History of USA Korean War (1950-1953) Brief Overview Timeline People Events & Qs
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Brief Overview
World War II divided Korea into a Communist, northern half and an American-occupied southern half, divided at the 38th parallel. The Korean War (1950-1953) began when the North Korean Communist army crossed the 38th Parallel and invaded non-Communist South Korea. As Kim Il-sung's North Korean army, armed with Soviet tanks, quickly overran South Korea, the United States came to South Korea's aid. General Douglas MacArthur, who had been overseeing the post-WWII occupation of Japan, commanded the US forces which now began to hold off the North Koreans at Pusan, at the southernmost tip of Korea. Although Korea was not strategically essential to the United States, the political environment at this stage of the Cold War was such that policymakers did not want to appear "soft on Communism." Nominally, the US intervened as part of a "police action" run by a UN (United Nations) international peace- keeping force; in actuality, the UN was simply being manipulated by US and NATO anti-Communist interests.
With the US, UN, and South Korean (ROK) forces pinned against the sea at Pusan, MacArthur orchestrated a daring amphibious assault on Inchon, a port on the western coast of Korea. Having made this landing, MacArthur crushed the North Korean army in a pincer movement and recaptured Seoul, the capital of South Korea. Instead of being satisfied with his rapid reconquest of South Korea, MacArthur crossed the 38TH Parallel and pursued the North Korean army all the way to the northernmost provinces of North Korea. Afraid that the US was interested in taking North Korea as a base for operations against Manchuria, the People's Republic of China secretly sent an army across the Yalu River. This Chinese army attacked the US/UN/ROK forces. Only after the appointment of Lt. General Matthew Ridgway as commander of ground forces did American morale improve and the initiative begin to swing against the Chinese Communists.
Although President Truman hoped to end the war quickly and pressed MacArthur to be more tactful, the brilliant strategist went against presidential orders and continued spouting incendiary lines about his hopes to reunify Korea. After gaining the support of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), Truman relieved MacArthur of command. The move was extremely unpopular in America; MacArthur was perceived as a popular war hero. Only the support of the JCS saved Truman from impeachment after the firing.
Ridgway took MacArthur's command and held off the Communists with strong fortifications and entrenchments just north of the 38TH Parallel, sending occasional offensives against the Iron Triangle, the Communists staging area for attacks into South Korea. Peace negotiations dragged on at Kaesong, then moved and continued to drag at Panmunjom through 1951 and 1952. The US tried using strategic bombing to intimidate the Communists into negotiating a peace treaty, but they wouldn't budge, particularly on the issue of POW (Prisoner of War) repatriation. Neither side wanted to appear weak, and so the talks went on, occasionally breaking down for months. Only after Eisenhower, who was a war hero and was unafraid of Republican criticism (since he himself was a Republican), became President, could the US make substantial concessions to the Communists. In 1953 a peace treaty was signed at Panmunjom that ended the Korean War, returning Korea to a divided status essentially the same as before the war. Neither the war nor its outcome did much to lessen the era's Cold War tension.
Timeline
1894-1895: Sino-Japanese War
February 1904: Russo-Japanese War begins
September 1905: Treaty of Portsmouth (ends Russo-Japanese War)
1905: Japan makes Korea a protectorate
1910: Japan makes Korea a formal colony.
1917: Russian Revolution. Japanese take some of Russia's Eastern Siberian territory.
1931-1932: Mostly of their own volition, Japan's Kwantung Army occupies Chinese Manchuria and sets up a puppet state of "Manchuko". America wants to return Manchuria to the Chinese; this is one reason behind Pacific fighting in World War II.
1937: Japan declares war on China.
February 1945: Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin meet at Yalta.
July 1945: Roosevelt dies, succeeded by Truman, who represents the US at Potsdam. Truman "gets tough" on communism; Stalin grabs territory.
August 10, 1945: After atomic bombs are dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Japanese offer surrender in World War II. Russian troops enter Korea.
August 28, 1945: After reaching the 38th Parallel of Korea, Russian troops stop.
October 20, 1945: Syngman Rhee makes first public appearance in South Korea after years of exile.
Summer 1947: Marshall Plan announced.
September 1947: Congress/JCS (Joint Chiefs of Staff) want to get out of Korea.
September 1947: Cominform (Communist Information Bureau) founded in Soviet Union.
November 14, 1947: UN passes American resolution calling for free elections in Korea.
May 10, 1948: Korean Election Day.
June 24, 1948: Berlin Blockade
September 9, 1948: In North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (PRK) proclaimed.
January 12, 1949: Dean Acheson speech to National Press Club Says South Korea not a vital part of US defense perimeter in Asia.
January 19, 1949: Korean Aid Bill fails to pass the House of Representatives.
April 4, 1949: NATO Pact signed
September 1949: "Joe One"; Soviets test their first A-bomb--the arms race begins.
October 2, 1949: Mao Zedong proclaims PRC (People's Republic of China).
January 14, 1950: Ho Chi Minh proclaims DRV (Democratic Republic of Vietnam).
April 25, 1950: Truman approves NSC-68
May 30, 1950: In South Korea, Republic Of Korea elections. Many conservatives ousted by moderates.
June 25, 1950: North Korea crosses the 38th Parallel, invading South Korea.
June 25, 1950: First Blair House meeting.
June 26, 1950: North Korea's tanks reach the outskirts of Seoul.
June 27, 1950: Truman commits US Naval and Air support to South Korea.
June 27, 1950: American Delegate asks UN to furnish assistance to ROK (Republic of Korea) to restore international peace.
June 29, 1950: General MacArthur flies to South Korean headquarters at Suwon.
June 30, 1950: Truman and advisers agree to give MacArthur 2 divisions.
July 2, 1950: NKPA (North Korean People's Army) takes Suwon.
July 22, 1950: Communist Chinese attack Nationalist Chinese islands, Quemoy and Little Quemoy.
July 29, 1950: MacArthur visits Formosa, home of the Nationalist Chinese defeated by Mao.
August 17, 1950: US announces in UN its goal of a unified, anti-Communist Korea.
August 27, 1950: US planes accidentally attack Manchurian airfields.
September 11, 1950: Truman approves NSC-81/1.
September 15, 1950: With US/UN/ROK forces pushed back nearly to the end of the Korean peninsula, MacArthur launches the Inchon Invasion.
September 27, 1950: Walker's Eighth Army makes contact with X Corps. MacArthur gives OK for US forces to cross the 38th Parallel.
September 29, 1950: Syngman Rhee's government ceremonially restored in reconquered Seoul.
October 9, 1950: US Army crosses 38TH Parallel near Kaesong.
October 15, 1950: Wake Island Meeting
October 19, 1950: US forces occupy Pyongyang
October 24, 1950: MacArthur orders his troops into Korea's northernmost provinces.
October 25, 1950: South Korean ROK forces annihilated by PRC (People's Republic of China) forces at Pukchin.
November 1, 1950: First US vs. Communist Chinese fighting at Unsan
November 3, 1950: UN resolution passed, censuring North Korea for "breach of peace"
November 7, 1950: Congressional Elections in US, seen as a referendum on Truman's policy.
November 27, 1950: US Marines/Infantry surrounded by Chinese Communist forces at Chosin Reservoir.
November 30, 1950: In press conference, Truman admits US may be considering using A-Bomb.
December 15, 1950: Truman declares a state of national emergency.
January 4, 1951: Ridgway evacuates Seoul, withdraws from Inchon
January 25, 1951: Operation Thunderbolt. US/UN/ROK forces go back on the offensive.
February 1, 1951: UN censures People's Republic of China for "aggression"
February 1951: Operation Killer begun.
March 7, 1951: Ridgway launches Operation Ripper.
March 15, 1951: US/UN/ROK forces retake Seoul.
March 24, 1951: MacArthur unilaterally issues an ultimatum to the People's Republic of China.
April 4, 1951: Congress endorses NATO, sends Eisenhower to head unified NATO command.
April 5, 1951: Operation Rugged.
April 5, 1951: Truman dismisses MacArthur from command.
May 3, 1951 to June 25, 1951: Senate Foreign Relations Committee investigates MacArthur's dismissal.
April 14, 1951: Gen. James Van Fleet assumes tactical command of Eighth Army.
April 22, 1951: All-out Communist offensive fails to retake Seoul.
May 15, 1951: Another Communist offensive, again fails to take territory.
May 18, 1951: Ridgway launches counteroffensive.
May 18, 1951: UN nations start military goods boycott of the People Republic of China.
May 30, 1951: Operation Piledriver, an offensive against the Iron Triangle, begins.
June 30, 1951: Ridgway broadcasts first American overture for peace talks.
July 8, 1951: Peace talks begin at Kaesong.
August 19, 1951: Communists accuse UN forces of violating the Kaesong area, suspend the talks.
October 25, 1951: Peace talks resume at Panmunjom.
March 29, 1952: Truman announces he will not run for reelection.
April 11, 1952: Truman relieves Eisenhower of command so he can run for President.
June 1952: Washington authorizes bombing Korean power plants on the Yalu river.
July 11, 1952: US air attack on Pyongyang.
August 5, 1952: Rhee wins another clearly rigged election.
November 4, 1952: Eisenhower wins Presidential election in landslide.
November 29, 1952: Eisenhower secretly goes to Korea on fact-finding mission
February 11, 1953: Eisenhower replaces the frustrated Van Fleet with Lt. Gen. Maxwell Taylor.
April 16, 1953: Communists attack "Pork Chop Hill"
April 26, 1953: Talks resume at Panmunjom.
June 8, 1953: "Terms of Reference," regulating POW repatriation, signed.
July 19, 1953: Delegates reach agreement at Panmunjom.
July 27, 1953: Peace Treaty signed at Panmunjom. 38th parallel reset as boundary between communist North and anti-communist South. Cold War tensions continue unabated. Gen. Mark W. Clark says he has "the unenviable distinction of being the first US Army commander to sign an armistice without victory."
Key People
Dean Acheson
Truman's secretary of state. Acheson came under attack during McCarthyism.
Mark W. Clark
Allied commander in North Africa and Italy during World War II . General Clark was commander of UN forces in Korea from 1952 to 1953.
John Foster Dulles
Eisenhower's secretary of state. He was hawkish and highly anti-Communist.
James Van Fleet
Army commander who, during World War II, led the D-Day invasion of Utah Beach. In Korea, he served as Ridgway's field commander, controlling the Eighth Army.
Kim Il-sung
The Communist leader of North Korea. Kim developed a massive personality cult around himself, and ruled until his death in 1994.
Douglas C. MacArthur
General who commanded the Allies in the Southwest Pacific during World War II, he oversaw the post-war occupation of Japan, and commanded the UN forces during the first phases of the Korean War. It was MacArthur who engineered the amphibious assault on Inchon. Becoming increasingly egotistical as he got older, MacArthur began countermanding Truman's orders in Korea. With the backing of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Truman relieved MacArthur of his command on April 11, 1951.
John Muccio
US ambassador to South Korea.
Syngman Rhee
"Democratically elected" leader of South Korea. Actually something of a dictator, Syngman Rhee was a committed nationalist obsessed with the idea of ruling a unified, independent Korea.
Matthew Ridgway
Commander of the Eighth Army under MacArthur, Ridgway rallied the US/UN/ROK forces and pushed the Communists back. Ridgway became Allied Commander of the Far East after MacArthur's dismissal.
Dean Rusk
John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson's secretary of state. After World War II, it was Rusk, a former Rhodes scholar, who chose the 38th Parallel as the dividing line between North and South Korea.
Peng Teh-haui
Commander of the Chinese Communist "volunteers" in Korea.
Maxwell Taylor
US General who pioneered airborne warfare during World War II. He was commander of the UN forces and the Eighth Army in Korea during the last phases of the Korean War (1953).
Walton Walker
Lieutenant General who had served under Patton in World War II, Walker was commander of all UN ground forces under MacArthur. In December 1950, Walker was killed in a car accident, and Ridgway took his place.
Terms
Blair House
Normally the Vice President's residence, Truman lived in Blair House because the White House was being renovated. It was in Blair House that Truman and his key advisors met to discuss the Korean War.
Demilitarized Zone
A buffer zone between North and South Korea created under the terms of the armistice signed on July 27, 1953 which ended the war. Though the zone was supposed to be free of both troops and weapons, in practice it is heavily militarized, with over 1 million North and South Korean troops facing off.
Formosa
Today called Taiwan, Formosa was the seat of Chiang Kai- Shek's Chinese nationalist government-in-exile after it was defeated by Mao's Communist forces.
Inchon
A port on the West Coast of Korea. On September 15, 1950, MacArthur made a surprise amphibious landing here which allowed his X Corps to retake Seoul and the rest of South Korea.
Iron Triangle
Area in North Korea bounded by Pyonggang (not Pyongyang), Chorwon, and Kumhwa. The Iron Triangle was the Communists staging area for attacks into South Korea.
Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS)
High-ranking American military council, comprised of the chairman, the vice chairman, the chief of staff of the army, the chief of naval operations, the chief of staff of the air force, and the commandant of the Marine Corps.
Kwantung Army
Japanese Army that occupied Manchuria before and during World War II.
Manchuria
A valuable industrial and agricultural center, Manchuria lies to the north of Korea, and has variously belonged to Imperial China, Imperial Russia, the Soviet Union, Japan, and the People's Republic of China.
NSC-81/1
National Security Council document that gave a rationale by which the UN Commander (i.e. MacArthur) would cross the 38TH Parallel and invade North Korea. NSC-81/1 stated that, if possible, the US should try and bring about complete unification of an anti-Communist Korean state. The document has been criticized for espousing faulty logic.
North Korean People's Army (NKPA)
The official army of North Korea.
Open Door
An 1899-1900 foreign policy of the US in reference to China, under which all countries would have equal trade privileges in China.
Panmunjom
The location of the second half of the peace-treaty negotiations during the Korean War. Near the 38th Parallel.
People's Republic of China (PRC)
Communist China.
PRK
Democratic People's Republic of Korea. (North Korea)
Pusan
Located on the southeast tip of the Korean peninsula, it is one of Korea's greatest ports. After the initial North Korean invasion in 1950, ROK forces were pushed back to Pusan.
Pyongyang
The North Korean capital.
Quemoy
An island belonging to the Chinese Nationalists under Chiang Kai- Shek.
ROK
Republic of Korea. (South Korea)
Seoul
South Korean capital.
Suwon
Location where the ROK Army established a temporary command during the early stages of North Korea's invasion.
United Nations (UN)
An international peace-keeping organization established after World War II.
X Corps
MacArthur's Marines, responsible for the Inchon invasion.
Yalu
A river dividing North Korea from Manchuria.
Events
Boxer Rebellion
A 1900 movement in China to expel foreigners. The name "Boxer" was the nickname given to the secret Chinese organization "the Harmonious and Righteous Fists."
Russo-Japanese War
1904-1905 conflict between Imperial Russia and Japan primarily over Manchuria. The Japanese routed and embarrassed the Russians and defeated their fleet. At the Battle of Mukden, which the Japanese won, more soldiers (624,000) were involved than in any battle before or since. The Treaty of Portsmouth, mediated by US President Teddy Roosevelt, ended the war, and gave Japan a protectorate in nominally-independent Korea.
Sino-Japanese War
1895 war in which the Japanese soundly defeated China, and began looking to expand into China's traditional sphere of influence.
Wake Island
Island in the middle of the Pacific where MacArthur and Truman met on October 15, 1950. Truman wanted to remind MacArthur of the importance of keeping the Korean conflict limited, and of the importance of ending the war as soon as possible. MacArthur thought Truman wanted to appear in pictures with him for political reasons, so he wore old clothes, didn't put on a tie, and refused to salute his President lest a photographer take a picture. The Wake Island meeting increased MacArthur's hatred for Truman. The meeting also suggested to the Chinese that the Americans were preparing a major operation, and perhaps attempting to reopen the Chinese Civil War. The meeting may have therefore inadvertently helped lead to Chinese involvement in the war.
Study Questions
Who won the Korean War?
No conclusive winner emerged. Instead, Korea returned to the "status quo ante bellum" (the way things were before the war) and North and South Korea remained divided. The US did succeed in checking Communist expansion; however, it did so at great cost in money and lives. In the larger Cold War context, the Korean War did little to improve the situation, though it also didn't lead to disintegration of relations that it could have.
Why did North Korea cross the 38th Parallel and invade South Korea?
The North Koreans were interested in attempting to reunify Korea under Communist rule, and Stalin most likely gave his approval for the invasion, perhaps as a test of how the US would react (or, as some have hypothesized, a test run for Berlin?). Regardless, the North Koreans were armed with Soviet T-34 tanks. Also, US speeches and policy at the time suggested to the North Koreans and the rest of the Communist world that Korea was not vital to American security and interests.
How did American politics effect the war?
Truman, a Democrat, was afraid of appearing "soft on Communism", lest his Republican opponents attack him. McCarthyism in particular, a rampant paranoid anti-communism sweeping the US, created a particularly hysterical anti-Communist environment. Wihtin this context, though General MacArthur (not to be confused with Senator Joseph McCarthy, who was unrelated) often acted insubordinately, Truman could not take action against him because the general was so popular with the Republicans. In fact, only the combined support of the Joint Chiefs of Staff saved Truman from impeachment after he fired MacArthur. Truman could not negotiate easily with the Communists either, for fear of Republican criticism. Only Eisenhower, a Republican President, was able to make concessions to Chinese and Panmunjom, managing to get a weak treaty signed without criticism.
Why did the US intervene in Korea when it did not intervene in China?
Having just seen China fall, US policymakers had a heightened sensitivity to Communist threats, and considered the North Korean invasion to be a possible test-run for an invasion in Eastern Europe. According to the logic of NSC- 68, a communist attack anywhere should be viewed as an attack everywhere. Under that logic, Korea became "as good a place to draw the line as anywhere."
Describe the role of the UN in the Korean War.
The UN was basically a policy instrument of the US during the Korean War. Especially with the USSR boycotting most UN proceedings, the US used its powerful influence to shape UN policy to meet its own individual needs. The UN International Peace-Keeping Force, made up mostly of American troops (and a few NATO troops), was really just a sham engineered to give the appearance that support for South Korea was more than just a unilateral American action.
Was the Korean War an international war or a Civil War?
Certainly many nations were involved in the Korean War, and in that sense it was a very international war. However, one should remember that Korea had been divided arbitrarily by the US and the USSR after World War II. The 38th Parallel was a made-up boundary with no historical precedent or resonance, and so, in a sense, the North Korean attack might be considered part of an internal, civil war to unify a single country that shared the same culture and language and had historically been unified. It was because of this somewhat ambiguous nature of the Korean War that the UN classified the attack by North Korea as a "breach of peace" rather than a far worse act of "aggression".
Why did the negotiations to end the Korean War go on for so long.
The negotiations at Kaesong and then Panmunjom dragged on for so long (about 2 years) primarily because neither side was willing to make concessions for fear of appearing weak. Specific issues included the fate of Formosa (Taiwan), the dividing line between North and South Korea, and the question of what to do with POWs (Prisoners of War).
Why did the PRC (People's Republic of China) cross the Yalu and start a counteroffensive against the US/UN/ROK forces?
As MacArthur's forces pressed North across the 38th Parallel, the Chinese Communists feared an invasion of Manchuria. Furthermore, MacArthur's meeting with Truman at Wake Island suggested to PRC leaders that a major US offensive was in the works, perhaps a plot to restart the Chinese civil war.
What was the result of Truman's firing MacArthur.
General Ridgway replaced MacArthur as Commander of the Far East. Ridgway held a more conservative stance, followed orders from Washington readily, and did not seek to expand the war as haphazardly as MacArthur did. However, Truman's dismissal of MacArthur upset many MacArthur-loving Republicans in Congress, who threatened to impeach Truman. Fortunately for him, Truman had the unanimous opinion of the JCS behind him, so he wasn't impeached. In the long run, Truman's reliance on the Joint Chiefs of Staff increased the group's power in military decisions over the future Presidents.
Was strategic bombing effective during the Korean War?
For the most part it was not. North Korea was simply not industrialized enough for strategic bombing to have a devastating impact. The infrastructure (especially bridges and roads) that strategic bombing did manage to destroy were usually quickly rebuilt by North Korean laborers. In negotiations as well, strategic bombing, even that aimed against dams and power plants in northernmost Korea, failed to win concessions, and may actually have hardened the resolve of the Communists.
