The korean war
The Korean War
special topic
Spezialgebiet
Florian Razocha
8A
2000/2001
1.) Introduction
The Korean War has been called the "Forgotten War," historically overshadowed by World War II and Vietnam. It was one of the first episodes of the Cold War and involved many of the great personalities of the era: Truman, McArthur, Mao, and Stalin.
The Korean War began in the early hours of 25 June 1950, when North Korean troops crossed the 38th parallel and invaded South Korea.
Here are some numbers to give a short overview about the victims of the Korean War: 33.629 UN-soldiers were killed and 103.
629 were wounded; 5.178 soldiers were captured or were reported missing. 1.247.000 North Korean and Chinese soldiers died. About 400.
000 civilians were killed and 100.000 Korean children lost their parents. 300.000 people became homeless and 450.000 metric tons of bombs were dropped.
Although an armistice was signed in 1953 between the US, China and North Korea South Korea refused to sign it, leaving the two Koreas separate to this day.
2.) The Impacts of the 2nd World War in Korea
At the end of the 2nd World War, when the Japanese, who had encountered Korea, surrendered, the southern part of Korea was occupied by US-troops and the North of the country was taken by the soviet army; the border between the two regions was defined by the 38th degree of latitude (see the map beyond).
The workers’ party leader Kim Il Sung held the essential power in North Korea. In 1948 the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea was founded in North Korea.
In the South the Republic of Korea was founded with its authoritarian leader Syngman Rhee, which has later been superseded by a military dictatorship under Park Chung Hee.
At that time the USA began to make South Korea an anticommunist bastion by giving a strong economic and military help.
In 1949 both US and soviet troops were pulled back. The growing opposition against Syngman Rhee in the South convicted Kim Il Sung that he would be welcome as a liberator if he would bring down the government of Rhee and unite the two Korean states.
3.) The Korean War
3.1) The Beginning
After a number of partisan fights at the border the Korean War began on 25 June 1950 at 4 o’clock when North Korean infantry and tank units crossed the border to South Korea and advanced to the South Korean capital Seoul.
The defending units, who were totally unprepared, were completely overrun; moreover the North Korean forces, who were 170.
000 men, were totally superior to the South Korean ones, for they were equipped with modern Russian weapons, such as T-34 combat tanks and Yak fighters, while the South Korean units only had light weapons and had no battle experience at all.
Immediately the communist propaganda began to work by saying that Northern Korea was acting in self-defence in order to prevent possible attacks of South Korean forces. Three days later the North Korean Forces had occupied Seoul.
Seven hours after the war began the USA got informed about the attack. The next day the security council of the United Nations came together and decided that the communist forces immediately had to stop the fight; for they were on the side of South Korea they wanted the communist forces to be pushed back in order to avert a global war.
The same day general McArthur, who had much military experience in Southeast Asia, was sent to Korea to get an overview of the situation; he decided that 2 American divisions would be enough to stop the North Koreans.
The UN decided that there should be UN-troops sent to Korea to restore peace and order. By far the biggest contingent of all was from the USA, other 18 UN-states sent their troops.
Despite of the massive UN-presence the North Koreans managed to conquer nearly the whole of South Korea and the UN-troops were pushed back to the seaport Pusan in the southeast.
3.2) Hope for Victory
General McArthur started to plan tactics to bring his troops out of the disadvantageous situation in which they were – he used the same method that he has often successfully used in the 2nd World War: he assaulted the enemy with a surprising attack from the back. This manoeuvre was possible because of the total control of the surrounding sea that allowed the Americans to land on any place of Korea they wanted.
For the number of American soldiers wasn’t sufficient a big amount of half-trained South Korean soldiers was brought to the battlefield.
The manoeuvre was absolutely successful: On 22 September the North Korean forces were pulled back to the North and so they ran right in the arms of American and South Korean forces who came from the North; in spite of this most of the North Koreans could escape because the lines of the Americans were too weak.
On 26 September the UN-troops took Seoul after a very hard battle. Immediately the South Korean government began their work in their capital again. For the South Koreans and the whole western world it seemed that this had been the essential battle, bringing an end of the war soon. Therefore the Americans stopped reinforcing their troops in Korea; the question, if the army should march in to North Korea was discussed but the decision was given to McArthur.
President Rhee of South Korea wanted to march in to North Korea by every means; two South Korean units had already crossed the borderline.
Now General McArthur sent his troops to North Korea and shortly after that it was decided officially: McArthur had to expand his actions to the north. The troops marched on and support was reduced because a near victory was expected. For there was no resistance the soldiers threw away things like helmets and grenades in order to ease their march.
On 6 October the first South Korean troops reached the Jalu, a river in the very north of the country.
Not much later the South Korean battalion at the Jalu has been assaulted and defeated; the few survivors claimed that the attackers had been Chinese.
Shortly after that an army of 100.000 Chinese soldiers marched in to North Korea.
3.3) A disastrous defeat for the UN-troops
Some days after Thanksgiving Day in 1950 the Chinese started a massive attack. At night they assaulted the parts of the American front that were the most far behind. Nobody knew from where the huge Chinese army of 200.
000 men at all has come. On 23 December the last American soldiers crossed the 38th degree of latitude.
A short time after that the communist forces of North Korea and China conquered Seoul for the second time. The Chinese resumed their offensive at New Year and advanced further in the centre of the peninsula.
Now there were masses of UN-reinforcements landing in Pusan.
3.
4) Time for recreation
In January 1951 the Chinese advance stopped. It didn’t seem any longer that they would take the whole peninsula. Both sides were very precautious. In February the Americans restarted their offensive, they called it operation “Punch”. The aim was to push the Communists back to the river Han. Therefore they used a new strategy: In the night they let the Chinese advance to the area which they had lost the day before; then the Americans surrounded and attacked them.
This tactic worked very well: In these days the Americans lost some hundred men, while about 5000 Chinese soldiers were killed.
In March 1951 the UN-troops advanced further and further, they reoccupied Seoul and crossed the 38th degree of latitude. But it wasn’t easy for them at all: In the night the Chinese often launched small attacks, the American soldiers always had to sleep with the guns in their hands.
The Communist troops were estimated to around 400.000 men, while the UN-troops were around 365.000 men; the power of both opponents was quite equal because the difference in the number of soldiers was compensated by the UN-troops with a better equipment of heavy weapons.
Disregarded of Americans and South Koreans the UN-forces consisted of soldiers from Great Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, India, South Africa, France, Turkey, Greece, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Thailand, Belgium, Sweden and Ethiopia.
3.5) General McArthur has to retreat
At that time a serious decision was made: President Truman discharged General McArthur, who has had the supreme command.
The reason for that is not known, but there are some possible answers.
The first one says that there have been some disagreements between McArthur and Truman; these were mostly public comments of McArthur that Truman didn’t approve. Once when McArthur didn’t treat an order from Washington discretely enough there were some diplomatic problems with other UN-members and so McArthur was discharged.
Another explanation says that McArthur had planned to use nuclear weapons extending the war to China. This wasn’t approved by some UN-states (beyond them were the United States) and therefore they discharged McArthur.
McArthur’s successor was General Ridgeway, who started his supreme commandership in Tokyo.
Only eight days later, on 22 April 1951, the strongest communist offensive of the whole war began. On the front of 180 kilometres 200.000 soldiers launched an attack and until the end of this battle that lasted five days the Communists had brought 400.
000 men to fight. I spite of this massive attack the American forces could hold almost all of their positions on the whole front; it was only a hole of twenty kilometres which was cut into the South Korean front.
On 26 April the Chinese broke trough this hole and marched towards Seoul.
The infantry of the allied forces waited some kilometres in the north of Seoul; all in all the Americans had pulled their front back for about 20 to 50 kilometres; in spite of this they managed to defend Seoul successfully.
For the first time in this war the Chinese pulled back their forces after 70.000 Chinese soldiers had died.
A second attack with 96.000 men was also retaliated.
This had been the bloodiest battle in the whole Korean War.
3.6) Positional and aerial warfare
In June 1951 the fear of a positional warfare appeared and so the Soviet Union officially suggested to start armistice negotiations.
The negotiations began on 10 June in Kaesong in North Korea and they lasted two years.
After some small fights the United Nations started operation “Strangle” on 18 August 1951; with this operation they wanted to destroy as much of the North Korean infrastructure as possible. But it wasn’t as successful as they had expected; the Communists repaired all of the destroyed traffic routes within a very short time.
In June 1952 the bomber fleet of the United Nations attacked North Korean power plants, which were not defended at all. About 90 per cent of the North Korean energy production were destroyed, but the fighting strength of the Communists was not affected by that fact.
In July the Americans decided that the next aim was the total control of the airspace in Korea; the UN-air forces consisted of 1.061.
000 men.
3.7) Final victory of peace
Meanwhile both sides have come to agreements in essential questions of the continuing negotiations; the only thing that still was a disputed problem was the repatriation of prisoners of war (P.O.W.); until October 1952 no agreement could be found on this question.
So the negotiations were stopped temporarily; they were resumed in April 1953. Not much later a solution for the P.O.W. – question was found. The two sides decided that they would start peace negotiations within a time of three months after an armistice.
Instead of this the peace negotiations were postponed until April 1954 and finally they were definitively broken up.
In July 1953 an armistice between North - and South Korea was signed in Panmunjom. Thereby the 38th degree of latitude was defined as a border between the two countries; moreover a demilitarised zone of 4 kilometres was set along the border and a neutral repatriation commission was appointed in order to control the exchange of the prisoners of war.
4.) Timeline
This timeline should help to give a short overview about what has happened between 1950 and 1953 in Korea:
1950:
Date
Action
June 25
North Korea invades South Korea with 135,000 men, initiating the Korean War.
June 27
President Harry S.
Truman deploys the 7th Fleet to waters off Taiwan to prevent the spread of the conflict in Korea to other Far East waters.
June 27
First air victory of the war. A 68th All-Weather Squadron F-82 shoots down a North Korean Yak fighter. Two more enemy planes are destroyed in this air battle.
June 29
Fifth Air Force's 3rd Bombardment Group sends 18 B-26 Invader light bombers against Heijo Airfield near the North Korean capital of Pyongyang: 25 enemy aircraft are destroyed on the ground; one Yak fighter is shot down.
July 1
First U.
S. infantry unit arrives in Korea: 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. Along with Battery A of the 52nd Field Artillery Battalion, it comprises Task Force Smith.
July 2
Off Chumunjin, on Korea's east coast, the USS Juneau helps destroy three of four attacking North Korean torpedo boats.
July 5
Battle of Osan. First U.
S. ground action of the war: Task Force Smith (406 infantrymen and 134 artillerymen) engages and delays advancing North Korean People's Army (NKPA) units.
July 6
Fifty-seven Army nurses arrive in Pusan, Korea. They helped establish a hospital for the wounded. Two days later, on July 8, twelve Army nurses moved forward with a mobile Army surgical hospital (MASH) to Taejon.
Aug.
4 -
Sept. 16
16 84,478 U.S. troops participate in the defense of the Pusan Perimeter, including the U.S. Army's 1st Cavalry Division, 2nd, 24th, and 25th Infantry Divisions, and the 1st Provisional Marine Brigade.
Sept. 15
Inchon Landing (Operation CHROMITE). U.S. and allied forces land U.S.
Marines and U.S. Army troops at Inchon.
Sept. 15-30
Inchon Operation and Liberation of Seoul. U.
S. and allies re-capture Seoul on Sept. 27 after a week of fighting.
Sept. 16-27
Pusan Perimeter breakout. Eighth U.
S. Army (EUSA) breaks out of the Pusan Perimeter. Four U.S. divisions (1st Cavalry Division, 2nd, 24th and 25th Infantry Divisions) participate.
Oct 20
War's first airborne operation.
Seventy-one C-119s and 40 C-47s of the Far East Air Force's (FEAF) Combat Cargo Command drop 2,860 paratroopers of the 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team (RCT) at Sukch'on and Sunch'on north of Pyongyang. Only one trooper killed and 36 injured in jump. Paratroopers, in association with ground forces driving north, kill or capture about 6,000 North Koreans during this operation.
Oct. 25
Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) launch their first phase offensive of the Korean War.
Nov.
8
First all-jet combat in history. An F-80 Shooting Star of the 51st Fighter Interceptor Wing shoots down a MiG-15 fighter near Sinuiju in a 30-second dogfight.
Nov. 8-26
FEAF B-29s and Navy aircraft attack Yalu River bridges in attempt to isolate the battlefield.
Nov. 25 -
Dec.
15
CCF Counteroffensive in North Korea. Seven U.S. divisions participate (1st Marine Division, U.S. Army's 1st Cavalry Division, 2nd, 3rd, 7th, 24th and 25th Infantry Divisions).
Nov. 27 -
Dec. 9
Battle of the Changjin (Chosin) Reservoir. The encircled 1st Marine Division fights its way southward from the Chosin Reservoir to the port city of Hungnam.
Dec. 24
Hungnam Operation is complete—the U.
S. Navy evacuates 105,000 U.S. and Republic of Korea (ROK) forces.
1951:
Date
Action
Jan. 1-15
Third Phase CCF Offensive: 500,000 enemy troops push U.
N. forces 50 miles south of the 38th Parallel and recapture Seoul.
Feb. 1
Battle of the Twin Tunnels. The 23rd Infantry Regiment (2nd Infantry Division), French Battalion and 347th Field Artillery Battalion confront several CCF regiments, killing at least 1,300 Chinese.
Feb.
13-15
Battle of Chipyong-ni. First mass assault by CCF: 18,000 troops. CCF offensive contained by 23rd Regiment (2nd Infantry Division), French Battalion, 1st Ranger Company, 37th Field Artillery Battalion, and Battery B of the 82nd Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion.
Feb. 16, 1951 - July 27, 1953
Siege of Wonsan. Task Force 95 (U.
N. Blockade and Escort Force) blockades Wonsan Harbor. An unprecedented 861-day naval operation—it is the longest effective siege of a port in U.S. Navy history.
March 7 -
April 4
Operation RIPPER.
Drives the Communists back to the 38th Parallel and retakes Seoul. Seven U.S. divisions participate (U.S. Army's 1st Cavalry Division, 2nd, 3rd, 7th, 24th, and 25th Infantry Divisions, and the 1st Marine Division.
)
March 23
Operation TOMAHAWK. One hundred twenty C-119s and C-46s drop 3,437 paratroopers of the 187th Regimental Combat Team near Munsan-ni in second largest airborne operation of the war.
April 12
War's first major aerial duel. More than 40 MiG-15s attack a B-29 formation, shooting down two bombers. Eleven of the MiGs are destroyed, seven by B-29 gunners.
April 22-29
CCF First Spring Offensive.
Largest single battle of the Korean War. CCF launch their Spring Offensive with 250,000 men in 27 divisions. Five U.S. Army divisions (2nd, 3rd, 7th, 24th, 25th) participate.
May 17-22
CCF Second Spring Offensive.
Four U.S. divisions (U.S. Army's 2nd, 3rd and 25th Infantry Divisions, and the 1st Marine Division) participate.
May 20 -
Sept.
20
Operation STRANGLE. Massive all-out air interdiction campaign 20 is carried out by FEAF, TF 77 and the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing (MAW).
June 10-16
Battle for the Punchbowl (vicinity Hwach'on Reservoir). The 1st Marine Division encounters heavy North Korean resistance, but succeeds in taking its objective.
Aug. 18 -
Sept.
5
Battle of Bloody Ridge (Hill 983). The 15th Field Artillery Battalion sets a record by firing 14,425 rounds in 24 hours.
Sept. 13 -
Oct 15
Battle of Heartbreak Ridge (Hill 931). The 2nd Infantry Division seizes Heartbreak Ridge.
Sept.
21
Operation SUMMIT. A company of 228 Marines is lifted by 12 Sikorsky S-55s in the first helicopter deployment of a combat unit.
Nov. 30
In a rare air battle with Communist bombers, 31 Sabres knock down eight Tu-2 bombers, three La-9 propeller-driven fighters, and one MiG-15.
Korean War truce talks began July 10, 1951. Although the talks started slowly, on Nov.
27, 1951, the two sides agreed on the 38th Parallel as the line of demarcation and almost immediately military operations slowed down. When Gen. Mark Clark assumed command of U.N. forces in Korea, on May 12, 1952, he was confronted with a military deadlock on the front lines, stalled Armistice negotiations, and a violent prisoner of war situation on the island of Koje-do, off the southern coast of South Korea. Clark believed that the Communists only understood force and stepped up military pressure on the enemy to break the stalemate at Panmunjom.
1952:
Date
Action
May 25
Raid on Agok. Nine tanks of the 245th Tank Battalion, 45th Infantry Division, retaliate for three raids on the division's sector.
June 6-14
Operation COUNTER. The 45th Infantry Division launches a two-phased series of attacks to establish 11 patrol bases in the Old Baldy area. Second and 3rd Battalions, 180th Infantry Regiment, fight fiercely for Outpost Eerie on Hill 191, which is counterattacked by two Chinese battalions.
July 17-
Aug.
4
Battle for Old Baldy (Hill 266).
July 23
FEAF and Navy planes launch massive air strikes against North Korea's hydroelectric power grid, causing an almost complete blackout for more than two weeks. Results of strikes extend into northeast China, which loses nearly 25 percent of its electrical requirements.
Aug. 12-16-
Sept. 5-15
Battle of Bunker Hill (Hill 122).
First major Marine ground action in western Korea is fought by the 1st Marine Division.
Aug. 29
War's largest air raid. FEAF and carrier planes bomb Pyongyang in a 1,403-sortie assault—the largest single-day raid of the war.
Sept. 1
Largest all-Navy raid.
A total of 144 planes from three carriers destroy the oil refinery at Aoji, North Korea.
Sept. 17-24
Outpost Kelly. The 65th Infantry Regiment (3rd Infantry Division) is besieged by CCF.
Oct. 9-
July 1953
"Cherokee" Strikes.
Seventh Fleet bombing campaign against battlefront enemy supply facilities.
Oct. 14-25
Operation SHOWDOWN/Battle of Hill 598 (Sniper Ridge). 7th Infantry Division battles the Chinese near Kumhwa, the right leg of the Iron Triangle.
Oct. 26-28
Battle of the Hook.
Nov. 3
Hill 851, Heartbreak Ridge area, held by the 2nd Battalion, 160th Infantry Regiment (40th Infantry Division)
Dec. 25
T-Bone Hill. The 38th Infantry Regiment (2nd Infantry Division) repels Chinese forces during an intense battle.
1953:
Date
Action
Jan 25
Operation SMACK. Assault on Spud Hill by elements of the 31st Infantry Regiment (7th Infantry Division).
March 17
Hill 355 (Little Gibraltar), held by the 9th Infantry Regiment (2nd Infantry Division), is assaulted by Chinese.
March 23-24
Old Baldy/Pork Chop Complex. Held by 31st Infantry Regiment (7th Infantry Division). The 32nd Regiment (7th Infantry Division) relieves the 31st.
March 26-30
Outposts at the Nevada cities (Vegas-Reno-Carson), held by the 5th Marine Regiment, come under heavy attack. A Chinese regiment is destroyed.
April 16-18
Battle of Pork Chop Hill. The 17th and 31st Infantry Regiments (7th Infantry Division) hit hard and suffer heavy casualties.
April 20-26
Operation Little Switch exchanges sick and wounded POWs, including 149 Americans.
May 13
Raid on Toksan Dam. A dramatic strike by 58th Fighter-Bomber Wing F-84s destroys a major irrigation system. Five miles of valuable rice crops are scoured and miles of highways and railroad tracks are destroyed.
Further attacks on irrigation dams follow over the next two weeks.
June 15
USS Princeton launches 184 sorties, establishing a single-day Korean War record for offensive sorties flown from a carrier.
June 15
Navy and Marine Corps aircraft fly 910 sorties—the highest combined number for a single day.
June 30
FEAF Sabres destroy 16 MiGs, the largest number shot down in one day.
July 6-10
Battle of Pork Chop Hill. The 7th Infantry Division is ordered to evacuate its defensive positions after five days of fighting.
July 13-20
Battle of Kumsong River Salient. Last Communist offensive. CCF launches a six-division attack partly directed at the U.S. IX Corps (3rd, 40th, 45th Infantry Divisions). The 187th RCT is attached to 2nd Infantry Division during the fighting.
July 24-26
Final U.S. ground combat. Heavy enemy (3,000 men) attack is launched in the Berlin Complex ("Boulder City") area held by the 7th and 1st Marine Regiments. Last Marine ground actions of the war are fought on Hills 111 and 119.
July 27
Last air kill of the war.
F-86 pilot downs an enemy transport near the Manchurian border.
July 27
The United States, North Korea and China sign an armistice, which ends the war but fails to bring about a permanent peace. To date, the Republic of Korea (South) and Democratic Peoples' Republic of Korea (North) have not signed a peace treaty. A total of 33,651 service members died in battle during the Korean War; 27,709 U.S. Army; 4,269 U.
S. Marines; 1,198 U.S. Air Force; and 475 U.S. Navy.
7,140 service members became prisoners of war.
Sources:
Microsoft Encarta Encyclopaedia 2000https://www.koreanwar.go.kr/english.htmhttps://korea50.
army.mil/https://rt66.com/~korteng/SmallArms/arms.htmhttps://www.military.com/Resources/HistorySubmittedFileView?file=history_koreanwar.
htm
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