CDKW00085 - Canadian Mission Watches on from Tokyo

Prior to Canada’s commitment of any ground troops, the Canadian mission in Tokyo was keeping a close eye on the fighting on the Korean peninsula. By the start of August, E. H. Norman, the head of the Canadian Liaison Mission in Korea, reported that even as the front line fluctuated, it was past the point that any military leaders were concerned about losing their foothold on Korea. However, Norman’s account also indicated that troop commitments have been shuffling around considerably, and that the situation was still tentative enough that any “genuine counter-offensive” efforts will have to wait until the fall. Given that Commonwealth ground troops, including Canadian troops, did not begin arriving until the fall of 1950, it is not surprising that Canadian observers believed that the Americans were aiming to hold their position in Korea yet hold out on a counter-offensive for the moment.