Korean War. Proxy War – a war that results when opposing powers use third parties as substitutes for fighting each other directly Sphere of Influence.

Korean War

• Proxy War – a war that results when opposing powers use third parties as substitutes for fighting each other directly

• Sphere of Influence – a major power’s domination over a geographic area

• American Revolution– France vs. Great Britain

• Spanish Civil War– Germany and Italy vs. USSR

• Korean, Vietnam, Afghan, Cuba Arab-Israeli, Congo, etc., etc.,…– USA vs. USSR

• USSR in Eastern Europe• USA in Latin America• British Empire in India & Egypt• Roman Empire in Africa (before

they just took it)

Key Terms

Korean War Facts• June 1950 – July 1953• Anti-Communists vs. Communists War

South Korea North KoreaUnited States ChinaUnited Nations Soviet Union (support role)

• Casualties and lossesDead – 178,426 Dead – 367,283-750,282Missing – 32,925Wounded – 566,434 Wounded – 686,500-789,000

• Total civilians killed/wounded: 2.5 million (est.)

Korean Geography• Located on the Korean Peninsula

in northeast Asia– Yalu River separates Korea from

China in the northwest– The Yellow Sea is to the west– East China sea and Korea Strait to

the south– Sea of Japan to the east

• Southern and western parts of Korea have well-developed plains

• Eastern and Northern parts are mountainous

Background• Late 19th century – Japan began exerting more

influence over Korea• 1910 – Japan annexed Korea into its growing empire• 1945 – Japanese were defeated in Korea by the

U.S.S.R. in the north and the U.S.A. in the south– Soviets and Americans met at the 38th parallel and the

country was divided in two; the Soviets administering the north and the Americans administering the south

– Both sides believed that Korea would soon be reunified

• In 1945 the UN is formed.• The UN General Assembly would meet every year.• The UN Security Council, charged with the maintenance of

international peace and security, would meet more regularly on current issues.

• The Five permanent members with veto-power included: The United States, Great Britain, France, The Soviet Union and the Republic of China

United Nations

United Nations• 1947 – UN decided that Korea was to have elections to

choose a national government for the whole country and reunify.

• The U.S. set up a parliament in the South based on Capitalism with the capital in Seoul. (Republic of Korea)

• The U.S.S.R. set up a communist regime in the North with the capital of Pyongyang (People’s Democratic Republic of Korea)

• Both Koreas claimed to speak for all of Korea and both leaders, Kim Il Sung in the north and Syngman Rhee in the south, had ambitions to unify the country under their rule

Republic of China Falls• The Chinese Communists, lead by

Mao Zedong had been waging a civil war for control of China for decades, united briefly with the Chinese Nationalist government to resist Japanese occupation

• 1949 – the Chinese Communists finally take full control of China and Mao becomes the leader of the People’s Republic of China

• Anti-communist Chinese flee to Taiwan which (to this day) is protected by the United States

Paranoia in the West• With China becoming Communist

there is a great fear in the West and in the U.S. in particular that Communism could sweep the globe

• American Senator Joseph McCarthy further fueled this paranoia by alleging that Communists had infiltrated all levels of American life – his investigations destroyed many American lives and McCarthyism became synonymous with witch-hunts

Truman Doctrine• March 1947 – President Truman in his

speech outlined this doctrine which was an International relations policy which stated that the U.S. would support Greece and Turkey with economic and military aid against Communism – this doctrine would later spread to encompass the world

• The Soviet Union and Communist China did not believe the Americans would extend this policy to the far east – both encouraged the North Koreans to attack

Harry Truman, 33rd President of the United States 1945-1953

Outbreak of War• June 25, 1950 – North Korean army crossed

the 38th parallel and invaded South Korea• North Korean army was well trained and

supplied by the Soviet Union• South Korean army consisted of border guards

and poorly equipped militias• South Korean army was quickly overwhelmed

American Repose and UN Involvement

• President Truman pledged American military intervention against any act of communist expansion in Asia – essentially extending the Truman doctrine worldwide

• UN security council – the US introduces a resolution branding North Korea as the

aggressor and demanding their withdrawal– USSR is not there to veto the resolution – they had been

boycotting the UN over America’s refusal to admit Communist China into the organization

Critical Test for UN• The League of Nations had failed to stop

aggressive states leading up to WWII• The failure of the League would cast a

shadow of the United Nations• For this reason the U.N., led by the

United States, would be far more aggressive in its mandate

UN Condemns North Korea• UN resolution is passed and

the US would lead a UN mission of 16 countries to defend South Korea

• Supreme allied command would be given to General Douglas MacArthur – hero of the pacific war of WWII

Korean War in Context of the Cold war

• It was believed that Communism was spreading and that if the United States and its allies did not intervene it could spread around the globe

• In this context, the little peninsula of Korea on the other side of the world became very important in the Global struggle between the US and the USSR

• June 25, 1950 – the North invades the South heavily armed and well-trained

• June 28 – Seoul had fallen and South Korean forces in disarray

• UN passes a resolution that night that “the members of the United Nations furnish such assistance to the Republic of Korea as may be necessary to repel the armed attack and to restore international peace and security to the area”

• June 30 – US forces head for Korea

1st Stage of War – North Korea Attacks

• July 5 – First Americans arrive to support the South Koreans but are unable to slow the enemy advance

• By the end of July North Korean forces had pushed the U.N. forces to the southeast corner of Korea around the port of Pusan

• Gen. Walker gives the “stand or die” order and for six weeks a desperate bloody struggle ensued as North Korea attempted to end the war

2nd Stage – Pusan Perimeter

• General MacArthur – over nearly unanimous objections – orders an amphibious invasion at the port of Inchon – they succeed and Seoul is recaptured within days

• Almost overnight the entire course of the war changes as North Korean forces find their supply lines cut and are attached on two fronts

• North Koreans begin a desperate retreat north being chased by U.N. forces

3rd Stage - Inchon

• Warnings had come through diplomatic channels that the Chinese would not tolerate an American invasion of North Korea

• MacArthur assured President Truman that the Chinese were nothing to worry about

• Nov 5 – the Chinese attack but then withdraw

• U.N. stabilizes its lines and continues to push north

• MacArthur ignores Truman’s order not to approach the Yalu river

4th Stage – Approaching the Yalu

• Nov 25 – a massive Chinese force invades and pushes U.N. forces south

• MacArthur informed the Joint Chiefs “We face an entirely new war”

• U.N forces fought fiercely as they retreated simply to avoid annihilation

• Jan 5 1951 – Seoul falls to the North Koreans and Chinese

• U.N. forces are able to stop the retreat 70 miles below Seoul

5th Stage – Chinese Invasion

• Jan 15 – General Ridgeway led the U.N. forces in a slow advance northward in what came to be known as the “meatgrinder”

• Chinese and North Koreans endured heavy casualties

• March 15 – Seoul is retaken (a fourth and final time) by the U.N.

• General MacArthur had been steadily pushing Washington to remove restrictions on his forces – including the use of the Atomic bomb

• April 11 – President Truman removed MacArthur from command for insubordination

6th Stage – Stalemate

• Historians look kindly on Truman for this decision but he faced considerable backlash at the time for firing the popular general

• The war would last for another two years with little progress and nearly 2,000,000 more deaths

• July 27, 1953 - an armistice was signed but the two Koreas are technically at war to this day

6th Stage – Stalemate

Aftermath of the War• The United States demonstrated its willingness to fight anywhere to

stop the spread of Communism• China showed that it was a major world power • The U.N. had come together to protect a country from a foreign

aggressor – but it also revealed that it was only as powerful as the nations that support it

• United for Peace resolution passed in November of 1950 gave the UN General Assembly responsibility for dealing with international aggression should the Security Council be deadlocked. This was passed by the Security Council during the Soviet’s boycott as a means of countering future Soviet vetoes.– This enabled the UN to launch a massive attack to drive Iraqi troops out of Kuwait

during the first Gulf War in 1991