The book, Triumph at Kapyong, which was written by documentary and television news reporter, Dan Bjarnason, serves as honor to both the involvement of Canada in the mediations and its actions to response against Communist attacks.
This book was released in 2011 as a dedication to 60th Anniversary of the war. The release date was very significant, but too was the book content. The author was very successful in analysis and bringing to life what really happens in the battle 60 years ago, which most people have been neglecting.
The book focuses on the Battle of Kapyong, a minor group of hills in the northeastern part of Seoul and Bjarnason as well uses most of his story to explain the incidents which resulted to participation of Canada in the battle.
He also mentioned the creation of the combat division required to manage this new war, and the bravery portrayed by their leaders in ensuring that this authority was contribution of the broader United Nation, but fully self-governing from American authority.
The soldiers who were deployed in the war came from second Battalion of the Princess Patricia, who had gained his status at Ortona and Vimy and provided the past success; it was not surprising that they were the first to join the war in Korea.
Bjarnason explains the significance of the power of Brigadier John Rockingham, brigade commander on the PPCLI, who was famous and honored experienced person in the war. Brigadier Rockingham wanted the work to be completed efficiently and effectively by several subordinates who created the resistance of Kapyong achievable.
Another role which was focused in the book is the role of the commanding officer of the PPCLI’s second Battalion, Lieutenant-Colonel Jim Stone, who facilitated the soldiers to the level that they were prepared for their initial attempt through fire in an aggressive land and fighting a well-equipped opponents who usually favored to raid their opponents during the night.
Considering these Chinese techniques and experiencing the mass execution of a United States patrol that had been captured in their sleeping bags and this led Stone to command that the soldiers on patrol should just carry a blanket to cover themselves during the assignment. He stated that the blankets would help them to counterattack their opponents since it will be easy for them to get out of the blankets and defend themselves.
In April 1951, the attack on Kipyong was carried out and the author claims that the attack was part of the Chinese “Fifth Phase” insult.
Many people may not be informed about the participation of Canadians in this way and most probably have learned about the distracted conflict which overcame the British Army’s Gloustershire Regiment which was pushed towards the west, or also the third Battalion Royal Australian Regiment which also moved back after the severe war.
These divisions were ordered to go back to the war and the Patricias maintained their spirits, which made them to succeed in the war. Bjarnason contrasts the defense, and very significantly, the success, to fabled stands. While not as broadly identified as the British section of the warm, the PPCLI stood firm against an attack of around 5000 Chinese soldiers, stopping the attack at a cost of ten troops.
Bjarnason was very successful in providing an engaging and informative reading and he points out that the book was not intended for military scholars of history as such, but for all the interested readers and learners who would acknowledge the efforts of the Canadian troops in the war.
Through Bjarnason’s presentation of the short history of the creation of the division after the World war two, he lets the audience to acknowledge the efforts and states in which the soldiers engaged in the fight and some died. Bjarnason did a commendable task of inserting a personal perspective to the fight through discussing the men and their involvement before, during and after the battle.
The first personal example is the activities of Wayne Mitchell, who was honored with DCM (Distinguished Conduct Medal) for presenting fire assistance using a Bren gun at the time of the battle and he was injured two times rescuing many participants of his squad through offering fire wrappers.
Lieutenant Mike Levy, who was within the dangerous battle at Kapyong, showed the same courage and he was usually recalled in the two weaponry fire. These were from around New Zealand weaponry division, together with significant gunfire from his private group, all claiming attacks in Cantonese at his enemies.
Whereas his commander, Captain Mills, was honored with Military Cross for his activities, he performed effective communication between the squad and the support divisions. Bjarnason put some efforts to solve the past records through pointing out the manner in which bravely Lieutenant Levy acted, and the manner in which true appreciation of his acts was declined derived just from his belief in Judaism.
This kind of anti-Semitism was well-known in 60 years ago, but in the current standards, it appears insignificant. Author’s explanation of the allied effort from the Unites States pressing to let the Patricias to cooperate and the attempts of Indian health division and new Zealand fighters, demonstrated successfully that this was really UN attempt.
They rejected Stone‘s idea to agree with Americans up to the time they had familiarized themselves to their latest location. It is as well astonishing to point out that Stone supported acclimation, patrols, and training in the units before he was put on the line, which highly aided the Patricias to live on the most horrible stages of the war.
The weak point of the book is pointed out in Bjarnason himself since the book is not an all-inclusive military history, which shows improved tactical maps. He used the maps which were enough to harmonize the story, but enhanced tactical maps could have improved the clearness of Bjarnason’s tale, where it portrays places and progress of both the Canadian supporters and Chinese enemies.
The book offers the people with a model of other records of the war in the bibliography together with a recording of the approved records of Canadian’s duties in the Korean War.
The demonstrations in the book show the real image of the battle and however, it is significant to recall that Bjarnason did not use this book to act as a classic history of the war, relatively, it captures understanding to the first key war of the Canadian troops in Korea, and the manner in which the war was very critical than anybody can picture.
Korean veterans, irrespective of their citizenship, have various grounds to feel affronted by inadequacy of understanding regarding “their war,” and some people recognize or acknowledge the awful situations experienced on the Korean cape.
These awful conditions include the rocky terrain resembling the situations in Italy at the time of World War Two, the issue of inequitable war equipment, and finally, the continuous guarding and motionless condition of the battle which signifies requirements not awfully different just then at Passchendaele.
Bjarnason points out that regardless of human wave insults by the opponents, Chinese, the secure reaction from Lee-Enfield rifle presented to the Patricias, fundamentally untouched since its launch in the British troops in 1895 was extremely sluggish.
Nevertheless, what was very important was the creativity of the man to weld the weapon, but not the weapon itself, which made the diversity. The above instance confines intensely the power of this excellent book and to narrate the participation of these Canadians on a minor hill in Korea, and the significance to recall their efforts and experiences they underwent while providing the protection other Canadians needed.
Bjarnason, in his book, highlights the heroic strengths of platoon commander Levy, who was a very experienced person in World War Two.
He was in charge of his tenth platoon of Dog Company, PPCLI, to success, regardless of the difficulties they faced during the war and superiority of their opponents. Bjarnason illustrates management styles which Levy used during the war as resulted from his personality instead of training.
During the break in the war, Bjarnason describes that Levy witnessed a Chinese commander ordering that his army to start killing the American pigs and Levy reacted by saying that they are Canadians and they have many soldiers.
At last, with signals of communist soldiers just going to overpower his stand, the brave and energetic lieutenant suggested Defensive Fire and SOS (DFSOS). The approach kicked off Chinese offensive and, strangely, made his superior to be credited for their efforts of kicking off the Chinese offensive and his superior was offered with Military Cross.
After Bjarnason set the stage, bringing in the participants and their personal achievements, he followed by creating it until the heroic war at Kapyong and the consequences.
Bjarnason explored the experiences which participants of the Korean War directly underwent and the war itself, and he used Hub Gray, the writer of the book: “Beyond the Danger Close,” to bring to the reader the nature and experiences of the battle. Bjarnason stated that it was the proposal of Levy to call down weaponry on the Patricia stands to stop the attack of the Chinese waves of insults, but it was confident commander, who did not even fully participated in the battle, who was awarded the acknowledgment.
The dilemmas and wherefores of this failure to notice are also explained and unluckily, offer some ethical and moral quandaries and all together, these acts as demonstration those men, even the best leaders of men, are complicated and are never perfect. Also, at times they act and say things to pass specific messages which are never realized and which are fully further than the character.
Bjarnason was successful in presenting the heroic history and he used his excellent abilities in presenting his ideas and what really happens in the past. Bjarnason illustrated that the legacy of Kapyong currently can be one of the countrywide commemorations, instead of a closely disregarded footnote.