideal in the anti-tank role due to its high silhouette and more complicated sights.

  Chinese coastal artillery positioned to prevent further amphibious landings by UN forces. These are ex-Soviet 76mm divisional guns of Second World War vintage.

  Marines firing t
heir towed 4.5-inch multiple-barrelled rocket launcher towards enemy lines. One drawback was the dust and debris kicked up by the backblast, which soon identified the location of the Marines to enemy spotters.

  A platoon from the 3rd Ranger Company, US 3rd Infantry Division prepare for a night patrol. Their objective would be to try to snatch a prisoner.

  UN troops watch with interest as artillery shells fall on communist positions across the valley.

  When the front lines stabilized the Chinese dug extensive fortifications, sometimes extending up to twenty miles behind their lines.

  Marines on Siberia Hill watch the results of artillery fire in the distance. Their turn would come on the night of 8 August 1952 when the Chinese launched an assault on the hill.

  A Marine OH-13 helicopter lands at a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital with wounded carried in its two side panniers.

  British prisoners of war playing a soccer game at Chongsong prisoner of war camp. Prisoners of the communists were either classed as reactionaries or progressives. The reactionaries would receive harsh treatment in separate camps; progressives would receive lenient treatment, especially if their activities reflected well upon their captors.

  The aftermath of a failed human wave assault, defeated by US artillery.

  This huge pile of artillery shell casings was created in June 1953 after four days of fighting for Outpost Henry. It was very difficult for the arms factories in America to keep up with the rate of useage and the empty casings were shipped home to speed up the process. Empty shell cases were routinely salvaged where possible for re-use or to at least recycle the metal to lower costs.

  Chinese mortar round exploding on top of a US Marine position. Note the rifles stacked to the left of the trench. One would have thought that their owners would have had them in their hands in case an assault was about to follow the mortar barrage.

  The site of the peace talks at Panmunjom with an H-19 helicopter parked nearby.

  US Air Force B-26 bombers drop napalm on an enemy supply collection point near Hanchon, North Korea. These attacks were just as likely to kill civilians as soldiers.

  With both sides dug in and camouflaged in fortified positions it was left to the Air Force and long-range artillery to take the fight to the enemy.

  This was an enormous propaganda victory for the Chinese who staged this inter-camp prisoner of wars ‘Olympics’ in November 1952. Improved food and living conditions played a big part in the decision of the prisoners to co-operate.

  A Chinese gunner firing his water-cooled machine gun from the top of a ridge. The Chinese were so well dug-in that UN artillery fire was hard pressed to shift them.

  This soldier is firing an M18 57mm recoilless rifle. It was very useful against enemy machine gun nests and three were issued to each rifle company. Copies of the M18 were produced by the Chinese as the Type 36. It had an effective range of 490 yards and a maximum range of over two miles.

  March 1953, a US forward observation post overlooking Old Baldy west of Chorwon. The battles that took place at this stage of the war were a futile waste of lives, while the negotiations over prisoners dragged on.

  A machine gun crew gives supporting fire to UN troops. The soldier on the left has two ammunition magazines tapes back to back for quicker changing when faced with hordes of charging infantry.

  The prisoner of war camps on Koje-do island contained pro-Communist Chinese and North Koreans as well as anti-Communist Chinese and South Koreans impressed into the North Korean Army. Violent riots broke out between the various factions.

  24 April 1953, Operation Little Switch begins with the exchange of sick and wounded prisoners of war. The Chinese actually sent back fit men who had shown sympathy with the communist cause, while hundreds of more deserving cases remained behind.

  Chinese and North Korean prisoners of war leave their compound for the first exchange of sick and wounded prisoners of war in April 1953.

  May 1953, a Sikorsky S-19 from the 6th Transportation Helicopter Company delivers rations for members of the 35th Infantry Regiment, US 25th Infantry Division near Panmunjom.

  July 1953, Operation Big Switch begins and a convoy of Chinese prisoners of war head for home.

  Chinese volunteers celebrating the end of the war.

  The Chinese Peoples Volunteers begin to return home.

  Some of the twenty Americans who decided to remain behind in North Korea. They were joined by one British Royal Marine. Most eventually returned to their homeland.

  Notes

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