United Kingdom in the Korean War

The United Kingdom was involved in the Korean War between 25 June 1950 and 27 July 1953. 56,000 British troops participated on the side of the United Nations force.

For the war the United Kingdom provided the second largest force behind the United States.^[1] For deployment, the Royal Navy arrived on 1 July 1950 whilst the British Army arrived on 28 August. During the war 1,078 soldiers were killed.

After the war some British troops remained as military observers until 1957.

Order of Battle

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (November 2023)

British Commonwealth Forces Korea

British Commonwealth Forces Korea

British Army

British Army's order of battle as follows:

Division:
- 1st Commonwealth Division
Brigades:
- 27th Infantry Brigade
- 28th Commonwealth Infantry Brigade
- 29th Infantry Brigade
Infantry
- Battalions:
  - 1st Battalion, Middlesex Regiment
  - 1st Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
  - 1st Battalion, Royal Northumberland Fusiliers
  - 1st Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment
  - 1st Battalion, Royal Ulster Rifles
  - 1st Battalion, King's Own Scottish Borderers
  - 1st Battalion, King's Shropshire Light Infantry
  - 1st Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment
  - 1st Battalion, Welch Regiment
  - 1st Battalion, Black Watch
  - 1st Battalion, Royal Fusiliers
  - 1st Battalion, Durham Light Infantry
  - 1st Battalion, King's Liverpool Regiment
  - 1st Battalion, Duke of Wellington's Regiment
  - 1st Battalion, Royal Scots
  - 1st Battalion, Essex Regiment
  - 1st Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment
  - 1st Battalion, King's Own Royal Regiment
  - 1st Battalion, North Staffordshire Regiment
  - 1st Battalion, Royal Leicestershire Regiment
Cavalry / Armored
- 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars
- 5th Inniskillen Dragoon Guards
- 1st Royal Tank Regiment
- 7th Royal Tank Regiment
Artillery
- 14th Regiment Royal Artillery

Royal Navy

Royal Navy's order of battle as follows:

1st Aircraft Carrier Squadron
- Aircraft carrier: HMS Triumph, HMS Ocean, HMS Theseus, HMS Glory, HMS Unicorn, HMS Warrior
- Cruiser: Belfast, HMS Jamaica, HMS Ceylon, HMS Kenya, HMS Newcastle, HMS Birmingham, HMT Empire Windrush
- Destroyer: HMS Cossack, HMS Consort, HMS Comus, HMS Concord, HMS Constance, HMS Cockade, HMS Charity
- Frigate: HMS Mounts Bay, HMS Morecambe Bay, HMS Whitesand Bay, HMS Cardigan Bay, HMS St Brides Bay, HMS Chevron (unsourced)
- Sloop: HMS Black Swan, HMS Alacrity, HMS Modeste, Hart, HMS Opossum, HMS Sparrow, HMS Crane, HMS Amethyst

Royal Marines

Royal Marines's order of battle as follows:

41 Independent Commando

Main Battles

Casualties

Killed	Wounded	MIA	POW	Total
1,078	2,674	179	978	4,909

Total 56,000 British participated in the Korean War, 886 of 1,078 killed soldiers were buried in the United Nations Memorial Cemetery, Busan, South Korea.

Memorials

There is a Gloucester Hill Battle Monument in the memorial Park for Battle of the Imjin River in Paju, South Korea.

There is a Korean War Memorial in London which unveiled on 3 December 2014.

Timeline

1950	25 June 1950 – North Korea invaded South Korea, Korean War began 25 June 1950 – United Nations drafts UNSC Resolution 82 calling for cessation of hostilities, and withdrawal of North Korean Forces. United Kingdom endorses resolution. 28 June 1950 - United Kingdom decided to join the war. 2 July 1950 – Royal Navy arrived in Pusan, South Korea. 28 August 1950 – 27th Infantry Brigade arrived in Pusan, South Korea 4 September 1950 – 27th Infantry Brigade deployed in Pusan Perimeter October 1950 – UN Forces crossed the 38th Parallel 0n 19 October 1950: China People's Liberation Army deployed to North Korea. 25 October 1950 – First engagement between UN Forces and Chinese Forces. 17 October 1950 – Battle of Sariwon 30 October 1950 – Battle of Chongju 5 November 1950 – Battle of Pakchon 18 November 1950 – 41 Independent Commando involving Battle of Chosin Reservoir 2 – 24 December 1950 – UN Forces retreat from North Korea
1951	3–4 January 1951 – Battle of Chaegunghyon 22–25 April 1951 – Battle of the Imjin River 22–27 April 1951 – Battle of Kapyong 4–6 November 1951 – Second Battle of Maryang-san 4 December 1951 – 41 Independent Commando is withdrawn.
1952	2 January 1952 – Operation Snare 10 April 1952 – Operation Westminster July 1952 – British Commonwealth Forces Korea supersedes the British Commonwealth Occupation Force.
1953	8 April 1953 – Deployed in Jamestown Line 28–29 May 1953 – Third Battle of the Hook 24−26 July 1953 – Battle of the Samichon River 27 July 1953 – Korean Armistice Agreement is signed 5 August 1953 – Operation Big Switch began, 945 British POWs returned, 1 defector remained in China
1955	March – Royal Navy was withdrawn.
1954–1957	British Army was withdrawn.

References

^ 윤 대통령, 영국 ‘조문외교’ 마치고 뉴욕行…내일 유엔총회 연설

The History of the UN Forces in the Korean War-2 (Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, United Kingdom) - ROK Ministry of National Defense Institute for Military History, 1981 (E-BOOK) Archived 2023-07-09 at the Wayback Machine
The History of the UN Forces in the Korean War-2 (Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, United Kingdom) - ROK Ministry of National Defense Institute for Military History, 1981 (PDF) Archived 2023-06-05 at the Wayback Machine
The History of the UN Forces in the Korean War-6 (Summary) - ROK Ministry of National Defense Institute for Military History, 1977 (E-BOOK) Archived 2023-07-09 at the Wayback Machine
The History of the UN Forces in the Korean War-6 (Summary) - ROK Ministry of National Defense Institute for Military History, 1977 (PDF) Archived 2023-06-28 at the Wayback Machine
The Korean War and the UN Forces - ROK Ministry of National Defense Institute for Military History, 2015 (E-BOOK) Archived 2023-07-09 at the Wayback Machine (in Korean)
The Korean War and the UN Forces - ROK Ministry of National Defense Institute for Military History, 2015 (PDF) Archived 2023-07-09 at the Wayback Machine (in Korean)
The Statistics of the Korean War - ROK Ministry of National Defense Institute for Military History, 2014 (E-BOOK) Archived 2023-07-09 at the Wayback Machine (in Korean)
The Statistics of the Korean War - ROK Ministry of National Defense Institute for Military History, 2014 (PDF) Archived 2021-01-11 at the Wayback Machine (in Korean)
The History of the UN Forces in the Korean War - ROK Ministry of National Defense Institute for Military History, 1998 (E-BOOK) Archived 2023-07-09 at the Wayback Machine (in Korean)
The History of the UN Forces in the Korean War - ROK Ministry of National Defense Institute for Military History, 1998 (PDF) Archived 2023-07-09 at the Wayback Machine (in Korean)
The Summary of the Korean War - ROK Ministry of National Defense Institute for Military History, 1986 (PDF) Archived 2023-07-09 at the Wayback Machine (in Korean)
The History of the Korean War-11: The UN Forces (New Zealand, Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Denmark, India, Italy, Norway, Sweden) - ROK Ministry of National Defense Institute for Military History, 1980 (E-BOOK) Archived 2023-07-07 at the Wayback Machine (in Korean)
The History of the Korean War-11: The UN Forces (New Zealand, Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Denmark, India, Italy, Norway, Sweden) - ROK Ministry of National Defense Institute for Military History, 1980 (PDF) Archived 2023-07-09 at the Wayback Machine (in Korean)

External links

Korean War - Royal British Legion

Korean War

25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953

Background

Korea divided (1945–1949)
Prelude to war (1950)

Belligerents

United Nations	Republic of Korea Australia Belgium and Luxembourg Canada Colombia Ethiopia France Greece Netherlands New Zealand Philippines Thailand Turkey South Africa United Kingdom United States Arkansas Army National Guard 65th Infantry Regiment (Puerto Rico)
Eastern Bloc	Democratic People's Republic of Korea China Soviet Union

Medical (non-combat)
participants

Medical support in the Korean War

Political leaders

rok

Syngman Rhee

Shin Song-mo

usa

Harry S. Truman

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Clement Attlee

Winston Churchill

Louis St. Laurent

dprk

Kim Il Sung

Pak Hon-yong

Kim Chaek

prc

Mao Zedong

Zhou Enlai

ussr

Joseph Stalin

Georgy Malenkov

Lavrentiy Beria

Vyacheslav Molotov

Military commanders

rok
Kim Hong-il
Kim Jong-oh
Chung Il-kwon
Paik Sun-yup
usa
Douglas MacArthur
Matthew Ridgway
Mark Wayne Clark
dprk
Choi Yong-kun
prc
Peng Dehuai
Chen Geng
Deng Hua

Order of battle

Military operations

North Korean offensive (25 June – 15 September 1950)	Pokpoong Chuncheon 1st Seoul Gorangpo Kaesong–Munsan Korea Strait Ongjin Uijeongbu Suwon Airfield Air Campaign Andong Chumonchin Chan Osan Pyongtaek Chonan Chochiwon Kum River Taejon Sangju Yongdong Hwanggan Hadong Notch Pusan Perimeter Masan P'ohang-dong Taegu 1st Naktong Bulge Bowling Alley Battle Mountain Kyongju Haman Nam River Ka-san Tabu-dong Yongsan 2nd Naktong Bulge
United Nations Command Counteroffensive (15 September – 30 October 1950)	Haeju Inchon 2nd Seoul Hill 282 Sariwon Pyongyang Yongyu Kujin Chongju
Chinese Intervention (25 October 1950 – January 1951)	Onjong Unsan Pakchon Ching Chong River Wawon Chosin Reservoir Task Force Faith 3rd Seoul Uijeongbu Chaegunghyon 1st and 2nd Wonju
Combat around the 38th parallel (January – June 1951)	Thunderbolt Roundup Twin Tunnels Hoengsong Chipyong-ni 3rd Wonju Chuam-ni Wonsan Killer Ripper (4th Seoul) Maehwa-san Courageous Tomahawk Rugged Dauntless Spring offensive Imjin River Yultong Kapyong Soyang River UN May–June 1951 counteroffensive
Air operations (1950–1953)	MiG Alley Sunchon Strangle Sui-ho Dam Bombing of North Korea 1950–1953
Naval operations (1950–1953)	Korea Strait Chumonchin Chan Haeju Inchon Blockade of Wonsan Han River
Stalemate (July 1951 – 27 July 1953)	Bloody Ridge Minden Punchbowl Heartbreak Ridge Han River Commando 1st Maryang-san Haktang-ni Polecharge 2nd Maryang-san Sunchon Hill Eerie Sui-ho Dam Old Baldy Blaze White Horse Hill Triangle Hill 1st Hook 2nd Hook Chatkol Outpost Vegas Pork Chop Hill 3rd Hook Outpost Harry Kumsong Samichon River Korean Armistice Agreement