Korean war

Despite these warnings, he was given permission to pursue them into North Korea.3 RAR moved north as part of the invasion force and fought their first major battle near the North Korea capital, Pyongyang.
             Korea was a place that few Australians knew much about, until 1950. From 1950-53, 17,000 Australians in the Army, Navy and Air Force fought as part of the United Nations (UN) multinational force, defending South Korea from the Communist force of North Korea. The Korean War was the first occasion where Australian service personnel, operating under the control of the United Nations, took to the battlefield.
             As the UN forces continued their advance towards the Yalu river on the border between North Korea and Manchuria, a series of successes led many to believe that the UN forces would soon bring the war to an end. .
             At the same time unknown to the UN commanders, the Chinese government had made good it's threat and moved 18 divisions into North Korea. They struck with a powerful force against US troops on 1st November and sent them into retreat. Despite the harsh Chinese attacks, Macarthur prepared a massive advance to the Yalu River to defeat the North Korean and Chinese forces to end the battle. However only one day after the attack commenced the Chinese struck back, inflicting successive defeats on the UN forces and making them go into retreat towards the 38th parallel.
             The Chinese brought to a standstill their offensive in January 1951, Seoul once again having fallen to the invading forces. At the UN headquarters in New York, efforts were made to conclude an agreement with the communist coalition, but negotiations broke down before any progress had been made. At the end of February, Chinese battle collapsed south of the Han River near Seoul, and UN forces in recaptured the city in mid-March. UN commanders were then faced with the problem of whether to cross the 38th parallel once again.