The Korean War
June 25th, 1950 - July 27th, 1953
At the end of WWII in '45, Korea was freed from Japanese control.
North Korea was occupied by the Soviets while the South was occupied by American forces.
By 1948 the country was divided in half at the 38th Parallel.
With the capitalist South by Syngman Rheea and the communist North by Kim-il Sung.
The Soviet troops withdrew from Korea in 1948 and U.S. troops withdrew in 1949,
however,
North and South Korea as enemies of one another would not accept the border between them as permanent.
The North Koreans attacked South Korea on June 25th, 1950, advancing across the 38th Parallel.
Around 75,000 troops of the North Korean People's Army defeated the Republic of Korea's Army with success.
Capturing the capital city of Seoul, then occupying the whole of South Korea except for Pusan.
This was a problem, as President Truman and the United States wanted to contain the spread of communism by preventing the domino effect.
That is, if Korea fell, so would other countries to the ideology.
South Korea appealed for support, and the United States pushed a resolution through the United Nations Security Council.
The USSR did not use its veto power as it was boycotting the council because the new communist China was not accepted.
In China's seat was the pro-U.S Chinese Nationalist government of Taiwan.
An appeal was made by the Security Council for North Korea to withdraw its troops, but was ignored.
As a result, approval was granted for UN army made of international force of 16 nations to send help to South Korea, commanded by General MacArthur.
The UN troops, composed mainly of Americans, landed in South Korea in early July, but were soon pushed back on defense by the North Korean forces, forming a perimeter around Pusan to defend the line until reinforcements arrived in August.
Now that their position was strengthened, MacArthur went on the offensive.
On September 15th, the U.S. Marines X Corps launched an amphibious assault at Inchon.
The North Korean troops were pushed back on the retreat over the 38th Parallel, and soon Seoul was recaptured along with the whole of South Korea by the end of the month.
Now, MacArthur was to go beyond the initial idea of containment.
Truman, worried of a Chinese response, nevertheless approved, and UN troops moved into North Korea on October 7th, 1950.
On October 12th, they captured Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, and then the Yalu River, which was the border with the communist China.
China retaliated by helping the North Koreans, sending 250,000 Chinese troops.
The UN troops, overwhelmed by this new force, were pushed out of North Korea with heavy losses.
By January 1951, Chinese and North Korean troops had captured Seoul.
General MacArthur wanted to use the atom bomb on China, and was dismissed for insubordination by President Truman, who went back to a policy of containment.
In June 1951, more UN troops were sent to Korea, eventually driving the North Korean to the 38th Parallel and stabilizing the front.
Now, a stalemate set in.
In July, peace talks began, but a compromise could not be found.
Meanwhile, fighting continued and American pilots fought in the air against Soviet pilots using Chinese jet fighters and wearing Chinese uniforms.
General Dwight D. Eisenhower took over as president in early 1953 and sought an end to the war.
After two years of negotiations, an armistice was signed on July 27th, 1953 at P’anmunjŏm, on the 38th Parallel.
A demilitarized zone was set up, which stands to this day.
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