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| Military history of North Korea Military history of South Korea Military history of Australia Military history of Canada Military history of China Military history of the United Kingdom Military history of the United States | ||||||||||||||||
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| Conflict | Korean War | |||||||||||||||
| Date | 1950–1953 | |||||||||||||||
| Place | Korean peninsula | |||||||||||||||
| Result | Continued Partition of Korea | |||||||||||||||
| Battles of the Korean War | ||||||||||||||||
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The Korean War, from June 25June 25 is the 176th day of the year (177th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 189 days remaining. Events 1788 Virginia ratifies the United States Constitution and is admitted as the 10th state of the United States. 1876 Battle of the Little B, 1950Events January January 5 US Senator Estes Kefauver introduces a resolution calling for examination of organized crime in the USA January 6 The United Kingdom recognizes the People's Republic of China. The Republic of China severs diplomatic relations with to July 27July 27 is the 208th day (209th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 157 days remaining. Events 1214 Battle of Bouvines: In France, Philip II of France defeats John of England. 1663 The British Parliament passes the second Navigation, 19531953 is a common year starting on Thursday (click on link for the calendar). Events January events January 7 President Harry S. Truman announces the United States has developed a hydrogen bomb. January 13 Marshal Josip Broz Tito chosen President of Yugosl, was a conflict between communist North Korea and anti-communist South Korea. It was also a proxy war between the United States and the Soviet Union. The principal combatants were North and South Korea. Principal allies of South Korea included the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, although many other nations sent troops under the aegis of the United Nations. Allies of North Korea included the People's Republic of China, which supplied military forces, and the Soviet Union, which supplied combat advisors and aircraft pilots, as well as arms, for the Chinese and North Korean troops. In the United States, the conflict was termed a police action under the aegis of the United Nations rather than a war, largely in order to remove the necessity of a Congressional declaration of war.
Korea was a Japanese colony from 1910 until the end of World War II in 1945. After liberation from Japanese rule, the peninsula was divided into North and South by the Soviet Union and the United States, and was occupied by them. The leading powers of the Cold War, the U.S. and the Soviet Union, divided Korea, which is of one nation, into two parts and established two governments, each one favorable to one of the two great powers. The Allies agreed that Japanese forces north of 38° north latitude (the 38th parallel) would surrender to the Soviet Union and those south of 38° would surrender to the USA. The Allies pledged that Korea would be a unified, independent country under an elected government but failed to specify the details.
The United Nations held an election in 1948, but the Soviet Union refused to allow participation in their occupied zone. Instead, they handed over power to the North Korean Communist Party under Kim Il-Sung, who had been in exile in Moscow. The south elected the nationalist exile Syngman Rhee.
The origins of the Korean War have long been a matter of debate. At the time, the American government believed in a unified communist bloc, with North Korea acting as only a pawn of the Soviet Union. In the 1960s and 1970s the view that the war was just as much caused by western and South Korean provocation became popular. Today, with the opening of Soviet archives, the war is most often blamed on Kim Il-sung who convinced a reluctant Joseph Stalin into supporting the venture.
On January 12, 1950 United States Secretary of State Dean Acheson told the National Press Club that America's Pacific defence perimeter was made up of the Aleutians, Ryukyu, Japan, and the Philippines implying that the U.S. would not fight over Korea, and that the country was outside of American concern in the Pacific. This omission, which was not deliberate, encouraged the North and the Soviets.
Both South Korean leader Syngman Rhee and Kim Il-Sung were intent on reuniting the peninsula under their own system. Because of Soviet support the North Koreans were the ones able to go on the offensive, while South Korea with only limited American backing had far fewer options.
The People's Republic of China was wary of a war in Korea. Mao Zedong was concerned that it would encourage American intervention in Asia and would destabilize the region and interfere with plans to destroy the Kuomintang forces under Chiang Kai-Shek which had retreated to Taiwan. He was not consulted on the decision for war. However, he supported the North Koreans once the war began.
See also: Division of Korea
On June 25, 1950 North Korean forces moved south in force. Using Soviet equipment and with huge reserves of manpower their surprise attack was a crushing success. Within days South Korean forces were in full retreat. Seoul was captured by the North Koreans in early July. Eventually the South Korean forces, and the small number of Americans in Korea, were driven into a small area in the far South around the city of Pusan. With the aid of American supplies and air support the ROK forces managed to stabilize this frontier. This became a desperate holding action called the Pusan Perimeter . Although more UN support arrived the situation was perilous, and it looked as though the North could gain control of the entire peninsula.
Three U.S. generals of the war Courtney Whitney, Douglas MacArthur, and Edward Almond. The invasion of South Korea came as a complete surprise to the United States and the other western powers; Dean Acheson of the State Department had told Congress on June 20 that no war was likely. However, a CIA report in early March had predicted a June invasion.
On hearing of the invasion, Truman agreed with his advisors to use U.S. airstrikes, unilaterally, against the North Korean forces. He also ordered Seventh Fleet to protect Taiwan, thereby ending the policy of the United States of acquiesing to the defeat of the forces of Chiang Kai-Shek. The United States still had substantial forces in Japan that allowed for a quick intervention. The actions were put under the command of General Douglas MacArthur, who was in charge of American forces in the Pacific. The other western powers quickly agreed with the American actions and volunteered their support for the effort.
The Americans organized Task Force Smith, and on July 5 engaged in the first North Korean-U.S. clash of the war.
American action was taken for a number of reasons. Truman was under severe domestic pressure for being too soft on communism. Especially vocal were those who accused the Democrats of having " lost China." The intervention was also an important implementation of the new Truman Doctrine, which advocated the opposition of communism everywhere it tried to expand.
The western powers gained a United Nations mandate for action because the Soviets were boycotting the Security Council over the admission of Mongolia while the ( Nationalist controlled) Republic of China held the Chinese seat. Without the Soviet veto and with only Yugoslavia abstaining, the UN voted to aid South Korea. U.S. forces were eventually joined during the conflict by troops from fifteen other UN members: Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, France, South Africa, Turkey, Thailand, Greece, the Netherlands, Ethiopia, Colombia, the Philippines, Belgium, and Luxembourg. (Truman would later take harsh criticism for not obtaining a declaration of war from Congress before sending troops to Korea. Thus, "Truman's War" was said by some to have violated the spirit, if not the letter, of the United States Constitution.)
U.S. forces were suffering from problems caused by demobilization which had been going on since 1945. Excluding the Marines, the infantry divisions sent to Korea were at 40% of paper strength, and the majority of their equipment was found to be useless. Other powers were even further demobilized, and apart from Commonwealth units (see: 1st Commonwealth Division) it was many months before sizeable forces arrived from other coalition partners.
The Chinese Nationalists, now confined to Taiwan, asked to participate in the war, but their request was denied by the Americans who felt they would only encourage Communist Chinese intervention.
Main Article: Battle of Inchon
In order to alleviate pressure on the Pusan Perimeter, MacArthur, as UN commander in chief for Korea, ordered an amphibious invasion far behind the North Korean troops at Inchon. This was an extremely risky operation, but once the American and other UN troops gained a foothold on the beach, it was extremely successful. United Nations troops landed at Inchon, faced only mild resistance and quickly moved to recapture Seoul. The North Koreans, finding their supply lines cut, began a rapid retreat northwards and the ROK and UN forces that had been confined in the south moved north and joined those that had landed at Inchon.
The United Nations troops drove the North Koreans back past the 38th parallel. The goal of saving South Korea had been achieved, but because of the success and the prospect of uniting all of Korea under the rule of Syngman Rhee the Americans were convinced to continue into North Korea. This greatly concerned the Chinese, who worried that the UN forces might not stop at the end of North Korea. Many in the west, including General MacArthur, also thought spreading the war to China was a good idea. Truman and the other leaders disagreed, however, and MacArthur was ordered to be very cautious when approaching the Chinese border. However, MacArthur disregarded these concerns.
The Communist Chinese had issued warnings that they would react if the UN forces encroached on the frontier at the Yalu River. Mao sought Soviet aid and saw intervention as essentially defensive. "If we allow the U.S. to occupy all of Korea... we must be prepared for the US to declare... war with China", he told Stalin. Zhou Enlai was sent to Moscow to add force to Mao's cabled arguments. Mao delayed his forces while waiting for Russian help, and the planned attack was thus postponed from 13 October to 19 October. Soviet assistance was limited to providing air support no nearer than sixty miles (96 km) to the battlefront. The MiG-15s in PRC colours were an unpleasant surprise to the UN pilots; they held local air superiority against the F-80 Shooting Stars until the newer F-86 Sabres were deployed. The Soviet role was known to the U.S. but they kept quiet to avoid any international and potential nuclear incidents.
A Chinese assault beginning on October 19, 1950, under the command of General Peng Dehuai with 380,000 CPV troops (officially named Chinese People's Volunteers, indeed they were People's Liberation Army regulars) repelled the United Nation troops back to the 38th parallel, the pre-conflict border. The Chinese assault caught U.S. troops by surprise, as war between PRC and the United States had not been declared. The battle of Chosin Reservoir in winter forced the UN troops to withdraw from North Korea. The United States X Corp retreat was the longest retreat of a U.S. unit in history. The Marines, on the eastern side of the peninsula, fared better, mainly due to better training and discipline.
On January 4, 1951, Communist Chinese and North Korean forces captured Seoul. The situation was such that MacArthur mentioned that atomic weapons might be used, much to the alarm of America's allies.
MacArthur was removed from command by President Harry S. Truman in 1951. The reasons for this are many, and well documented. They include MacArthur meeting with ROC President Chiang Kai-shek in the role of a U.S. diplomat. MacArthur also was wrong at Guam when President Truman asked him specifically about Chinese troop buildup near the Korean border. Furthermore, MacArthur openly demanded nuclear attack on China. He was also rude and flippant when speaking to Truman. MacArthur was succeeded by General Matthew Ridgway.
thumb Panmunjeom, Border between South and North Korea at the DMZ The rest of the war involved little territory change and lengthy peace negotiations (which started in Kaesong on July 10 of the same year). A cease-fire established a demilitarized zone (DMZ) around the 38th parallel, which is still defended today by North Korean troops on one side and South Korean and American troops on the other. No peace treaty has yet been signed to date. Newly-elected U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower on November 29, 1952 fulfilled a campaign promise by traveling to Korea to find out what could be done to end the conflict.
The Korean War was the first armed confrontation of the Cold War, and it set a model for many later conflicts. It created the idea of a limited war , where the two superpowers would fight without descending to an all out war that could involve nuclear weapons. It also expanded the Cold War, which to that point had mostly been concerned with Europe.
600,000 Koreans died in the conflict according to US estimates. The actual number, including all civilians and military solders from UN Nations and China amount to the order of 2,000,000 deaths. More than a million South Koreans were killed, 85% of them civilians. According to figures published in the Soviet Union, 11.1 % of the total population of North Korea perished, which indicates that 1,130,000 people were killed. In sum, about 2,500,000 people were killed, including north and south together. More than 80% of the industrial and public facilities and transportation works, three-quarters of the government offices, and one-half of the houses were destroyed. Pyongyang (the capital of North Korea) was bombarded with more than one thousand bombs per square kilometre. When the armistice was settled, there were only two buildings left in the city where 400,000 people had lived. The air photograph that was taken in 1953 shows that the condition of Pyongyang was like that of Hiroshima in Japan, bombed with a nuclear bomb. The misery and the damage meted out to it were palpable.
The war left the peninsula permanently divided with a garrisoned pro-Soviet Communist state in North Korea and a pro-American capitalist one in the South. American troops remain on the border today, as do a large number of Koreans. It is the most heavily defended border in the world.
The first American war dead were brought home aboard the USS Randall, shown here departing Yokohama on March 11, 1951. U.S. troops suffered about 44,000 fatalities, slightly less than to the Vietnam War, but in a much shorter time. For service during the Korean War, the United States military was issued the Korean Service Medal.
Later neglect of remembrance of this war, in favor of the Vietnam War, World War I and II, has caused the Korean War to be called the Forgotten War or the Unknown War. On July 27, 1995 in Washington, DC, a museum called the Korean War Veterans Memorial was built and dedicated to veterans of the war.
The war was instrumental in re-energizing the U.S. military-industrial complex from its post-war slump. The defense budget was boosted to $50 billion, the Army was doubled in size, as was the number of Air Groups, and they were deployed beyond American soil in Europe, the Middle East and elsewhere in Asia, including Vietnam, where covert aid to the French was made overt. The Cold War became a much stronger state of mind for American policy makers.
The war also changed America's view of the Third World, most notably in Indochina. Before 1950 the Americans had been very critical of the French actions there; after Korea they began to heavily support the French.
The United States still maintains a heavy military presence in Korea, as part of the effort to uphold the armistice between South and North Korea. A special service decoration, known as the Korea Defense Service Medal is authorized for U.S. service members who serve a tour of duty in Korea.
Western sources claimed that around a million Chinese were killed in the Korean War. And Chinese official numbers are: Over 115,000 KIA, over 25,000 died of wounds and accidents, over 221,000 wounded, and over 29,000 MIA and POW. The war also led to other long lasting effects. Until the North Korean invasion of the South, the United States had largely abandoned the government of Chiang Kai-Shek, which had retreated to Taiwan, and had no plans to intervene against the expected invasion of Taiwan by the Communist Party of China. The start of the Korean War rendered untenable any policy that would have caused Taiwan to fall under Communist control and Truman's decision to send American forces into the Taiwan straits saved the Republic of China from defeat and ended any immediate hopes for the PRC of conquering that island. The anti-communist atmosphere in the West in response to the Korean War contributed to the unwillingness to diplomatically recognize the PRC by the West and by the United Nations until the 1970s.
The war also was used as an excuse for PRC authorities to crack down on dissent and impose stronger censorship. It also contributed to the decline of Sino-Soviet relations. Although the Chinese had their own reasons to enter the war (security of Manchuria), the view that the Soviets had used them as proxies was widely shared in the Western bloc. The Soviets had given them out-of-date and often shoddy equipment and had forced the Chinese to pay for it. However, the fact that Chinese forces held their own against American forces in this war heralded that China was once again becoming a major world power. The war is also generally seen as an honour in the PLA's history by many Chinese.
Artist Pablo Picasso's painting Massacre in Korea (1951) depicted violence against civilians during the Korean War. By some account, civilian killings committed by U.S. forces in Shinchun, Hwanghae Province was the motive of the painting. In South Korea, the painting was deemed anti-American, a longtime taboo in the South, that it was prohibited for public display until the 1990s.
In the United States far and away the most famous artistic depiction of the war is M*A*S*H, originally a novel by Richard Hooker (pseudonym for H. Richard Hornberger) that was later turned into a successful movie and television series. All three versions depict the misadventures of the staff of a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital as they struggle to keep their sanity through the war's absurdities through ribald humour and hijinks when not treating wounded.
Although M*A*S*H gave a fairly accurate depiction of the Korean War, there were a few flaws in the TV series. For instance, there were far more Korean doctors in the M*A*S*H units than shown in the series. In the series, nearly all the doctors were American. The first few episodes featured an African-American doctor, Spearchucker Jones . This character was removed upon the revelation that there were no African-American doctors serving in Korea. Furthermore, the television series lasted for eleven years, while the actual war lasted only three; among other things, the characters aged far more visibly over the course of the series than they might have done during the actual three-year conflict. (However, this could be construed as showing the effects of the horrors of war and front-line surgery on those forced to participate). Additionally, the series was filmed in California, which has a very different physical environment than the Korean peninsula.
The Korean War was also the backdrop of the 1962 movie The Manchurian Candidate.
The name 'Korean War' is the American name for the war. In South Korea, the war is called the 'June 25th War'. In North Korea, the war is called the 'Fatherland Liberation War'. In China the war is called 抗美援朝, which roughly translates as "The Anti-American War In Support of North Korea".
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