Battle of Kapyong
This intense battle was the most significant of the Korean War for the RAR, whose Third Battalion helped save Seoul from communist occupation
3 RAR joins UN forces in Korea and fights to save Seoul from communist occupation
3RAR had landed in South Korea at Pusan in September 1950 as part of the 27th British Commonwealth Infantry Brigade. The brigade was serving in a UN force to restore peace on the Korean Peninsula, and 3 RAR immediately began participating in the northern advance to the Yalu River.
The battalion spent much of the winter of 1950-51 fighting in harsh, hilly terrain against the Chinese and North Koreans in battles at Yongju, Kujin and Chongju. By the spring of 1951 the Chinese had withdrawn to the
38th Parallel but were actually luring the UN into a vulnerable position in order to launch a major counterattack. This came on 22 April 1951 when the Chinese began their ‘Spring Offensive’ and heavily defeated the South Korean Sixth Division. The Chinese objective was to capture Seoul, and the South Koreans had been overrun defending a major approach route down the valley of the Kapyong River.
The 27th British Commonwealth Brigade now had to occupy hastily assembled defensive positions approximately 20 kilometres (12 miles) south of the 38th
Parallel on 23 April. 3 RAR and 2 PPCLI (Second Battalion, Princess Patricia’s
Canadian Light Infantry) were assigned forward hilltop positions on either side of the sevenkilometre (four-mile) wide Kapyong valley.
Other troops included the British Middlesex Regiment, which was held in reserve, and fire support units including American tanks and New Zealand artillery. Facing them in superior numbers were 6,000 Chinese soldiers.
The Australians hold firm
3 RAR was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Bruce Ferguson, an experienced WWII veteran who had taken over command of the battalion after his predecessor, Charles Green, had been killed at the Battle of Chongju. Over the next two days he would lead 3 RAR in the most testing circumstances, and it was the Australians who bore the brunt of the initial fighting.
During the early evening of 23 April, retreating South Koreans passed through
“THE BATTALION SPENT MUCH OF THE WINTER OF 1950-51 FIGHTING IN HARSH, HILLY TERRAIN”
the Commonwealth positions, but they were intermingled with Chinese troops. The platoon of American tanks that was supporting 3 RAR was overrun and the brigade was too thinly spread along the Kapyong valley, which meant that individual battalions largely fought alone.
The Australians were repeatedly attacked by the Chinese throughout the night of 23-24 April. The Chinese would assault in waves with such tenacity that they frequently advanced over their own dead and wounded. Units of 3
RAR fought a dogged defence against these attacks, particularly A and B Companies. A Company, which was commanded by Major Bernard O’dowd, was infiltrated by the Chinese at dawn, but the Australians ejected them with a counterattack. Meanwhile B Company was engaged in hand-to-hand fighting with grenades and bayonets, who were occupying old bunkers.
At this stage O’dowd radioed for assistance from the US First Marine Division, but the Americans believed that 3 RAR had been wiped out. O’dowd famously replied, “I’ve got news for you, we are still here and we are staying here.”
Withdrawal to victory
The Canadians, who had also faced similar attacks, had already been cut off and were resupplied by airdrop. The Australians kept fighting throughout 24 April, but they were forced to withdraw from their ridge on Hill 504 to rejoin the brigade. The Canadians held their position, and eventually the Chinese attacks stopped.
By 25 April the road through to the Canadians had been cleared, and American units relieved 2 PPCLI. Thanks to 3 RAR and the Canadians, the Chinese advance had been halted, and by coincidence the UN victory was secured on Anzac Day.
The statistics of the Battle of Kapyong were staggering: 32 Australians and ten Canadians had been killed, but the Chinese had suffered casualties of at least 2,000 – a casualty rate of approximately one in three. The Battle of Kapyong stalled the Chinese Spring Offensive, and by late May UN forces had advanced back to the 38th Parallel, a line that still marks the North-south Korean border today.
For his leadership of 3 RAR during the battle, Bruce Ferguson was awarded the Distinguished Service Order, while the battalion, as well as the Canadians, received the US Presidential Unit Citation from President Harry S. Truman for their bravery at Kapyong.
“THE CHINESE WOULD ATTACK IN WAVES WITH SUCH TENACITY THAT THEY FREQUENTLY ADVANCED OVER THEIR OWN DEAD AND WOUNDED”