A KATCOM soldier (at right) with a member of the 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment during exercises in March 1954.
Korean Augmentation Troops to Commonwealth Division[1] (KATCOM) refers to significant numbers of South Korean soldiers who were attached to the 1st Commonwealth Division during the Korean War. South Korean troops were included within Commonwealth units as replacements simply to make up numbers during periods of troop rotation.
The KATCOM system, also known as Korean Attached Commonwealth Division or Korean Augmentation to Commonwealth Division, took effect from May 1952.[2] Soldiers assigned as KATCOMs were given 16 weeks' standard basic training at the ROK Replacement Training Center with further specialist training on British and Canadian weaponry.[2] On average, each British battalion received 94 South Korean soldiers, making a total of 1,000 South Koreans across the whole Commonwealth division.[2] More broadly, KATCOM can also refer to South Korean troops serving in other United Nations contingents, notably the Belgian and Dutch contingents.
^Thomas, Nigel; Abbot, Peter (1986). The Korean War 1950-53 (Repr. ed.). London: Osprey. p. 20. ISBN 0-85045-685-1.
^ abcYun-sik, Kim (3 September 2010). "My Korean War". The Korea Times. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
Korean Augmentation Troops to Commonwealth Division (KATCOM) refers to significant numbers of South Korean soldiers who were attached to the 1st Commonwealth...
to the Commonwealth division to make up numbers under a scheme known as "KATCOM". Following the outbreak of the Korean War, the 27th British Commonwealth...
whether they volunteered or were coerced remains a matter of dispute.) KATCOM, a similar system operating in the 1st Commonwealth Division. "Abbreviations"...
Sunderland flying boats based at Iwakuni in Japan. 1st Commonwealth Division KATCOM United Nations Memorial Cemetery in Busan, Korea, where a total of 1589...
van Heutsz troops (being understrength) were re-enforced by South Korean "KATCOM" troops. The Dutch served at three key battles, all around the Iron Triangle...
166, ISBN 0-393-31809-5 Watson, Brent Byron (2002), "Rice Burners and KATCOMs", Far Eastern tour: the Canadian infantry in Korea, 1950-1953, McGill-Queen's...
battalion strength along the lines of the US "KATUSA" or Commonwealth "KATCOM" programme. In April 1951, the Belgians fought in one of the key battles...
South Korea: 36 – ROK Army soldiers serving in UNC units including KATUSA, KATCOM US: 36 Norway: 1 Non-combatants: 11 Unknown: 4 Statistics source: * UN Memorial...
wounded. 1st Battalion Black Watch – 1 man wounded (attached to 1DWR) KATCOMs – 1 man killed. Total UN casualties – 24 killed, 105 wounded, 20 missing...
many in the Black Watch found the defenses to be of little use. Koreans KATCOM's helped to shore up the defenses over the coming days, sometimes under shell...
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