French General Monclar in the Battle of Chipyong-ni
By Choe Chong-dae
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To the modern-day visitor, Jipyeong-ri in Yangpyeong County, Gyeonggi Province, is a rural farming village which boasts good-quality Jipyeong Makgeolli, or traditional Korean rice liquor brewed at Jipyeong Brewery. However, during the 1950-53 Korean War, this brewery saw much kinetic action as the command post of a French infantry battalion.
Sixty-seven years ago, the town was a battlefield for ferocious fighting spanning three days from Feb. 13 to 15, 1951. For Americans, the now-famous Battle of Jipyeong-ri is the Gettysburg of the Korean War and widely regarded as a turning point of the Korean War.
The Battle of Chipyong-ni, the original spelling of Jipyeong-ni, was a substantial one where the French infantry under the United Nations Command (UNC) ― more directly the U.S. 23rd Infantry Regiment of the 2nd Infantry Division ― successfully defended and held Jipyeong-ni against attacks from Chinese forces while overwhelmingly outnumbered and subject to extremely low temperatures. This battle was regarded as the first to give the UNC troops confidence. Accordingly, they actively prepared a counterattack against the Chinese.
There have been many unsung heroes who fought bravely and sacrificed their lives during the Korean War. One of them, General Raoul Charles Magrin-Vernerey (1892-1964), better known by the adopted name of Ralph Monclar, deeply touched my heart.
Monclar held the rank of lieutenant-general when the French government decided to dispatch a battalion of 800 soldiers to Korea as part of the UNC allied forces.
What dumbfounded me is the veteran soldier then abandoned three stars voluntarily and reduced his rank to lieutenant-colonel so he could be sent to Korea. He felt no general could be in command of such a small unit as a battalion, and was very eager to serve in the first “U.N. Army” despite already being 59 years old. Monclar believed he was never too old to command in a cause in which he believed, and with that fervor he won the fight.
The French battalion commanded by the self-demoted Monclar participated in all the decisive battles of 1951, especially Wonju, Twin Tunnels and Jipyeong-ni. Through all the hardship, the French displayed not only gallantry and determination, but also their indomitable spirit. Time and time again, they demonstrated initiative and self-sacrifice, along with great pragmatism.
The Chinese retreat from Jipyeong-ri on Feb. 15, 1951, their first defeat since entering the war four months earlier, turned the tide in favor of the allied forces, even while being outnumbered by the Chinese by almost 10 to one. With momentum from the victory, UNC forces recaptured Seoul in mid-March.
I’m certain all of Korea would have been communized by North Korea were it not for the tremendous courage and determination of our fallen foreign comrades and other unsung military heroes. General Monclar’s legacy of self-sacrifice lives on through each French military member who comprises today’s United Nations Command.
After retiring as a soldier, Monclar was named Governor of Les Invalides in France.
He passed away in 1964 at the age of 72. As someone who had a long and outstanding career as a soldier and officer, his most memorable battle was in Jipyeong-ni.
While in Paris on my last trip to France, I visited Les Invalides where General Monclar was buried with other distinguished French military heroes, including Napoleon Bonaparte.
On one tombstone in a vault is this simple inscription: “Monclar, General, 1964.” As I stood there, I felt as if I was finally, after almost seven decades, paying a debt owed by all Koreans.
Choe Chong-dae is a guest columnist of The Korea Times. He is President of Dae-kwang International Co., and Director of the Korean-Swedish Association. He can be reached at choecd@naver.com.