2.+Events

North Korea's Surprise Attack
-In 1949, Congress dragged its feet in considering a $150 million dollar aid bill to South Korea -Syngman Rhee had so often talked about invading North Korea that US leaders feared giving him too much in the way of weapons
 * Therefore South Korea was sent only rifles, bazookas, and light artillery; tanks an airplanes were held back
 * By 1949, most of the US military had moved out
 * Korea was scheduled no to get American Aid for the following year, 1950

-On June 25, 1950, the North Korean army attacked South Korea, crossing the 38th Parallel -Truman and his advisers thought that it was a plot of Stalin -The North Koreans, hoping to take Seoul as quickly as possible routed all ROK forces except for one division
 * Immediately upon the invasion, these advisers discussed the prospect of sending General Douglas MacArthur, the US commander in the Far East, to lead a military response
 * The UN thus was particularly upset about the North Korean invasion, because it had overseen the elections held in 1948, and did not want to see a war undo that election
 * It soon condemned the North Korean's actions

Commitment of US Ground Troops
-In a Blair house meeting between Truman and his advisers, it was concluded that the US would have to "draw the line" somewhere, and that Korea seemed as good a place as any
 * Orders to evacuate American civilians from Korea, to provide military supplies to the embattled South Korean army, and to move the 7TH US Fleet into the Formosa strait were given
 * The latter's purpose was to block the People's Republic of China from invading Formosa while the US was distracted with Korea

-MacArthur's reports grew worse over the next few days, describing the North Korean rout of ROK forces -The ROK army fled south, to the tip of the peninsula, in the direction of the port city of Pusan -Fleeing across the Han River Bridge, the panicky South Koreans blew the bridge before all the fleeing South Korean soldiers could get across -On June 30, however, with the ROK army in a severe condition, Truman relented and gave MacArthur authorization to transfer 2 full divisions from Japan to Korea -By July 4, 1950, the scales had swung into the US' favour -On July 7, the UN asked the US to appoint a UN commander -Trapped, backed into a corner against the sea, the situation continued to look bleak for the US/UN/ROK forces in South Korea
 * On June 27, 1950 the US promised naval and air support to South Korea
 * This is because Truman further hoped to discourage the Soviets or the Chinese Communists from getting involved in the war by integrating US troops into a force from the UN, and claiming the whole operation to be UN sanctioned and led
 * Hundreds died, and men and equipment were stranded on the other side
 * For roughly two-and-a-half months, MacArthur simply tried to prevent the North Korean army from taking Pusan
 * Meanwhile, the US conducted a strategic bombing campaign and blockaded the coastline with warships
 * While Navy and Air power had little effect, MacArthur did manage to attain his main goal of holding Pusan
 * MacArthur was also able to transform his out-of- shape occupation force into an army.
 * Truman quickly made MacArthur Commander in Chief of the UN Command
 * UN ground troops, under Lt.- general Walton H. Walker, commander of the UN ground troops in Korea, spent the bulk of their time working hard to build the "Pusan Perimeter", a fortress- like series of entrenchments in southeastern Korea
 * But the these entrenchments offered little chance for US/UN/ROK counteroffensive, and instead implied that they were stuck



Inchon Invasion
-In September of 1950, with the North Koreans believing the US/UN/ROK forces trapped, MacArthur started to withdraw Marines from Pusan
 * He planned an amphibious assault on the Korean port of Inchon, halfway up the peninsula
 * MacArthur wanted to use Inchon as a base to attack Seoul, and from there cut off supplies to the North Korean People's Army (NKPA), which was then assaulting Pusan (this was actually a "pincer" move)

-MacArthur's troops, X Corps, was 70,000 men strong -The North Korean army destroyed, Syngman Rhee was finally restored to power on September 29th -Rather than stopping at the 38th Parallel, MacArthur, with American support, sent his forces north of the dividing line -On August 17, the US announced in the halls of the UN building its goal of unifying Korea -By late August, the US/UN/ROK forces were advancing further north in Korea, approaching the Chinese border -On October 9, MacArthur sent his forces across the 38th Parallel near Kaesong, wanting to capture Pyongyang, the North Korean capital -On October 15, Truman flew to Wake Island to meet with MacArthur
 * Tthe Marines took Wolmi, an island near Inchon, with minimal casualties
 * By nightfall on September 15, X Corps controlled Inchon
 * They made a dramatic push to Seoul, and by September 27, Walker's Eighth Army from Pusan met up with X Corps
 * Meanwhile, Zhou Enlai, the PRC Foreign Minister, warned that the PRC would defend North Korea and send troops across the Yalu if the US crossed the 38th Parallel
 * On July 17, the PRC attacked the Chinese nationalist held islands of Kinmen, which Americans viewed as a staging area for an invasion of Taiwan
 * The PRC forces were even more alarmed when they heard about the accidental bombing of a Manchurian airfield by the US/UN/ROK forces
 * At the Wake Island Meeting, Truman tried to emphasize the importance of handling the Korean situation carefully and diplomatically
 * MacArthur, on the other hand, predicted that neither the USSR nor the PRC would likely come to North Korea's aid
 * MacArthur, eventually, returned to Korea, and his forces occupied Pyongyang in a matter of days

Chinese Intervention
-MacArthur felt that the North Korean army had been essentially destroyed by the middle of October. He believed the Chinese will not dare to launch and attack and, against the recommendations of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he sent his forces into the northernmost parts of North Korea, and then...
 * His troops were hit by surprise and decimated when Chinese Communists troops began attacking his forces
 * On October 25, the PRC made an attack on ROK soldiers and routed them at Pukchin
 * On November 1, the Chinese defeated American troops at Unsan, in the first Chinese-American combat of the war
 * When MacArthur tried to order bombing raids against some bridges near the Manchurian border, Truman and the JCS delayed the bombings out of fear that errant bombs might land in Manchuria
 * On November 7, a US Congressional Election was held, which, although it preserved the Democratic Party majority, was viewed by many as a referendum criticizing Truman's Korean War policy

-At this point (November 1950), the Korean Conflict became "an entirely new war." The Eighth Army withdrew to fortified positions while MacArthur prepared a new offensive -The Chinese were ferocious fighters, and surrounded the X Corps at the Chosin Reservoir -In December and January of 1951, US/UN/ROK forces continued retreating -On December 23, 1950 General Walton H. Walker died in a car accident, giving Lt. General Matthew Ridgway command of US/UN/ROK ground forces in Korea -On January 4, 1951, Ridgway evacuated Seoul and Inchon, letting the cities to be captured by the communist forces. -In March, Operation Ripper succeeded in retaking Seoul from the PRC. -Ridgway's striking success upset MacArthur, who realized Ridgway's successes in Korea were undermining his justifications for attacking Chinese territory
 * He only managed to destroy a third of the bridges in the northernmost provinces
 * He rebuilt the confidence and morale of his men, by getting better food and warmer coats for them
 * Starting with operation Thunderbolt, Ridgway and his US/UN/ROK forces went on the offensive again, righting the war of attrition that had developed since the involvement of the Chinese
 * MacArthur badmouthed Ridgway's conservative strategy as one of stalemate, leading US troops to label Ridgway's strategy as "Die for Tie."



MacArthur's Dismissal
-In January of 1951, the PRC began making offers of peace
 * Truman rejected the PRC's proposal, and instead censured them for aggression

-On his own, MacArthur decided to go even further in antagonizing the Chinese: -Within a few months, MacArthur leaked news to a congressman that he planned to use Chinese Nationalist forces from Taiwan in the Korean War
 * In March, without consulting Washington, he decided to send an ultimatum to the PRC
 * MacArthur demanded that the Chinese withdraw their troops; if they didn't, he promised to force China to its knees
 * Truman was obviously incensed at MacArthur's rogue attempt to define and influence US policy; he decided MacArthur had to be fired. However he did not do it immediately, and the dismissal of MacArthur was delayed
 * Such an act, of course, would only serve to further enflame the PRC, and it again went against Truman's diplomatic policies
 * The JCS was increasingly afraid that MacArthur's tactless reaction to such an offensive might allow the situation to grow into a major conflict, perhaps a World War III
 * Making sure of support within the JCS (Joint Chiefs of Staff), which unanimously supported MacArthur's dismissal, Truman fired MacArthur on April 11, 1951.
 * Truman made every effort to dismiss MacArthur in a polite and political way
 * However, MacArthur was still recognized as a hero in most American's eyes
 * Ultimately, the committee found that MacArthur's dismissal was justified

Ridgway and the end of the "Accordion-War"
-On April 14, 1951, following MacArthur's dismissal, Matthew Ridgway assumed MacArthur's position and controlled America's war effort from Tokyo
 * General James Van Fleet moved into Ridgway's old role, getting command of the Eighth Army in Korea, which was now strongly entrenched about 20 miles north of the 38th Parallel
 * Ridgway had his sights set on the Iron Triangle, one of the North Korean's vital staging areas for attacks against South Korea

-On April 22, the Chinese People's Volunteers made a big push against the US/UN/ROK forces. Their aim was to recapture Seoul, but they didn't even come close -Ridgway, having seen his forces pushed back a miniscule amount by two major Chinese offensives, decided the time was ripe for a US counteroffensive -With basically a stalemate achieved, in which the Communists could not push against the US/UN/ROK line and the US would not allow attacks further north, Truman began to push for negotiation to end the war -The Kaesong talks began on July 8. Although the Communists suggested a cease-fire in the war while the talks went on, the US refused to accept the proposal. Thus, fighting continued as the negotiators haggled at Kaesong.
 * A second offensive by the Communists in May fared even less well
 * By May 30, the US/UN/ROK forces were back at their entrenchments north of the 38th Parallel
 * The JCS prohibited Ridgway from continuing pursuit of the Communists much beyond the 38TH Parallel, although Ridgway did begin Operation Piledriver, an offensive directed against the Iron Triangle
 * By June 13, 1951, Operation Piledriver had succeeded in taking the Iron Triangle.
 * On May 18, under US guidance, many UN countries began a military goods boycott of North Korea and China, hoping to create pressure for a peace treaty.

The End
-After much hassle, agreement was finally reached at Panmunjom, the details of which are:
 * On July 27, 1953, The UN, China, and North Korea signed an armistice
 * South Korea refused to sign, but with little effect
 * Under the terms of the treaty neither side would be allowed to increase the number of non-Korean military personnel stationed in Korea
 * The armistice also established a 2.5 mile wide buffer between North and South Korea along the 38th parallel, termed the "demilitarized zone." Within this zone, all troops and weapons were banished
 * In practice, however, the zone was heavily militarized, with over 1 million troops facing off
 * In fact, because South Korea never signed the armistice, __**the two countries remain technically at war even today**__

-After the war, North Korea and South Korea remained divided, a symbol of the effect of the Cold War similar to the division of Germany and Berlin -Families were broken up by the war and lived on opposite sides of the demilitarized zone, unable to visit or even communicate with each other.