ISSUE 107 : Jul/Aug - 1994 - Australian Defence Force Journal

Book ReviewsTHE LAST CALL OF THE BUGLE —THE LONG ROAD TO KAPYONG,by Jack Gallaway, University of Queensland Press,1994. 312pp, index, 30 photographs, 30 sketchmaps. RRP$ 18.95.Reviewed by Bob BreenThis book is a eulogy to a generation of Australianmen who responded to The Last Call of the Bugle andfought as members of 3rd Battalion, the Royal AustralianRegiment (3 RAR) in Korea from September1950 until late April 1951. They responded to a callby the Australian Government to enlist on contract fortwo years to fight North Korean Communist forcesthat had invaded South Korea. Most members ofK Force, as the special enlistment was called, hadfought in World War II and volunteered to take theirchances in battle once again. It is arguable whetherthey joined to fight against the southern march ofCommunism, or to escape from the monotony or consequencesof their circumstances.Hie K Force veterans were joined by many lesserpaidyoung, inexperienced soldiers from the newlyraisedRoyal Australian Regiment. They flew togetherto join 3 RAR in Japan before deployment to Koreain September 1950. Subsequently, drafts of K Forcereinforcements joined 3 RAR in Korea during operations.The raising of K Force as a pool of reinforcementsfor overseas service was the last time theAustralian Government used a special enlistment tobolster the strength of the Army to deploy and supportan expeditionary force.Those who fought with 3 RAR in Korea during theperiod Gallaway covers and on subsequent operationsthere had a significant influence on the character ofthe newly-raised Australian Regular Army in generaland the fledgling Royal Australian Regiment in particular.Several young officers who were to commandinfantry battalions in Vietnam in the 1960s and to riseto General rank in the 1970s were blooded in theKorean War under the watchful eyes and occasionallysharp tongues ol members ot K Force. The \oungerRegular Army soldiers of 3 RAR in Korea were tomodel their attitudes to leadership, personal courageand physical endurance on the K Force men whoformed a bridge of experience between the AustralianArmy that fought in World War II and the AustralianRegular Army of the 1950s. Much of the backbone.rugged individualism and larrikinism associated withthe Royal Australian Regiment in the 1950s and1960s was imparted by the men of K Force, main ofwhom joined to put their personal stamp on the Armyafter sen ice in Korea.This book is not the work of a disinterested academichistorian. Jack Gallaway was 3 RAR's SignalsSergeant during the period he writes about. He haswritten with the passion of a man who has felt formany years that no writer had fairly acknowledgedthe achievements of 3 RAR in the Korea War or fullyunderstood the immense hardships, frustration anddangers that members of the Battalion faced as a loneAustralian combat unit, lighting as part of the hastilyraised,under-strength 27th British Commonwealth Brigadeamidst, and many times in the van or covering theretreat of. an enormous US-led United Nations army.Gallaway's book continues a consistent storyline inAustralian military history about how Australiantroops have been exploited for their fighting qualitiesby allied commanders who had their own personaland national agendas. He is critical of the seniorBritish and American commanders who gave theAustralians many of the difficult tactical tasks andthen ordered them to stand aside so that their owntroops could mop up and claim the glory.This book is not only an accessible history of theexploits of 3 RAR but also a summary of the higherlevel planning and conduct of the Korean War bythe United Nations Commander-in-Chief. GeneralDouglas MacArthur. Gallaway is critical of Mac-Arthur's decisions and belittles MacArthur's selfpublicisedachievements, such as the landing at Inchonwhich outflanked invading North Korean forces. Heputs MacArthur in the dock and. using mainly secondarysources, argues that his prosecution of the KoreanWar was badly flawed. Gallaway contends that Mac-Arthur's inept interpretation of Chinese intentionsbefore they crossed the Yalu River in late 1950 directlyendangered the lives of members of 3 RAR andlater threatened the survival of the entire Battalion.Aside from General MacArthur. Gallaway hasfocused much of his narrative on three individuals:Lieutenant Colonel Charles "Charlie" Green, CommandingOfficer of 3 RAR until his untimely deathon 1 November 1950, six weeks after assuming command.Green's eventual successor. LieutenantColonel Bruce "Fergie" Ferguson who commandeduntil July 1951 and the Officer Commanding Alpha