Download Korean War - Valhalla High School

U.S. History
Mr. Mintzes
The Korean War – A Short History of “The Forgotten War”
A War that Wasn’t a War, but a “Police Action.”
The Korean War was a conflict between Communist and non-Communist forces in Korea from
June 25, 1950, to July 27, 1953. On one side were North Korea and Communist China, both of
who received military supplies and support from the Soviet Union, and on the other side was
South Korea and a multi-national United Nations force led by the United States. The war was
the first test of the United Nation’s resolve to prevent and/or resist aggression by one country
against another. Where the League of Nations had failed in this area, the UN succeeded.
At the end of World War II, Korea was divided at the 38th parallel into Soviet (North Korean)
and U.S. (South Korean) zones of occupation. In 1948 rival governments were established: The
Republic of Korea was proclaimed in the South and the People's Democratic Republic of Korea
in the North.
Relations between them became increasingly strained, and on June 25, 1950, North Korean
forces invaded South Korea. The United Nations quickly condemned the invasion as an act of
aggression, demanded the withdrawal of North Korean troops from the South, and called upon
its members to aid South Korea. On June 27, U.S. President Truman authorized the use of
American land, sea, and air forces in Korea; a week later, the United Nations placed the forces
of 15 other member nations under U.S. command, and Truman appointed Gen.
Douglas MacArthur supreme commander.
In the first weeks of the conflict the North Korean forces met little resistance and advanced
rapidly. By Sept. 10 they had driven the South Korean army and a small American force to the
Busan (Pusan) area at the southeast tip of Korea. A counteroffensive began on Sept. 15, when
UN forces made a daring landing at Incheon (Inchon) on the west coast. North Korean forces
fell back and MacArthur received orders to pursue them into North Korea.
On Oct. 19, the North Korean capital of Pyongyang was captured; by Nov. 24, North Korean
forces were driven by the 8th Army, under Gen. Walton Walker, and the X Corp, under Gen.
Edward Almond, almost to the Yalu River, which marked the border of Communist China. As
MacArthur prepared for a final offensive, the Chinese Communists joined with the North
Koreans to launch (Nov. 26) a successful counterattack. The UN troops were forced back, and in
Jan.1951, the Communists again advanced into the South, recapturing Seoul, the South Korean
capital.
After months of heavy fighting, the center of the conflict was returned to the 38th parallel,
where it remained for the rest of the war. MacArthur, however, wished to mount another
invasion of North Korea. When MacArthur persisted in publicly criticizing U.S. policy, Truman,
on the recommendation of the Joint Chiefs of Staff removed (Apr. 10, 1951) him from command
and installed Gen. Matthew B. Ridgway as commander in chief. Gen. James Van Fleet then took
command of the 8th Army. Ridgway began (July 10, 1951) truce negotiations with the North
Koreans and Chinese, while small unit actions, bitter but indecisive, continued. Gen. Van Fleet
was denied permission to go on the offensive and end the “meat grinder” war.
The war's unpopularity played an important role in the presidential victory of Dwight
D. Eisenhower, who had pledged to go to Korea to end the war. Negotiations broke down four
different times, but after much difficulty and nuclear threats by Eisenhower, an armistice
agreement was signed (July 27, 1953). Casualties in the war were heavy. U.S. losses were
placed at over 54,000 dead and 103,000 wounded, while Chinese and Korean casualties were
each at least 10 times as high. Korean forces on both sides executed many alleged civilian
enemy sympathizers, especially in the early months of the war.
While the armistice was signed on July 27, 1953, no peace treaty was ever successfully
negotiated between the two sides to the conflict. Technically, the war has never ended. The
border between North and South still remains more or less at the 38th parallel. The two armies
are separated by a “no mans land” with fences, barbed wire and, reportedly, over one million
anti-personnel and anti-tank land mines. The US maintains a force of approximately 25,000
combat troops in South Korea. The United States is pledged to defend South Korea in the event
of another North Korean invasion.