The Korean War
A child orphaned by the Korean War salutes Corporal Edward Dowell from the Royal Australian Army Medical Corps. Image from the Australian War Memorial.
On this day, 26 July 1950, the Menzies Government commits Australian ground troops to the Korean War as part of a United Nations operation.
The historical background to the conflict was that Korea had been taken over by Japan following an annexation in 1910. 35 years later, with the close of the Second World War spelling the end of the extended occupation and with Korea’s northern location nearing the Eastern edge of the USSR, a decision was made to divide the territory between American and Soviet spheres of influence in much the same manner as Europe. In 1948 it was officially split into two separate governments, with a communist North and a republican South.
The Korean War began on 25 June when the North Korean People’s Army crossed the 38th parallel and invaded the Republic of Korea. In the following days the United Nations Security Council passed resolutions calling on the North to withdraw and for friendly nations to assist South Korea in its self-defence. The resolution was carried while the USSR was boycotting the council for giving a seat to the Chinese Nationalist Government in Taiwan rather than the Chinese Communist Government, hence there was no veto on Cold War lines. The UN force would be led by the United States, which was keen to halt this early example of the spread of Communism and stamp out flagrant acts of aggression.
The Menzies Cabinet was initially hesitant to join in any action, as Korea was quite distant, ‘represented only one phase of Russian aggression’, and there was the more localised issue of the communist insurgency in Malaya to focus on. However, despite these reservations Menzies came to the conclusion that it was necessary for the UN to draw a line in the sand with South Korea, or else Hong Kong and others might meet the same fate. Hence by the end of June two Australian warships and a Mustang squadron were committed to the UN force.
By mid-July the Secretary-General of the United Nations Trygve Lie was appealing for increased involvement from capable nations, and particularly that they provide ground troops. Minister for External Affairs Percy Spender recommended that Australia ‘scrape the bucket’ to see what the government could make available, ‘or else we may lose an opportunity of cementing friendship with the United States which may not easily present itself again’. Menzies was in London at this point, and he dismissed Spender’s suggestion because he had been given the impression from British Prime Minister Clement Atlee that he was likewise going to decline the request for ground troops.
Menzies then set sail for America, and while he was at sea Atlee changed his mind, and informed the leaders of Canada, South Africa, and Australia (in this case acting Prime Minister Arthur Fadden) of his course of action. Not wanting to be upstaged and lose his chance to ingratiate himself with the Americans, Spender convinced Fadden to announce the commitment of Australian ground troops an hour before the British.
Remarkably then, Australia’s main deployment to Korea was a decision made without the knowledge of the Prime Minister. Aboard ship, Menzies received a broken phone call on a special trans-ocean telephone informing him of what had happened and warning him not to speak to the press until he had read explanatory cables. Years later, Spender would vividly recall hearing the ‘sourness’ in Menzies’s voice from 12,000 miles away.
As Menzies’s ship approached New York, a pilot boat met it, and an Australian official climbed aboard and gave the Prime Minister all the information he needed. With this assistance, by the time Menzies stepped on to American soil he was able to speak glowingly about Australia’s ‘common cause’ with the UN and United States, as if the whole thing had been his idea, and he won great praise from the American press, lunching with Truman and addressing both Houses of Congress during the visit. Such was his skill in owning the decision, that Opposition Leader Ben Chifley would attack Menzies for informing the Americans before he had told the Australian public.
Spender’s bold ploy certainly paid off, as the prompt commitment to Korea was an important factor in the United States agreeing to the ANZUS Treaty which was signed the next year. The Korean War would have other consequences for Australia, as it caused a spike in the price of wool, a material necessary for military uniforms, that caused an inflationary spiral which necessitated the ‘Horror Budget’ of 1951.
The conflict itself was a to and fro affair. In the early months of the war the South Koreans and their hastily-dispatched UN Allies were forced to retreat. Then, under Douglas Macarthur the UN force launched a risky but successful amphibious counter-offensive. Invading the North in October, they looked set to completely subdue it, but then the Chinese Communist Government entered the war on the side of the North, driving back the UN forces in a bitter struggle. After a couple of years of a war of attrition the conflict ceased in a stalemate, with Korea divided with a demilitarised zone along the 38th parallel to this day (indeed, on a technical level the war itself has not ended).
Nearly 18,000 Australian servicemen and women served in the Korean War, 339 lost their lives and another 1216 were wounded. They served with distinction, in particular at the Battle of Kapyong where an Australian battalion of approximately 800 soldiers, along with another from Canada, defeated an entire Chinese division of approximately 15,000 men and prevented it from taking Seoul. For their efforts both battalions were awarded US Presidential Unit Citations.
Further Reading:
A.W. Martin, Robert Menzies, A Life Volume 2 1944-1978 (Melbourne University Press, 1999).
‘Defining Moments: The Korean War’, National Museum of Australia, Korean War | National Museum of Australia (nma.gov.au)
‘Korean War, 1950-53', Australian War Memorial, Korean War, 1950-53 | Australian War Memorial (awm.gov.au)