The Korean War

The Korean War

In 1950, American troops were once again in the thick of battle. This time they were fighting in Korea. Colonel Gilbert Cleck, a tank commander, recalled one desperate clash in the early days of the war:

Antitank guns caught us on a curve several miles short of our objective. The tanks caught partially afire and the crews were wounded. But three of the tanks were still operable…I was not going to let several hundred thousand dollars’ worth of American equipment sit back there on the road. I yelled, “Who around here thinks he can drive a tank?” A couple of ex-bulldozer operators and an ex-mason volunteered. They got about three minutes’ checking out and off they went.

Cleck’s column was led through ambush after ambush back to safety. The drive back taught them valuable lessons about Korea. The fighting would be tough and gritty-and there would be no easy victories.

Building a New Japan

The story of American involvement in Korea goes back to WWII. During the war, Japan ruled much of Asia and the Pacific. With its defeat in 1945, however, it lost not only its empire but also its independence. Who would govern the land once dominated by Japan? Who would govern Japan itself?

Since the United States had played the biggest part in winning the Pacific war, it claimed the right to occupy Japan and shape its future. Backed by an American occupation force, General Douglas MacArthur ruled Japan for seven years. He took power away from the emperor and abolished the armed forces. MacArthur also wrote a new Japanese constitution that called for representative government. Though the United States and Japan had been bitter enemies, they became strong allies. American aid helped to ease the humiliation of Japanese defeat.

Korea Divided

Korea was a more complex problem. Japan had ruled Korea from 1910 to 1945. United States and Soviet troops moved in, in August of 1945, to accept Japanese surrender. Afterwards, neither nation wanted to remove its troops.

At wartime conferences, the Allies agreed to divide Korea into two zones at the 38th parallel. The Soviet Union would occupy the North and the United States would occupy the South. Plans were made to reunify Korea with national elections. But these plans-like the plans to reunify Germany – fell victim to the tensions of the cold war.

By the time Soviet and American forces left Korea in 1949, there was little hope for peaceful reunion. Korea was deeply divided. North Korea was now a well armed Communist satellite, ruled by Kim Il-Sung. In the South, the United States had built up the dictatorial government of an American-educated Korean, Syngman Rhee.

North Korea Invades the South

Both of these aggressive rulers sought to reunify Korea by force. Each side had started a number of border skirmishes. Rhee frequently threatened a full-scale invasion of the North. His forces were no match for the Communists, however, and he never followed through on his threats.

In 1950, American intelligence services reported a massive build-up of North Korean forces along the 38th parallel. On June 25, the North Koreans struck, crossing the 38th parallel in force. The South Korean army was soon in full retreat.

Kim Il-Sung may have believed he could defeat the South without drawing the United States into the war. Earlier that year, Secretary of State Dean Acheson had outlined American policy in the region. He said the United States would keep communism behind a “defensive perimeter” that stretched from the Aleutian Islands to the Philippines. Korea was not mentioned or included within the perimeter. Critics later charged that Acheson’s speech encouraged the Communists to attack. Yet, Acheson was not alone in his view that Korea was of secondary importance to American policy. General MacArthur and other military leaders also indicated that Korea was not vital to American interests.

When fighting broke out, however, American leaders quickly agreed that the United States should intervene. The occupation of Japan was scheduled to end soon, and American officials feared that a Communist victory in Korea might threaten Japan. Perhaps more important, Truman had been accused of “losing” China in 1949. Another Communist victory, even in a small country such as Korea, would be political suicide.

Truman Responds

Truman received the news of the North Korean invasion while resting at his home in Missouri. For a few days it was unclear how he would respond. Then, on June 27, 1950, Truman ordered air strikes against North Korean forces. He also sent arms to South Korea. Truman, however, did not want American forces acting alone in Korea. He asked the United Nations Security Council to seek a resolution calling on other nations to help the South.

The Soviet Union probably would have vetoed the action, had the Soviet delegate been present for the vote. However, at this time the Soviets were boycotting the Security Council to protest the Council’s refusal to recognize the new Communist government of China. The failure to veto the Korean resolution was a serious blunder for the Soviets. Now, the effort to defend South Korea had gained support from other nations.

On June 30, 1950, Truman ordered American troops to South Korea, calling the move a “police action.” He appointed General Douglas MacArthur commander of the UN forces. The confident MacArthur announced, “If Washington will not hobble me, I can handle it with one arm behind my back.”

From Pusan to Inchon

The first weeks of the war were grim for the Americans. It looked as if the North Koreans might push them and their South Korean allies right into the ocean. By the end of July 1950 the enemy was within a few miles of the city of Pusan, on the very southern tip of the Korean peninsula.

Heavy reinforcements began arriving in the South in August. Along with several large American divisions, small contingents of British, French, and Canadian troops set up positions in the South. All told sixteen nations sent soldiers to South Korea. Americans, however, comprised 90 percent of the UN forces.

The arrival of more troops shored up the defensive line in the South. At that point, General MacArthur made a daring move. Leaving part of his forces in Pusan, he decided to strike the North Korean rear. He landed a large naval force at Inchon, on the western coast near the 38th parallel.

Many military experts thought MacArthur’s assault was a crazy gamble. It would weaken the still-vulnerable forces in Pusan. And the Ocean tides at Inchon were very dangerous. The tides at Inchon change by 32 feet and there was only a three day period of time per month where the tides even get high enough to maneuver ships down the narrow passage to Inchon. Unless the landings were perfectly timed, the landing forces might drown or be exposed on open beaches, making them an easy prey for North Korea units on shore.

Tidal Variation at Inchon

General Edward M. Almond stated Inchon was, “the worst possible place where we could bring an amphibious assault. MacArthur recognized the risks, he stated, “I realize that Inchon is a 5,000-to-gamble, but I am used to such gambles…we shall land at Inchon and I shall crush them.” The gamble worked. On the morning of September 15, MacArthur’s forces stormed the beaches of Inchon. They quickly regained the South Korean capital of Seoul, and drove south. At the same time UN forces advanced north from Pusan. The North Koreans were caught in between. Within two weeks half of the North Korean troops were either killed or imprisoned. The others fled back to North Korean territory.

North to the Yalu River

The American goal at the start of the war was to push back North Korean forces to the 38th parallel. That was in keeping with the policy of containment. After Inchon, Truman changed his mind. It was not enough he believed, to hold communism at the 38th parallel. He called for the liberation of territory that was already under Communist rule. Thus with Communist forces in retreat, Truman gave MacArthur the green light to invade North Korea.

For a short time it looked as if UN forces might win a complete victory. MacArthur’s forces moved rapidly north. He confidently promised to “have the boys home by Christmas.” In the media this became known as the “Home by Christmas Offensive.” American soldiers, not expecting to meet heavy resistance, began to lighten their load by discarding extra supplies and ammunition.

In November 1950, American planes bombed bridges on the Yalu River, the border between North Korea and China. The Chinese threatened to enter the war if the bombing continued. MacArthur assured Truman that the threat was meaningless. Or, he said, if the Chinese did enter the war, they could be handily defeated.

MacArthur was wrong on both counts. The Chinese did join the war, and their entry wrecked the American plan for victory. Several hundred thousand Chinese soldiers crossed the Yalu, driving UN forces south. When MacArthur called for the bombing of mainland China, Truman rejected the proposal. The Chinese invasion raised the possibility of a further widening of the war. Wanting to avoid another global war, Truman once again began to call for the limited goal of containing communism.

MacArthur Fired

In the winter of 1950-1951, Chinese troops drove UN forces back below the 38th parallel. By March 1951, MacArthur regained some ground Military lines hardened around the border between the North and the South. Truman began to think about ending the war without a further effort to invade the North.

The long stalemate angered MacArthur. He believed strongly that he could achieve victory if Truman would allow him to use the full weight of America’s firepower in Korea. He called for attacks on China. He argued in favor of creating a new front in China with the support of the Nationalist Chinese forces from Taiwan. He even suggested the use of atomic bombs. A proud and strong-willed man, MacArthur felt that he knew best how to handle the war. Truman, he said, was fighting a limited war – a war in which nations limit their objectives or the resources they use. MacArthur called it “an entirely new war,” a war fought with “one hand tied behind out back.” “In war,” he said, “there is no substitute for victory.”

His superiors informed MacArthur that he had no authority to make policy. Despite repeated warnings to follow orders, MacArthur continued to criticize the President. Worse, he made his criticisms public. Truman, just as stubborn as MacArthur, refused to stand for this sort of behavior. He was trying to put together a settlement of the war and could no longer tolerate a military commander who was trying to sabotage his policy. On April 11, 1951, Truman made the shocking announcement that he had fired MacArthur.

The firing of MacArthur sparked a furious debate in the United States about the war. Just what were American objectives in Korea, people wondered. Few protested involvement in the war, but changes in policy confused people. Truman came across as indecisive and inept. By contrast, MacArthur appealed to many Americans as a strong champion of national pride and power. When he returned to the US, he received a hero’s welcome.

Yet there was also widespread support of the principle that the President was commander-in-chief of the military. MacArthur had clearly disobeyed his superior. Furthermore, few Americans really wanted to risk a nuclear war by invading China. To do that, warned General Omar Bradley (a World War II hero), would be to fight “the wrong war, in the wrong place, at the wrong time, with the wrong enemy.”

Truman survived his clash with MacArthur, but he remained trapped in an unpopular war. His domestic legislation that he termed, the Fair Deal, never received much congressional support. Now as the fighting dragged on and his popularity sank, his domestic legislation had little chance of passing.

In 1951 with a presidential election approaching, both political parties began to look for a leader who could restore national confidence. The republicans did not have to look too far. They chose one of the biggest heroes of World War II – General Dwight D. Eisenhower.