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Posted on 04/22/2003 5:36:49 AM PDT by SAMWolf
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 are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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The Korean War lasted for three years. Throughout this time, there was much fighting, killing, and quite a few heroic actions. However, none were more remarkable, heroic, or tragic than the Battles of the Imjin River and Kapyong that took place 52 years ago to the day, between the 22nd and the 25th of April 1951. In April 1951 British 29th Infantry Brigade was holding the defensive line along the Imjin River. The main invasion route across the Imjin was held by the Gloucestershire Regiment (750 strong) and the men of C Troop Light (Mortar) Battery, R.A. The U.N. command needed time to reorganise and asked the Glosters to hold for as long as possible. Against them were three Chinese Divisions (approx. 27,000 men). On Sunday April 22nd the Battle of Imjin River began. The first attempts to cross the River were stopped by No.7 Platoon of 'C' Company under Lieutenant Guy Temple. Four times they stopped the Chinese and only withdrew when ammunition ran low. Temple received the Military Cross. Unknown to the Glosters, the Chinese had used another crossing point (not marked on maps) and over 1000 Chinese crossed to attack from all sides.  "The first frenzied assault fell on A Company. The Battalion's Vickers guns pumped belt after belt of ammunition into the screaming hordes until the cooling jackets of the guns boiled over and they seized up. Bren guns were fired until the barrels became red hot and rifles until they were too hot to hold." Repeated attacks by over-whelming numbers of Chinese continued through the night. B Company were now also in action. By the morning of the 23rd A Company were still fighting. 2nd Lieut. John Maycock had been killed and his platoon reduced to only 6 unwounded men. Lieutenant Terence Waters was severly wounded in the head. Half of A Company were dead or wounded by now. The Chinese had occupied a height known as Castle Site and were setting up machine guns to spray fire on the Company. Lieutenant Philip Curtis led a counter-attack on Castle Site across open ground. Within the first minute 3 Glosters were dead and 4 more wounded. Curtis ordered the remaining men to cover him and he charged alone. Severely wounded in the arm and side, his men tried to crawl out to drag him in, but shaking them off he charged again - alone. Throwing grenades as he ran he knocked out a machine-gun position but was killed by a burst of fire from another. He was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross. Major Pat Angier reported his Company's desperate position, low on ammunition and mounting losses. He needed reinforcements if his Company was to hold its position. But the only order that Colonel Carne could give was "You will stay where you are at all costs until further notice." Major Angier replied "Don't worry about us, we'll be alright." Within 15 minutes Angier was dead. "D" Company were now being pressed also. There were no other UN troops for 2 miles and the Glosters flanks were unprotected. But the Glosters orders were to hold the road to Solma-ri and "as long as there was a Gloster still on his feet Fred Carne was determined to do just that."  During the night of the 23rd and dawn of the 24th "B" Company fought off 7 Chinese attacks and the forward sections were overwhelmed by sheer numbers. By the morning ammuntition was almost exhausted and grenades gone. Bayonets fixed, men fought with entrenching tools and even fists against the onrushing Chinese. To stop them being overwhelmed Colonel Carne concentrated the surviving men into one area. "B" Company now consisted of Major Harding, CSM Morton and 15 men. The Battalion front line had been 4 miles and was now down to 600 yards, but nowhere had the Chinese broken that line. By the evening of the 24th the survivors were concentrated on Hill 235 (since renamed 'Gloster Hill'). By now 29th Brigade had been forced to withdraw and the Glosters were totally alone, their orders "Hold on where you are." In the last report back to Brodie, Colonel Carne replied "I understand the position quite clearly. But I must make it cear to you that my command is no longer an effective fighting force. If it is required we shall stay here, in spite of this, we shall continue to hold." By now the Glosters were surrounded, low on food, water, and ammuntion. The radio batteries were almost dead. American helicopters tried to evacuate the wounded but could not close because of the intense Chinese fire enveloping Gloster Hill. The 8th Hussars (Tank Regiment), the Belgians, Filipinos, Puerto Rican and American infantry battalions tried desperately to break through to the Glosters, but could not. On Gloster Hill, the Battalion HQ had virtually ceased to exist. Captain Richard Reeve-Tucker (signals officer) was dead, Assistant-Adjutant Lieutenant Donald Allman (wounded in the shoulder) was commanding the remnants of one platoon, the Intelligence Officer Lieutenant Henry Cabral was commanding another.  Colonel Carne, with rifle and bayonet in hand, led the Regimental Police in an attack on a party of Chinese, reporting to his Adjutant, "Just been shooing away some Chinese." Adjutant Tony Farrar-Hockley, decided that his appointment as Adjutant was now redundant as the radio was almost dead, his last message was to Lieutenant Temple: "Guy, you will stay where you are until further notice. If your ammunition runs out hurl bloody rocks at 'em." He then joined what was left of A Company. The last of the ammuntion was handed out on the 25th. Each man had 5 rounds, each bren gun one and half magazines, each sten gun half a magazine. The Chinese were blowing bugles and on that morning, sensing the end was near they reached a crescendo of noise. Farrar-Hockley ordered Drum-Major Buss to fetch a bugle and play every call he knew "Except Retreat !" As he played the Glosters cheered him on. "I could see his tall, lean figure, topped by a cap comforter" wrote Farrar-Hockley; "he always played a bugle well and that day he was not below form. The sweet notes of our own bugle, which now echoed through the valley below him, died away. For a moment there was silence - the last note had coincided with a lull in the action. Then the noise of battle began again - but with a difference; there was no sound of a Chinese bugle. There are not many Drum-Majors in the British Army who can claim to have silenced the enemy's battle calls with a short bugle recital." At 0600 on the 25th Brigadier Brodie gave the Glosters the order to attempt to break out. They had held the line for 4 days. In his Log, Brodie wrote the Battalion's epitaph:  Colonel Carne gave his last orders. The wounded could not attempt escape. Captain Robert Hickey, the Medical Officer, Chaplin Sam Davies, and Medical Sergeant Brisland, immediately volunteered to stay with the wounded. The remnants of "A", "B", "C" and Support Companies headed south under heavy machine-gun fire. Soon "A" Company led by Farrar-Hockley were surrounded and captured. Captain Pike and his men ran into a force 10 times his own, after firing off 2 of his last 4 bullets he ordered his men to surrender. Major Harding, Lieutenant Temple and CSM Ridlington had covered 10 miles before being captured. Lieutenant Cabral was captured and was to die in a prison camp "after faithfully adopting an 'incorrect attitude' - as the Chinese phrased it - and being a constant thorn in their sides for 12 months." Colonel Carne, RSM Hobbs and CSMI Strong evaded capture for 48 hours. Captain Mike Harvey, with "D" Company and some machine-gunners (92 men in all) headed north and then west before turning south. After 3 hours they ran into enemy machine guns and lost half the party. Finally the group ran into UN forces. Unfortunatley the American tanks mistook them for Chinese and opened fire, wounding Lieutenant Thomas Conneely and 6 men. Realizing their mistake the Americans covered the group and 5 officers and 41 men reached the UN lines. Captain Harvey was awarded the Military Cross for his leadership. Private Essex of "B" Company was wounded in the head and both legs, his right leg being broken. When he could no longer walk he had crawled until he collapsed from pain and exhaustion. He was found by the Chinese and interrogated, which involved kicking his legs and hitting him in the face. He gave his name, rank and number. The Chinese walked away and tossed a grenade back at him, fortunately only wounding him in the eye. After they had gone he crawled to a village and was tended by the villagers. Finally he made it back to UN lines and in December 1951 he was chosen to broadcast to the Commonwealth before king George VI gave his Christmas Speech.  "In April I was wounded when the Glosters fought the battle on the Imjin River. I was captured and then escaped. For a few weeks I lived with some Korean villagers and they taught me how to keep alive on grass. Then I was picked up by one of our patrols and afterwards the RAF flew me home. Ever since I have been in Cambridge Hospital at Aldershot and today am going home to my father's farm in Gloucestershire. The chaps still out in Korea won't get much of a Christmas, and first of all I want to say cheerio to them, especially those who are prisoners. All the best mates, and I hope that it soon packs up and you all get home alright..." The following officers had made it back: Majors Digby Gist, Watkin-Williams, and Mitchell; Captains Harvey, Bartlett, Taylor and Worlock; Lieutenants Martin, and Barker, 2nd Lieuts. Holdsworth and Whatmore. Returning from leave in Japan, Major Wood, Captain Mardell and Lieut. Bergin rejoined the Battalion. The surviving men of the Battalion were now under command of Major Digby Grist, who sent the famous signal:
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The Belgian Forces in the Korean War (BUNC)
THE IMJIN BATTLE HONOUR
On 4 January 1952, the BUNC received its first battle honour, for the battles it fought on the Imjin River. Translated, the citation reads :
"By Royal Decree No. 447 of 4 January 1952 the Expeditionary Corps for Korea is mentioned on the Army's Order of the Day for :
Having fought with the greatest valour during the battles on the Imjin, near Hantangang, in Korea, during the period of 20 to 26 April 1951.
During these battles the Expeditionary Corps for Korea, composed of Belgians and Luxembourgers, repulsed the enemy and inflicted heavy casualties by firing and by courageous counterattacks with the bayonet. Following the order to retreat, the Expeditionary Corps saved its weapons, its wounded and its vehicles; on being put back in the line at its own request, it has successfully fought delaying actions which allowed neighbouring units to retreat. This citation is accompanied by the battle honour "IMJIN (Korea)" solely on the flag of this unit."
The BUNC received two more unit citations for these battles : the US Presidential Unit Citation and the Korean Republic's Presidential Unit Citation.
The Imjin Battles (20 - 25 April 1951)
At the time of the Imjin battles, the BUNC, numbering 600 men, was attached to the British 29th Brigade and on 20 April 1951 relieved the 900 men of the Royal Ulster Rifles in the frontline. Three infantry companies (A, B and the understrength C-company) take up positions on the far right of the Brigade's main line of resistance, in front of the Imjin River. On 22 April increased enemy activity is reported and a patrol of A-company has first contact about 2 kilometres in front of its lines. Promptly it is decided to man a listening post in front of C-company at a point where the enemy could be expected. This post, manned by 1st Sergeant Leyding (1) and a few men, reports enemy movements around 21.30 h at which time B-company also signals enemy attempts to infiltrate. Around midnight C-company is also attacked but the infiltration attempt is stopped and the enemy withdraws temporarily. Attacks on C-company are renewed from 02.00 h onwards but all are repulsed. Around 03.00 h B-company is attacked in its turn but with the aid of mortar fire the enemy is stopped. At 04.00 the enemy renews the attacks on C-company and also charges the positions of B-company with a frontal assault. All attacks are met with determined opposition and both companies maintain their positions. At this point a patrol, lead by Cdt. Poswick and consisting of a platoon from A-company and a MG-section of B-company, is sent out to clear two bridges in the battalion's rear, on its supply route, which are suspected to have been captured by enemy troops that infiltrated through the lines.
At daybreak on 23 April, the enemy doubles its attacks on C-company's positions and manages to push back one of the platoons. Its platoon leader is heavily wounded but brought back from no-mans land (2). Despite the furious attacks, C-company stands fast. Meanwhile, the patrol sent out to secure the bridges in the rear, finds them to be controlled by the Chinese. A determined attempt to clear the area fails (3) and the battalion's supply route is cut. C-company, lead by Lt. Janssens, continues to defend itself heroically (4). Around noon the BUNC is advised that a retreat will be ordered but is requested to maintain in its position in the line to allow the neighbouring 65th Infantry to withdraw first. At 17.15 h the order to withdraw is received and the bulk of the battalion proceeds to extricate itself methodically and to wade across the Imjin River while air strikes with napalm on the abandoned positions screen the retreat. The rolling stock of some 80 vehicles, covered by two platoons of tanks sent up for the purpose, take the road across the bridges which are still under enemy control and succeed to make their withdrawal without loss of life. As night falls, the entire battalion is safely installed in its rear area.
The other units of the 29th Brigade's had also been under very heavy attacks and were slowly withdrawing from their original lines. In order to protect the retreat of these units, the roads east and west of the Kamak-San mountains were vital. As soon as the BUNC companies were re-supplied, the battalion - though depleted - announced its readiness to return to the lines shortly after noon on 24 April. Positions on Hill 340 near Sinsan-Ni were taken up covering the junction of both roads. That night only skirmishes with enemy patrols are reported.
In the morning of 25 April, however, intense enemy activity is reported on the western road by a patrol of A-company and a devastating barrage of mortar fire is directed on these enemy units. Shortly after, however, orders are received to retreat and take up new positions near Hansansang-Ni to cover the withdrawal of the Northumberland Fuseliers and the Royal Ulster Rifles. B-company is detached for the protection of the Brigade's Command Post but a troop of 3 Centurion tanks is attached to the battalion in return. Around 12.30 h the enemy takes up positions on Hill 191 and directs heavy fire on the battalion. Shortly after, at about 13.00 h, C-company's position is plastered with artillery and it withdraws south of the road (5 & 6). Around 14.00 h the Ulsters and Northumberlands have sufficiently retreated for the BUNC to receive their withdrawal order and while fighting rearguard actions the battalion slowly retreats. The battalion will finally regroup at Tokchong at 17.00 h and take up positions covering the road to Seoul until replaced in the line at midnight.
In the course of these battles, the 29th Brigade, attached to the US 3rd Division, was attacked by the Chinese 63th Army consisting of 3 divisions, each about 8,000 strong. The Brigade, some 4,000 strong, thus faced a 6-fold enemy majority. The allies eventually halted the Chinese offensive and counterattacks drove the enemy back to their original positions north of the Imjin River.
The Gun weight is approximately 42.5 lbs with 7.5 pints of cooling water to prevent overheating. The actual mounting weight is 48 lbs. Not only did they have to carry the gun and tripod, the poor soldiers also had to carry the belt boxes, which weighed 22 lbs with 250 rounds of ammunition in each belt.
The Gun weight could vary, according to the type of barrel casing and whether 'lightening' had been carried out. The overall length of the gun was 3 feet 8 inches and it's cyclic rate of fire was between 450 and 600 rounds of ammunition per minute. Therefore, while one member of the eight man gun team carried the gun, another would carry the tripod and the other six would have laden themselves down with belt boxes to be sure they would be able to carry out an effective performance once the gun was set up.
The operation of the gun was recoil and fuzee spring.
The Vickers MK1 belt-fed machine gun, a favorite of the British military, played a crucial role in World War I and World War II. The gun is cooled with a special water-filled jacket. As the water boils, the steam flows out to a collection can, where it condenses back into a liquid for re-use.
The Vickers Gun
The Vickers gun is perhaps the longest serving weapon the Canadian Army has ever fielded. The gun was retired in 1968 - 85 years after the first patents had been taken out. The Vickers was adopted in 1912, named after the company that manufactured it, and replaced the Maxim gun, the standard machinegun of the British Army at that time. The Maxim, like any prototype, had much room for improvement, and Vickers used high grade steels and aluminum to reduce the weight considerably - by almost 25% in fact. The simple act of turning the toggle action upside down reduced the depth of the receiver by nearly half. Though stronger and lighter than the Maxim, the watercooled jacket and heavy tripod still made the Vickers a heavy weapon. Aircooled versions were used in aircraft, and some variants fired .50 calibre and 11mm rounds. The standard gun in Canadian service fired the standard .303 calibre round used in the Lee Enfield rifle and, later, the Bren Gun.
In 1915 and 1916, Canadian infantry battalions were entitled to four machine guns, either the Vickers or the Colt. In August 1916, the battalion MG detachments were reorganized into brigade machinegun companies, armed with 16 Vickers guns. One such company was assigned to every infantry brigade in the Canadian Corps. The battalion machinegun units were increased to 14 Lewis guns and 2 Colt machineguns. In early 1918 the brigade machine gun companies became battalions, and were assigned one MG battalion per division. At first the battalions had three companies, and in May 1918 this increased to four, with a total complement of 96 Vickers Guns.
In fact, the first machinegun units has been developed upon mobilization when Raymond Brutinel, a reservist officer, proposed the creation of a motorized machinegun unit. The Canadian Minister of Defence concurred, and the Canadian Machine Gun Corps was formed. Four batteries were equipped with Colt machine guns and sent to England, where British authorities objected to their use and did not send them to France until June of 1915. In August 1916, these motor machine gun troops became Corps Troops.
During the Second World War, machinegun support was again provided by specialist units. Upon mobilization, one machine gun battalion was assigned to each brigade of infantry; by the time the units went into action, only one machine gun battalion was assigned to each Division. Three machine gun companies, with three machine gun platoons of four Vickers guns each, as well as a heavy mortar company, made up the MG battalion.
In Korea, Vickers Guns were assigned directly to the infantry battalions, in a specialist Vickers platoon.
In addition to direct fire, Vickers Guns were often used indirectly; this type of fire was first used in the First World War. During Operation Veritable in February 1945, Vickers Guns added their fire to the "pepperpot" supporting fire that was used during the largest artillery operation of the Second World War. Vickers Guns had also "thickened" the barrages leading up to the assault on Vimy Ridge in April 1917.
Chipyong-ni, Korea, February 1951. A Vickers .303 machine-gun in action against the Chinese, manned by Sergeant Chaperlin, 3 RAR.
You have a reply to your reply over there too. ;-)
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