The Korean War

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The Korean War
1950-1953
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Background

• Korea had been a unified country since the 7th
  century.
• During the 19th century, Imperial Japan began an
  occupation of the Korean Peninsula which lasted
  until the end of WW II.
• At the close of World War II, forces of both the
  Soviet Union and the United States occupied the
  Korean peninsula.

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Korea - 1945

• The Soviets imposed a communist government on
  North Korea, resulting in the formation of the
  Democratic People's Republic of Korea in 1948,
• The U.S. imposed a nationalist/capitalist
  democracy on South Korea, resulting in the
  formation of the Republic of Korea in 1948.

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Post-War Plans

• Initially, it was the intention of both sides to
  establish a stable and unified Korea in order to
  withdraw their military forces from the area.
• However, neither the Soviet Union or the U.S.
  wanted the peninsula to fall into the other's
  hand.
• The division of Korea that ensued set the stage
  for a civil war.

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Prelude to War

• North Korean General Secretary Kim Il-Sung was
  intent on reuniting the peninsula under
  communism.
• An offensive against the South was planned
• On January 30, 1950, Stalin, via telegram,
  informed Kim Il Sung that he was willing to help
  Kim in his plan to unify Korea.

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Stage 1 North Korea attacks

• 1st Phase of Conflict
• June 25, 1950
• North Korea launches a surprise attack against
  South Korea triggering the Korean War.
• By the night of June 28, Seoul (capital of South
  Korea) had fallen and the South Korean forces
  were in disarray.

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United Nations Involvement

• The United Nations Security Council called for an
  immediate end to hostilities.
• When its further demand that North Korea withdraw
  forces from the southern half of the Korean
  peninsula fell on deaf ears, the UN Security
  Council recommended that members of the United
  Nations join forces to repel the attack.
• Twenty-one nations agreed to contribute arms,
  money, medical supplies, and/or troops to rid
  South Korea of the Communist aggressor.

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United Nations Force

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

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Stage 2 Americans pushed to the Pusan Perimeter

• Unable to slow the enemy advance, the Americans
  and South Koreans fought desperate delaying
  operations, buying time with blood as more
  American units were rushed to Korea.
• By the end of July 1950, the North Koreans had
  pushed the U.N. forces to the southeast corner of
  the peninsula, where they dug in around the port
  of Pusan.

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Stage 3 Inchon

• MacArthur completely changed the course of the
  war overnight by ordering an amphibious invasion
  at the port of Inchon, near Seoul.
• The Americans quickly gained control of Inchon,
  recaptured Seoul within days, and cut the North
  Korean supply lines.
• American and ROK forces broke out of the Pusan
  Perimeter and chased the retreating enemy north.

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Stage 4 Approaching the Yalu

• Despite warnings from the Chinese that "American
  intrusion into North Korea would encounter
  Chinese resistance," MacArthur's forces continued
  to push north.
• On October 25, 1950, however, things turned
  ominous. The Chinese army, which had been massing
  north of the Yalu River after secretly slipping
  into North Korea, struck with considerable force.

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Stage 5 An entirely new war

• Roughly 180,000 Chinese troops shattered the
  right flank of the US Eighth Army in the west,
  while 120,000 others threatened to destroy the X
  Corps near the Chosin Reservoir.
• On November 28, a shaken MacArthur informed the
  Joint Chiefs, "We face an entirely new war."

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The Wars Movement
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The Shifting Map of Korea1950-1953
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Stage 6 Stalemate

• Beginning January 15, Ridgway led the U.N. in a
  slow advance northward, in what his troops began
  to call the "meatgrinder."
• Inflicting heavy casualties on the Chinese and
  North Koreans, the U.N. re-recaptured Seoul.
• In the meantime, General MacArthur had been
  steadily pushing Washington to remove the
  restrictions on his forces.
• Not only did Truman decline for fear of widening
  the war, but he fired MacArthur, who had been
  publicly challenging him for months, for
  insubordination on April 11.

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Ceasefire Agreement

• The Korean War end, when an armistice was signed
  on July 27, 1953.
• The armistice was only ever intended as a
  temporary measure and provided for
• A suspension of open hostilities
• A fixed demarcation line with a four kilometer
  (2.4 mile) buffer zone - the so-called
  demilitarization zone
• SEE next slide
• A mechanism for the transfer of prisoners of war.

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Korean War Casualties
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Korean DMZ De-Militarized Zone 38th Parallel
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Korean War Memorial

• The Korean War Veterans Memorial was authorized
  by the U.S. Congress on October 28, 1986.
• President George H. W. Bush conducted the
  groundbreaking for the Memorial on June 14, 1992,
  Flag Day.
• It was dedicated on July 27, 1995, the 42nd
  anniversary of the armistice that ended the war,
  by President Bill Clinton and Kim Young Sam,
  President of the Republic of Korea, to the men
  and women who served during the conflict.

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The End