The Korean WarJune 25th, 1950 - July 27th, 1953

-After WWII Korea was divided in half at the 38th parallel

-The USSR controlled the Northern half, which was communist, it’s leader was Kim Il Sung.

-The Americans established a Democratic government (R.O.K) in the South, led by Syngman Rhee.

                                      

    

Syngman Rhee

- The North and South fight almost from the beginning.

- The North has been given weapons from the Soviets and prepares to invade the South, which has an army with 2-3 times less men and weapons.

- -In the predawn hours of Sunday, June 25, 1950, the North Korean forces invade the South, taking them by surprise.

- The US and the UN came to the aid of the South Koreans in an effort to squash the Soviet advance.

- The UN calls an emergency session, which the Soviets abruptly leave. The UN decide to send troops for a “police action”

- The North Koreans quickly crushed South Korean defenses at the 38th parallel.

- South Korea's army was simply overwhelmed. The capital of Seoul fell in three days.

The suburbs of Seoul, destroyed by artillery and air strikes. Photo taken 08/20/1951.

                                    

                                       

-American General MacArthur felt that the North Koreans were vulnerable to an amphibious envelopment.

-A landing at Inch'on, the Yellow Sea port just twenty-five miles west of Seoul, would cut North Korean supply routes.

-The assault on Inch'on on 15 September 1950 encountered light resistance and UN forces steadily pushed inland.

-This was a huge confidence builder for the forces and particularly MacArthur.

-The course of the war changed abruptly, and within weeks much of North Korea was taken by United States and South Korean forces.

-In October, the North Korean capital of Pyongyang was captured and ROK troops reached the Yalu River.

-MacArthur ordered an advance to the northern Korean border with China at the Yalu River.

-Victory seemed at hand, but within 24 hours the situation suddenly changed.

-When Kim's regime was nearly dead, the Soviet Union did very little to save it -- China picked up the pieces.

- The Chinese Army had 850,000 troops north of the Yalu River.

- The UN force's advance had continued despite warnings of a massive Chinese intervention.

- Mao Tse Tung feared that the Allies would not stop in Korea, but would continue across the Yalu River into China and attempt to overthrow communism in mainland China.

-MacArthur had Truman’s consent to take over all of North Korea.

- However, the President did not agree to his suggestions of bombing China, including use of the atomic bomb.

- After MacArthur publicly advocated widening the war, Truman fired him.

In November 1952 Dwight D. Eisenhower was elected President on the campaign pledge to "go to Korea."

President-elect Eisenhower during his visit to the Korea, December 4, 1952

- Armistice July 1953 between North Korea, South Korea, the UN, and the Chinese government.

- The war lasted just over three years, and destroyed much of the Korean peninsula and the world around it.

- Casualities were high, including 180,000 South Korean and UN troops and nearly 37,000 Americans

- Number of communist deaths is unknown

July 27, 1953: Peace Treaty signed at Panmunjom

38th parallel reset as boundary between communist North and anti-communist South.

Cold War tensions continue unabated.

Gen. Mark W. Clark says he has "the unenviable distinction of being the first US Army commander to sign an armistice without victory."