Estimates suggest the North alone lost 11% of its population, while 227,000 South Korean troops died and civilian casualties were even higher. The war saw heavy casualties, 1,100 British soldiers were killed and 37,000 Americans lost their lives. Nearly 60,000 British combat troops saw action during the war in Korea, they came from both the regular army and national servicemen. For the next two years troops faced a stalemate near the border, in trenches a little more than a mile apart they faced extreme conditions of cold and hot weather.įinally, in July 1953 an armistice agreement was signed, but there was no peace treaty.

Chinese forces took 527 Prisoners of War, including Colonel Carne himself.Īfter Imjin, and with mounting casualties, the fighting stalled in early 1951 and armistice negotiations began. Despite being heavily outnumbered troops of the 1 st Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment, led by Lieutenant Colonel Carne, defended Hill 235 on the river for three days before they were forced them to retreat amid heavy casualties. On 22 April Chinese forces attacked the British 29 th Brigade, which was supported by Belgian forces along the Imjin River. The landing allowed UN forces to make rapid progress north during the autumn of 1950, nearing the Chinese border by November.Īlarmed by the proximity of South Korean and UN troops to their border China entered the war, sending forces into North Korea pushing the UN Forces back into the south.ĭespite some initial success Chinese forces lost some ground to South Korea and the UN forces in early 1951 and launched a spring offensive to push back in April 1951. In response on 15 September 1950, the United Nations Commander General MacArthur ordered an amphibious landing at Incheon, a port halfway up the Korean peninsula, behind enemy lines. In August 1950 British troops arrived in Busan and were sent straight into battle with other UN forces who had been holding their position and launched a counter-attack.īy early September 1950, the South Korean and UN forces were facing defeat as North Korean forces pinned them against the southern coastal port of Busan.

Tank battles of the korean war