French Battalion in the Korean War The French Battalion of the United Nations Organisation ( ) was a battalion of volunteers made up of active and reserve French military personnel sent to the Korean Peninsula as part of the UN force fighting in the Korean War . Korea . Lieutenant General Raoul Magrin - Vernerey , better known under his nom de guerre , Monclar , Inspector of the Foreign Legion and a hero of World War II , supported Chief of Staff of the French Army General Blanc ' s decision to form a volunteer force and agreed to command the new unit , accepting a demotion back to the rank of lieutenant - colonel . The French Battalion arrived in Pusan , South Korea on November 29 , 1950 and was placed under the operational control of the 23rd U . S . Infantry Regiment , 2nd Infantry Division ( United States ) . Despite initial fears about French forces " on the rout " , the battalion carried out several successful early actions and earned the respect of General Ridgway , commander of the U . S . Eighth Army . From January 7 – 12 , 1951 , the French Battalion participated in the First and Second Battle of Wonju where it stopped the North Korean advance . It was followed by the Battle of the Twin Tunnels ( February 1 – 2 , 1951 ) and of Chipyong - ni ( February 3 – 16 , 1951 ) . These battles , during which the battalion resisted the attacks of four Chinese divisions for three days , allowed the 8th Army to score a victorious counter - offensive . Three weeks later , the battalion was engaged in combat for Hill # 1037 ( about 50 miles east of Seoul ) and lost 40 dead and 200 wounded while attacking and capturing the hill . In the spring of 1951 , the battalion crossed the 38th parallel into the Hwachon region . The destruction of an engineering platoon led to a partial rout of the French Battalion . However it allowed U . S forces to stop the new Chinese offensive . In the fall of 1951 , the French took part in the battle of Heartbreak Ridge . In the course of these combats which lasted a month , 60 French soldiers were killed and 200 were wounded . In the fall of 1952 , after a lethal war of positions , similar to Verdun during World War I , the battalion put a halt in Chongwon , South Korea , to a Chinese offensive toward Seoul . This resistance resulted in 47 dead and 144 wounded . The total Chinese losses against the French battalion were estimated at 2000 men . In the winter and the spring of 1953 , the battalion took part in combats which kept the North Korean and Chinese forces from reaching Seoul . After the signing of the in July 1953 , the French Battalion left Korea with five French Citations to the Order of the Army ; the French Fourragère in the colors of the Military Medal ; two Korean Presidential Citations ; and three American Distinguished Unit Citations . Forty - four of the French casualties were eventually buried at the United Nations Memorial Cemetery in Busan , South Korea . In an address to a joint session of the United States Congress in May 1952 , General Ridgway said the following : One member of the French Battalion , Louis Misseri , was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross by the United States for his actions . His citation reads : The commander of the 23rd Infantry Regiment said of the French Contingent : Post Korea . On October 22 , 1953 , the French battalion embarked on the " SS General Blake " and headed for Indochina where it would be expanded into a two - battalion regiment and form the nucleus of the French " Groupement mobile 100 . " During their service in Indochina , the unit ( under its new title of " Le Regiment de Corée " ) would participate in the brutal battle for Mang Yang Pass along " Route coloniale 19 " in June and July 1954 , where it would suffer heavy casualties . Between its arrival in Indochina and the cease - fire on July 20 , 1954 , the 1st battalion suffered 238 killed or wounded , and the second battalion suffered 202 killed or wounded . In addition , 34 Indochinese assigned to the battalion were killed in action . On September 1 , 1954 , the " Regiment de Corée " was disbanded and reduced back to battalion size . The battalion remained in Indochina until July 17 , 1955 whereupon it embarked from Saigon to Algeria to participate in the suppression of the ongoing insurrection . On August 10 , 1955 , the battalion landed in Algiers and began a series of garrison and search and destroy operations in the Constantine region of Algeria . On September 1 , 1960 , the battalion was amalgamated with the 156th infantry regiment ( ) and received the designation of " 156 Régiment d ' Infanterie - Régiment de Corée . " All told , the regiment suffered 48 killed in action in Algeria . The regiment was repatriated to France following the Évian Accords and disbanded upon its return to France in 1962 .