The Korean War

Course and Effects

 Phase 1

• 25 June 1950 Korean People's Army (KPA) forces

invade S. Korea (surprise attack)
• UNSC authorizes a military operation, Republic Of
Korea (ROK) armies come under UN Command, led
by Douglas MacArthur
• 28 June Seoul falls to KPA. Syngman Rhee
evacuates, massacres thousands of political
opponents
• 5 July Battle of Osan – KPA defeat ROK and US
forces
Phase 1 (continued)
• August – September – Battle of Busan
Perimeter
• ROK and UN Command confined to 10%
of peninsula
• KPA forces stretched; UN hold the line
with air support
• Busan Perimeter reinforced with troops
and tanks from Japan
• US had naval superiority over the
peninsula
Phase 2
• 15 September – MacArthur launches a
surprise amphibious assault at Incheon in
defiance of Pentagon recommendations.
40,000 marines involved
• 16 September – breakout from Busan
Perimeter, UN routs KPA, US air superiority
destroys tanks and other equipment
• 25 September – Seoul recaptured. Syngman
Rhee government reinstalled by MacArthur
• Tens of thousands of KPA troops captured
Phase 2 (continued)
• 1 October - MacArthur decides to cross
38th Parallel and invade N Korea
• China warns of intervention
• 19 October – Pyongyang captured
• KPA casualties 200,000; 135,000 POWs
• UN forces split into 2 armies as they
approach the Yalu river
• MacArthur argues need for seizure of
supply depots in China. Truman warning
 • 1 October – Stalin sends telegram to
Mao requesting intervention. PLA
Phase 3 begins preparations, redesignating units
in Manchuria as the People's Volunteer
Army (PVA)
• 25 October – massive PVA force crosses
the Yalu and launches a counter-
offensive against UN forces and ROK
• PVA drives a wedge between UN armies
• PVA victories at Battles of Onjong and
Ulsan
• UN forces retreat and evacuate
Pyongyang
• 16 December – Truman declares a state
of emergency in the US
• 4 January 1951 – Seoul falls again
• MacArthur argues for use of atom
bombs against China
• Matthew Ridgeway arrives to command
UN armies – huge boost to US morale
• Launches Operation Thunderbolt
counter-offensive, situation stabilises
 • February 1951 – Operations
Phase 4 Thunderbolt, Killer and
Ripper: PVA and KPA pushed
back, Seoul retaken, fighting
returns to area around 38th
parallel. US air power key
• 1 March- Stalin authorizes
secret deployment of two air
force divisions
• 11 April – MacArthur relieved
of his command by Truman
for “insubordination”
• PVA offensive – Battles of
Imjin River and Kapyong,
suffer enormous losses
Phase 4 (continued)
• July 1951 – July 1953: Stalemate
• China less inclined to take risks and avoid losses, US ambitions more
limited – regain S Korean territory
• Series of famous and gory battles – Bloody Ridge, Punchbowl,
Heartbreak Ridge, Pork Chop Hill
• Massive US bombing of N Korea
• 10 July 1951 – armistice negotiations begin at Kaesong, later
Panmunjom
• Major sticking point was return of POWs, attitude of Stalin
• 5 March 1953- Stalin dies; new Soviet leadership ends backing of PVA
• 27 July 1953 – Korean Armistice Agreement at Panmunjom; Syngman
Rhee refuses to sign. DMZ established
Reasons for outcome
• Ultimately, the two sides were evenly balanced
• KPA stronger than ROK (weakened by civil war, lack of US
support prior to 1950)
• Superior military technology of UN Command (US and 15
other nations) – naval and air support crucial – nearly 1
million troops by 1953
• Vast human resources of PVA – invasion force of 500,000;
ability to sustain major casualties (though offensive
strategy scaled back after taking major casualties in
February 1951)
• Clear US air superiority (and ability to inflict fatal damage
to Chinese and NK military and economy) countered by
deployment of Soviet Mig-15 fighter aircraft
• Limited war for the US – aim was to contain spread od
communism. Truman’s suspicion of MacArthur’s strategy
proved correct; reluctance to escalate
War at sea and in the air, tanks

• Significance of war at sea was limited. UNC had clear superiority, patrolled entire
coastline for duration of conflict
• UNC patrols prevented supply by sea of KPA and PVA from China
• Naval power crucial in early stages of the war – supplying and reinforcing positions in
Busan Perimeter, and in Incheon landings
• Total UN air superiority in early period of the war, use of B-29 Superfortress bombers
destroyed KPA armies and targeted supply lines
• Chinese intervention (and later Soviet involvement) meant that MIG-15s could attack B-
29s
• US introduced new F-86 Sabres – a match for the Mig-15s. Aerial dogfights between the
two a feature of the remainder of the war
• US use of napalm to destroy NK cities
• Each side deployed large numbers of tanks – Pershings and Shermans (US), T-34s
(KPA/PVA). US tanks more powerful, T-34s more maneuverable
 Effects
• The “forgotten war” – horrific casualties, especially for Korea and China. 200,000 deaths
ROC and UNC. More than one million KPA and PVA
• Enormous civilian suffering – 2-3 million dead
• Massive refugee crisis – millions fled KPA advance in mid-1950
• 5 millions refugees by early 1951
• Massacres of political opponents – Syngman Rhee purged leftists (as many as 200,000
dead) in the Bodo League massacre
• US bombing campaign of civilian targets in NK – condemned by some as a war crime
• Women and boys recruited by both sides for combat roles. KPA used women posing as
refugees to infiltrate enemy positions, and as guerrilla fighters in the south
• Change in the role and status of women – in ROK, worked as medical professionals –
transformation in traditional attitudes after the war, with more women in the economy
• SK constitution 1948 – women had equal rights. Kim-Il-Sung promoted gender equality
• Families divided after 1953
 Significance and political
impact
• First major conflict of the Cold War
• Set the tone for superpower conflict – proxy wars
• Each side careful not to escalate – Stalin approved use of aircraft only; Truman reluctant
to authorize invasion of north or use of A-bomb, and eventually fired MacArthur. Both
sides feared MAD in the atomic age
• Confirmed that containment (and the Cold War) had arrived in Asia
• Key to development of the domino theory – factor in increasing US involvement in
Vietnam
• Heralded China’s arrival as a major global power (major antagonist of the US). Helped
Chiang survive in Taiwan but also Mao’s consolidation of power
• Factor in the development of the Sino-Soviet split (Chinese suspicions that they were
used as a Soviet pawn)
• Permanent division of the two Koreas, political polarization. Still technically at war
• Economic devastation, especially to the north. SK would take a decade to begin its
development; DPRK became isolated, dependent on the USSR as an ally