Embedded Files
Entrance into the War
Korea was divided at the 38th parallel into a Communist-controlled northern half and an American-controlled southern half during World War II. When the North Korean Communist army crossed the 38th Parallel and attacked non-Communist South Korea, the Korean War began. The United States rushed to South Korea's help as Kim Il-Sung's Korean army, armed with Soviet tanks, soon overran the country. General Douglas MacArthur, who had been in charge of the post-World War II occupation of Japan, commanded the US forces that were now defending Pusan, on Korea's southernmost tip, against the North Koreans.
Despite the fact that Korea was not militarily important to the US, the political climate at the time of the Cold War meant that politicians did not want to appear "soft on Communism." The US acted seemingly as part of a "police action" led by a UN international peacekeeping mission; in reality, the UN was being controlled by anti-Communist US and NATO interests.
Map of Korea's Division after World War II - 1946
Landings into Pusan and Inchon
MacArthur staged a daring naval attack on Inchon, a port on Korea's western coast, with US, UN, and South Korean forces pushed against the sea at Pusan. After landing, MacArthur used a pincer attack to destroy the North Korean army and retake Seoul, South Korea's capital.
Rather from being content with his quick reconquest of South Korea, MacArthur crossed the 38th Parallel and followed the North Korean army all the way to North Korea's northernmost provinces. Fearing that the United States might use North Korea as a base for operations against Manchuria, the People's Republic of China deployed an army over the Yalu River in secret.
Despite the fact that President Truman wanted to finish the war soon and encouraged MacArthur to be more diplomatic, the great strategist defied orders and continued to spout incendiary phrases about his plans to reunify Korea.
Truman relieved MacArthur of command after getting the support of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In America, the action was immensely unpopular; MacArthur was seen as a popular war hero. Only the JCS's support kept Truman from being impeached after the firing.
Final Korean Divide
Ridgway took over MacArthur's command and used strong defenses and entrenchments immediately north of the 38th Parallel to hold off the Communists, occasionally attacking the Iron Triangle, the Communists' staging ground for operations into South Korea. Peace talks went on at Kaesong, then relocated to Panmunjom, where they dragged on through 1951 and 1952.
The US attempted to coerce the Communists into negotiating a peace settlement by utilizing strategic bombing, but they refused to budge, notably on the question of Prisoner of War repatriation. Because neither party wanted to seem weak, the conversations continued, sometimes for months at a time.
Only when Eisenhower became President, a military hero who was fearless of Republican criticism, was the US able to make significant concessions to the Communists.
In 1953, a peace deal was signed at Panmunjom, thereby ending the Korean War and returning Korea to its pre-war split state. Neither the war nor its outcome did anything to alleviate Cold War tensions at the time.
North Korean troops enter Seoul in 1950
Created by the Mkk
Created September 21th, 2021
Google Sites
Report abuse