SEOUL — Princess Anne paid tribute to British soldiers who fought and died in one of the Korean War's bloodiest engagements as she began an official tour of South Korea this week, marking the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Imjin River.

The Princess Royal, joined by her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, traveled to the United Nations Memorial Cemetery in Busan on Tuesday for a commemorative service honoring the fallen. She laid a wreath of red flowers at the base of a lion statue in tribute to British servicemen who died in the conflict, described as the deadliest engagement endured by the British Army since the Second World War.

Anne also personally placed a single white chrysanthemum on the grave of Private Martin Hogan, a soldier who served with the British Army's Black Watch regiment and died at age 19 on July 14, 1952. The gesture came on the exact anniversary of his death.

A Desperate Last Stand

The Battle of Imjin River unfolded over three days, from April 22 to 25, 1951, when roughly 4,000 troops from the British 29th Brigade, including about 700 soldiers from the 1st Battalion of the Gloucestershire Regiment, faced an overwhelming force of more than 27,000 soldiers from China's 63rd Army.

Vastly outnumbered, the unit that became known as the "Glorious Glosters" made a last stand on a hill designated Point 235, which was later renamed........

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