Download US History Chapter 12 The Korean War 1950-1953

Background…
• Korea had been a unified
country since the 7th
century.
• During the 19th century,
Imperial Japan began an
occupation of the Korean
Peninsula which lasted
until the end of WW II.
• At the close of World War
II, forces of both the
Soviet Union and the
United States occupied
the Korean peninsula at
the 38th Parallel.
Korea - 1945
• The Soviets imposed a
communist government
on North Korea, resulting
in the formation of the
Democratic People's
Republic of Korea in 1948,
• The U.S. imposed a
nationalist/capitalist
democracy on South
Korea, resulting in the
formation of the Republic
of Korea in 1948.
Post-War Plans…
• Initially, it was the intention
of both sides to establish a
stable and unified Korea in
order to withdraw their
military forces from the
area.
• However, neither the Soviet
Union or the U.S. wanted
the peninsula to fall into the
other's hand.
• The division of Korea that
ensued set the stage for a
civil war.
Prelude to War
• North Korean General
Secretary Kim Il-Sung
was intent on reuniting
the peninsula under
communism.
– An offensive against the
South was planned
• On January 30, 1950,
Stalin, via telegram,
informed Kim Il Sung that
he was willing to help
Kim in his plan to unify
Korea.
Stage 1: North Korea attacks
• 1st Phase of Conflict
– June 25, 1950
• North Korea launches a
surprise attack against
South Korea triggering the
Korean War.
• By the night of June 28,
Seoul (capital of South
Korea) had fallen and the
South Korean forces were
in disarray.
United Nations Involvement
• The United Nations Security
Council called for an immediate
end to hostilities.
• When its further demand that North
Korea withdraw forces from the
southern half of the Korean
peninsula fell on deaf ears, the UN
Security Council recommended
that members of the United
Nations join forces to repel the
attack.
•
The USSR was boycotting the UN over
the issue of China
• Twenty-one nations agreed to
contribute arms, money, medical
supplies, and/or troops to rid
South Korea of the Communist
aggressor.
United Nations Force
• 16 nations sent 520,000
troops
• Gen. Douglas MacArthur
was put in charge of the
U.N. Command, which
included combat and
medical units from 22
nations.
• The United States
provided 90% of the
ground forces (South
Korea provided most of
the remainder), 86% of the
naval power, and 93% of
the air power.
Stage 2: Americans pushed to
the Pusan Perimeter
• Unable to slow the enemy
advance, the Americans
and South Koreans
fought desperate
delaying operations,
buying time with blood as
more American units
were rushed to Korea.
• By the end of July 1950,
the North Koreans had
pushed the U.N. forces to
the southeast corner of
the peninsula, where they
dug in around the port of
Pusan.
Stage 3: Inchon
• MacArthur completely
changed the course of the
war overnight by ordering
an amphibious invasion at
the port of Inchon, near
Seoul.
• The Americans quickly
gained control of Inchon,
recaptured Seoul within
days, and cut the North
Korean supply lines.
• American and ROK forces
broke out of the Pusan
Perimeter and chased the
retreating enemy north.
Stage 4: Approaching the Yalu
• Despite warnings from the
Chinese that "American
intrusion into North Korea
would encounter Chinese
resistance," MacArthur's
forces continued to push
north.
• On October 25, 1950,
however, things turned
ominous. The Chinese
army, which had been
massing north of the Yalu
River after secretly slipping
into North Korea, struck
with considerable force.
Stage 5: An entirely new war
• Roughly 180,000 Chinese
troops shattered the right
flank of the US Eighth
Army in the west, while
120,000 others threatened
to destroy the X Corps
near the Chosin
Reservoir.
• On November 28, a
shaken MacArthur
informed the Joint Chiefs,
"We face an entirely new
war."
• UN forces pushed back to 38th
parallel
Stage 6: Stalemate
• Beginning January 15, Ridgway
led the U.N. in a slow advance
northward, in what his troops
began to call the "meatgrinder."
• Inflicting heavy casualties on
the Chinese and North Koreans,
the U.N. re-recaptured Seoul and
moved back to the 38th parallel.
• In the meantime, General
MacArthur had been steadily
pushing Washington to remove
the restrictions on his forces.
MacArthur wanted to attack
China with atomic bombs
• Not only did Truman decline for
fear of widening the war, but he
fired MacArthur, who had been
publicly challenging him for
months, for insubordination on
Stage 6: Stalemate
• MacArthur
continues to urge
for a full scale war
against China
• Began to publicly
criticize President
Truman
Stage 6: Stalemate
• What did Truman
do and how did the
American people
react?
• Truman fired MacArthur;
at first most Americans
supported MacArthur, but
eventually understood
Truman’s position
Ceasefire Agreement
• Soviet Union suggests a cease-fire in the summer of
1951 and peace talks began
• The Korean War end, when an armistice (ceasefire)
was signed on July 27, 1953.
• The armistice was only ever intended as a temporary
measure and provided for:
– A suspension of open hostilities
– A fixed demarcation line with a four kilometer (2.4 mile) buffer zone the so-called demilitarization zone 38th Parallel
• Results of conflict= Korea a stalemate, the US did not
repel the North Koreans and contain communism, but
Korea still divided
Heroic Americans in Korea
• The Medal of Honor is the
highest award for valor in
action against an enemy force
which can be bestowed upon
an individual serving in the
Armed Services of the United
States.
• There were a total of 131
Medal of Honor recipients
from the Korean War.
• Here are a few of their
stories…
Col. William E. Barber
• Earned the Medal of
Honor during the bitter
Chosin Reservoir
campaign.
• Fighting in sub-zero
temperatures against
overwhelming odds, he
was wounded on the first
night of the action, but
refused evacuation and
remained in action in
command of his
company.
Private Herbert K. Pililaau
• Pililaau, earned the Medal of Honor
on "Heartbreak Ridge" near Pia-ri,
Korea, on Sept. 17, 1951.
• The company's ammunition nearly
exhausted, Pililaau stayed behind to
cover the withdrawal.
• He fired his automatic weapon into
the ranks of the assailants, threw all
his grenades and, with ammunition
exhausted, closed in hand-to-hand
combat with his trench knife and
fists until falling mortally wounded.
• PFC Pililaau is credited with killing
40 enemy soldiers.
Cpl. Hiroshi H. Miyamura
• Awarded the Medal of
Honor for action that took
place on 24 April 1951, at
which time he was
wounded and taken
prisoner by the Communist
Chinese Forces, being
released some 27 months
later.
story continued…
• As the enemy force overran the Americans' position,
Corporal Miyamura, a machine-gun squad leader, leaped
from his shelter and, in close hand-to-hand combat, killed 10
of the enemy with his bayonet.
• After the first attack, while Miyamura administered first aid to
the wounded and ordered the evacuation of his men, the
enemy dealt another savage blow.
• Miyamura delivered devastating fire with his machine gun
until he ran out of ammunition.
• He then bayoneted his way to a second gun emplacement
and covered the withdrawal of his unit with machine gun fire
until his ammunition was depleted.
• Miyamura killed more than 50 of the enemy before he was
severely wounded and later captured.
Battle of Chosin Reservoir
• The U.S. Marines consider the
Battle of the Chosin Reservoir to
be one of the proudest parts of
their own history.
• The Marines mauled the Chinese
divisions they faced so badly
that the Chinese had to be
withdrawn from the front; the
Marines then marched out in an
orderly fashion and intact .
• The “Frozen Chosin” or the
“Chosin Few”
Korean War
Casualties
400000
350000
300000
250000
200000
Wounded
Killed
150000
100000
50000
0
USA
North South China
Korea Korea
Korean War Memorial
• The Korean War Veterans Memorial
was authorized by the U.S.
Congress on October 28, 1986.
•
President George H. W. Bush
conducted the groundbreaking for
the Memorial on June 14, 1992, Flag
Day.
• It was dedicated on July 27, 1995,
the 42nd anniversary of the
armistice that ended the war, by
President Bill Clinton and Kim
Young Sam, President of the
Republic of Korea, to the men and
women who served during the
conflict.