June-December 1950: Incremental Escalation

When North Korean troops crossed south of the 38th parallel during the early hours of the morning on June 25, 1950, the Korean crisis effectively began. Despite strong condemnation from the international community and vows from the United Nations to defend South Korea in the week following the attack, it was not clear exactly what role the Canadians would take on within the United Nations’ defensive forces. In the war’s early months, the Canadians contributed three destroyers and a small R.C.A.F. squadron; however, there were a number of concerns with committing troops to the United Nations forces. Contributing ground forces required carefully monitoring public opinion, evaluating South Korea’s strategic importance for the west, and examining how Canadian troops would be armed and incorporated into a joint fighting force. External Affairs was also unable to view the Korean crisis in isolation—although Canada felt an obligation to respond to the United Nations’ call to arms, Canada was previously committed under the North Atlantic Treaty to help protect Western Europe. Diplomats and the armed forces struggled to leverage their manpower and arms as efficiently as possible to meet both sets of obligations, particularly in light of the military’s relative deescalation after the Second World War. However, early commitments from the Americans in particular, followed by the British, emphasized the importance of Canada deploying at least a small number of ground troops to increase the number of member states formally in the United Nations forces. By December of 1950, Canada’s first ground troops, the Second Battalion of Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, arrived in Pusan where they became part of the First Commonwealth Brigade, United Nations Force.