50 miles north of Seoul, South Korea, October 1959: Republic of Korea First Army infantrymen, gas masks on and bayonets at the ready, break through a simulated poison gas cloud. The exercise was part of Operation Killing Zone, the largest military field exercise since the founding of the First Republic of Korea Army in 1948. The exercise, deploying some 50,000 troops and held 50 miles north of Seoul was a test of combat effectiveness during a chemical, biological and radiological war.

Check out additional photos of the exercise and read the 1959 article here.

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