Korean War (thing)

• Parties involved
  Initially, North and South Korea fought; several UN members (most notably the U.S.) entered as allies of South Korea; China did so later on, allied with North Korea. The North Korean army used Soviet-supplied weapons and training.
• Underlying Causes
  • Korea had been under Japanese control since the late 19th century. During World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union undermined Japan’s empire and divided Korea into two "temporary" nations, with U.S. troops stationed below the 38th parallel and Soviet troops above it.
  • It became clear that there would be no reunification, so in 1949, the U.S. and USSR withdrew most of their troops from the peninsula.
  • The United States may have given the impression that South Korea was vulnerable by omitting it from their Asian defense perimeter.
• Igniting Spark
  North Korean forces crossed the 38th parallel boundary between North and South Korea and swept down the peninsula, through the ill-trained and equipped South Korean Forces. The U.S. assumed that China and Russia had organized the invasion, and so intervened immediately, under auspices of the U.N. (In reality, it was discovered - when previously classified documents were released in the early '90s, after the USSR's breakup - that North Korea had acted alone, China's eventual assistance was to only to protect its own border, and the Soviet Union provided supplies and technology only with much prodding.)
• Location
  The entire war took place on the Korean peninsula. The North Korean Army advanced southwards, deep into South Korean territory, until repulsed by a southern army reinforced by the U.N. (mostly the U.S.). This army then swept northward until repulsed by a northern army newly reinforced by China. The rest of the fighting was close to the starting point, the 38th parallel.
• Weaponry
  • The Korean war was the first in which jet aircraft fought each other. The area between North Korean capital Pyongyang and the Yalu river was known as MIG alley for the frequent dogfights there between American-built F-86 Sabers and Soviet-built MIG-15s.
  • The war was also the first in which helicopters played a major role (at least for the U.S. and its allies), ferrying soldiers to battle and carrying away injured troops and downed pilots.
  • Artillery and tanks of the WWII type were used by both sides. North Koreans used Soviet holdovers from World War II; the southern allies and China had their own technology.
  • Massive bombing campaigns were carried out.
  • America denied using chemical warfare; small creatures were killed along with the bombed troops, however.
  • Truman hinted at use of the atomic bomb (but didn’t actually use it).
• Scale
  • The war began as a local conflict between North Korea, with about 135,000 soldiers, and South Korea, with about 95,000.
  • Many UN members joined South Korea immediately, and total allied forces at their peak stood at almost 1,100,000 (590,000 were South Korean and 480,000 American).
  • Later, China joined the North Koreans, eventually bringing the Communist army to 1,400,000 (260,000 were North Korean, 780,000 Chinese).
  • Though it spent over $67 billion in Korea, the United States never declared war; to do so would have meant getting U.S. intervention approved by congress, and president Truman thought that congress might not support it. The entire conflict was technically a police action.
  • The Korean War was the first major battle in an ongoing cold war between the U.S. and USSR The two countries never fought each other directly, for fear of nuclear Armageddon, but they did engage in a series of indirect skirmishes.
• Public Reaction
  • The Korean War deepened existing fear of communism in the United States. In 1950, Senator Joseph McCarthy claimed that he had a list of respected Americans who were closet communists. It was in due course discovered that there was no list, and McCarthy’s career was destroyed. That the imaginary list was able to garner so much attention in the first place, destroying the careers of countless writers, politicians, and others, illustrates the magnitude of anti-Communist fear.
  • The war’s popularity decreased once fighting became confined to battle-line skirmishes and victory seemed elusive.
  • MacArthur was a popular general, and his removal from command was widely criticized.
• Turning Point
  • On April 11th, 1951, President Truman and the Joint Chiefs of Staff removed General Douglas MacArthur from his command of the allied armies, replacing him with Matthew Ridgway. MacArthur was unwilling to fight a limited war of the type Truman wanted; he had undermined peace negotiations and proposed a war with China, which Truman feared might lead to an deadly, atomic Third World War.
  • In his retirement speech, MacArthur stressed the need to continue fighting until all of Korea was won. General Omar Bradley gave a counter-speech proposing that the war be ended with now, with the U.S. and Allies ahead. The UN agreed with Bradley and commenced peace talks.
• Casualties
  • The United States suffered 162,167 casualties. 54,246 soldiers were killed, 103,284 were wounded, and 5,178 were prisoners or missing in action.
  • South Korea suffered 400,167 casualties. 58,127 soldiers died, 175,743 were wounded, and 166,297 were prisoners or missing in action.
  • North Korea suffered about 624,000 casualties. About 522,000 were dead or wounded, and 102,000 taken prisoner.
  • China suffered about 967,000 casualties. About 945,000 were dead or injured, and 22,000 taken prisoner.
  • U.S. allies (not including S. Korea) suffered 17,260 casualties; 3,194 deaths, 11,297 injuries, and 2,769 soldiers taken prisoner or missing in action.
  • About a million South Korean civilians were killed and several million made homeless.
  • In all, the Korean war killed over 2.5 million.
• Ending
  • In June, 1951, following Douglas MacArthur’s forced resignation, the Soviet delegate to the UN proposed a cease-fire.
  • A treaty that made the existing battle line - which stretched diagonally near the 38th Parallel - the final divider between North and South Korea was soon proposed, and a truce seemed close at hand.
  • The truce talks stagnated by early 1952, however. A total prisoner exchange had been proposed, but many UN prisoners did not want to return to their communist nations. For North Vietnam and China to accept an exchange in which each prisoner would decide their own fate would mean admitting communism’s failure to secure the prisoners’ loyalty. Skirmishes continued along the battle line.
  • On March 5th, 1953, Soviet premier Josef Stalin died, and the communists soon accepted an earlier peace offer involving voluntary prisoner exchange. The last remaining snag had been cleared.
  • On July 23rd, 1953, an armistice was signed. North and South Korea agreed:
    • Not to increase their respective militaries
    • To allow a 2.5 mile demilitarized zone between the two countries
    • That all prisoners be voluntarily repatriated; this would be supervised by a neutral committee
• Outcome
  • The Korean war had accomplished almost nothing. The new boundary was very close to the one that had existed before, though after years of fighting it made a bit more geographic sense. In addition, the demilitarized zone insured that small sparks couldn’t ignite another war.
  • No peace treaty was signed between North and South Korea. In 1991, the two countries agreed to work towards that goal.
• Effect on International Affairs
  • The cold war deepened.
  • The U.S. had assumed that the invasion of South Korea was a communist conspiracy, a diversion to draw attention and troops away from Europe. America more than tripled the number of troops stationed in Europe from 81,000 to 260,800, and made plans to rearm West Germany.
  • Truman ordered troops into Vietnam for the first time.
  • The U.S. alliance with Japan strengthened as the Japanese economy boomed.
  • Australia and New Zealand joined the U.S. in a mutual defense agreement.
  • The U.S. expanded its defense perimeter with treaties and offensive allies.
  • No president until George Bush would ask congress to declare war, as is specified in the constitution. The failures of Nixon and Johnson to ask permission for the Vietnam War were large contributors to public resentment of that war.

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