Battle of Kapyong

The Australians were part of a force defending the Kapyong Valley, north of Seoul. A human sea (of Chinese troops) descended on the UN line which forced the South Korean and American units to retreat past the line partly held by the Australians. By 10 pm on April 23rd, the Australian 27th and 29th Brigades were facing the Chinese 118 division. By midnight, the battle was in full rage. Wave after wave of Chinese soldiers flung themselves at the Australian defenders. Few survived and the...
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The Australians were part of a force defending the Kapyong Valley, north of Seoul. A human sea (of Chinese troops) descended on the UN line which forced the South Korean and American units to retreat past the line partly held by the Australians. By 10 pm on April 23rd, the Australian 27th and 29th Brigades were facing the Chinese 118 division. By midnight, the battle was in full rage. Wave after wave of Chinese soldiers flung themselves at the Australian defenders. Few survived and the battle field was cluttered with a sea of drab grey corpses. The fighting was savage and intense much of it hand-to-hand.The ANZAC spirit was alive and well; the 3rd Battalion had remained true to the legend. The Australians stood their ground and defended their position. In doing so, they prevented a massive breakthrough from occurring that would certainly have seen the Chinese capture Seoul. A number of the Australians had fought in the great battles of the Second World War and there are even connections with the former Turkish enemy on Gallipoli. In the days before the battle, the Australians had been preparing for Anzac Day which was to be spent with their Allies in the United Nations force in particular, the Turkish unit. This was just 36 years after the original landing at Gallipoli ...