BATTLE OF THE SAMICHON RIVER
In the final hours of Korean War, the Chinese launched numerous attempts to evict the outnumbered defenders of the ‘bloody Hook’
Death stalked Samichon Valley. Chinese artillery smashed onto Green Finger Ridge, forcing the four-man Australian outpost to hug the earth in the hope of being spared from the storm of red-hot iron. “I’ve been hit in the back!” cried Private Leon Dawes after being struck through the body by shrapnel.
The 19-year-old was likely the last Australian combat death of the Korean War.
The war that had been raging for three years was in its final days. Armistice negotiations that started on July 10, 1951, had dragged on for two years before both parties finally agreed to terms on July 19, 1953. The signing was agreed for the morning of July 27, but rather than wind down operations, the Chinese launched a series of attacks, their main target: a series of hills in the Samichon Valley.
“Rumours of an impending armistice added to the men’s apathy… but, with intel pointing to one last Chinese assault , the Aussies were keen to get to grips with their foe”
From ancient times, this valley had been used as an invasion route. Both North Korean and Chinese troops h…
