CDKW00455 - Liaison Mission visits Korea

It would not be until October 1951 that the Liaison Mission in Japan was actually able to visit the Korean peninsula and report back to External Affairs. Menzies’ despatch on his visit contains a number of interesting and concerning details about the military situation. The Field Dressing Station is Seoul was treating nearly twice as many patients as its intended capacity, and many of Seoul’s residents were living in increasingly dilapidated homes with nearly all traffic in the city being military. According to Menzies, the front was currently just north of the 38th parallel, near a bend in the Imjin River, and the troops that the First Commonwealth Division was facing were well-equipped Chinese Corps. If forced backwards, the UN Forces had already mined three different lines—from north to south, Jamestown, Wyoming, and Kansas—with each brigade instructed on how to move to avoid the mines themselves and reposition behind the next line down if they were pushed south by the Chinese. In his description, it is also evident just how long the Canadians have been in the war at this point, with troops from the 2 PPCLI (the first Canadian brigade to arrive in Korea) slowly having their positions taken over by the 1 PPCLI in anticipation of their return home. However, Menzies remarked on general goodwill amongst most troops stationed, and even reported that despite “Gaping chasms of language, traditions, and living standards [which] separate the Koreans from the U.N. soldiers in Korea,” he was impressed by Canadian sympathy and generosity towards Korean civilians. Additionally, this document mentions that some portions of the front were being left as ‘soft spots’ due to tentative armistice negotiations, yet Menzies’ extensive account of the front lines showed that UN Forces did not anticipate leaving Korea anytime soon.