Korean Conflict1950-1953

First war to use

helicoptersas troop

transports

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“Korean War”

• Never declared an official War by Congress

• American troops were deployed as a “police action”

• United Nations coalition – not just the United States

Causes of Korean War

1. Containment• 1947 commitment

to Containment forced the US to intervene with Soviet threat of communism in Korea

Causes of the Korean War

2. Truman Doctrine• 1947 Truman committed

the country to the defense of “free peoples” everywhere against communist aggression.

• Korean War was the first place that American troops fought and died for this principle .

www.trumanlibrary.org

Causes of Korean War3. China’s fall to Communism • Truman will be blamed for China

becoming communist. • China will become two nations:

- Mainland China under Mao Tse-tung- Anti-Communist China under Chiang Kai-shek on the island of Taiwan.

** Korean’s want one nation with one government. Kim Il Sung will gain Soviet permission to attack South Korea to reunite the country.

Mao Tse-Tung

Chiang Kai-shek

Korea’s History

• Remained under Japanese rule until liberated by US and Soviet troops in 1945

Japanese troops leaving Korea

www.military.com

Korea’s History

• 1945 Korea was divided at the 38th parallel to avoid conflict between US and USSR.

• Soviet forces controlled the North

• American forces controlled the South

Korea’s History

• 1948 US & UN encouraged South Korea to have elections.

• Soviets objected – Stated Korea should remain divided until one government could be made.

• Soviets boycotted the election.

www.lifemagazine.org

Korea’s History• Syngman Rhee

was overwhelmingly elected as President of South Korea.

• Dedicated anti-communist – US educated

www.aldeaeducativa.com

www.aldeaeducativa.com

Korea’s History

• Soviet’s retaliated by forming a communist government in North Korea lead by Kim Il Sung.

www.kmike.com

www.kmike.com

Korea’s History

• By 1949 both halves of Korea were recognized as independent countries.

• All US and Soviet troops withdrew from the Korean Peninsula.

• Kim Il Sung convinces Stalin that the US would not intervene in a Korean conflict.

Korean War Begins

• June 25th 1950 North Korean troops invaded South Korea.

United Nations Involvement

• South Korean forces could not withstand North Korean forces.

• United Nations sends in troops to aid South Korea.

United States Involvement

• Initially Truman stated US troops could only protect US Civilians as they retreated from enemy attack.

United States Involvement

• Once the UN was involved Truman sent General Douglas Mac Arthur to take command of the multinational force to assist in the defense of South Korea.

http://www.trumanlibrary.org/hstpaper/koreasub.htm

Arrival of UN Troops

• Invasion at Inch on– Troop landing behind

enemy lines– Forced North Korean

troops out of South Korea

http://www.trumanlibrary.org/hstpaper/koreasub.htm

• Chinese refugees leaving Inch on after UN invasion

Reevaluation of war’s purpose

• Focus changed from forcing North Korean withdrawal from the South to punishing North Korea in defeat.

Marines landing at Inch on

www.Military.com

Decision to cross the 38th parallel

• Concern over Communist China involvement if North Korea was attacked.

• Mac Arthur assured Truman that UN troops would quickly defeat Chinese Army

Miscalculations

• October 1950 A massive Chinese communist army crossed the Yalu River into North Korea.

• Pushes UN forces back into South Korea.

Crossing the Yalu River into North Korea

www.military.com

Stalemate

• After several weeks of fighting the battle lines stabilized close to the 38th parallel.

http://www.trumanlibrary.org/hstpaper/koreasub.htm

Truman’s Limited War

• Many American’s wanted to push for unconditional surrender as was achieved with Germany and Japan after WWII.

• Truman worried about widening the war with Soviet Union and its allies and the threat of nuclear weapons being used.

Soviet Peacekeeping Nuclear Missiles

www.military.com

Mac Arthur’s Insubordination

• Mac Arthur wanted to bomb China, block aid the Chinese coast, and unleash the anti-communist Chinese forces from Taiwan.

• Mac Arthur publicized his criticism of Truman which lead to his firing in 1951.

http://www.trumanlibrary.org/hstpaper/koreasub.htm

American Public

• As the stalemate continued American’s also grew tired of limited war strategies.

• 1952 Presidential election brought Republican, Dwight D. Eisenhower, to office with the promise of ending the fighting in Korea.

www.military.com

Armistice

• July 1953 an armistice was finally concluded.

http://www.trumanlibrary.org/hstpaper/koreasub.htm

Peace?

• A peace treaty has never been signed, and the peninsula remains divided by a heavily fortified frontier commonly referred to as the DMZ. This is almost the same line as the 38th parallel.

DMZ Zone 1 ½ Miles Wide

www.military.com

Increased the Cold War

• Created more friction between the United States and the Soviet Union

• Feelings of enmity developed between China and the United States that would last for decades.

• Demonstrated the will of the US to do everything possible to prevent the proliferation of communism.

• This war created a fear in the US of the domino effects of communism. The US intervened in Vietnam to avoid another North Korea.

Effects of Korean War

• Several Korean casualties on both sides though the exact figure may never be known

• American casualties 136,935 KIA 33,651

• Families were split with relatives on either sides of the border

• South Korea became an important US military base with thousands of American troops stationed there.

 

Effects of Korean War

• The Korean War never ended. The inability of the two sides to resolve their differences has meant that the two Koreas and their allies have had to remain on a battle ready state along the border ever since. 

After Korean War

• SEATO (South East Asia Treaty Organization) was formed as a defensive alliance to prevent communist aggression in Asia.

Currently• Today South Korea

has become a major economic and technological power.

Seoul, South Korea

www.korea.com

Currently

• North Korea is a poverty-stricken, heavily militarized nation.

• It is hoped that one day the two Koreas will become one.

North Korea from satellite image. Very little technology. Most of the country is without power

Currently• On October 4 2007 the

South Korean Leader Roh Moo-Hyun and the North Korean leader Kim Jong-il signed an eight-point peace agreement on issues of permanent peace, economic cooperation, high-level talks, renewal of highway, air travel and train services.

Roh Moo-Hyun

Kim Jong-il

Currently

• North Korea has carried out a controversial nuclear test and several ballistic missile tests. A nuclear North Korea is a threat to Japan, South Korea and the United States.

www.military.com

Korean War Memorial