After the Second World
War, Canada rapidly demobilized. When the Korean War broke out, Canada
needed several months to bring its military forces up to strength, and
eventually formed part of British Commonwealth Forces Korea. Canadian
land forces thus missed most of the early back-and-forth campaigns
because they did not arrive until 1951, when the attrition phase of the
war had largely started. Canadian troops fought as part of the 1st
Commonwealth Division, and distinguished themselves at the Battle of
Kapyong and in other land engagements. HMCS Haida and other ships of the
Royal Canadian Navy were in active service in the Korean War. Although
the Royal Canadian Air force did not have a combat role in Korea,
twenty-two RCAF fighter pilots flew on exchange duty with the USAF in
Korea. The RCAF was also involved with the transportation of personnel
and supplies in support of the Korean War.
Canada sent 26,791 troops to fight in Korea. There were 1,558 Canadian
casualties, including 516 dead. Korea has often been described as "The
Forgotten War", because for most Canadians it is overshadowed by the
Canadian contributions to the two world wars. Canada is a signatory to
the original 1953 armistice, but did not keep a garrison in South Korea
after 1955. - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military...
The Korean War (25 June 1950 -- armistice signed 27 July 1953) was a
conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations,
and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China (PRC), with
military material aid from the Soviet Union. The war was a result of the
physical division of Korea by an agreement of the victorious Allies at
the conclusion of the Pacific War at the end of World War II. The Korean
peninsula was ruled by Japan from 1910 until the end of World War II.
Following the surrender of Japan in 1945, American administrators
divided the peninsula along the 38th Parallel, with United States troops
occupying the southern part and Soviet troops occupying the northern
part.
The failure to hold free elections throughout the Korean Peninsula in
1948 deepened the division between the two sides, and the North
established a Communist government. The 38th Parallel increasingly
became a political border between the two Koreas. Although reunification
negotiations continued in the months preceding the war, tension
intensified. Cross-border skirmishes and raids at the 38th Parallel
persisted. The situation escalated into open warfare when North Korean
forces invaded South Korea on 25 June 1950. It was the first significant
armed conflict of the Cold War.
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