Background of Korean war.docx

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AKNOWLEDGEMENT

First and foremost I would like to thank god for

giving me the opportunity and capability to study

in such a renowned institution.

Then I would like to thank my teacher Prof-Manoj

Mishra for giving me proper guidance in creating

this project and for guiding me through myresearch.

ast but not least I would like to show my gratitude

towards my parents for providing me the facilities

and aid in education and I would like to thanks my

friends for supporting me in completeing this

project.

Nikhil kumar

!


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Index

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#ackground of $orean

war%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%..&

Origin of

war

.5

North korea surprise

attck.6

Entry of

U.S.A.7

Inchon

attack

.9

acaurther!s

"is#issa$%&

Eisenhwer' war!s en" an"

after#ath%5

(i)$iography

%*

&


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Background of Korean war-

'uring the (ino-)apanese *ar +!,-!,/0 the )apanese began a

move to dominate the peninsula of $orea. *ith modern weaponsand a westerni1ed military2 the )apanese easily defeated the

3hinese2 forcing the 3hinese to give up Formosa +modern day

Taiwan02 and also demanding that 3hina recogni1e $orea as an

independent state. The western powers2 who2 molded by the era2

were all fairly racist2 were shocked at )apan4s military prowess2

moderni1ation2 and apparent imperialist desires. )apan did have

designs on $orea2 and the 5ussians feared the )apanese might

ne6t set their sights on Manchuria2 which caused 5ussiaconsiderable concern.

In the late nineteenth-century2 Imperial 5ussia was e6tremely

interested in north-east 7sia. In !,!2 5ussia began building the

Trans-(iberian 5ailway to connect Moscow and the rest of *estern

5ussia with 8ladisvostok. +8ladisvostok2 5ussia4s main Paci9c port2

means :5uler of the ;ast.:0 The best route for the Trans-(iberian

5ailway was through Manchuria2 territory neighboring $orea andwhich belonged to 3hina. Instead of building along a less

favorable route2 5ussia leased territory from the 3hinese on which

to build the railway. 3ompleted in !


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Manchuria during the #o6er 5ebellion +!


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The $orean *ar +!/


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revolutionary2 drew its inspiration from the best of science2

education2 and industrialism in ;urope2 )apan2 and 7merica. These

ultranationalistsG were split into rival factions2 one of which

centred on (yngman 5hee2 educated in the ?nited (tatesand at

one time the president of a dissident $orean ProvisionalHovernmentin e6ile.

In their hurried eAort to disarm the )apanese army and repatriate

the )apanese population in $orea +estimated at @


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cross-border guerrilla incursions in order to draw 5>$7 units away

from their guerrilla-suppression campaign in the (outh.

In its larger purpose the partisan uprising failedN the 5epublic of

$orea +5>$0 was formed in 7ugust !,2 with (yngman 5heeaspresident. Bevertheless2 almost ,2


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The Borth $orean invaders hoped to take (eoul2 the (outh $orean

capital2 as Kuickly as possible. The majority of 5>$ forces were

routed by Borth $orean troops. >nly one 5>$ division2 the Cth2

held its ground. )ohn Muccio2 the 7merican ambassador to (outh

$orea2 Kuickly reported back to *ashington that a :probable: full-

scale attack was under way. Meanwhile2 (yngman 5hee reacted to

news of the invasion by ordering the imprisonment of more (outh

$oreans.

The ?B was particularly upset about the Borth $orean invasion2

because it had overseen the elections held in !,2 and did not

want to see a war undo that election. ?B (ecretary-Heneral

Trygve ie called the invasion a :war against the ?nited Bations.:

Truman hoped to use the ?B as an instrument of ?( power2 and

?B3>$ +the ?B 3ouncil on $orea0 condemned the attack as a

:breach of peace:. >n Bov. &


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On the night of the North Korean invasion, Truman convened the first Blair House

Meeting of his closest advisors. Though the meeting did not focus solely on Korea, in

fact it began with a discussion of the U !olicy toward the Nationalist "hinese in

#ormosa $an issue Mac%rthur believed to be of great im!ortance& Truman allowed 'ean

%cheson to s!ea( regarding the Korean situation. )en. Omar Bradley summari*ed the

grou!+s feelings, saying that the U would have to draw the line somewhere, and that

Korea seemed as good a !lace as any. The immediate results of the Blair House

Meeting were orders to evacuate %merican civilians from Korea, to !rovide military

su!!lies to the embattled outh Korean army, and to move the -TH U #leet into the

#ormosa strait, bloc(ing the eo!le+s /e!ublic of "hina from invading #ormosa while

the U was distracted with Korea.

Mac%rthur+s re!orts grew worse over the ne0t few days, describing the North Korean

rout of /OK forces. The /OK army fled south, to the ti! of the !eninsula, in the direction

of the !ort city of usan. On 1une 2-, 3456 the U !romised naval and air su!!ort to

outh Korea. Truman further ho!ed to discourage the oviets or the "hinese

"ommunists from getting involved in the war by integrating U troo!s into a force from

the UN, and claiming the whole o!eration to be UN sanctioned and led.

On 1une 76, with the /OK army in dire straits, Truman relented and gave Mac%rthur

authori*ation to transfer 2 full divisions from 1a!an to Korea. #or roughly two8and8a8half

months, Mac%rthur sim!ly tried to !revent the North Korean army from ta(ing usan.

Meanwhile, the U conducted a strategic bombing cam!aign and bloc(aded the

coastline with warshi!s. 9hile Navy and %ir !ower had little effect, Mac%rthur did

manage to attain his main goal of holding usan. %lso, during this delay, Mac%rthur was

able to transform his out8of8 sha!e occu!ation force into an army.

By 1uly :, 3456, the balance had begun to swing toward the U. On 1uly -, the UN

as(ed the U to a!!oint a UN commander. Truman ;uic(ly made Mac%rthur

"ommander in "hief of the UN "ommand $"


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Tra!!ed, bac(ed into a corner against the sea, the situation continued to loo( blea( for

the U?UN?/OK forces in outh Korea. UN ground troo!s, under @t.8 general 9alton H.

9al(er, commander of the UN ground troo!s in Korea, s!ent the bul( of their time

wor(ing hard to build the usan erimeter, a fortress8 li(e series of entrenchments in

southeastern Korea. till, these entrenchments offered little chance for U?UN?/OK

counteroffensive. The anti8communist forces seemed stuc(.

Mac7rthur4s call for 7merican ground troops was based on several

factors. First of all2 bad weather was limiting the accuracy of air

power to defend the (outh $oreans. (econd2 the 5>$ troops could

not now be given tanks and be e6pected to use themN only well

trained ?( soldiers could operate the tanks and anti-tank

weapons necessary to halt the advance of the (oviet T-&soperated by Borth $orean 9ghters.

The 7merican troops Mac7rthur brought in from )apan had not

seen 9ghting in years2 if ever. 7n occupation army2 most of these

troops were under-trained and out of shape. 7s he held on to

Pusan2 Mac7rthur4s forces became more and more 9t. The intense

heat of summer was also a problem2 and 7merican morale was

e6tremely low during this period. The worst was seen in :bug-out

fever:2 where ?( troops would Dee battle2 throwing down

weapons as they ran. The Borth $orean troops were battle-

hardened veterans by comparison2 used to the terrain2 formidable

9ghters2 and highly mobile. >nce more2 in the comparison of

Borth $orean Kuick-strike capabilities and 9rm resolve versus an

under-motivated and slow to react 7merican army2 this early

phase of the $orean *ar foreshadowed the 8ietnam *ar. 7lso2 as

in 8ietnam2 strategic bombing2 which had played such a vital part

in *orld *ar II2 never worked very well against Borth $orea2 whichsimply wasn4t industriali1ed enough for bombing to have a

devastating impact.

Inchon attack-

!"


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On October 4, Mac%rthur sent his forces across the 7>th arallel near

Kaesong, wanting to ca!ture yongyang, the North Korean ca!ital.

Mac%rthur even !lanned another am!hibious assault at 9onson, which the

1" o!!osed. Mac%rthur went ahead with the 9onson landing anyway, but

it !roved to be unnecessary.

On October 35, Truman flew to 9a(e


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Mac7rthur felt that the Borth $orean army had been essentially

destroyed by the middle of >ctober2 and2 against the

recommendations of the )oint 3hiefs of (taA2 he sent his forces

into the northernmost parts of Borth $orea. Lis troops were hit by

surprise and decimated when 3hinese 3ommunists troops beganattacking his forces. >n >ctober "/2 the P53 made an attack on

5>$ soldiers and routed them at Pukchin. >n Bovember !2 the

3hinese defeated 7merican troops at ?nsan2 in the 9rst 3hinese-

7merican combat of the war.

*hy did the P53 intervene in $oreaO The P53 wanted to preserve

a Borth $orean 3ommunist (tate2 but not to dominate it. Instead2

the P53 wanted Borth $orea to serve as a buAer between

Manchuria and the ?( dominated (outh $orea. The P53 viewpoint

made a certain amount of sense. 7fter all2 since the ?( broke its

promise not to cross the &,th Parallel2 what reassurance could the

3hinese have that the ?( would keep its promise and not cross

the aluO 5esolving to use force2 P53 leaders decided that if they

were going to 9ght the ?(2 the initial attack would have to be as

e=cient as possible. For this reason2 they planned a surprise

attack2 secretly moving troops across the alu. 3hina2 using the

element of surprise2 did not declare war. Furthermore2 so that it

could o=cially disavow responsibility2 the P53 troops claimed to

be :volunteers.:

7merican intelligence failed to detect the !,


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Macaurthurs Dismissal-


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On %!ril 3:, 3453, following Mac%rthur+s dismissal, Matthew /idgway

assumed Mac%rthur+s !osition and controlled %merica+s war effort from

To(yo. )eneral 1ames an #leet moved into /idgway+s old role, getting

command of the Aighth %rmy in Korea, which was now strongly entrenched

about 26 miles north of the 7>th arallel. /idgway had his sights set on the

TH arallel, although /idgway did begin O!eration

iledriver, an offensive directed against the


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The Kaesong tal(s dragged on through the summer of 3453 without much

!rogress.


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9hy did the negotiations ta(e so longJ By the time tal(s at Kaesong

began, Truman wanted to end the war. However, some !eo!le in his

administration may have wanted to see the war drag on, so that they would

have further reason to !ush for military budget increases as suggested by

N"8 =>. The "ommunists also contributed to the deadloc(, !artially

because they did not want to bac( down from their initial demands for fear

of losing face. ince neither side wanted to ma(e concessions and a!!ear

wea(, both sides were res!onsible for drawing out the tal(s.

Eisenhower !ar"s End and the #ftermath-$

%fter ta(ing office, Aisenhower soon re!laced )eneral 1ames an #leet,

who had started arguing for an all8out invasion, with @t. )eneral Ma0well

Taylor. No immediate !rogress was made in the negotiations other than the

e0change of a few !risoners in March of 3457. , the two sides finally came to an

agreement over the tric(y O9 $risoner of 9ar& issue, outlining their

solutions in a document call the Terms of /eference. Under this

agreement, those O9s that refused to return to "ommunist territory

would be !laced under the aus!ices of a neutral commission for a !eriod of

three months.


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a second front, the U had to deal with the !roblem of yngman /hee,

who continued to s!out !romises about Korean reunification, and who

!romised to invade North Korea even if he only had the /OK army on his

side. The U considered organi*ing a cou! to remove /hee from !ower,

but never carried the action out.


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haunt the United tates, as the U worries about North Korea+s !ossession

of nuclear wea!ons.

The anmunGom eace Treaty gave the /" nearly everything it wanted

with the e0ce!tion of control of #ormosa. This !eace !robably would havebeen acce!ted earlier by the "ommunists, but Truman, a 'emocrat, could

not afford to offer such a !eace to the "ommunists, since the /e!ublicans

would have attac(ed him for being soft on "ommunism. Aisenhower, a

/e!ublican, could get away with it, since his own !arty did not attac( what

actually was a fairly conciliatory !eace agreement.

%lthough it ended the war and restored an uneasy !eace to Korea, the

anmunGom treaty was a failure in many ways. %fter three years of fightingand : million dead and wounded $including over 56,666 %merican combat

deaths&, Korea remained divided into two armed cam!s Gust as before the

war. #urthermore, the treaty and the war did almost nothing to bring the

"old 9ar closer to an end. U8U/ tensions were as high or higher after

Korea as they had been before.

The war was disastrous for Korea as well, destroying most of its industrial

!lants. North Korea, des!ite its mineral and hydroelectric resources, fellinto !overty and couldn+t (ee! u! with outh Korea+s economic !aceI outh

Korea soon boasted a )' $)ross 'omestic roduct& ;uadru!le that of

North Korea. North Korea did, however, remain fairly inde!endent of U/

and /" influence. %nd in fact, "hinese and oviet s;uabbling over who

should !ay the bill for the Korean 9ar was one factor in the ino8oviet

!lit evident later in the "old 9ar.

The Korean 9ar, as a terribly negative e0!erience for the United tates,and as the initial significant military encounter of the "old 9ar !eriod,

seems as if it should have !rovided the U with an obGect lesson of the

nature of warfare in the "old 9ar era, and the im!ossibility of (ee!ing that

war limited. However, the U made many of the same mista(es in

the ietnam 9ar, in which the U yet again bac(ed a corru!t southern

"!
http://www.sparknotes.com/history/american/vietnamwar/http://www.sparknotes.com/history/american/vietnamwar/


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regime against a "ommunist8Nationalist northern regime that effectively

fought a guerrilla war.


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httpNQQwww.sparknotes.comQhistoryQamericanQkoreanwar

httpNQQwww.britannica.comQeventQ$orean-*ar

htt!sI??en.wi(i!edia.org?wi(i?KoreanLWar

"&
http://www.sparknotes.com/history/american/koreanwarhttp://www.britannica.com/event/Korean-Warhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_Warhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_Warhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_Warhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_Warhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_Warhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_Warhttp://www.sparknotes.com/history/american/koreanwarhttp://www.britannica.com/event/Korean-Warhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_War

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Background of Korean war.docx

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