The Korean War: 1950-1953

The Thirty-eighth Parallel The thirty-eighth parallel was the line of latitude that separated the northern and southern portions of the Korean Peninsula After World War II, Stalin and the Soviet government created a sphere of influence in the north. On the other hand, America backed Syngman Rhee in the South. This would eventually lead to conflict when in June, 1950, North Korea attacked the South leading to President Harry Truman sending troops in to protect South Korea.

Inchon Invasion General Douglas MacArthur commanded UN forces as they launched an amphibious assault codenamed Operation Chromite at Inchon. Inchon was located near Seoul which had been taken by North Korea during the first months of the War. They were able to push the communist forces back north of the thirty-eight parallel. They continued over the boarder into North Korea and were able to defeat the enemy forces.

The Yalu river Disaster The US Army led by General MacArthur continued to move their invasion further and further into North Korea towards the Chinese border at the Yalu River. As they neared the river, troops from China into North Korea and drove the US Army back south below the thirty-eighth parallel. At this point, General Matthew Ridgway was driving force that stopped the Chinese and regained the territory to they thirty-eighth parallel.

General Macarthur gets fired Once America had regained the territory from the Chinese, President Truman decided to make peace to avoid continued fighting. However, on his own General MacArthur disagreed with the president and demanded that China surrender or be invaded. He went to the press and spoke out against the president. His actions caused the peace negotiations to stall and caused the war to continue for approximately two more years. Because of this, President Truman fired General MacArthur on April 13 1951. As the president said, “… the cause of world peace is more important than any individual.” General Douglas MacArthur

Stalemate Once the American forces had regained the territory below the thirty-eighth parallel from the Chinese, the two armies settled into a prolonged stalemate. They continued to fight for two years before an official cease fire occurred- July 27, 1953. Korea was dived into two countries: North and South Korea.