WARM-UP (in notebook)

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WARM-UP (in notebook)

1. What is the Cold War? How did it start?
2. How did the Cold War affect the US? Examples?
3. What is MAD? What was the strategy for MAD?
4. How might the Cold War affect the Korean
   Peninsula in 1950?

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The Korean War
1950-1953
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1910 - 1945

• Korea used to have some of Asia's most prominent
  communist groups and activists
• These organizations worked underground to
  reestablish Korea's independence during Japan's
  occupation of the Korean Peninsula (1910-1945) 

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Occupation

• In 1945 Korea was occupied by Soviet forces in
  the north and American forces in the south.
• The line that was chosen to separate the two was
  the same one that Japan and Russia used in the
  early part of the 20th century.
• It was called the 38th parallel.

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BACKGROUND

• At the close of World War II (1945), The Soviet
  Union occupied Korea north of the 38th parallel
  and the United States occupied Korea south of the
  38th parallel
• The Soviets imposed a communist government
• Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK)
• Led by Kim Il Sung
• Pyongyang as capital
• The United States put in place a
  nationalist/capitalist democracy
• Republic of Korea (ROK)
• Led by Syngman Rhee
• Seoul as capital

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BACKGROUND

• Originally, the intention of the U.S. and Soviet
  Union was to establish a stable unified Korea and
  to withdraw their military forces, however Cold
  War tensions caused events to play out
  differently
• The U.S. reduced its troop levels in South Korea
  to 500 troops by June 1949
• The Soviet leader, Joseph Stalin, concluded that
  the U.S. would not be willing to fight to defend
  South Korea
• On January 30, 1950, Stalin via telegram
  notified Kim Il Sung that he was willing to help
  unify Korea as a communist state

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Kim II Sung

• 33-year-old, soviet army captain, Kim II Sung
  became known to be a heroic guerrilla commander.
• In early 1946, Soviet occupying forces chose him
  to head the provisional government for North
  Korea.
• 3 weeks after the Southern Republic of Korea was
  made, Sung was named premier of the Democratic
  Peoples Republic of Korea on September 9th 1948.

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Progression Economy

• Kim didn't want a Soviet satellite state and
  instead embraced Korean nationalism. The focus of
  which was the Korean Peoples Army. Under Kim's
  rule
• over 2 million acres of land were redistributed
  in under a month
• women were guaranteed equality under the law
• political action cells were formed to educate the
  population
• It was clear that under his rule, North Korea had
  become economically well-endowed in comparison to
  South Korea. In June of 1949 both the Soviets and
  Americans had left the peninsula, this is
  when Kim's plan to unite Korea became evident.

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On the Brink of War

• South Korea obviously appeared to be faltering,
  but President Syngman Rhee (South Korea)
  unleashed a brutal campaign against suspected
  communists and leftists.
• At first Kim wanted to use force, however he
  needed support and so he turned to Stalin for
  help. Stalin supported his invasion plan, and
  advised him to get support from Chinas new
  communist leader, Mao Zedong. He did and was now
  on the brink of war.

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Causes of the Korean War
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Leading Causes of the Korean War

• Reputation
• American Army had recently increased tensions as
  far as the arms race went and Truman wanted to
  display the power and wealth of America
  internationally.
• The USSR wanted better results and a chance to
  prove themselves after the Berlin Blockade. This
  was particularly important to Stalin.
• They felt that the Korean war was their way of
  proving their reputation.

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Leading Causes of the Korean War

• Support
• The USA wanted to support Syngman Rhee because he
  was a democrat surrounded by communism
• USA supported South Korea.
• The USSR wanted to support the communist nation,
  because of the same political ideals.
• USSR supported North Korea.
• They could not get involved in a war against
• communism without directly fighting the USSR.

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Leading Causes of the Korean War

• Cold War
• Stalin encouraged the spread of communism as long
  as it did not result in a war with America. He
  soon realized that nuclear war might be a
  possibility and wanted to avoid that and beat the
  USA using more indirect means.
• The Domino Effect - Truman believed that if Korea
  fell to communism, Japan (a major trading
  partner) would follow.
• The Truman Doctrine stated that the USA would
  lend aid to any country not wishing to be
  suppressed by the political ideals (communism) of
  any other country.
• April 1950 the American National Security Council
  issued a report recommending direct involvement
  (a proxy war) against communism.
• Stalin saw that the Korean War Was a chance for a
  war by proxy. Kim II Sung visited Stalin to
  persuade him that he could conquer South Korea.

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This map is from an American magazine from 1950.
This shows how much the US feared communism in
the far east.
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United States, United Nations, and the Soviet
Unions Response to the Korean War
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United Nations

• The United Nations now had to formulate a plan.
  Sixteen member states would provide troops under
  a United Nations Joint Command. It would fight
  with the South Korean army.
• On September 15th 1950, United Nations troops
  landed at Inchon. The landing was a huge success
  and the United Nations effectively cut the North
  Korean army in half and pushed them out of South
  Korea.

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U.N. Forces

• General Douglas MacArthur was placed in command
  of the U.N. forces, which included combat and
  medical units from 22 nations
• The United States provided 50 of the ground
  forces, 86 of the naval forces and 93 of the
  air power for the U.N. forces. (South Korea
  provided most of the remainder)

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Soviet Union

• Soviets sold Chinese military equipment,
  including artillery and MIG fighter planes.
• The USSR also provided advisers and military
  hardware to the North Koreans.
• Soviet pilots flew MIGs against US planes.
• However, Stalin was unwilling to become involved
  with the United States in a war over Korea.

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United States

• The US provided the majority of the UN military
  forces which drove the North Koreans out of South
  Korea and still stand guard along the border.
  The US moved their troops into South Korea
  quickly.
• The US and the Soviets agreed to divide Korea
  temporarily to avoid long term decisions
  regarding Korea's future.
• Although the United States took the lead in the
  Korean action, it did so under the order of the
  United Nations.

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North Korea Attacks

• On June 25, 1950, North Korea invaded South
  Korea marking the start of the Korean War
• By the evening of June 28, 1950, the South
  Korean capital of Seoul had fallen and ROK forces
  were in disarray
• South Korea appealed to the United Nations
  (U.N.) for help
• The U.N. Security Council called for an
  immediate end to hostilities and passed
  Resolution 82, authorizing force to be used in
  Korea
• 21 of the U.N. member states agreed to
  contribute arms, money and/or troops to rid South
  Korean of its North Korean aggressor

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PUSAN PERIMETER

• The initial U.N. forces were unable to slow the
  advance of the North Korean forces and fought
  desperate delaying operations until more U.N.
  troops could arrive in South Korea
• By the end of July 1950, the North Koreans had
  contained the U.N. forces in a perimeter around
  the Port of Pusan (in the southeast corner of the
  Korean peninsula)

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INCHON

• General MacArthur launched a offensive
  amphibious invasion at the Port of Inchon (near
  Seoul) changing the course of the war
• American forces quickly gained control of Inchon
  and recaptured Seoul within days, cutting the
  North Korean supply line
• American and ROK forces in Pusan broke out of
  the Pusan perimeter and pursued fleeing DPRK
  forces north

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Push to the Yalu River

• Capitalizing on Secretary of Defense George
  Marshalls directions which stated, We want you
  to feel unhampered tactically and strategically
  to proceed north of the 38th Parallel, General
  MacArthur pushed U.N. forces north towards the
  Yalu River
• Ignoring evidence that Chinese forces had moved
  across the Yalu River into North Korea, MacArthur
  assured U.S. troops that they would be home by
  Christmas
• MacArthur further risked his forces by splitting
  his troops, with the X Corps advancing along the
  eastern coast and the Eighth Army advancing along
  the western coast.

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China Enters the Korean War
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Chinese offensive

• U.S. forces unexpectedly ran into approximately
  180,000 Chinese troops. The right flank of the
  Eight Army (U.S.) was shattered and the X Corps
  (U.S.) fought a desperate struggle near the
  Chosin Reservoir
• U.N. troops were evacuated back to the Pusan
  perimeter and Seoul was captured by the Chinese
  forces
• On November28, 1951, a shaken MacArthur informed
  the Joint Chiefs of Staff that the U.N. forces
  faced an entirely new war

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Why did China enter the war?

• UN forces pushed north to China
• Crossed 38th parallel
• Yalu River and border with China
• Mao Zedong already made it clear that China would
  not tolerate foreign forces on border

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What happens next?

• October 14 to November 1, 1950
• Chinese send 180,000 of the Peoples Volunteer
  Army to cross Yalu River
• They pushed the American forces back
• November 2
• UN realizes that the attack was done by Communist
  China

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Home-by-Christmas offensive

• November 24 MacArthur launches offensive attack
• Chinese army retaliates with full force
• American and South Korean units retreat
• Ends January 1951

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Stalemate

• Beginning January 25, LTG General Matthew
  Ridgway (in command of the U.S. Eighth Army) led
  the U.N. forces in a slow advance northward.
  They inflicted heavy casualties on the Chinese
  and North Korean troops and recaptured Seoul
• Tensions increased between President Truman and
  General MacArthur during this period and on April
  10, 1951, Truman relieved MacArthur of command.
  He was replaced by General Ridgway
• The fighting largely fell into a stalemate along
  the 38th Parallel

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The Korean War Armistice
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Armistice

• An Armistice ending the war was signed on July
  27, 1953
• The Armistice provided for a suspension of open
  hostilities and a fixed demilitarized zone to
  serve as a buffer between North and South Korea
  that remains today
• In many ways the Korean War has never really
  ended

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The Korean War Armistice

• Designed to insure an end to warfare and all acts
  of armed force in Korea until a definitive
  peaceful could be achieved
• It was signed on July 27,1953
• Covered issues such as
• exchange of prisoners of war
• - location of a demarcation line
• Intended as a temporary measure, but the 38th
  parallel remains standing even today.

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casualties

• Approximately 5 million people killed during the
  war (1950-1953)
• More than 34,000 Americans killed in action
• More than 600,000 Chinese killed in action
• More than 20 billion spent by US

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• Enforced by a Military Armistice Commission
• Armies began the awkward process of disengagement
  over the 4km wide DMZ.
• It provided
• suspension of open hostilities
• fixed demarcation line with a four kilometre (2.4
  mile) buffer zone - the so-called
  demilitarization zone
• A mechanism for the transfer of prisoners of war

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Map of Korea
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• 1954 - an international conference in Geneva was
  organized by the United States
• - discussed the political future of Korea
• - no agreement was produced
• Armistice- only safeguard for peace on the Korean
  peninsula

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Winners? Losers?
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• After three years, July 27, 1953- ceasefire
  stopped the fighting
• Although there was no declared winner, South
  Korea never succumbed to a communist rule.
• The war cost the US more than 20 billion dollars.

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• There was an armistice signed by North Korea,
  China, and the UN but not by South Korea.
• The armistice was NOT a peace treaty, just a
  temporary cessation of hostilities.

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• Korea is still split up into North Korea
  (communist) and South Korea (non-communist)
• The border between the two countries has remained
  one of the most heavily-armed stretches of land
  on Earth

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Big Questions

• Did it improve American status overseas?
• Did it stop the Domino Effect from happening
  again?
• How did this war effect North and South Korean
  relations for the future?
• Will the 38th parallel ever be diminished?