Ammunition and water were running low and radio batteries exhausted. At 1030 hrs the brigade was ordered to withdraw as the enemy pressure was too great. This left HQ open to attack, as the Belgian battalion protected the position was now heavily outnumbered. The corps commander arrived at 29 Brigade HQ at 1000 hrs that morning and informed Brigadier Brodie that an attempt by the 65th Regimental combat Team to relieve the Glosters had failed. Nevertheless, in defence, they exacted a staggering level of casualties on the enemy before withdrawing after three days and nights under the covering guns of the artillery and the Centurions of the 8th Hussars on the 25th of April. Fighting on widely separated hills, the 1st Battalion Gloucestershire Regiment, 1st Battalion royal Northumberland fusiliers and 1st Battalion Royal Ulster Rifles fought against impossible odds of over 15 to 1. The full weight of the assaults fell upon the two British Commonwealth brigades on the Imjin River and at Kapyong.Īgainst the most fearful odds, the enemy was held long enough for further defence lines to be established as the communists came up against the British and commonwealth hilltop infantry positions in repeated human waves. On the 22nd of April, 1951, the Chinese Communist Forces and North Korean People’s Army launched their Spring Offensive. With the coming of spring, the UN Forces began a series of concerted attacks that forced the enemy back to the 38th Parallel. Casualties in men and machines were high. As one junior officer observed on the 9th of January 1951: “This has been one of the bloodiest days I can remember … we have given up thinking about the Chinese … all we could do is throw snowballs at them … did a 2½ hour stag at 4 am in a state of numbness and semi-consciousness…”įive days before, the Battle of Happy Valley had seen the Cromwell tanks of recce troop, 8th Hussars, and the Cromwell AOPs of 45 Regiment RA, fighting in support of the Royal Ulster Rifles while ‘C’ Squadron, 7RTR, supported the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers. (Please allow a few moments for the slideshow to start)ĭuring the bitter winter of 1950/51, the British awaited the inevitable Chinese offensive. The two British Brigades retreated as well, but at no time were the tanks in contact with the enemy. There ensued what was known as the ‘Great Bug Out’ when UN Forces fell back in disarray. The latter was supported by the Centurion tanks of the 8th King’s Royal Irish Hussars and together they trained north from the port of Pusan to the North Korean capital of Pyongyang where they unloaded just as the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army entered the war. The British committed the 27th Infantry Brigade to South Korea from their station in Hong Kong, soon followed by the 29th Independent Infantry Brigade Group. Under the auspices of the United Nations, a multinational army was assembled following the invasion in June 1950 of the Republic of Korea by the North Korean People’s Army at the instigation of Josef Stalin. However, the mountainous terrain was totally unsuited to the employment of heavy armour and at 50 tons the centurion was the heaviest tank in theatre. The Centurion first saw combat during the Korean War of 1950-53.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |