The
French Battalion in the Korean War () was a
battalion of volunteers made up of active and reserve
French military personnel sent to the
Korean Peninsula as part of the
UN force fighting in the
Korean War.
Korea
Lieutenant General Monclar, Inspector of the
Foreign Legion and a hero of
World War II, supported Chief of Staff of the French Army General Blanc's decision to form a volunteer force and agreed to command the new unit. The French Battalion arrived in
Pusan (modern day
South Korea) on November 29, 1950 and was placed under the operational control of the
23rd U.S. Infantry Regiment,
2nd Infantry Division . The battalion carried out several successful early actions and earned the respect of
General Ridgway, commander of the
U.S. Eighth Army.
From January 7–12, 1951, the French Battalion participated in the
First and Second Battle of Wonju where, thanks to a decisive
bayonet attack, it stopped the North Korea advance. That episode was echoed around the world by American war correspondents reporting from the theater. It was followed by the
Battle of the Twin Tunnels (February 1–2, 1951) and of
Chipyong-ni (February 3–16, 1951). These combats, during which the battalion resisted the attacks of four Chinese divisions for three days, allowed the 8th Army to score a victorious counter-offensive. Three weeks later, the battalion was engaged in combat for Hill #1037 (about 50 miles east of
Seoul) and lost 40 dead and 200 wounded while attacking and capturing the...
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