The Korean War 1950-1953

Start of the War June 1950: North Korea invaded South Korea This came as a surprise to the majority of US foreign policy leaders. - US had withdrawn their troops in 1949, weren’t fully prepared to fight - Truman was committed to containment and was left with little option - Stalin and Mao were not surprised

Start of the War Role of the US Role of the UN First time containment would be tested Truman ordered ground, naval and air forces He asked the UN to support US and approve the use of force Unanimously approved the use of force against North Korea Instead of a “war”, this conflict was referred to as a “UN police action”

UN Involvement in Korean Conflict David Low - Britain 1950 This cartoon shows approval for the firm actions taken by the UN – Truman leading the charge into Korea

Role of the soviet Union Start of the War Role of the soviet Union Role of CHINA Initially told Kim that there would be no Soviet aid, but would agree to help Mao with air cover and military equipment Broke this promise – illustrated the Soviet pattern of stabilizing a threat and then confronting the West Stalin knew that the US would avoid the nuclear option and acted accordingly Mao feared a US invasion of China – thought it might be avoided by his involvement in Korea Also worried about a Nationalist invasion of mainland China from Taiwan Convinced Stalin to provide air cover if China provided ground troops

Combat in Korea Inchon Landing North Korea on the Run UN Forces Sept 1950: UN forces landed in NK at Inchon Surprise attack led by MacArthur – worked well This was a key victory for the UN Inchon Landing Offensive attacks at Inchon and Pusan resulted in defeat or surrender of large number of NK troops Oct 1950: South Korea was back in UN control North Korea on the Run UN began to retreat following a move into NK NK supported by 300,000 Chinese troops MacArthur fired UN Forces Retreat

Herbert Block – April 1951 Political cartoon showing Douglas MacArthur seated on the left with a cubed globe that focuses on the far eastern countries of China, Japan, Korea, Manchuria and Formosa, and George Marshall, seated on the right with a spherical globe and a more global view of foreign policy

Fighting ends July 1951: Peace negotiations began - held up by dispute over boundary between the Koreas - battles continued, inflicting heavy casualties on both sides Oct 1951: Talks stalled due to debate over POWs. This lasted throughout 1952.

Armistice signed Nov 1952: Dwight Eisenhower (campaigned on a promise to end the war) was elected president - fighting continued July 1953: Armistice signed - Korean peninsula divided at prewar boundaries - Demilitarized zone (DMZ) established that still exists today

significance on the cold war - US Korean War gave NSC-68 supporters the opportunity they needed to gain public acceptance of its policy and military implications - Truman, US military and the political right used the Korean War to launch a much more aggressive Cold War policy Marked the start of the Cold War arms race (conventional and nuclear) and after 1953 the Cold War became a global phenomenon - US became the “global policeman” against communism, which meant it needed to maintain parity with the Soviet Union in conventional military forces, and superiority in nuclear forces - this meant a huge increase in the US military budget (by 1953 US military production was 700% higher than it had been in 1950)

Significance on the cold war – USSR and China Soviet Union felt threatened by increase in US land, naval and air forces in Europe. - Stalin hoped that it would be possible to reach an agreement with the West on W. Germany not being rearmed or allowed to join NATO, but both happened anyway. - Instead of decrease tensions between the US and USSR, it increased them tremendously. Chinese prestige increased because of support for NK, but it took a huge toll on Chinese resources and hurt the economy – it did force China to focus on its own strength since USSR backed out on aid - this later turned the Cold War into a multi-polar, rather than bi- polar, conflict, which ultimately contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Developments in Asia and Europe San Francisco Peace Treaty (1951) - the US (and 48 others) signed a treaty restoring sovereignty to Japan, allowing US military bases to remain - US continued to aid in rebuilding Japan’s economy; signed a mutual defense treaty with Taiwan and became increasingly involved in defending independence movements in Indo-China; signed military alliance with the Philippines - US massively increased troops in Europe, particularly in Greece and Turkey – this threatened USSR – and strengthened NATO

Developments in Asia and Europe ANZUS Pact (September 1951) - US offered support against any military aggression in Australia and New Zealand, while they offered assistance in fighting communism in the region - this hurt Stalin’s hope of weakening western presence in Asia and the Pacific By 1953, the US was committed to fighting global communism with troops and military assistance. This would be the cornerstone of Cold War policy for the next 20 years. - increase in “limited” wars - nuclear and conventional arms races - increase in sabotage and spying/propaganda campaigns - increased service and civilian pressure