Download The Korean War: Background and Reading Often called “the

The Korean War: Background and Reading
Often called “the Forgotten War”, the war in Korea would be one of the few
moments in the Cold War when the United States would be physically involved in
fighting communist forces supported by the Soviet Union. Using the reading
below, answer the following questions after each section.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The Revolution in China
June 1950 was only five years after World War II in which more than 50 million
Europeans, Asians, Africans, and North Americans had died. Atomic weapons had thrust
the world into another historical period. Jewish genocide in Europe exposed the evils of
Hitler and Nazism. Battles such as Iwo Jima, Stalingrad, and the Battle of the Bulge
introduced the world to military operations that resulted in horrific human carnage. The
tyrannies of Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Communist Russia forced many world
leaders to realize that democracy was necessary for the future. Americans were eager
to return to peacetime. Was peace possible after the aggressions of Hitler, Mussolini,
and the Japanese?
With the defeat of common enemies, especially Germany and Japan, it seemed as if the
world could rest, but perhaps not. With the creation and successful testing of an atomic
bomb in the Soviet Union in 1949 and Communist China in 1952, as well as Joseph
Stalin’s political maneuverings and broken promises, it was clear to many world leaders
that new political, military and economic tensions were arising.
China would be the first large nation to fall to communism following the end of World
War II, yet the Chinese Revolution had been going on before World War II had even
started. How did China fall to communism when western nations such as the United
States were supporting them?
Due to the large population and abundance of natural resources, China has long played
(at least since the 18th century) a significant role in world affairs. Prior to World War II
China was ruled by Chiang Kai-Shek (Jiang Jieshi), but Mao Zedong and his communist
forces challenged his nationalist government. Chiang Kai-Shek failed to provide support
for the people of China and in many cases his troops, while hunting down communist
forces, ravaged small villages in the Chinese countryside. Mao Zedong and his forces, on
the other hand, rarely took from small villages and promised land reform if Mao was
able to overthrow the government. In 1931, the Japanese invasion of Manchuria put the
revolution on hold as both Chiang Kai-Shek and Mao Zedong chose to fight their mutual
enemy, Japan, rather than each other. Both leaders fought against the Japanese
separately with Mao’s communist forces being supported by the Soviet Union while
Chiang’s nationalist forces were supported by the United States.
However, China was left physically and economically destroyed, suffering more than
two million casualties. With these conditions in place, the nation was ripe for the
revolution to continue. The “Red Army”, as many communist forces would come to be
known as, swept through China defeating the nationalists. By 1949, Chiang Kai-Shek and
his forces were decimated, defeated, and fled to the island of Taiwan, leaving China in
the hands of Mao Zedong.
The fall of China shocked many Americans. Containment had failed and it appeared that
the Domino Theory was proving to be true. The population of China was a staggering
500 million (25% of the population at the time) and with the combined population of
the satellite states in Eastern Europe, and the Soviet Union, it seemed as if the balance
of power in the Cold War tipped in favor of the communists.
Even though the ashes of World War II covered much of Europe and Asia, the world
divided into alliances and political blocs again. In 1949, when the Soviet Union
detonated its first atomic bomb, nations grew anxious about a third and final World
War. Atomic weapons could bring about the end of the world. For the first time in world
history, humans thought about the destruction of mankind.
Questions:
1. What were the two parties that were fighting in the Chinese Revolution? Who were
the leaders of each?
2. What did Mao Zedong promise the people of China? Describe the differences between
how Mao treated the people compared to the way Chiang Kai-Shek treated the people.
3. Why was the fall of China eye opening to the people of the United States?
4. What does Albert Einstein mean when he states, “I know not with what weapons
World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones”?
The Korean War
The Korean Peninsula became one of the first focal points of the Cold War. Causes for
the Korean War were deeply rooted in history and geography. The geographical realm
of Korea had deeply influenced its history for many years. Located near China, Russia,
and Japan, Korea had been occupied repeatedly. China ruled Korea on and off for
roughly 1,000 years. Japan controlled Korea from 1904 until 1945. On August 15, 1945,
six days after the United States dropped the second atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan,
the United States, and the USSR divided Korea at the 38th Parallel. The United States
occupied the South, and the USSR occupied the North.
The American and Soviet occupation of Korea had long lasting consequences for North
and South Korea. Two years after the occupations, the United States withdrew from
South Korea and the USSR withdrew from North Korea. Europe was the real prize for
both superpowers during the Cold War. In 1950 Secretary of State Dean Acheson stated,
“Korea was outside the essential U.S. defense perimeter in the Pacific Region.” Many
American officials were reluctant to become embroiled in an internal or regional
conflict. As a result of the occupations, the USSR developed and nurtured a communist
government in North Korea with Kim Il Sung as the prime minister of the new
Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea. Politically, the country was far from what
its name implied. Furthermore, the United States developed a democratic government,
or a republic, in South Korea with Syngman Rhee as president.
After the American and
Soviet withdrawal from
the Korean Peninsula,
North and South Koreans
sought unification. The
North Korean regime
demanded that a unified
Korea be communist, and
the South Korean
government demanded
that Korea be a republic.
The issue was to be
resolved with a vote, but
when rumors started to
spread that the contest
would tip in favor of the
communist north, the
vote was quickly abandoned. This conflict sparked one of the first dangerous episodes of
the Cold War as each side became more aggressive. The 38th Parallel was about to
explode.
American government actions added to the tension. The United States cut its military
forces in South Korea from 40,000 troops to 500 and decreased arms shipments to
South Korea to prohibit President Rhee from using American war materials against the
communist regime in the North. Then, in a controversial maneuver, the United States
government declared a new policy in Asia, which directly affected South Korea. National
Security Council #48/2 directed the government of the United States to send nonmilitary aid to South Korea instead of weapons to avert a war. According to the
memorandum, the United States would provide military defense for Japan, the
Philippines, and other islands, but not South Korea. The United States pursued this
policy in reaction to the Soviet Union’s securing an atomic bomb and communist
regimes in China and Russia.
The Korean War began on Sunday, June 25, 1950. Reacting to threats from President
Rhee, and with the encouragement of the Soviets and Chinese, North Korea crossed the
38th Parallel and invaded South Korea. In a show of massive military force, North
Korean armies aided by Russian-made tanks and motorized infantry units quickly
overwhelmed South Korean military forces. Many units retreated farther south and set
up a defensive position at Pusan (see image #1 below). With their backs to the sea,
South Korean forces did not receive help until the United States intervened in
September 1950.
Questions
1. Describe how World War II set the division for North and South Korea. At which
geographical point was the peninsula divided?
2. Who were the leaders of North and South Korea? How did the United States help
South Korea? How did it harm South Korea?
3. Describe how the Korean War began.
The Korean War Continues and Ends
North Korea’s invasion of South Korea enraged President Truman. He now realized any
deviation or relaxation of the American policy of containment against communism in
one part of the world became an opportunity for communist aggression in another. The
President Truman was soon allowed to commission a large military buildup (through
NSC #68). $50 billion for the defense budget and 3.5 million military personnel were
more than enough muscle to deal with the Korean Crisis. Truman altered the American
policy of passive containment of communism to one of aggressive containment.
The United Nations had been formed just after World War II. Korea became one of its
first major tests. The Security Council of the United Nations asked for all membernations to force an end to the Korean Crisis. Several days later, President Truman sent,
by Executive Order of the President, air and naval support to South Korean military
forces without the need for approval by Congress. General Douglas MacArthur, a World
War II hero, was dispatched from Japan to Korea with ground forces. MacArthur and the
United States military were technically part of a United Nations force to settle the
Korean War. However, MacArthur made it clear he only took orders from the president
of the United States, not from the United Nations Security Council.
On September 15, 1950, three months after the initial North Korean assault, MacArthur
surprised the North Korean forces around Pusan from behind. MacArthur attacked at
Inchon, South Korea, where his forces forced the North’s troops to retreat across the
38th Parallel (see image #2 below). Truman’s intention in Korea was to return the
peninsula to its “former borders.” Truman and the United Nations authorized an attack
on North Korea. Truman supported MacArthur’s position that a northward military
thrust was reasonable to prevent another North Korean invasion. However, the
president made it clear that this action would not work if any of China’s or the USSR’s
forces became involved. The Yalu River was a problem in this conflict. The Chinese
warned that this border between North Korea and China would be defended. Chinese
forces would not stand down if “hostile forces” threatened their border. MacArthur
ignored the Chinese warnings because of his disdain and contempt of the communists.
MacArthur thought any possible Chinese actions would be minimal. MacArthur was
wrong. Chinese ‘volunteers’ flushed North Korea of United Nations and American troops
and resulted in a stalemate (see image #3 below). Along the cold, icy land near the 38th
Parallel, northern and southern forces eyed each other. In retaliation to the Chinese
actions against his forces, MacArthur advocated bombing Chinese military bases near
Manchuria and blockading the Chinese coastline.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff and Washington policymakers encouraged caution in this
volatile situation. With the strength of both China and the Soviet Union supporting
North Korea, impetuous actions could result in World War III. The Joint Chiefs stated
that any further battles in Asia would be “the wrong war, at the wrong time and with
the wrong enemy.” Europe was the first priority for the United States in its containment
of communism. The USSR had to be dealt with before China. MacArthur hated the idea
of a so-called “limited war.” He said, “There was no substitute for victory.” On April 11,
1951, President Truman fired General MacArthur for his sustained verbal and public
assaults on the president’s policies in Asia. This was a very controversial event in U.S.
history. Many Americans strongly criticized Truman for firing MacArthur.
Finally, by July 1951, truce negotiations were initiated. Conflicts over prisoner exchanges
bogged down the peace talks. Fighting continued for two more years. The cost and
changes in American leadership ended the Korean War on July 27, 1953 (see image #4
below). Dwight Eisenhower became President of the United States, and the Soviet
leader, Joseph Stalin had died in March 1953.
There were 54,229 American killed in the Korean War, and 103,248 more were
wounded in action. The South Koreans lost 227,800 in the war, and 717,100 South
Koreans were wounded in action. North Korea suffered 215,000 dead, and 303,000
wounded. Because of propaganda figures the Chinese released, the United States
estimates that 400,000 Chinese died in the war, and 486,000 were wounded, although
this number is still unknown due to Chinese reluctance to declassify files.
The Korean War in Four Phases
Phase 1: North Korea invades
Phase 2: MacArthur pushes back
Phase 3: China crosses the Yalu River
Phase 3: Stalemate at the 38th
Questions
1. Do you believe the ability for the President to get involved in combat without the
approval of Congress is a good or bad thing for the nation? Do you believe the President
should have this ability?
2. Describe why China became involved in the Korean War. Do you believe their
reasoning was justifiable?
3. Describe the fallout between President Truman and General MacArthur.