The Korean War began on June 25, 1950, when troops from Communist-ruled North
Korea invaded South Korea. The UN called the invasion a violation of
international peace and demanded that the Communists withdraw from South Korea.
After the Communists kept fighting, the UN asked its member nations to give
military aid to South Korea. Sixteen UN countries sent troops to help the South
Koreans, and 41 countries sent military equipment or food and other supplies.
The United States provided about 90 percent of the troops, military equipment,
and supplies that were sent to South Korea. China fought on the side of North
Korea, and the Soviet Union gave military equipment to the North Koreans.
The Korean War ended on July 27, 1953, when the UN and North Korea signed an
armistice agreement. A permanent peace treaty between South Korea and North
Korea has never been signed. However, United States military forces remain in
South Korea to discourage a resumption of hostilities between the two parts of
Korea.
The Korean War was one of the bloodiest wars in history. About a million South
Korean civilians were killed and several million were made homeless. About
580,000 UN and South Korean troops and about 1,600,000 Communist troops were
killed or wounded or were reported missing.
Causes of the war
The Japanese gained control of Korea in 1895 and made it part of Japan in 1910.
The Allies defeated Japan in World War II (1939-1945), and U.S. and Soviet
forces moved into Korea. After the war, Soviet troops occupied Korea north of
the 38th parallel of north latitude, an imaginary line that cuts the country
about in half. American troops occupied Korea south of the 38th parallel.
In 1947, the UN General Assembly declared that elections should be held
throughout Korea to choose one government for the entire country. The Soviet
Union opposed this idea and would not permit elections in North Korea. On May
10, 1948, the people of South Korea elected a national assembly. The assembly
set up the government of the Republic of Korea. On September 9, North Korean
Communists established the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Both North and
South Korea claimed the entire country, and their troops clashed near the border
several times from 1948 to 1950. The United States removed its last troops from
Korea in 1949 and indicated early in 1950 that Korea lay outside the main U.S.
defense line in Asia. The Communists believed the time was right for military
action.
The land war
Outbreak. When North Korea invaded South Korea, the North Korean Army had about
135,000 soldiers. Many of the soldiers had fought for China and the Soviet Union
during World War II. North Korea had airplanes, artillery, and tanks. The South
Korean Army had about 95,000 soldiers, few planes or heavy guns, and no tanks.
At first, the South Korean Army put up little resistance to the enemy attack.
At their greatest strength, the South Korean and UN forces consisted of almost
1,110,000 soldiers. About 590,000 were South Koreans, and about 480,000 were
Americans. About 39,000 came from Australia, Belgium, Canada, Colombia,
Ethiopia, France, Great Britain, Greece, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New
Zealand, the Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, and Turkey.
The North Korean Army grew to more than 260,000 troops during the war. China
sent another 780,000 soldiers to help the North Koreans.
On the day the war began, the UN Security Council issued a resolution demanding
that the Communists stop fighting and retreat to the 38th parallel. The Soviet
Union, a member of the 11-nation Council, could have vetoed the resolution. But
the Soviet Union was boycotting Council meetings to protest Nationalist China's
membership on the Council, and the Soviet delegate was absent when the vote on
Korea was taken.
North Korea ignored the UN demand, and on June 27 its troops reached the
outskirts of Seoul, the South Korean capital. That same day, both President
Harry S. Truman and the UN took action to try to halt the Communist advance.
Truman ordered U.S. air and naval forces to South Korea and the UN asked its
members to aid South Korea. Truman ordered American ground forces into action on
June 30. Congress supported Truman's actions and the UN's policy, but did not
formally declare war against North Korea.
On July 1, part of the U.S. Army 24th Infantry Division flew from Japan to Pusan
at the southern tip of Korea. The next day, these troops began to move into
battle positions near Taejon, about 75 miles (121 kilometers) south of Seoul.
Troops from other UN nations began arriving in Korea shortly after the
Americans.
American troops first fought the North Koreans on July 5 at Osan, 30 miles (48
kilometers) south of Seoul. The Communists had already captured Seoul.
On July 8, with the approval of the UN Security Council, Truman named General
Douglas MacArthur commander in chief of the United Nations Command. The command
had authority over all the Allies--South Koreans, Americans, and the troops from
other UN countries. MacArthur directed Allied operations from his headquarters
in Tokyo, Japan. On July 13, Lieutenant General Walton H. Walker, head of the
U.S. Eighth Army, became field commander of the Allied ground forces in Korea.
Units of the U.S. Army 1st Cavalry Division and 25th Infantry Division landed in
Korea on July 19 to aid the outnumbered soldiers of the 24th Division. But
another city, Taejon, fell to the Communists on July 21.
The Pusan Perimeter. The U.S. 1st Marine Provisional Brigade and the 2nd
Infantry Division of the Army arrived in South Korea in late July. But the
Allies were forced back to the Pusan Perimeter by August 2. The Pusan Perimeter
was a battle line in the southeast corner of South Korea. It extended roughly
from the city of Pohang on the southeast coast, west around Taegu, and south and
southeast nearly to Pusan. The Naktong River was the boundary of most of the
area.
The fighting at the Pusan Perimeter became a turning point in the war. The North
Koreans lost about 58,000 soldiers and much equipment while advancing to the
area. The rapid growth of American military strength gave General Walker
flexibility in the use of his troops. North Korea tried to break through the
perimeter by making scattered attacks along it. Walker reacted by using reserves
to meet each enemy thrust, keeping his main defense line intact. Overhead, U.S.
planes provided air support and fired at the long enemy supply lines. More
American tanks and artillery arrived at Pusan to strengthen the defense of the
perimeter.
The North Koreans saw that the Allies were gaining military superiority. They
mounted a major attack and succeeded in crossing the Naktong River on August 6.
But U.S. Marines and Army forces counterattacked and prevented a general
breakthrough. The North Koreans advanced to within shelling distance of Taegu,
but major losses of troops and equipment forced them to pull back on August 25.
The Communists attacked the Pusan Perimeter again on September 3. They captured
Pohang three days later, but the Allies halted the enemy advance on September 8.
The Inchon landing was a surprise move that changed the course of the war. On
Sept. 15, 1950, marines and soldiers of the U.S. X (10th) Corps sailed from
Japan to Inchon, on the northwest coast of South Korea. General MacArthur
personally directed the amphibious landing. It required especially careful
planning because the tides at Inchon vary more than 30 feet (9 meters). Each
boat had to land at high tide because any boat near the shore when the tide
dropped would be trapped in mud. The troops who landed at Inchon cut off the
North Koreans in the Pusan Perimeter area from those north of Inchon.
Commanded by Major General Edward M. Almond, the X Corps moved toward Seoul, 24
miles (39 kilometers) northeast of Inchon. After a bitter battle, MacArthur
announced the capture of Seoul on September 26. Meanwhile, General Walker's
troops fought their way out of the Pusan Perimeter, inflicting heavy losses on
the enemy. On September 28, they joined the X Corps near Seoul. MacArthur
broadcast a demand for surrender, but North Korea rejected it.
The Allies move north. Late in September, the Allies prepared to invade North
Korea. South Korean troops crossed into North Korea on October 1 and captured
the coastal cities of Wonsan, Hungnam, and Hamhung. The Eighth Army troops
reached North Korea on October 8 and drove the North Koreans toward Pyongyang,
the capital. They captured Pyongyang on October 19, and the Communists retreated
farther north.
From Pyongyang, the Eighth Army marched through northwestern Korea toward the
Yalu River, the border between North Korea and China. Parts of the X Corps drove
through northeastern Korea. Some military experts later criticized this strategy
of two commands.
China warned against further advances toward its border. But General MacArthur,
hoping to end the war before winter set in, ordered the Allies to press on. U.S.
and Chinese troops first clashed on October 25, near the Changjin Reservoir and
at Onjong, near Pukchin. They fought until November 6, when the Chinese suddenly
withdrew. The Allies then pulled back to regroup.
MacArthur and his sources of information underestimated the size of the Chinese
armies. More than 300,000 Chinese troops crossed into North Korea in October and
November. MacArthur believed the Allied forces outnumbered the Chinese and that
the Chinese would be used for defense only. He also thought that Allied air
power could prevent additional Chinese troops from entering North Korea.
Political leaders in Washington and most of the Allied commanders shared
MacArthur's confidence that the war would be over by Christmas. Allied planes
roamed the length of Korea, and Allied warships sailed unchallenged along the
coastlines, bombarding enemy ports. MacArthur ordered another advance on
November 24.
The Allies retreat. Hopes for a quick end to the war soon disappeared. China
sent a huge force against the Allies on November 26 and 27 and forced them to
retreat. By the end of November, the Communists had driven a wedge between
Eighth Army troops in the west and the X Corps in the east. The X Corps had
remained independent from the Eighth Army.
The Allies began to withdraw from Pyongyang on December 4. Four days later,
20,000 U.S. marines and infantrymen, surrounded by Chinese, started a historic
retreat from the Changjin Reservoir to the port of Hungnam. By Christmas Eve,
105,000 U.S. and Korean troops, 91,000 refugees, and 17,500 vehicles had been
evacuated by sea from Hungnam. In the west, the Communists crossed into South
Korea and captured Korangpo, 28 miles (45 kilometers) from Seoul.
General Walker was killed in a jeep accident, and Lieutenant General Matthew B.
Ridgway took command of the Eighth Army on December 27. The Communists began to
attack Seoul on New Year's Eve, and they occupied the city on Jan. 4, 1951. The
Allies dug in about 25 miles (40 kilometers) south on January 10, and their
retreat ended.
The "Battle for the Hills." Ridgway quickly restored the confidence of the
Allied troops, and they soon inflicted heavy losses on the enemy. The Allies
began to move north again on Jan. 16, 1951. In 15 days, they were in position to
fire on Seoul. Ridgway used a new tactic calling for slower advances that would
wipe out all enemy forces instead of by-passing some.
The Allies reoccupied Seoul on March 14 without a fight. They advanced a short
distance into North Korea by June. By then, the war had changed. The two sides
dug in and began fighting along a battle line north of the 38th parallel. Truce
talks began in July, but fighting continued for two more years. Neither side
made important advances, but they fought many bitter battles for strategic
positions. During this period, the war was sometimes called the "Battle for the
Hills." Battlefields included Bloody Ridge, Finger Ridge, Heartbreak Ridge, Old
Baldy, and Pork Chop Hill.
One of the most controversial events of the war took place on April 11, 1951,
when President Truman removed General MacArthur from command and replaced him
with Ridgway. The President's action resulted from a continuing dispute between
MacArthur and defense leaders in Washington as to how the Allies should conduct
the war. From the outset, MacArthur had issued public statements that there was
no substitute for total victory. Now he wanted to bomb bases in Manchuria, a
part of China, and use other "all-out measures." Truman and his advisers feared
such actions might lead to a third world war. Truman decided he could no longer
accept MacArthur's open disagreement with national policy. Ridgway went to Tokyo
to replace MacArthur, and Lieutenant General James A. Van Fleet became commander
of the Eighth Army.
Air and naval activity
The air war. The Korean War marked the first battles between jet aircraft. Early
in the conflict, Allied bombers and fighter planes based in Japan, Okinawa, and
South Korea roared over North Korea unopposed. They supported Allied troops,
killed enemy troops, and damaged Communist bases.
The Soviet Union soon began to supply North Korea with MIG-15 jets, and
dogfights became an important part of the war. As many as 100 to 150 U.S. F-86
Sabre jets and Soviet-built MIG-15's took part in some air battles. All the
dogfights occurred over North Korea because Allied planes were not permitted to
cross the Yalu River, and the MIG-15's never flew south of the 38th parallel.
Most of the battles took place in "MIG Alley," an area between the Yalu and
Pyongyang.
The Allies used helicopters to carry wounded soldiers from battle zones to
hospitals. Helicopter pilots made daring rescues of Allied fliers who had been
shot down. For the first time, helicopters carried troops into combat.
The U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps lost more than 2,000 planes during
the war. Most of them were shot down by Communist antiaircraft guns. Allied
fliers destroyed more than 1,000 Communist planes. Navy and Marine fliers killed
about 100,000 Communist troops, and Air Force fliers killed about 184,800.
Naval warfare. The Allied naval forces included 80 destroyers, 16 aircraft
carriers, 8 cruisers, and 4 battleships. The U.S. Navy helped troops land by
firing shells at enemy targets on shore. Wonsan, a Communist oil refining and
industrial city, was under naval siege for more than two years.
Five Navy ships were sunk and 82 were hit during the war. The vessels sunk were
the minesweepers Pledge, Partridge, Pirate, and Magpie, and the tug Sarsi.
The end of the war
The truce talks. Hopes for peace increased when Jacob Malik, the Soviet delegate
to the UN, proposed a cease-fire on June 23, 1951. On June 30, Ridgway, acting
on instructions from Washington, suggested a meeting between Allied and
Communist military officers to discuss a truce.
The truce talks began July 10 at Kaesong and were moved to Panmunjom on October
25. A settlement seemed near on November 27, when both sides agreed that the
existing battle line would be the final dividing line between North and South
Korea if a truce were reached within 30 days. This agreement had the effect of
limiting combat, because neither side had much to gain by winning ground it
might later have to surrender.
Several issues, especially voluntary repatriation of prisoners, prevented a
settlement within the 30-day period. The UN Command had insisted that prisoners
of both sides be allowed to choose whether or not they would return to their
homelands. Many Chinese prisoners of the Allies had fought against the
Communists during the Chinese civil war. They staged a violent protest against a
forced return to life under Communism. Some North Korean captives also refused
to return home. The Communists could not agree to the UN demand without
admitting that Communism had thus far failed to secure the loyalty of all its
citizens.
By late April 1952, the truce talks were firmly deadlocked over voluntary
repatriation. Fighting continued along the battle line. On October 8, the UN
Command adjourned the truce talks. It said the talks would resume when the
Communists were ready to offer a helpful suggestion for settling the one
remaining issue--voluntary repatriation.
General Mark W. Clark replaced Ridgway as commander in chief of the United
Nations Command in May 1952, and Dwight D. Eisenhower became President of the
United States in January 1953. Then, on March 5, 1953, Soviet premier Joseph
Stalin died. After Stalin's death, Soviet leaders began talking of the need to
settle disputes peacefully. On March 28, the Communists accepted an earlier
offer by the UN Command for an exchange of sick and wounded prisoners. The
Communists also indicated that the truce talks should be resumed. The exchange
took place in April and May. The UN Command received 684 sick and wounded
prisoners, including 149 Americans. It returned 6,670 Communist prisoners.
The truce talks were resumed on April 26, and the Communists accepted voluntary
repatriation. They agreed to let prisoners indicate their choice to the Neutral
Nations' Repatriation Commission, which consisted of representatives of
Czechoslovakia, India, Poland, Sweden, and Switzerland.
An armistice agreement was signed on July 27, 1953, and the fighting ended. A
buffer zone, called the Demilitarized Zone, divided the two sides. It was 21/2
miles (4 kilometers) wide along the final battle line. South Korea gained about
1,500 square miles (3,880 square kilometers) of territory. Both sides agreed not
to increase their military strength. A Military Armistice Commission, with
representatives from both sides, was set up to enforce the armistice terms. The
armistice also provided for a political conference to work out a final
settlement.
After the armistice was signed, each side charged the other with torture and
starvation of prisoners, and other war crimes. The North Koreans and Chinese
Communists were also accused of brainwashing prisoners (see BRAINWASHING). The
UN General Assembly adopted a general resolution condemning such acts.
The United States spent about $67 billion on the war. Almost all parts of Korea
were heavily damaged. About 1 million civilians were killed in South Korea, and
property damage was estimated at more than $1 billion. Statistics were not given
for civilian deaths and damage in North Korea.
Prisoner exchange. The UN Command and the Communists completed an exchange of
88,559 prisoners in September 1953. The Neutral Nations' Repatriation Commission
took custody of prisoners who refused to return to their homelands. The
armistice provided that delegates from the various countries could visit these
prisoners and try to persuade them to go home. But 14,227 Chinese, 7,582 North
Koreans, 325 South Koreans, 21 Americans, and 1 British prisoner refused to
return. Some of these men later changed their minds.
Peace negotiations. In 1954, Soviet officials and representatives of countries
that had fought in Korea met in Geneva, Switzerland. But the negotiators failed
to draw up a permanent peace plan. Nor were they able to settle the question of
unifying Korea. An agreement to work toward the negotiation of a permanent peace
treaty was signed by North and South Korea in 1991 and ratified in 1992. But in
1991, North Korea began to boycott the Military Armistice Commission, and China
withdrew from the commission in 1994. |
