In the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, in addition to the main opponent of the volunteer army, the US military, the British, Canadian, and Turkish armies also had a relatively high "appearance rate", because these three countries sent a lot of troops, of which Turkey sent a brigade to Korea, ranking fourth in the "United Nations Army".
During World War I, the Ottoman Turkish army was relatively strong. When it fought in the Korean War, the Turkish army remained rough and tough, even though it had not fought a major battle for many years. Its commander, Brigadier General Yazji, considered it a great honor to go abroad to fight, and in order to go to Korea to command the troops, he voluntarily demoted himself to the rank of brigade commander.
The combat unit of the Turkish brigade is mainly 1 regiment, with 3 infantry battalions, plus artillery and engineers, a total of more than 5,000 people. They have large beards, carry Turkish machetes, and are fierce in appearance, which is very eye-catching. In mid-October 1950, the Turkish Brigade landed at Busan, South Korea, with U.S. forces fighting.
Yao Yurong, commander of a certain battalion of the former 38th Army of the Volunteer Army, recalled that most of the Turkish soldiers were from peasants and herdsmen, were relatively able to endure hardships, and were very tenacious on the battlefield. "The Turkish Brigade should be honoured to receive such an evaluation from the Volunteers.
Before engaging the volunteers, the Turkish brigade made a big fuss and beat the South Korean army to a halt. This happened during the Second Campaign to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea.
In late November 1950, the 13th Corps of the Volunteer Army was advancing southward, and after the 38th Army reached Tokugawa, it annihilated the main force of the 7th Division of the South Korean Army; on the other hand, the 42nd Army also annihilated most of the 8th Division of the South Korean Army in the Ninh Yuen area, breaking through the enemy's central defense line.
In order to expand the results of the battle, the 38th and 42nd Armies were ordered to attack the area around Junyu-ri, Sansho-ri, and Shuncheon, and together with the fraternal forces west of the Cheongcheon River, annihilated the enemy. In the second battle, the battles between the 38th Army and the Ace troops of the US Army and the prestige of the "Banzai Army" took place in Sansho-ri and Longyuan-ri.
In order to prevent the advance of the volunteer army, the 1st Cavalry Division was urgently mobilized from Shunchuan to Xincangli, and the Turkish Brigade also received orders from Lieutenant General Walker, commander of the US 8th Army, to rush from the Price River to the direction of Tokugawa, looking for favorable terrain to deploy and protect the safety of the American flank.
The Turkish brigade was full of American equipment, trained in American style, high morale, and with its mechanized superiority, its vanguard troops occupied the Gazhi Ridge before the Volunteers. Therefore, the 38th Army adjusted the battle plan, ordering the 112th And 114th Divisions to attack in the direction of Gazing, and the task of capturing Gari Ridge was completed by the 342nd Regiment of the 114th Division.
As soon as the Turkish army at Gari Ridge had laid out its positions, a force swarmed in. The Turkish army immediately opened fire, and after the battle, the Turkish army won a complete victory, not only holding the position, but also taking hundreds of prisoners.
In fact, the Turkish army fought the rout of the South Korean 7th Division, and the volunteer army had not yet reached Gahilyeong. The South Korean army knew that the other side was its own people, and quickly shouted in English, but the vanguard of the Turkish army had no American advisers, they could not understand English, and they could not distinguish between the Chinese and the Koreans.
Those South Korean troops were also unlucky enough to escape from Tokugawa easily, but they were defeated by friendly forces. Afterwards, the South Korean side protested, but it was not resolved. In fact, this cannot all be blamed on the Turkish army, because the American army did not inform them of the intelligence in the direction of Tokugawa, and the Turkish brigade had no idea that the South Korean 7th Division had collapsed, nor did it know the size of the volunteer army's march to The Valley.
Why didn't the U.S. military tell the Turkish brigade the real information? Quite simply, the Turkish brigades were not stupid, and if they knew about the situation in Tokugawa, they would not want to go to Gazhi ridge, who would protect the flanks of the American army. To put it bluntly, this is the US military to reduce its own casualties, let friendly forces as cannon fodder. Not only the Turkish brigade, but also the British and Canadian troops also served as cannon fodder.
The Turkish brigade, believing that it had defeated the volunteers, rejoiced and reported a "great victory" to the Americans. At night, the Turkish army also lit a bonfire in Gazhiling, roasted the fire for warmth, and relaxed their vigilance.
After the volunteer attack, the Turkish brigade learned that it had previously wounded friendly forces. The Turkish army had bad luck, and the first opponent it encountered in Korea was the volunteer ace 38th Army.
That night, the 342nd Regiment of the 38th Army rushed to Gazhiling, and Laoyuan found that the Turkish army was building a fire on the side of the road for warmth. So the 7th Company and the 8th Company of the 3rd Battalion quietly approached the enemy, touching all the way from the front and encircling it all the way. Approaching a distance of 20 meters, the Turkish army was still dazed, and the volunteer grenades suddenly threw into the enemy group of roasting fire, and the fire was salvo, and the Turkish army at the mountain pass panicked, leaving dozens of corpses and fleeing to the mountainside.
The Turkish army reacted quickly and immediately launched a counter-charge from the mountainside, but the 9th company of the volunteer army had already interspersed in place, and the 7th company and the 8th company were caught between the front and back, and the battle was over in ten minutes. After capturing the Gazhiling Pass, the volunteers continued to advance, and then engaged in fierce battles with the Turkish army, annihilating most of their forward troops.
For the first time, the volunteers engaged the Turkish brigade, annihilating more than 500 enemy troops and capturing dozens of them. However, from the perspective of the whole war, the Turkish brigade was still relatively tenacious.