The Myth of '253 Wins in 253 Battles': Do You Know Ethiopia's Kagnew Battalion?

On May 6, 1951, as the groans and gunfire of war echoed across the Korean Peninsula, young men with dark skin and unfamiliar faces stepped onto Busan Port in military uniforms.

They were soldiers of the "Kagnew Battalion" from Ethiopia, a country on the other side of the globe in Africa.

Hearing the international community's plea to support the Republic of Korea in its desperate crisis, they traveled over 10,000 kilometers from their homeland on a transport ship for a grueling 21 days to reach Korea.

Upon arriving at Busan Port, they immediately boarded trucks and headed to the UN reception center in Dongnae, Busan.

For six weeks, they adapted to the climate and terrain of the Korean Peninsula and learned how to operate modern weapons.

The Ethiopian warriors were then attached to the 32nd Regiment of the U.S. 7th Infantry Division and headed to the front lines.

Starting with their first engagement on August 12, 1951, around Mount Jeokgeun in Hwacheon County, Gangwon Province, on the central-eastern front, they fought life-or-death battles on the Korean Peninsula for about two years until the armistice agreement was signed on July 27, 1953.

Composed of some 1,200 elite troops from the Imperial Guard, the Kagnew Battalion was exceptionally brave and strong among the UN forces.

Playing an active role in battles such as the Battle of Hwacheon, the Battle of Yanggu, the Battle of Triangle Hill, and the Battle of York and Uncle Hills, the Kagnew Battalion defended Korea while writing an immortal record of "253 wins in 253 battles" during the Korean War, maintaining a blood-tied bond to this day.

Today (June 24), according to the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, Ethiopia dispatched a cumulative total of 3,518 troops to Korea as part of the Kagnew Battalion during the Korean War.

The Kagnew Battalion was an infantry battalion-sized unit, with its strength at the time standing at around 1,200 soldiers.

Ethiopia was the only African nation to send ground troops at the request of the UN after the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950.

It decided to dispatch troops in August 1950, and after organizing the unit and conducting its own training, held a departure ceremony for the dispatched unit in April of the following year.

At the time, Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie bestowed the name "Kagnew" on the dispatched unit.

"Kagnew" means "to establish order from chaos" or "to crush the enemy in the initial battle" in the Ethiopian language.

The Emperor is said to have given the soldiers a special order at the departure ceremony: "Fight until you win. Otherwise, fight until you die."

Ethiopia's decision to risk lives and send troops to a strange land on the other side of the world was driven by its own experience of losing its country to an aggressive war.

Ethiopia was invaded by Italy in 1935 and appealed to the League of Nations for support, but suffered the pain of colonial rule for about five years starting in 1936 amid the cold response of the international community.

Having experienced a history of territorial invasion, Ethiopia had a special interest in the situation on the Korean Peninsula on the other side of the world.

Coming from the African highlands, the soldiers of the Kagnew Battalion demonstrated their combat prowess even in the rugged mountain ranges of the Korean Peninsula.

Within a week of being deployed to the front lines, four soldiers were awarded medals for military merit. They never surrendered a single hill to the enemy in numerous battles for the highlands, and were particularly strong in hand-to-hand combat due to their unique bravery.

They achieved distinguished military exploits in the Battle of Mount Jeokgeun in Hwacheon, Gangwon Province, in September 1951, and also played an active role in the battle for the "Iron Triangle."

A cumulative total of 3,518 soldiers from the Kagnew Battalion fought until the end of the war in July 1953, of whom 122 were killed or died, and 536 were wounded.

Veterans testify that they faced difficulties, such as suffering from frostbite due to the bitter cold of the Korean winter, which they experienced for the first time in their lives.

The Kagnew Battalion also holds the grand record of being the only unit among the participating UN nations that did not produce a single prisoner of war.

This was because they fought bravely under the Emperor's strict orders and, with their unique and strong solidarity, always found the wounded, killed, or missing and brought them back to their unit.

Since they recovered all the bodies of their fallen comrades to take back home, there is not a single grave of an Ethiopian soldier in the UN Memorial Cemetery in Busan.

The Kagnew Battalion remained in Korea even after the gunfire ceased with the armistice agreement.

They were stationed in Korea until 1956, helping with post-war recovery efforts, including patrolling the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).

In particular, it is a famous anecdote that the unit members pooled their salaries to establish an orphanage named "Bowha-won" in Dongducheon, Gyeonggi Province, in 1953 to care for war orphans.

"Bowha" means "God's grace" in the Ethiopian language.

The historical bond of the Kagnew Battalion's dispatch became a milestone in relations between Korea and Ethiopia.

The two nations officially established diplomatic relations in 1963, ten years after the signing of the armistice agreement. After Korea achieved economic growth, it designated Ethiopia as a priority country for Official Development Assistance (ODA) and continued to provide aid.

Today, 75 years after the first dispatch of the Kagnew Battalion, many of the veterans who came to the Korean Peninsula as members of the unit have passed away.

According to the South Korean Embassy in Ethiopia, there are currently only 46 surviving veterans, most of whom are of advanced age.

However, the spirit of the Kagnew Battalion, which came to this land 75 years ago, has been passed down to the descendants of the veterans and continues to this day.

On June 22, Kagnew Battalion veteran Tesfaye and 34 descendants of veterans visited Korea at the invitation of a domestic non-profit organization.

They will stay in Korea for about a month until the end of next month, participating in veterans affairs and cultural exchange events.

In particular, the "Kagnew Choir," composed of descendants of the veterans, will carry out various schedules in Korea, starting with a performance at the "International Veterans and Peace Project Concert" held at the National Assembly today, and continuing through to a commemorative performance on "UN Forces Participation Day" (July 27).

The Warm Day Association, which hosts and organizes the event, has continued its support project for Ethiopian Kagnew Battalion veterans since 2016, and founded the Kagnew Choir in 2018 to conduct music education and international cultural exchange activities.

(Photo: Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.