The Korean War
Overview
The Korean War was a war fought in Korea between armies from North Korea and from South Korea. The war began on 4:30 AM on June
25, 1950 and fighting stopped July
27, 1953. More than two million Koreans died, most of
them in the north.
Both sides blame each other for starting the war. The
north, led by communist
Kim Il-Sung, was helped mostly by People's Republic of China, and the USSR. The south, led by nationalist Syngman Rhee, was helped by many countries in the
United Nations, and especially by the United States. The war ended with a truce. South
Korea and North Korea are still officially at war, and the United States still
keeps troops in South Korea, in case North Korea ever invades again. North and
South Korea are divided by the 38th parallel.
The Beginning
In April 1950 Kim Il-sung travelled to Moscow and secured Stalin's support for a
policy to unify Korea under his authority. Although agreeing with the invasion
of South Korea, Stalin refused to be involved in Kim's
plans, and advised Kim to ask the Chinese. In May 1950, Kim
visited Beijing, and gained Mao's approval. At the time, Mao's
support for Kim was largely political, and was unaware of Kim's intentions.
When the Korean war broke out, the Chinese were in the process of
demobilizing half of the PLA's 5.6 million soldiers.
US intervention
On Saturday, 24 June 1950, U.S. Secretary of State Dean
Acheson informed President Truman by telephone, "Mr. President, I
have very serious news. The North Koreans have invaded South Korea."
Truman and Acheson discussed a U.S. invasion response with defense department
principals, who agreed that the United States was obligated to repel military
aggression, paralleling it with Adolf Hitler's aggressions in the 1930s, and said
that the mistake of appeasement must not be repeated. In
his autobiography, President Truman acknowledged that fighting the invasion was
essential to the American goal of the global containment of communism. President Truman announced that the U.S. would counter "unprovoked
aggression" and "vigorously support the effort of the security council to
terminate this serious breach of peace." In
Congress, the Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Omar
Bradley warned against appeasement, saying that Korea was the
place "for drawing the line" against communist expansion. In August 1950, the
President and the Secretary of State obtained the consent of Congress to
appropriate $12 billion to pay for the military expenses.
United Nations response (July – August 1950)
Despite the rapid post–Second World War Allied demobilizations, there were substantial U.S. forces occupying Japan; under General Douglas MacArthur's command, they could be made ready to fight the North Koreans.
Acting on State Secretary Acheson's recommendation, President Truman ordered General MacArthur to transfer matériel to the Army of the Republic of Korea while giving air cover to the evacuation of U.S. nationals. The President disagreed with advisors who recommended unilateral U.S. bombing of the North Korean forces, and ordered the US Seventh Fleet to protect the Republic of China, whose Nationalist Government asked to fight in Korea. The U.S. denied the Nationalist Chinese request for combat, lest it provoke a communist Chinese retaliation. Because the U.S. had sent the Seventh Fleet to destroy the Taiwan Strait, Chinese premier Zhou Enlai criticized both the UN and U.S. initiatives as "armed aggression on Chinese territory." The Battle of Osan, the first significant American engagement of the Korean War, involved the 540-soldier Task Force Smith, which was a small element of the 24th Infantry Division. On 5 July 1950, Task Force Smith attacked the North Koreans at Osan but without weapons capable of destroying the North Koreans' tanks. They were unsuccessful; the result was 180 dead, wounded, or taken prisoner.
Escalation (August – September 1950)
In the resulting Battle of Pusan Perimeter (August–September 1950), the U.S. Army withstood KPA attacks meant to capture the city at the Naktong Bulge, P'ohang-dong, and Taegu. The United States Air Force (USAF) interrupted KPA logistics with 40 daily ground support units that destroyed 32 bridges, halting most daytime road and rail traffic. KPA forces were forced to hide in tunnels by day and move only at night. To deny materiel to the KPA, the USAF destroyed logistics depots, petroleum refineries, and harbors, while the U.S. Navy air forces attacked transport hubs. Consequently, the over-extended KPA could not be supplied throughout the south. Meanwhile, U.S. garrisons in Japan continually dispatched soldiers and matériel to reinforce defenders in the Pusan Perimeter. Tank battalions deployed to Korea directly from the United States mainland from the port of San Francisco to the port of Pusan, the largest Korean port. By late August, the Pusan Perimeter had some 500 medium tanks battle-ready. In early September 1950, ROK Army and UN Command forces outnumbered the KPA 180,000 to 100,000 soldiers. The UN forces, once prepared, counterattacked and broke out of the Pusan Perimeter.
China intervenes (October – December 1950)
On 27 June 1950, two days after the KPA invaded and three months before the Chinese entered the war, President Truman dispatched the United States Seventh Fleet to the Taiwan Strait, to prevent hostilities between the Nationalist Republic of China (Taiwan) and the People's Republic of China (PRC). On 4 August 1950, with the PRC invasion of Taiwan aborted, Mao Zedong reported to the Politburo that he would intervene in Korea when the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) Taiwan invasion force was reorganized into the PLA North East Frontier Force. China justified its entry into the war as a response to "American aggression in the guise of the UN". On 20 August 1950, Premier Zhou Enlai informed the United Nations that "Korea is China's neighbor... The Chinese people cannot but be concerned about a solution of the Korean question". Thus, through neutral-country diplomats, China warned that in safeguarding Chinese national security, they would intervene against the UN Command in Korea. President Truman interpreted the communication as "a bald attempt to blackmail the UN", and dismissed it. October 1st, 1950, the day that UN troops crossed the 38th parallel, was also the first anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. On that day the Soviet ambassador forwarded a telegram from Stalin to Mao and Zhou requesting that China send five to six divisions into Korea, and Kim Il-sung sent frantic appeals to Mao for Chinese military intervention. At the same time, Stalin made it clear that Soviet forces themselves would not directly intervene. In a series of emergency meetings that lasted from 2–5 October, Chinese leaders debated whether to send Chinese troops into Korea. There was considerable resistance among many leaders, including senior military leaders, to confronting the United States in Korea. Mao strongly supported intervention, and Zhou was one of the few Chinese leaders who firmly supported him. After General Lin Biao refused Mao's offer to command Chinese forces in Korea (citing poor health), Mao called General Peng Dehuai to Beijing to hear his views. After listening to both sides' arguments, Peng supported Mao's position, and the Politburo agreed to intervene.
Stalemate (July 1951 – July 1953)
For the remainder of the Korean War the UN Command and the PVA fought, but exchanged little territory; the stalemate held. Large-scale bombing of North Korea continued, and protracted armistice negotiations began July 10th, 1951 at Kaesong. On the Chinese side, Zhou Enlai directed peace talks, and Li Kenong and Qiao Guanghua headed the negotiation team. Combat continued while the belligerents negotiated; the UN Command forces' goal was to recapture all of South Korea and to avoid losing territory. The PVA and the KPA attempted similar operations, and later effected military and psychological operations in order to test the UN Command's resolve to continue the war. The principal battles of the stalemate include the Battle of Bloody Ridge (18 August – 15 September 1951), the Battle of Heartbreak Ridge (13 September – 15 October 1951), the Battle of Old Baldy (26 June – 4 August 1952), the Battle of White Horse (6–15 October 1952), the Battle of Triangle Hill (14 October – 25 November 1952), the Battle of Hill Eerie (21 March – 21 June 1952), the sieges of Outpost Harry (10–18 June 1953), the Battle of the Hook (28–9 May 1953), the Battle of Pork Chop Hill (23 March – 16 July 1953), and the Battle of Kumsong (13–27 July 1953).
Chinese troops suffered from deficient military equipment, serious logistical problems, overextended communication and supply lines, and the constant threat of UN bombers. All of these factors generally led to a rate of Chinese casualties that was far greater than the casualties suffered by UN troops. The situation became so serious that, on November 1951, Zhou Enlai called a conference in Shenyang to discuss the PVA's logistical problems. At the meeting it was decided to accelerate the construction of railways and airfields in the area, to increase the number of trucks available to the army, and to improve air defense by any means possible. These commitments did little to directly address the problems confronting PVA troops.
Armistice (July 1953 – November 1954)
The armistice negotiations continued for two years, first at Kaesong (southern North Korea), then relocated at Panmunjom (bordering the Koreas). A major, problematic negotiation point was prisoner of war (POW) repatriation. The PVA, KPA, and UN Command could not agree on a system of repatriation because many PVA and KPA soldiers refused to be repatriated back to the north, which was unacceptable to the Chinese and North Koreans. In the final armistice agreement, signed on July 27, 1953, a Neutral Nations Repatriation Commission was set up to handle the matter. The Korean Armistice Agreement provided for monitoring by an international commission. Since 1953, the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission (NNSC), composed of members from the Swiss and Swedish Armed Forces, has been stationed near the DMZ.
The Korean War was a war fought in Korea between armies from North Korea and from South Korea. The war began on 4:30 AM on June
25, 1950 and fighting stopped July
27, 1953. More than two million Koreans died, most of
them in the north.
Both sides blame each other for starting the war. The
north, led by communist
Kim Il-Sung, was helped mostly by People's Republic of China, and the USSR. The south, led by nationalist Syngman Rhee, was helped by many countries in the
United Nations, and especially by the United States. The war ended with a truce. South
Korea and North Korea are still officially at war, and the United States still
keeps troops in South Korea, in case North Korea ever invades again. North and
South Korea are divided by the 38th parallel.
The Beginning
In April 1950 Kim Il-sung travelled to Moscow and secured Stalin's support for a
policy to unify Korea under his authority. Although agreeing with the invasion
of South Korea, Stalin refused to be involved in Kim's
plans, and advised Kim to ask the Chinese. In May 1950, Kim
visited Beijing, and gained Mao's approval. At the time, Mao's
support for Kim was largely political, and was unaware of Kim's intentions.
When the Korean war broke out, the Chinese were in the process of
demobilizing half of the PLA's 5.6 million soldiers.
US intervention
On Saturday, 24 June 1950, U.S. Secretary of State Dean
Acheson informed President Truman by telephone, "Mr. President, I
have very serious news. The North Koreans have invaded South Korea."
Truman and Acheson discussed a U.S. invasion response with defense department
principals, who agreed that the United States was obligated to repel military
aggression, paralleling it with Adolf Hitler's aggressions in the 1930s, and said
that the mistake of appeasement must not be repeated. In
his autobiography, President Truman acknowledged that fighting the invasion was
essential to the American goal of the global containment of communism. President Truman announced that the U.S. would counter "unprovoked
aggression" and "vigorously support the effort of the security council to
terminate this serious breach of peace." In
Congress, the Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Omar
Bradley warned against appeasement, saying that Korea was the
place "for drawing the line" against communist expansion. In August 1950, the
President and the Secretary of State obtained the consent of Congress to
appropriate $12 billion to pay for the military expenses.
United Nations response (July – August 1950)
Despite the rapid post–Second World War Allied demobilizations, there were substantial U.S. forces occupying Japan; under General Douglas MacArthur's command, they could be made ready to fight the North Koreans.
Acting on State Secretary Acheson's recommendation, President Truman ordered General MacArthur to transfer matériel to the Army of the Republic of Korea while giving air cover to the evacuation of U.S. nationals. The President disagreed with advisors who recommended unilateral U.S. bombing of the North Korean forces, and ordered the US Seventh Fleet to protect the Republic of China, whose Nationalist Government asked to fight in Korea. The U.S. denied the Nationalist Chinese request for combat, lest it provoke a communist Chinese retaliation. Because the U.S. had sent the Seventh Fleet to destroy the Taiwan Strait, Chinese premier Zhou Enlai criticized both the UN and U.S. initiatives as "armed aggression on Chinese territory." The Battle of Osan, the first significant American engagement of the Korean War, involved the 540-soldier Task Force Smith, which was a small element of the 24th Infantry Division. On 5 July 1950, Task Force Smith attacked the North Koreans at Osan but without weapons capable of destroying the North Koreans' tanks. They were unsuccessful; the result was 180 dead, wounded, or taken prisoner.
Escalation (August – September 1950)
In the resulting Battle of Pusan Perimeter (August–September 1950), the U.S. Army withstood KPA attacks meant to capture the city at the Naktong Bulge, P'ohang-dong, and Taegu. The United States Air Force (USAF) interrupted KPA logistics with 40 daily ground support units that destroyed 32 bridges, halting most daytime road and rail traffic. KPA forces were forced to hide in tunnels by day and move only at night. To deny materiel to the KPA, the USAF destroyed logistics depots, petroleum refineries, and harbors, while the U.S. Navy air forces attacked transport hubs. Consequently, the over-extended KPA could not be supplied throughout the south. Meanwhile, U.S. garrisons in Japan continually dispatched soldiers and matériel to reinforce defenders in the Pusan Perimeter. Tank battalions deployed to Korea directly from the United States mainland from the port of San Francisco to the port of Pusan, the largest Korean port. By late August, the Pusan Perimeter had some 500 medium tanks battle-ready. In early September 1950, ROK Army and UN Command forces outnumbered the KPA 180,000 to 100,000 soldiers. The UN forces, once prepared, counterattacked and broke out of the Pusan Perimeter.
China intervenes (October – December 1950)
On 27 June 1950, two days after the KPA invaded and three months before the Chinese entered the war, President Truman dispatched the United States Seventh Fleet to the Taiwan Strait, to prevent hostilities between the Nationalist Republic of China (Taiwan) and the People's Republic of China (PRC). On 4 August 1950, with the PRC invasion of Taiwan aborted, Mao Zedong reported to the Politburo that he would intervene in Korea when the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) Taiwan invasion force was reorganized into the PLA North East Frontier Force. China justified its entry into the war as a response to "American aggression in the guise of the UN". On 20 August 1950, Premier Zhou Enlai informed the United Nations that "Korea is China's neighbor... The Chinese people cannot but be concerned about a solution of the Korean question". Thus, through neutral-country diplomats, China warned that in safeguarding Chinese national security, they would intervene against the UN Command in Korea. President Truman interpreted the communication as "a bald attempt to blackmail the UN", and dismissed it. October 1st, 1950, the day that UN troops crossed the 38th parallel, was also the first anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. On that day the Soviet ambassador forwarded a telegram from Stalin to Mao and Zhou requesting that China send five to six divisions into Korea, and Kim Il-sung sent frantic appeals to Mao for Chinese military intervention. At the same time, Stalin made it clear that Soviet forces themselves would not directly intervene. In a series of emergency meetings that lasted from 2–5 October, Chinese leaders debated whether to send Chinese troops into Korea. There was considerable resistance among many leaders, including senior military leaders, to confronting the United States in Korea. Mao strongly supported intervention, and Zhou was one of the few Chinese leaders who firmly supported him. After General Lin Biao refused Mao's offer to command Chinese forces in Korea (citing poor health), Mao called General Peng Dehuai to Beijing to hear his views. After listening to both sides' arguments, Peng supported Mao's position, and the Politburo agreed to intervene.
Stalemate (July 1951 – July 1953)
For the remainder of the Korean War the UN Command and the PVA fought, but exchanged little territory; the stalemate held. Large-scale bombing of North Korea continued, and protracted armistice negotiations began July 10th, 1951 at Kaesong. On the Chinese side, Zhou Enlai directed peace talks, and Li Kenong and Qiao Guanghua headed the negotiation team. Combat continued while the belligerents negotiated; the UN Command forces' goal was to recapture all of South Korea and to avoid losing territory. The PVA and the KPA attempted similar operations, and later effected military and psychological operations in order to test the UN Command's resolve to continue the war. The principal battles of the stalemate include the Battle of Bloody Ridge (18 August – 15 September 1951), the Battle of Heartbreak Ridge (13 September – 15 October 1951), the Battle of Old Baldy (26 June – 4 August 1952), the Battle of White Horse (6–15 October 1952), the Battle of Triangle Hill (14 October – 25 November 1952), the Battle of Hill Eerie (21 March – 21 June 1952), the sieges of Outpost Harry (10–18 June 1953), the Battle of the Hook (28–9 May 1953), the Battle of Pork Chop Hill (23 March – 16 July 1953), and the Battle of Kumsong (13–27 July 1953).
Chinese troops suffered from deficient military equipment, serious logistical problems, overextended communication and supply lines, and the constant threat of UN bombers. All of these factors generally led to a rate of Chinese casualties that was far greater than the casualties suffered by UN troops. The situation became so serious that, on November 1951, Zhou Enlai called a conference in Shenyang to discuss the PVA's logistical problems. At the meeting it was decided to accelerate the construction of railways and airfields in the area, to increase the number of trucks available to the army, and to improve air defense by any means possible. These commitments did little to directly address the problems confronting PVA troops.
Armistice (July 1953 – November 1954)
The armistice negotiations continued for two years, first at Kaesong (southern North Korea), then relocated at Panmunjom (bordering the Koreas). A major, problematic negotiation point was prisoner of war (POW) repatriation. The PVA, KPA, and UN Command could not agree on a system of repatriation because many PVA and KPA soldiers refused to be repatriated back to the north, which was unacceptable to the Chinese and North Koreans. In the final armistice agreement, signed on July 27, 1953, a Neutral Nations Repatriation Commission was set up to handle the matter. The Korean Armistice Agreement provided for monitoring by an international commission. Since 1953, the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission (NNSC), composed of members from the Swiss and Swedish Armed Forces, has been stationed near the DMZ.