Turkish Brigade
military unit
The Turkish Brigade, codenamed North Star (Turkish: Şimal Yıldızı or Kutup Yıldızı), was a military formation from Turkey that served under the United Nations Command during the Korean War.
Turkey was one of the 22 countries that contributed manpower to the United Nations in support of South Korea and one of the 16 countries that deployed military personnel to help in the fight against North Korea, which had precipitated the conflict by invading South Korea with support from the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China. The brigade's first 5,000 Turkish troops arrived on 19 October 1950, shortly after the outbreak of hostilities in June of that year, and remained in varying strengths until the summer of 1954. Attached to the 25th Infantry Division of the United States, the Turkish Brigade was the only military formation of its size to have been permanently attached to an American military division for the duration of the Korean War.
Turkey's United Nations troops took part in several engagements of the conflict; the Turkish Brigade is most notable for its involvement in the Battle of Wawon, where its fierce resistance proved to be decisive in delaying the advance of the Chinese military, which had entered as a direct combatant after the North Korean military was effectively destroyed upon being expelled from South Korean territory by the United Nations military coalition. For its efforts, the Turkish Brigade was honoured with Unit Citations from South Korea and the United States, subsequently developing a reputation for its fighting ability, stubborn defense, mission commitment, and bravery.
Background
On 29 June 1950, the Republic of Turkey replied to the United Nations Resolution 83 requesting military aid to South Korea, following the attack by North Korea on 25 June. The cable stated: "Turkey is ready to meet his responsibilities." On 25 July 1950, Turkey decided to send a brigade, comprising three infantry battalions, an artillery battalion and auxiliary units, to fight under UN Command against North Korea and subsequently the People's Republic of China. Turkey was the second country to answer the UN call, after the United States.
Three different Turkish Brigades served in the Korean War.
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This entry incorporates text from “Turkish Brigade” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.