A History of the Korean War
On August 10, 1945, the United States and the Soviet Union agreed to divide Korea along its 38th parallel line. The Soviet Union would administer the northern part and the U.S. would administer the South Korea. The U.S. ran elections in the country and a communist named Syngman Rhee took power in the South while Kin II Sung took power in the north. Due to Soviet influence, the north had more military power in tanks and weapons and went on the attack against South Korea to unify the country. In 1949, American and Soviet forces withdrew from the area. On June 25, 1950, North Korea crossed the 38th parallel line and invaded South Korea. However, both sides claimed the other had started the war. In the first days of battle, the South was outnumbered and had far less military help. The assault on South Korea caught the southern Koreans by surprise as they were unprepared for battle. During the time of the attack, about 2/3 of the army was off duty and there was no military available to stop the North Korean assault. Backed by a fierce ground attack that included a full range of tanks and a mass bombing with bomber planes over South Korea, the North kept marching into the southern part of the country.
On June 28, the airport at Seol was captured by the North. However, the North’s main goal was a surprise attack that would lead to a full scale surrender of the South and a disintegration of the army. While they did catch the South unprepared for combat, the North was not able to accomplish a quick military victory that they had hoped for to avoid U.S. involvement and backing from the United States military. The U.S. was also quite shocked about the invasion and U.S. President Truman believed that communism would spread and it would be the beggining of World War Three. An invasion was ordered on North Korea. At the time, the U.S. still had at least half of their military in Japan so President Truman ordered U.S. general MCarthur to pull troops out of Japan and bring them into Korea to protect American citizens and investments.
By August however, the war was not going very well for the South and American troops. North Korea proved to be a formidable enemy as they kept driving American and South Korean forces backward. Truman and American generals were forced to order a mass air strike, something that Truman was reluctant to do. American and South Korean forces made a critical stand at the city of Pusan. Along the Nakdong River, they were able to hold the battlefield line and prevent the North Korean army from advancing. This became known as the Pusan Perimeter and was a crucial turning point in the war. Back at come, Senator Joseph MCarthy stirred fear of a Red Scare in which communism would take over the U.S. and that there were spies in the government. The Truman doctrine of containment also played an important role as Truman wanted to prevent the further spread of communism. These reasons all lead to American involvement in the war.
The U.S. army suffered defeats in the battles at Osan, and Taejon. By September, the American coalition and South Korean forces only controlled about 10% of the peninsula and the situation looked bleak. In the Battle of Incheon, U.S. General MCarthur led American and United Nations forces in a critical military win over the North Koreans by flanking them in which parts of the army were dispersed to attack the enemy on all sides. They were able to recapture the city of Seoul. Finally United Nation troops were able to drive the North Korean forces back to the 38th parallel line. At the time China had stated that they would protect North Korea if American troops and U.N. troops crossed the border. President Truman feared a military conflict with China but General McCarthur kept moving the troops. China made a surprise attack even though they never officially declared war. Afterwards, Chinese troops withdrew to the mountains and U.N. troops continued to pursue them, leading to another combat defeat. China had begun its attack once U.N. forces captured the city of Pyongyang.
In late November, after another combat defeat, U.S. troops finally withdrew, the largest withdrawal in American history. In December of 1950, another evacuation was taken place and Chinese forces captured Pyongyang once again. U.S. General MCarthur was replaced by Truman because McCarthur wanted a full scale military assault on China with nuclear weapons which would definitely lead to World War Three. The U.S. went on the offensive and won some key battles. The remainder of the war would continue to go back and forth, resulting in a stalemate.
On November 29, 1952, U.S. General Dwight Eisenhower agreed to a cease fire with North Korea. The United Nations also played a role in the peace process and used an agreement made by India for a cease fire. Peace agreements started on July 10 and a cease fire was reached on July 27, 1953. The 38th parallel was established as the border line that could not be crossed. This set up a demilitarized zone.
However, in the end, no peace treaty was ever signed. The war was unique in that a declaration of war was never signed by U.S. Congress or President and no formal peace agreement was ever officially signed. There was not an enormous amount of American soldiers lost in combat. North Korea was used as an example of limited warfare in which both superpowers the USSR and the U.S. backed two sides in an armed conflict against each other. Although the U.S. reached a ceasefire, the goal of Koreans for a united country was never achieved.
