Australian History: korean war (1950-1953)
On June 25th 1950, the army of North Korea marched across the 38th Parallel into South Korea. The 38th Parallel is the border that divides the two nations and its name comes from the latitude reading of parallel 38° north. By the evening of June 26th, North Korean tanks were on the outskirts of Seoul, the South Korean capital, and the next day they moved unopposed into the city.
Crossing the
38th Parallel
How it began
The crisis between the two countries originated in the closing phases of the Second World War. On August 8th 1945, a day after the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Russia declared war on Japan. This declaration came only six days before the official surrender of Japan (August 14th) and on August 12th, Russian forces moved quickly into Korea taking control of Japanese forces in northern Korea. The first US troops did not land in Korea until September 8th after accepting the Japanese surrender at Seoul and then spread across the country south of the 38th Parallel. An attempt by Russian and American representatives to unify North and South Korea failed and afterwards both sides went ahead with forming governments in line with their own ideologies. Over the next few years, the Soviet Union fostered a strong communist regime in the north, while the US supported the government in the south. By 1948 North Korea was governed by a one party state led by Kim-Il-Sung while South Korea adopted a republican constitution led by Syngman Rhee. Tensions between the two zones, each under a different regime, had escalated to the point where two hostile armies were building up along the border.
War
The outbreak of war occurred in the early hours of Sunday, June 25th 1950 when North Korean tanks (242 of them including a majority from Russia), fighter jets and bombers (about 180 in total) and 135,000 troops crossed the 38th parallel into South Korea. Within days South Korean forces were in full retreat or often defected en masse to the North. The North Korean Air Force conducted bombing of Kimpo Airport near Seoul and in less than a week the city of Seoul fell on the afternoon of June 28th.
The North Korean Army supported by
Russian T-34 tanks moved into South
Korea, pushing through to Pusan where
finally the US and South Korean army
hold onto the area marked and known
as the Pusan Perimeter.
Australia’s Involvement
At the time of outbreak, Australia had experienced one of the most devastating floods in history and news of the war in Korea was of little significance at the time. America had immediately given air and sea support to South Korea, and the United Nations Security Council asked all its members to assist in repelling the North Korean attack. On June 29, 1950, Prime Minister Robert Menzies complied and immediately placed two of the Royal Navy’s ships – the destroyer Bataanand the frigate Shoalhaven. Later the Australian government support was increased to 3 infantry battalions, a fighter squadron, an aircraft carrier, 4 destroyers, and 4 frigates. For Australians, who knew little of the background and origins of the war, our support was not a controversial issue.
Acting Prime Minister Arthur Fadden (while Menzies was visiting America) then stated that ground forces would be supplied and on the following day a flood of volunteers signed up at recruiting offices all over Australia. Australia would be a brigade of volunteers drawn from the permanent army, the British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF) and Second World War veterans. The majority of the UN ground forces were composed of U.S. Marines, commanded by U.S. Army General Douglas MacArthur.