Static Front
Heroes Remember
Static Front
Transcript
Between June 1950 and June 1951, the Korean peninsula changes
hands several times.
Barely a month after crossing the 38th Parallel, the North
Koreans have taken over all of South Korea, except for the small
United Nations bastion of Pusan. As more and more UN allied
troops arrive, the tide begins to turn. Seoul, South Korea’s
capital is retaken and a UN controlled corridor is opened
between Seoul and Pusan, cutting off North Korea’s supply lines.
The North Koreans lose all their gains and the war is back to
square one: the 38th Parallel. Soon, the North Korean capital of
Pyongyang is taken and the American-led United Nation troops
are so far into North Korea that the Chinese border is in sight.
But the Cold War is gaining momentum throughout the world.
Threatened by the presence of the American Forces at their
doorstep, communist China moves in to help the North Koreans. UN
forces are pushed back south of the 38th Parallel. Seoul falls
yet again to the North but is retaken a second time by the
South.
In March 1951, things slowly grind to a halt. Most Canadians
arrive then, during the stalemate, causing some
frustration amongst the men.
Machine gun bunker overlooking a valley.
In Korea, we took up our positions and that's where we stayed. We advanced a little now and then, but never enough to gain much ground. They established what is called a static front, meaning that the front remained constant. It did not advance either way. The enemy did not advance and we did not advance.Artillery gun at the top of a hill.
Our duties were primarily to maintain a line. We stayed there. We never advanced. We got kind of annoyed, asking one another if they were making fun of us and if we were really at war. We thought they'd playedA section of men climbing up a hill and then running for cover.
a trick on us, that they'd just sent us there to train for war, if there ever was one. We were static. It was trench warfare.Description
Meta Data
- Medium:
- Video
- Owner:
- Veterans Affairs Canada
- Recorded:
- February 3, 2013
- Duration:
- 2:24
- Person Interviewed:
- War Korean
- War, Conflict or Mission:
- Korean War
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