Roots
Before conflict in Korea began, the Japanese had occupied Korea starting in 1910. At the end of the World War II, focus was shifted from Europe to Asia. The Allies asked the Soviet Union for help in ousting the Japanese from Manchuria and Korea, who was an enemy to the Allies. Both sides prepared to send troops into Korea to defeat Japan. It was decided that the Soviet Union would be in charge of defeating the Japanese in northern Korea and the U.S. would have responsibility over southern Korea. This division was drawn at the 38th parallel. The Japanese had surrendered to the Soviet Union and the U.S., but now Korea was left occupied by two separate military armies with no experience in self government. It was decided that they would stay in Korea and help until a new government was formed. After the new government was established and Korea was united, they would leave the country. However the Soviet Union refused to give up control of their occupied zone. They did not allow the free elections to take place in northern Korea, which were arranged so that the Koreans could establish their own government. The Soviet Union closed the borders off so that the UN could not enter and hold elections in northern Korea. A national assembly was elected in South Korea, headed by President Syngman Rhee, a staunch anti-communist. The new nation was called the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea. Following these elections, the U.S. withdrew from Korea but some U.S. military stayed to assist the young country. The Soviet Union started a separate communist government in North Korea, called the Democratic People's Republic of Korea whose leader was Kim Il Sung. Most Soviet troops left Korea as well, while some stayed to fortify the North Korean army. The creation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea greatly worried President Truman and his advisers. They feared Soviet-influenced communism was beginning to disseminate. There was a sudden scramble to stop the spread of communism and a plan for reuniting North and South Korea was formulated. The president's Truman Doctrine gave money and military aid to the fight against the spread of communism. With modern military weapons, the South Koreans would possibly be able to retake North Korea, but the U.S. did not want to provoke the Soviet Union into another world war. The Soviet Union also did not want to get involved in a war with the U.S. Fear of nuclear warfare was imminent and neither wanted to provoke the other. North Korean Invasion North Korea was eager to gain control of the south. They and the Soviet Union calculated that the South Korean army was weak compared to the North Korean army. The U.S.'s lack of participation to stop the communist victory in China also led North Korea and the Soviet Union to believe that the U.S. would be unwilling to fight in Korea if North Korea invaded the south. North Korea became more aggressive and militarily capable, backed by the Soviet Union and China, who had formed the Sino-Soviet Treaty. On June 24, 1950 with the permission of the Soviets, N. Korea invaded the South. The S. Korean army and U.S. army, who were not expecting an invasion because they did not think Korea had the gall to provoke war with the U.S., had been caught off guard. The North Koreans quickly took the capital, Seoul, on June 28. In response, the UN Security Council agreed that all UN members at the time assist S. Korea. A military force named the UN forces was formed and General MacArthur was named Supreme Commander of these forces. The North Korean army was well-trained with veterans who had fought in the Chinese Civil War. They also knew the land better than the UN forces. Their strategy was to use close-range surprise attacks which the U.S. and UN forces were unaccustomed to. It also made it difficult for UN planes to drop bombs in the area for fear of hitting one of their own. For these reasons, N. Korea had the upper hand and continued pushing southward. Soon they had backed the UN and U.S. forces into a corner, or a city by the name of Pusan. UN Counter-Offensive The UN forces formed a defensive ring around the city of Pusan, also known as the Pusan Perimeter. MacArthur and his men needed to buy time. They were planning a large counter-offensive to get themselves back on their feet. They could not allow the N. Koreans to take the last bit of land they had left. The plan was to strike at Incheon, dubbed Operation CHROMITE. This was one of the strongest counter-offensives of the war. Incheon was a port city, about ten miles in from the sea surrounded by mud flats and varying tides. It was difficult to get to and the last place they would suspect an attack. The UN forces were split into two armies: the 8th army and the X forces. |
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On the morning of September 15, 1950, the X forces sailed into the port during high tide. They attacked with full power, both above and below. They retook Incheon in one day and continued marching forward onto Seoul. By September 29, Seoul was restored to President Rhee. At the same time, the 8th army defeated the N. Koreans at the Pusan Perimeter. The N. Koreans were surrounded from behind and in front and were forced to retreat.
This was an amazing feat for the UN forces, who had come so close to losing the war. General MacArthur and Rhee wanted to keep pushing onward and topple the N. Korean government and unite Korea. However, the UN forces would only cross the 38th parallel if there was no evidence that China or the Soviet Union would get involved in the war. CIA intelligence showed that they were reluctant to get involved. The UN forces moved forward with their plan to destroy the communist regime. Chinese Intervention Multiple times MacArthur had suggested that Kim surrender, but he refused. First they took the capital of Pyongyang on October 19, forcing the N. Korean government to set up headquarters at Sinuiju on the Yalu river which separates Chinese Manchuria from Korea. They continued onward to the Chongchon River and Wonsan. The UN army must have gotten too close for comfort for the Chinese as they sped toward the Yalu river, because the Chinese did attack. They began secretly amassing a large amount of Chinese troops, or the Chinese People's Volunteers, near the Yalu river, moving under the cover of night as to not be detected. Not even UN air forces were able to see these large movements of Chinese troops towards the border. The succeeding N. Korean and Chinese attacks proved to be overwhelming for the UN forces, whose supply lines were stretched thin. The X and 8th armies began retreating faster than they had invaded, and crossed back over the 38th parallel once again. North Korea then retook Seoul. Stalemate and Armistice By January 1951, the UN forces were able to halt the advancing North Koreans. They returned to an offensive stance and launched Operation KILLER and Operation RIPPER, which aimed to push the North Koreans back over the 38th parallel and to keep them from getting stronger. They were able to push them back over, but not many large gains were made by either side after that. The war had become a stalemate, with both sides neither gaining nor losing much territory. What followed was known as the Peace Talks. Discussions for the arrangement of a cease-fire lasted two years. Meanwhile men continued battling to not lose territory. This enraged many and caused impatience. The first peace talk occurred July 10, 1951. Tensions ran high between both sides and agreements were hard to attain. At one point the truce talks had to be suspended, because battles on the field grew too intense. By October the meetings were resumed, and everyone was eager and hopeful to get the troops home. On November 27, the negotiators arranged a "Little Armistice" which was a cease-fire for 30 days. During this time, they would negotiate the POW issues among other issues. However, the negotiations were not very effective and they were unable to reach a solid agreement and the fighting resumed December 27. The four goals of the armistice were split into four Articles. Article I would determine the armistice line, or the demarcation line, and the demilitarized zone. Article II dealt with the supervision of the armistice to make sure each side was fulfilling the terms. Article III covered the POW exchanges and Article IV established a political meeting over Korea after all the military issues were dealt with. Around early 1952, progress began being made over the conditions of the armistice and soon the urgency for peace grew larger with the creation of hydrogen bombs. Finally, a truce agreement was signed July 27, 1953, over two years after the peace talks first started. Aftermath The UN and U.S. had failed to unite Korea under a non-communist government, which was the original goal for fighting the war. Korea remained split between two different governments. It can be said that Korea was in the same situation it was in before the war started. This left many questioning if they had truly gained anything from the violence and money spent. However, it was proved that China was a powerful country that could stand up to another superpower, the U.S. It also showed that the UN was capable of working cooperatively with other countries to reach certain goals. The war shifted alliances between nations too. The Soviet Union abandoned its alliances with some of its WWII allies while the U.S. became friendlier with its WWII enemy, Japan. |