Korean War: Causes, Conflict & Outcome | History

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Introduction to Korean War

Korean War, or Korean Conflict, 195053, a war fought between the Republic of Korea (South Korea) and United Nations forces on the one hand and the Communist-dominated Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) and Communist China on the other. The war began June 25, 1950, with a North Korean invasion of South Korea. It ended with an armistice signed July 27, 1953, neither side having achieved a decisive military victory.

Fighting in Seoul. Marines advance cautiously through South Korea's capital city in the 1950 campaign that routed the North Koreans.

In a broad sense, the Korean War resulted in a United Nations victory because the aim of forcing back the aggressors was achieved. However, the war ended, as it began, with Korea divided, and the issues behind the war were not resolved.

The Korean War was the first war in which troops of an international bodythe United Nationsfought. Most of the UN forces were provided by the United States, but 20 other UN countries also supplied troops, naval forces, air support, or medical aid. At the time the war was being fought it was officially referred to in the United States as a conflict because there was no declaration of war by Congress. President Truman referred to it as a police action.

The war was fought largely with the weapons of World War II. (No nuclear weapons were used, however). Its tactics, after the initial stages, were somewhat like those of World War I. New weapons were tested only in the air, where jet fighters fought each other. Communist charges that the United States used germ warfare were false.

Highlights of the Korean War1950June 25 North Korean Communist troops invaded South Korea. The UN demanded that North Korea halt the action.June 27 President Truman ordered U.S. air and naval forces to help defend South Korea. The UN asked member nations to aid South Korea.June 30 Truman ordered U.S. ground troops to South Korea.Sept. 8 Allied troops stopped the deepest Communist advance, at the Pusan Perimeter in southeastern South Korea.Sept. 15 Allied troops landed behind the enemy lines at Inchon.Sept. 26 General MacArthur, commander of UN forces, announced the capture of Seoul, the South Korean capital.Oct. 19 The Allies captured Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea.Oct. 25 China entered the war on the side of North Korea.Nov. 26 The Allies began to retreat after an attack by the Chinese.1951Jan. 4 The Communists occupied Seoul.March 14 The Allies reoccupied Seoul after ending their retreat.April 11 Truman removed MacArthur and replaced him with General Ridgway.July 10 Truce talks began, but fighting continued.1952April 28 Communist negotiators rejected a proposal for voluntary repatriation of prisoners.Oct. 8 The truce talks were broken off.1953March 28 The Communists accepted a UN proposal to exchange sick and wounded prisoners.April 26 The truce talks were resumed.July 27 An armistice agreement was signed, and the fighting ended.

Background

The war had its origin in the refusal of the Soviet Union to allow a unified Korea to be established by free elections, supervised by the UN, after World War II. When two republics, separated by the 38th parallel, were established, the seeds of conflict were planted. With the support of the Soviet Union, North Korea built an army much stronger than South Korea's. North Korea's leaders apparently interpreted United States foreign policy to mean that the United States would not defend South Korea. The UN, they felt, would be powerless. By conquering South Korea, the Communists would control the entire Korean peninsula, which forms a bridge between Japan and the mainland of Asia.

Early Fighting

On June 25, 1950, North Korean forces crossed the 38th parallel. South Korean troops for the most part were thrown into disordered retreat across the Han River. South Korea lacked combat planes to oppose those of North Korea and had no infantry weapons strong enough to knock out the heavy Soviet-made tanks that spearheaded the invasion. By June 28, Seoul, South Korea's capital, had fallen.

North Korea invaded South Korea on June 25, 1950.The United Nations Acts

On the day of the attack, the UN Security Council called for a cease-fire and the withdrawal of North Korean troops from South Korea. The Soviet Union undoubtedly would have vetoed the UN action, but at the time was boycotting the council because Communist China had not been admitted to the UN. North Korea ignored the UN resolution.

On June 27, the Security Council asked UN members to give military support to South Korea. A few hours earlier, President Truman of the United States had ordered that American warships and aircraft help South Korea.

Truman's order went to General Douglas MacArthur, commander of United States forces in the Far East, including those occupying Japan. MacArthur reported that the South Korean army could not turn back the North Koreans with only the aid of ships and air support. On June 30, Truman authorized him to use all United States forces in the Far East.

United States Handicaps

In Japan, the United States had four divisions of the 8th Army, but all were under strength. Furthermore, they were occupation, not combat, troops. On Okinawa there was a regimental combat team that was not much better prepared for battle. Thus the initial support that the United States was able to give the South Koreans was not impressive. Delaying actions only could be planned by MacArthur, until reinforcements arrived. He was named Supreme UN Commander by Truman on authority of the UN.

The first ground engagement involving United States troops occurred near Osan, 30 miles (48 km) south of Seoul, on July 5. A North Korean tank division forced two American rifle companies of the 24th Division to retreat with heavy casualties. On July 20, American and South Korean troops were forced out of Taejon, 60 miles (96 km) southeast of Osan. This battle was a major defeat that led to the capture by the Communists of Major General William F. Dean. He had been commander of United States troops in Korea.

United Nations Counterattack

The Pusan Perimeter

General Dean's successor, Lieutenant General Walton H. Walker, built up a strong defense in the area of Pusan, a port city on the southeastern tip of Korea. Reinforcements for his 8th Army began arriving there at a rate to permit changing a mere delaying action into a campaign to hold what was called the Pusan Perimeter, a defensive line protecting the only Korean port in UN hands. This sector was within a 140-mile (225-km) semicircular line from Pohang on the coast north of Pusan, enclosing Taegu, and running south, 50 miles (80 km) west of Pusan. The North Koreans smashed at this sector and captured Pohang. They suffered such heavy losses that for the first time the force of the invasion was blunted.

The Inchon Landing

On September 15, while the main North Korean fighting force was in the southeast, General MacArthur ordered a gigantic amphibious strike at Inchon, a port on the west coast near Seoul. This bold move was a desperate gamble put into effect on extremely short notice, using troops badly needed to hold the Pusan Perimeter. Carried out by X Corps under Major General Edward M. Almond, the landings cut the supply lines of the invaders. Seoul was retaken on September 26. North Korean troops then began a general retreat north from that area and from the Pusan sector.

The Inchon landing led to the capture of Pyongyang, nearly ending the war.The Drive North

UN and South Korean forces then opened a drive to conquer North Korea, taking its capital, Pyongyang, on October 19. The 8th Army, operating in western Korea, moved northward toward the Yalu River at the Manchurian border. Meanwhile, X Corps made a second amphibious landing, this time at Wonsan on the east coast. The Corps captured Hamhung and Hungnam and drove north. With North Korea's army splintered, it appeared that the war would soon be over and that the UN, by virtue of occupying North Korea, could unify Korea by holding elections in the north and south.

China Enters the War

Intervention by Communist China suddenly changed the picture. UN forces began to encounter some Chinese soldiers late in October, 1950. In response to international criticism of its intervention, the Chinese government insisted these forces were volunteers. In November four Chinese armies totaling at least 200,000 struck at the UN forces. An even larger force was ready to strike.

Faced with what MacArthur called an entirely new war, the UN and South Korean armies began a general withdrawal. The 8th Army fell back toward the 38th parallel, while X Corps retreated toward the port of Hungnam.

The march of the 7th Division from near the Yalu, and of the 1st Marine Division from Changjin Reservoir (also called Chosin Reservoir), in intense cold and under constant attack, was effected with great hardship. The retreat was not a rout; with close air support, substantial casualties were inflicted on the Chinese and the retreating forces broke up an enemy army group of 12 divisions. A naval force, headed by the battleship Missouri, ringed Hungnam with a wall of fire as the troops fell back into that port. All were safely evacuated by sea, as well as 100,000 civilian refugees.

The X Corps troops were taken to Pusan, where General Walker planned a counterattack. Walker died in a traffic accident on December 23, and was succeeded by Lieutenant General Matthew B. Ridgway.

Chinese intervention created "an entirely new war."Retreat and Advance

On January 1, 1951, Chinese and North Korean troops launched a massive attack across the 38th parallel. They again captured Seoul, January 4, and forced the 8th Army to retreat 25 miles (40 km) below Seoul. Ridgway then launched a limited counterattack. Killing enemy troops was given priority over gaining ground. By slow, but deadly, advances, aided by superior air power, UN troops regained Seoul on March 14 and held a line just below the 38th parallel. In April, UN forces were again just above the parallel.

Stalemate

Meanwhile, the UN had urged that Communist China agree to a cease-fire, during which there could be negotiations for a permanent settlement of the Korean problem. The door was kept open for negotiations by the UN policy of not attacking Chinese bases in Manchuria. But the Chinese Communists made unacceptable demands. They insisted that there could be no discussion of a ceasefire until UN forces withdrew from Korea, the United States ceased protecting the Nationalist Chinese on Taiwan, and the UN recognized Communist China.

MacArthur disagreed with the policy of not carrying the war to the mainland of China. He wanted to bomb Manchuria and make use of Nationalist Chinese troops from Taiwan. On April 11, 1951, Truman dismissed MacArthur because the general had made public his dissatisfaction with the UN policies on conducting the war. Ridgway succeeded MacArthur. Lieutenant General James A. Van Fleet became commander of the 8th Army.

On April 22 the Communists launched a major offensive with 400,000 troops, and again forced UN troops below the 38th parallel. However, by June the UN armies pushed the Communists back.

Responding to a Russian peace feeler, on June 30 General Ridgway proposed a meeting to discuss a cease-fire. Communist China and North Korea promptly agreed. The talks were begun July 10, 1951, at Kaesong. Later the negotiations were transferred to nearby Panmunjom. While the negotiators haggled over terms, fighting went on, with many casualties on both sides. But in fact the war had reached a stalemate.

Armistice

It took 2 years and 17 days after the first session at Kaesong for the two sides to agree to a cease-fire. At first they disagreed over a line of demarcation (borderline) to be drawn between the opposing armies. Then they deadlocked early in 1952 over the exchange of prisoners. The UN insisted on the principle of voluntary repatriation, by which prisoners who did not wish to return to Communism would not be forced to do so. In April, 1952, General Ridgway was transferred to the NATO command and was succeeded by General Mark W. Clark.

The armistice of July 27, 1953 ended the Korean War.

In October, 1952, the negotiations collapsed. In December, President-elect Dwight D. Eisenhower fulfilled a campaign promise by touring the Korean front. Peace negotiations were resumed in the spring of 1953. By then, political conditions favoring a truce had resulted from two eventsEisenhower's election as President and the death of Russia's dictator, Joseph Stalin.

In April, 1953, an exchange of sick and wounded prisoners was achieved. The Communists then agreed to voluntary repatriation under supervision of a commission of neutral nations. Prisoners refusing repatriation were to be placed in custody of this commission. Representatives of their home countries were to be permitted to try to talk them into returning. Prisoners not persuaded to return were to be released to a neutral country unless a later political conference decided otherwise.

In June, 1953, agreement was reached for a demilitarized zone two and a half miles (4 km) wide to separate the opposing forces in accord with the then-existing battle line. This arrangement permitted North Korea to hold 850 square miles (2,200 km2) south of the 38th parallel, but gave 2,350 square miles (6,100 km2) above the parallel to South Korea. It was also agreed that neither side would increase its military strength during the armistice. A neutral-nations supervisory commission was authorized to investigate violations behind the lines of each side.

South Korea Opposes Truce

South Korea wanted the Chinese to leave North Korea at once. It also wanted an agreement that elections under UN supervision would be held for uniting Korea under a non-Communist government. UN agreement to a compromise on these issues caused South Korea to recall its delegate. The compromise called for a political conference to be held after the signing of the armistice to settle the political future of Korea.

Syngman Rhee, South Korea's President, showed his disapproval of the armistice terms by releasing 24,000 anti-Communist North Koreans from prison camps. He threatened that South Korea would continue fighting. Signing of the truce was delayed until the United States satisfied the Communists that it would be responsible for holding South Korea to the terms of the armistice. Rhee consented to abide by them after being promised that the United States would defend South Korea against any future attack. The armistice was signed on July 27, 1953, and fighting ended that evening.

Exchange of Prisoners

took place during August-September, 1953. The UN command released 70,159 North Koreans and 5,640 Chinese. The Communists released 12,760 prisoners, among whom were 7,850 South Koreans, 3,597 Americans, 945 Britons, and 228 Turks.

Repatriation was refused by 14,699 Chinese and 7,876 North Koreans. The talks authorized by the armistice changed the minds of only a few of these prisoners.

Among the 400 Communist-held prisoners who refused repatriation were 21 Americans, who said they preferred to stay in Red China. Some of these men had been converted to Communism by brainwashing conducted in prison camps. But others feared being punished for actions against fellow prisoners. Most of the men later changed their minds and returned to the United States.

Results

The political conference provided for by the armistice broke down in the preparatory stages. The question of holding elections to unify Korea was referred, at the request of the UN, to a conference of foreign ministers of the United States, Great Britain, France, and the Soviet Union at Geneva in 1954. No agreement was reached.

The war left both North and South Korea in ruins. Red China, although suffering enormous casualties, emerged from the war stronger than ever. Because the truce had really settled nothing, it was necessary to maintain a constant alert against a new invasion attempt. United States troops remained in Korea, although greatly reduced in number. A particularly serious problem was that North Korea, in violation of the armistice agreement, rearmed its troops with modern weapons. Years after the truce was signed, North and South Korea were still armed camps. UN representatives continued to meet with the North Koreans, but there was little progress toward settling the issues that had caused the war.

Military casualties in the Korean War