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The Korean War refers to
a period of military conflict between North
Korean and South Korean regimes, with major hostilities lasting
from June 25, 1950 until the armistice signed on July 27, 1953. Both Koreas
were attempting to re-unify Korea under their respective governments, with both sides
supported by external powers. While some have referred to the conflict as a civil war,
many other factors were at play.[17] The term has also been used to describe both the
events preceding and following the main hostilities. After disputes arose
regarding elections concerning the entirety of Korea[18], as well as escalating border conflicts at the 38th Parallel; the North Korean Army assaulted the South on June
25, 1950. The conflict was then expanded by the United
States and the Soviet Union's involvement as part of a proxy war
in the greater Cold War. [edit] Etymology
In South Korea, the war is
often called 6·25 or 6·25 War (Korean:
6·25 전쟁), from the date of the start of the conflict
or, more formally, Hanguk jeonjaeng (Hangul: 한국전쟁; Hanja: 韓國戰爭, literally "Korean War"). In
North Korea, while commonly known as the Korean War, it is formally called the
Joguk haebang jeonjaeng or Fatherland Liberation War (Hangul: 조국해방전쟁; Hanja: 祖國解放戰爭). In the United States, the conflict
was officially termed a police action — the Korean Conflict —
rather than a war, largely in order to avoid the necessity of a declaration of war by the
U.S. Congress. The war is sometimes called The Forgotten War or The
Unknown War because it is a major conflict of the 20th century that gets
far less attention than World War II, which preceded it, and the Vietnam
War, which succeeded it.[19] The war was a unique combination of the techniques utilized
in both World
War I and World War II, beginning with swift, fast-paced infantry advances
following well-choreographed bombing
raids from the air by the American military and its UN allies. However,
following both sides' failures at holding the land captured, battles quickly
evolved into World War I-type trench
warfare in January 1951, lasting until the essential border stalemate
at the end. In China, the conflict was known as the War to Resist America
and Aid Korea (抗美援朝), but is today
commonly called the "Korean War" (朝鮮 戰爭 Chaoxian
zhanzheng,[20] 韓國戰爭 Hanguo zhanzheng, or simply 韓戰 Hanzhan). [edit] Japanese
occupation
Korea had been a unified
country since the 7th century. During the 19th century, imperialist nations threatened
Korea's longstanding sovereignty. After defeating China in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-95, the Japanese
forces remained in Korea, occupying strategically important parts of the
country and exploiting the Korean people[citation needed]. Ten
years later, the Japanese defeated the Russian
navy in the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905), contributing
to Japan's emergence as an imperial power.[21] The Japanese began a brutal colonial occupation of
the Korean peninsula against the wishes of the
Korean government and people, expanded their control over local institutions
through force, and finally annexed Korea in August 1910.[22] From 1910 until 1945, the Japanese Governor General
implemented a cruel and efficient set of policies aimed at eradicating the
Korean national identity. The Japanese government also instituted a series of
economic policies that deprived Koreans of food so as to feed Japan.[citation needed] As
result of these policies a great many Korean starved to death or suffered
from malnutrition.[citation needed] After
liberation in 1945, many Koreans expected to regain control over their own
country.[citation needed] At the close of World War II,
forces of both the Soviet Union and the United States occupied the
peninsula in accordance with an agreement put forth by the United States
government to divide the Korean peninsula. This decision, which was made
without consultation of the Korean people, was made by then Colonel Dean Rusk
and Army officer Charles Bonesteel, was made because the 38th
parallel was already on most maps of Korea.[23] The Soviet forces entered the peninsula on August 10,
1945 and remained north of the 38th parallel waiting for the US forces to
arrive. A few weeks later, the American forces entered through Inchon led by
U.S. Army Lt. Gen. John R. Hodge and formally accepted the surrender
of Japanese forces south of the 38th parallel on September 9, 1945 at
Government House in Seoul.[24] Many Korean people had
organized politically prior to the arrival of American troops.[25][broken
citation] [edit] Division of Korea
Though the eventual division of
Korea was considered at the Potsdam Conference,[24] the wishes of the Korean people to be free of foreign
interference were not considered.[26][verification needed]
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Chinese Premier Chiang
Kai-shek and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt had stated a
determination for Korean independence and freedom at the Cairo
Conference. During the earlier Yalta
Conference in February 1945, Soviet Premier Joseph
Stalin called for “buffer zones” in both Asia and Europe.[27] Stalin believed that Russia should have preeminence
in China, and after the US requested that the USSR join in the war against
Japan “three months after the surrender of Germany.”[27] On August 6, 1945, the Soviet Union declared war on
the Japanese Empire and, on August 8, it began the liberation on the northern
part of the Korean peninsula. As agreed with the United States, the USSR
halted its troops at the 38th parallel on August 26. However, on
September 3, Lt. Gen. John R. Hodge, commander of XXIV Corps and designated
U.S. Commander in Korea, received a radio message from Lt. Gen. Yoshio
Kozuki, commander of the Japanese 17th Area Army in Korea,
reporting that Soviet forces had advanced south of the 38th parallel only in
the Kaesong area.[24] Hodge decided to trust the Japanese reports of events
in Korea. U.S. troops arrived in the southern part of the peninsula in early
September 1945. On August 10, 1945, with the
Japanese surrender imminent, the American government was unsure whether the
Soviets would adhere to the proposal arranged by the U.S. government. A month
earlier, Colonels Dean Rusk and Charles Bonesteel, after deciding in
their 1/2 hour session[unreliable
source?] that at least two major ports should be
included in the U.S. zone, had drawn the dividing line at the 38th parallel
in less than one-half an hour using a National Geographic map for reference.[24][28][29][30] Rusk, later U.S. Secretary of State, commented that
the American military was “faced with the scarcity of U.S. forces immediately
available and time and space factors which would make it difficult to reach
very far north before Soviet troops could enter the area.”[27] The USSR agreed to the 38th
parallel being the demarcation between occupation zones in the Korean
peninsula, partly to better their position in the negotiations with the Allies over eastern
Europe. It was agreed that the USSR would receive surrendering Japanese
troops on the northern part of Korea; the U.S., on the southern side. The
Soviet forces entered and liberated the northern part of the peninsula weeks
prior to the entry of American forces. In accordance with the arrangements
made with the American government, the Soviet forces halted their advance at
the 38th parallel. The American forces arrived in
Korea in early September. One of Hodge's first directives was to restore many
Japanese colonial administrators and collaborators to their previous
positions of power within Korea. This policy was understandably very
unpopular among Koreans who had suffered horribly under Japanese colonial
rule for 35 years, and would prove to have enormous consequences for the
American occupation.[18] A second policy set forth by
Hodge was to refuse to recognize the existing political organizations that
had been established by the Korean people. Hodge sought to establish firm
U.S. control over events throughout the southern half of the peninsula.[21] These policies would help give rise to the later
insurrections and guerrilla warfare that preceded the outbreak of the civil
war.[21][26][verification needed] In December 1945, the United
States and the Soviet Union agreed to administer the country under the
U.S.-Soviet Joint Commission, as termed by the Moscow Conference of Foreign
Ministers. It was agreed by the US and the USSR, but not the Koreans,
that Korea would govern itself independently after four years of
international oversight. However, both the U.S. and the USSR approved
Korean-led governments in their respective halves, each of which were
favorable to the occupying power's political ideology. Some elements of the
population responded with violent insurrections and protests in the South.[21] The USAMGIK tried to contain civil violence by banning strikes
on December 8 and outlawing the revolutionary government and the people's
committees on December 12. Events spiraled quickly out of US control,
however, when Koreans[26][verification needed]
staged a massive strike on September 23, 1946 by 8,000 railway workers in Busan which quickly
spread to other cities in the South. The Daegu
uprising occurred on October 1, in which police attempts to
control rioters caused the death of three student demonstrators and injuries
to many others, sparking a mass counter-attack killing 38 policemen. It
should be noted that at this time, the vast majority of members of the South
Korean police force officers had been members of the Japanese police force
during the colonial period.[26][verification needed]
When the US forces sided with these former collaborators, it discredited the
US in the eyes of many Koreans.[26][verification needed]
Over in Yeongcheon,
a police station came under attack by a 10,000-strong crowd on October 3,
killing over 40 policemen and the county chief. Other attacks killed about 20
landlords and pro-Japanese officials. The US administration responded by
declaring martial law, firing into crowds of demonstrators and
killing an unknown number of people.[31] In South Korea, an
anti-trusteeship right wing group known as the Representative Democratic Council
emerged, this group came to oppose these U.S. sponsored agreements.[citation needed]
Because Koreans had suffered under Japanese colonization for 35 years, most
Koreans opposed another period of foreign control. This opposition caused the
U.S. to abandon the Soviet-supported Moscow
Accords.[citation needed] The
Americans did not want a communist government in South Korea, so they called
for elections in all of Korea. Since the population of the South was double
that of the North, the Soviets knew that Kim
Il-sung would lose the election.[citation needed] The government that emerged was
led by anti-communist U.S.-educated strongman Syngman
Rhee, a Korean who had been imprisoned by the Japanese as a young man and
later fled to the United States.[32] The Soviets, in turn, approved and furthered the rise
of a Communist
government in the North. Bolstered by his history as an anti-Japanese
fighter, his political skills, and his connections with the Soviet Union, Kim
Il-sung rose to become leader of this new government and crushed any
opposition to his rule by the summer of 1947.[17] In the south, those who supported Communism were
driven into hiding in the hills, where they prepared for a guerrilla war
against the American-supported government.[17]
South Korean President Syngman
Rhee and North Korean General Secretary Kim Il-Sung were each intent on
reuniting the peninsula under his own system. Partly because of numbers of
Soviet tanks and heavy arms, the North Koreans were able to escalate ongoing
border clashes and go on the offensive, while South Korea, with only limited
American backing, had far fewer options. The American government believed at
the time that the Communist bloc was a unified monolith, and that
North Korea acted within this monolith as a pawn of the Soviet Union. [edit] Prelude to war
Rhee and Kim competed to
reunite the peninsula which had been divided by foreign powers. Each regime
used military attacks along the border throughout 1949 and early 1950.[33][34] Although Kim and his close associates believed in
unifying Korea by force, Stalin was reluctant to embark on a course that
might provoke a war with the United States.[35] On January 12, 1950, United States Secretary of State
Dean
Acheson gave a speech declaring that America's Pacific defense perimeter
was made up of the Aleutians, Ryukyu, Japan,
and the Philippines,
implying that America might not fight over Korea. Acheson said Korea's
defense would be the responsibility of the United
Nations.[36] In mid-1949, Kim Il-Sung
pressed his case with Joseph Stalin that the time had come for a
reunification of the Korean peninsula.[citation needed] Kim
needed Soviet support to successfully execute an offensive far across a
rugged, mountainous peninsula. Stalin, however, refused support, concerned
with the relative lack of preparedness of the North Korean armed forces and
with possible U.S. involvement. Over the next year, the North
Korean leadership molded its army into a relatively formidable offensive war
machine modeled partly on a Soviet mechanized force but strengthened
primarily by an influx of Korean veterans who had served with the Chinese People's Liberation Army since the 1930s.[citation needed] By
early 1950 the possibility of reunification through insurgency seemed closed,
and Rhee's regime was gaining in strength if not popularity. Kim was left
with the sole option of conventional invasion if he wished to unify Korea and
remove foreign control.[35] By 1950, the North Korean military was equipped with
modern Soviet weaponry, and it enjoyed substantial advantages over the
Southern forces in virtually every category of equipment. On January 30,
1950, Stalin, via telegram, informed Kim Il-Sung that he was willing to help
Kim in his plan to unify Korea. In the discussions with Kim that followed,
Stalin suggested that he wanted lead and said that a yearly minimum of 25,000
tons would help. After another visit by Kim to Moscow in March
and April 1950, Stalin approved an attack.[32][37] On March 9, 1950, North Korea had agreed to send to
the Soviet Union 9 tons of gold, 40 tons of silver, and 15,000 tons of monazite
concentrate as payment for additional Soviet arms, ammunition and military
technical equipment.[38] [edit] Course
[edit] Invasion of
South Korea
Under the guise of a
counter-attack, the North Korean Army struck in the pre-dawn
hours of Sunday, June 25, 1950, crossing the 38th parallel behind a firestorm
of artillery. The North claimed Republic of Korea Army (ROK) troops under
the “bandit traitor Syngman Rhee" had crossed the border first, and
that Rhee would be arrested and executed.[24] While certainly true that both Southern and Northern
militaries had for the past year exchanged gunfire and crossed over the 38th
parallel, the attack on June 25 was considered by some nations to be an
extension of the North's plan to unify the country and not a direct result of
a particular attack from the South. The United Nations Security Council
was convened in a few hours and passed the UNSC Resolution 82
condemning the North Korean aggression unanimously. The resolution was
adopted mainly because the Soviet Union, a veto-wielding power,
had been boycotting proceedings since January, in protest that the Republic of China (Taiwan) and not the People's
Republic of China held a permanent seat on the council.[39] President Truman had made a statement on June 27, 1950
ordering the United States air and sea forces to give the South Korean regime
support. While the United Nations Security Council
was convened and had been debating the issue from the invasion forward it
only issued Resolution 83 on July
27 which definitively recommended member-states militarily assist the
Republic of Korea. The Soviet Union's foreign minister accused the United
States of starting armed intervention on behalf of the Republic of Korea
before the Security Council was summoned to meet on June 27, and confronting
the UN with a fait accompli. [40] Critics charged that the
information on this resolution was based on U.S. sources referring to reports
of the South Korean army. The DPRK was not invited to sit as a temporary
member in the UN which some say violated Article 32 of the UN Charter. It was
argued that the situation in Korea did not fall within the scope of the UN
Charter since the initial clashes between North and South Korean forces would
have to be classified as a civil war. Since the USSR representative decided
to boycott the United Nations with the announced purpose of preventing action
by the Security Council, the legality of UN action was challenged; legal
scholars argued that unanimity among the five permanent members was required
to take action on important matters. [41] [42] At the outbreak of war, the
North Korean Army was equipped with 150 Soviet-made tanks, about 40 YAK fighters,
70 attack bombers, 60 YAK trainers and 10 reconnaissance planes.[24] These aircraft were assigned to the invasion while
114 more planes were serving in North Korea. Their navy had several small
warships, and launched attacks on the South Korean Navy. North Korea's most
serious weakness was its lack of a reliable logistics system for moving
supplies south as the army advanced, but the South Korean forces were weak
and ill-equipped compared to the North Koreans. Thousands of Korean civilians
running south were forced to hand-carry supplies, many of whom later died in
North Korean air attacks.[citation needed] The South Korean Army had
150,000 soldiers armed, trained, and equipped by the U.S. military, and as a
force was deficient in armor and artillery. The South Korean military had
only 40 tanks, 14 attack planes, and few anti-tank weapons. There were no
large foreign combat units in the country when the war began, but there were
large American forces stationed in nearby Japan.[24] The North's well-planned attack
with about 415,000 troops achieved surprise and quick successes.[24] North Korea attacked a number of key places including
Kaesŏng,
Chuncheon,
Uijeongbu
and Ongjin. Within days, South Korean forces
– outnumbered, outgunned, and often of dubious loyalty to the Southern regime
– were in full retreat or defecting en masse to the North. As the ground
attack continued, the North Korean Air Force conducted bombing of Kimpo
Airport near Seoul.
North Korean forces occupied Seoul on the afternoon of June 28.[citation needed] However, North Korea's hope for
a quick surrender by the Rhee government and the reunification of the
peninsula evaporated when the United States and other foreign powers
intervened with UN approval.[citation needed] [edit] U.S. intervention
Despite the post-World War II
demobilization of U.S. and allied forces, which caused serious supply
problems for American troops in the region, the United States still had
substantial forces in Japan to oppose the North Korean military. These American
forces were under the command of General Douglas MacArthur. Apart from British Commonwealth units, no
other nation could supply sizable manpower. On being told of the outbreak of
large-scale hostilities in Korea, U.S. President Harry
S. Truman ordered MacArthur to transfer munitions to the ROK Army, while
using air cover to protect the evacuation of U.S. citizens. Truman did not
agree with his advisors, who called for unilateral U.S. airstrikes against
the North Korean forces, but did order the Seventh Fleet to protect Chiang
Kai-Shek's Taiwan. The Nationalist government (confined to the
island of Taiwan)
asked to participate in the war. Their request was denied by the Americans, who
felt that it would only encourage intervention by the People's Republic of
China (PRC).[43]
American
soldiers in Korea The first significant foreign
military intervention was the American Task
Force Smith, part of the U.S. Army's 24th Infantry Division based in
Japan. On July 5, it fought for the first time at Osan and was
immediately defeated with heavy losses. The victorious North Korean forces
advanced southwards, and the half-strength 24th Division was forced to
retreat to Taejeon,
which also fell to the Northern forces. Major General William
F. Dean, commander of the division, was taken prisoner. By August, the South Korean
forces and the U.S. Eighth Army under General Walton
Walker had been driven back into a small area in the southeast corner of
the Korean peninsula around the city of Pusan. As the North
Koreans advanced, they rounded up and killed civil servants. On August 20,
MacArthur sent a message warning Kim Il Sung that he would be held
responsible for further atrocities committed against UN troops.[32] By September, only the area
around Pusan — about 10 percent of the Korean peninsula — was still
in coalition hands. With the aid of massive American supplies, naval and air
support, as well as ground reinforcements, the UN forces managed to stabilize
a line along the Nakdong River. This desperate holding action became
known in the United States as the Pusan
Perimeter. [edit] Escalation of
the Korean war
U.S. forces
target rail cars south of Wonsan, North Korea, an east coast port city. In the face of fierce North
Korean attacks, the allied defense became a desperate battle called the Battle of Pusan Perimeter by Americans.
However, the North Koreans failed to capture Pusan. American air power arrived in
force, flying 40 sorties per day in ground support actions[citation needed] Strategic
bombers (mostly B-29s based in Japan) closed most rail
and road traffic by day, and destroyed 32 critical bridges necessary for the
conduct of warfare. Trains used by military and civilians alike waited out
the daylight hours in tunnels. Throughout all parts of Korea, the
American bombers knocked out the main supply dumps and eliminated oil
refineries and seaports that handled imports. The bombing was designed to
starve North Korean forces of ammunition and other martial supplies. Naval
air power also attacked transportation choke points. The North Korean forces
were already strung out over the peninsula, and the destruction caused by
American bombers prevented needed supplies from reaching North Korean forces
in the south. Meanwhile, supply bases in
Japan were pouring weapons and soldiers into Pusan. American tank battalions
were rushed in from San Francisco; by late August, America had over 500
medium tanks in the Pusan perimeter. By early September, UN-ROK forces were
decidedly more powerful and outnumbered the North Koreans by 180,000 to
100,000. At that point, they began a counterattack.[24] [edit] South Korean
and allied forces move north
Main article: Battle of Incheon In the face of these
overwhelming reinforcements, the North Korean forces found themselves
undermanned and with weak logistical support. They also lacked the
substantial naval and air support of the Americans. In order to alleviate
pressure on the Pusan Perimeter, General MacArthur, as UN commander-in-chief for Korea, argued for an amphibious landing far behind the North Korean
lines at Incheon. The violent tides and strong
enemy presence made this an extremely risky operation. MacArthur had started
planning a few days after the war began, but he had been strongly opposed by the
Pentagon. When he finally received permission, MacArthur activated the X Corps under General Edward
Almond (comprising 70,000 troops of the 1st Marine Division and the
Army's 7th Infantry Division and
augmented by 8,600 Korean troops) and ordered them to land at Incheon in
Operation Chromite. By the time of the attack on September 15, thanks to
reconnaissance by guerrillas, misinformation and extensive shelling prior
to the invasion, the North Korean military had few soldiers stationed in
Incheon, so the U.S. forces met only light resistance when they landed,
though extensive shelling and bombing destroyed much of the city.[citation needed] The landing was a decisive
victory, as X Corps rolled over the few defenders and threatened to trap the
main North Korean army. MacArthur quickly recaptured Seoul. The North
Koreans, almost cut off, rapidly retreated northwards; about 25,000 to 30,000
made it back.[44][45] [edit] Invasion of
North Korea
Main article: UN Offensive, 1950 The United Nations troops drove
the North Koreans back past the 38th parallel.
Urban combat in
Seoul, 1950, as U.S. Marines fight North Koreans holding the city The UN forces crossed into
North Korea in early October 1950. The U.S. X Corps made amphibious landings
at Wonsan and Iwon, which had
already been captured by South Korean forces advancing by land. The Eighth
U.S. Army, along with the South Koreans, drove up the western side of Korea
and captured Pyongyang on October 19. By the end of October, the North
Korean Army was rapidly disintegrating, and the UN took 135,000 prisoners. The UN offensive greatly
concerned the Chinese, who worried that the UN forces would not stop at the Yalu River,
the border between North Korea and China, and might extend their rollback
policy into China.[citation needed] Many
in the West, including General MacArthur, thought that spreading the war to
China would be necessary and that since North Korean troops were being
supplied by bases in China, those supply depots should be bombed. However,
Truman and the other leaders disagreed, and MacArthur was ordered to be very
cautious when approaching the Chinese border. [edit] Chinese
intervention
On June 27, 1950, before China
entered the conflict, President Truman ordered the 7th Fleet to enter the Taiwan
Straits, in order to protect Taiwan from Chinese Communist forces.[46] The PRC warned American leaders through neutral
diplomats that it would intervene to protect its national security. Truman regarded the warnings
as “a bald attempt to blackmail the U.N.” and did not take it seriously.[47] The PRC Government argued that in making Japan its
main war base in the Far East, launching an invasion against Korea and the
Chinese province of Taiwan, and carrying out active intervention in other
countries in Asia, the United States was building up a military encirclement
of China. [48] The PRC Government reported that prior to China's
entry in the Korean conflict, the United States violated Chinese airspace,
bombing peaceful towns and villages.[49] On October 15, 1950, Truman
went to Wake
Island for a short, highly publicized meeting with MacArthur. MacArthur,
saying he was speculating, saw little risk.[citation needed]
MacArthur explained that the Chinese had lost their window of opportunity to
help North Korea's invasion. He estimated the Chinese had 300,000 soldiers in
Manchuria,
with between 100,000-125,000 men along the Yalu; half could be brought across
the Yalu. But the Chinese had no air force; hence, “if the Chinese tried to
get down to Pyongyang, there would be the greatest slaughter.”[44][50] MacArthur assumed that Chinese wished to avoid heavy
casualties.[citation needed]
U.S. soldiers
fire a 105 mm howitzer in an indirect fire mission on the Korean battle line,
near Uirson in August 1950. On October 8, 1950, the day
after American troops crossed the 38th parallel, Chairman Mao Zedong
issued the order to assemble the Chinese People's Volunteer Army. Seventy
percent of the members of the PVA were Chinese regulars from the Chinese People's Liberation Army. Mao ordered
the army to move to the Yalu River, ready to cross.[citation needed] Mao
sought Soviet aid and saw intervention as defensive of the broader
revolutionary situation in Asia: “If we allow the United States to occupy all
of Korea, Korean revolutionary power will suffer a fundamental defeat, and
the American invaders will run more rampant, and have negative effects for
the entire Far East.” he told Stalin. Premier Zhou Enlai
was sent to Moscow
to add force to Mao's cabled arguments. Mao delayed while waiting for
substantial Soviet help, postponing the planned attack from October 13 to October
19. However, Soviet assistance was limited to providing air support no nearer
than sixty miles (100 km) from the battlefront. The Soviet MiG-15s in PRC
colors did pose a serious challenge to UN pilots. In one area nicknamed “MiG Alley”
by UN forces, they held local air superiority against the American-made Lockheed F-80 Shooting Stars until the newer North American F-86 Sabres were
deployed. The Chinese were angry at the limited extent of Soviet involvement,
having assumed that they had been promised full scale air support.[citation needed] The Chinese made contact with
American troops on November 1, 1950. Thousands of Chinese had attacked from
the north, northwest, and west against scattered U.S. and South Korean
(Republic of Korea or ROK) units moving deep into North Korea. The Chinese
seemed to come out of nowhere as they swarmed around the flanks and over the
defensive positions of the surprised United Nations (UN) troops.[51] The Chinese march and bivouac
discipline also minimized any possible detection. In a well-documented
instance, a Chinese army of three divisions marched on foot from An-tung in
Manchuria, on the north side of the Yalu River, 286 miles (460 km) to
its assembly area in North Korea, in the combat zone, in a period ranging
from 16 to 19 days. One division of this army, marching at night over circuitous
mountain roads, averaged 18 miles (29 km) per day for 18 days. The day's
march began after dark at 19:00 and ended at 03:00 the next morning. Defense
measures against aircraft were to be completed before 05:30. Every man,
animal, and piece of equipment were to be concealed and camouflaged. During
daylight, bivouac scouting parties moved ahead to select the next day's
bivouac area. When Chinese units were compelled for any reason to march by
day, they were under standing orders for every man to stop in his tracks and
remain motionless if aircraft appeared overhead. Officers were empowered to
shoot any man who violated this order.[24]
Map of the Battle of Chosin Reservoir In late November, the Chinese
struck in the west, along the Chongchon River, and completely overran several
South Korean divisions and successfully landed a heavy blow to the flank of
the remaining UN forces. The ensuing defeat of the U.S. Eighth Army resulted
in the longest retreat of any American military unit in history.[52] Mostly due to the successful but very costly
rear-guard action by the Turkish
Brigade at Kunuri
during November 26 to 30th, which slowed the Chinese onslaught by 3-4 days,
the U.S. 8th
Army escaped complete anhiliation by the Chinese. In the east, at the Battle of Chosin Reservoir, a 30,000
man unit from the U.S. 7th Infantry Division
and U.S. Marine Corps was also unprepared
for the Chinese tactics and was soon surrounded, though they eventually
managed to escape the encirclement, albeit with over 15,000 casualties,
after inflicting heavy[specify] casualties on
six Chinese divisions.[53] While the Chinese soldiers
initially lacked heavy fire support and light infantry weapons, their tactics
quickly adapted to this disadvantage, as explained by Bevin
Alexander in his book How
Wars Are Won: "The usual method was to infiltrate small units, from a platoon of
fifty men to a company of 200, split into separate
detachments. While one team cut off the escape route of the Americans, the
others struck both the front and the flanks in concerted assaults. The
attacks continued on all sides until the defenders were destroyed or forced
to withdraw. The Chinese then crept forward to the open flank of the next
platoon position, and repeated the tactics." Roy Appleman further clarified
the initial Chinese tactics as: "In the First Phase Offensive, highly skilled enemy light infantry
troops had carried out the Chinese attacks, generally unaided by any weapons
larger than mortars. Their attacks had demonstrated that the Chinese were
well-trained disciplined fire fighters, and particularly adept at night
fighting. They were masters of the art of camouflage. Their patrols were
remarkably successful in locating the positions of the UN forces. They
planned their attacks to get in the rear of these forces, cut them off from
their escape and supply roads, and then send in frontal and flanking attacks
to precipitate the battle. They also employed a tactic which they termed
Hachi Shiki, which was a V-formation into which they allowed enemy forces to
move; the sides of the V then closed around their enemy while another force
moved below the mouth of the V to engage any forces attempting to relieve the
trapped unit. Such were the tactics the Chinese used with great success at
Onjong, Unsan, and Ch'osan but with only partial success at Pakch'on and the
Ch'ongch'on bridgehead."[24] The U.S. forces in northeast
Korea, who had rushed forward with great speed only a few months earlier,
were forced to race southwards with even greater speed and form a defensive
perimeter around the port city of Hungnam, where
a major evacuation was carried out in late December 1950. Facing complete
defeat and surrender, 193 shiploads of American men and material were
evacuated from Hungnam Harbor, and about 105,000 soldiers, 98,000 civilians,
17,500 vehicles, and 350,000 tons of supplies were shipped to Pusan in
orderly fashion. As they left, the American forces blew up large portions of
the city to deny its use to the communists, depriving many Korean civilians
of shelter during the winter.[44][54] [edit] Fighting across
the 38th Parallel (early 1951)
B-26
Invaders bomb supply warehouses in Wonsan, North Korea, 1951. In January 1951, the Chinese
and North Korean forces struck again in their 3rd Phase Offensive (also known
as the Chinese Winter Offensive). The Chinese repeated their previous
tactics of mostly night attacks, with a stealthy approach from positions some
distance from the front, followed by a rush with overwhelming numbers, and
using trumpets or gongs both for communication and to disorient their foes.
Against this the UN forces had no remedy, and their resistance crumbled; they
retreated rapidly to the south (referred to by UN forces as the “bug-out”).
Seoul was abandoned and was captured by communist forces on January 4, 1951. To add to the Eighth Army's
difficulties, General Walker was killed in an accident. He was replaced by a
World War II airborne veteran, Lieutenant-General Matthew
Ridgway, who took immediate steps to raise the morale and fighting spirit
of the battered Eighth Army, which had fallen to low levels during its
retreat. Nevertheless, the situation was so grim that MacArthur mentioned the
use of atomic weapons against China, much to the alarm of
America's allies.[citation needed] UN forces continued to retreat
until they had reached a line south of Suwon in the west
and Wonju in the
center, and north of Samchok in the east, where the front stabilized. The
People's Volunteer Army had outrun its supply line and was forced to recoil.
The Chinese could not go beyond Seoul because they were at the end of their
logistics supply line[citation needed] —
all food and ammunition had to be carried at night on foot or bicycle from
the Yalu River. In late January, finding the
lines in front of his forces deserted, Ridgway ordered reconnaissance in
force, which developed into a full-scale offensive, Operation Roundup. The operation was planned to
proceed gradually, to make full use of the UN's superiority in firepower on
the ground and in the air; by the time Roundup was completed in early
February, UN forces had reached the Han River and re-captured Wonju. The Chinese struck back in
mid-February with their Fourth Phase Offensive, from Hoengsong
in the center against IX Corps positions around Chipyong-ni.
A short but desperate siege there fought by units of the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division, including
the French Battalion, broke up the
offensive; in this action, the UN learned how to deal with Chinese offensive
tactics and be able to stand their ground. Roundup was followed in the
last two weeks of February 1951, with Operation
Killer, by a revitalized Eighth Army, restored by Ridgway to fighting
trim. This was a full-scale offensive across the front, again staged to
maximize firepower and with the aim of destroying as much of the Chinese and
North Korean armies as possible. By the end of Killer, I Corps
had re-occupied all territory south of the Han, while IX Corps had captured
Hoengsong. On March 7, 1951, the Eighth
Army pushed forward again, in Operation
Ripper, and on March 14 they expelled the North Korean and Chinese
troops from Seoul, the fourth time in a year the city had changed hands.
Seoul was in utter ruins; its prewar population of 1.5 million had dropped to
200,000, with severe food shortages.[45] MacArthur was removed from
command by President Truman on April 11, 1951 for insubordination,
setting off a firestorm of protest back in the U.S. The new supreme commander
was Ridgway, who had managed to regroup UN forces for the series of effective
counter-offensives. Command of Eighth Army passed to General James
Van Fleet.
A Chinese soldier
killed by U.S. Marines of 1st Marine Division during an attack on Hill 105 in
1951 A further series of attacks
slowly drove back the communist forces, such as Operations Courageous and Tomahawk, a combined ground- and
air-assault to trap communist forces between Kaesong and Seoul. UN forces
continued to advance until they reached Line Kansas, some miles north of the
38th parallel. The Chinese were far from
beaten, however; In April 1951 they launched their Fifth Phase Offensive
(also called the Chinese Spring Offensive). This was a major effort,
involving three field armies (up to 700,000 men). The main blow fell on I
Corps, but fierce resistance in battles at the Imjin River and Kapyong, blunted its impetus, and the Chinese
were halted at a defensive line north of Seoul (referred to as the No-Name
Line). A further Communist offensive
in the east against ROK and X Corps on May 15 also made initial gains, but by
May 20 the attack had ground to a halt. Eighth Army counterattacked and by
the end of May had regained Line Kansas. The decision by UN forces to
halt at Line Kansas, just north of the 38th Parallel, and not to persist in
offensive action into North Korea, ushered in the period of stalemate which
typified the remainder of the conflict. [edit] Stalemate (July
1951 - July 1953)
The rest of the war involved
little territory change, large-scale bombing of the north, and lengthy peace
negotiations, which began on July 10, 1951 at Kaesong. Even
during the peace negotiations, combat continued. For the South Korean and
allied forces, the goal was to recapture all of South Korea before an
agreement was reached in order to avoid loss of any territory. The Chinese
and North Koreans attempted similar operations, and later in the war they
undertook operations designed to test the resolve of the UN to continue the
conflict. Principal military engagements in this period were the actions
around the Punchbowl, in the east, such as Bloody Ridge and Heartbreak Ridge in 1951, the battles
for Old Baldy, in the center, and the Hook, in the west, during 1952–53, Battle of Hill Eerie in 1952, and the battle
for Pork Chop Hill in 1953.
Territory
changed hands in the early part of the war until the front stabilized. The peace negotiations went on
for two years, first at Kaesong, and later at Panmunjon.
A major issue of the negotiations was repatriation of POWs.
The Communists agreed to voluntary repatriation but only if the majority
would return to China or North Korea, something that did not occur. Since
many refused to be repatriated to the communist North Korea and China, the
war continued until the Communists eventually dropped this issue.[citation needed] In October 1951, U.S. forces
performed Operation Hudson Harbor intending to establish the
capability to use nuclear weapons. Several B-29s conducted
individual simulated bomb runs from Okinawa to
North Korea, delivering “dummy” nuclear bombs or heavy conventional bombs;
the operation was coordinated from Yokota
Air Base in Japan. The battle exercise was intended to test “actual
functioning of all activities which would be involved in an atomic strike,
including weapons assembly and testing, leading, ground control of bomb
aiming,” and so on. The results indicated that nuclear bombs would be less
effective than anticipated, because “timely identification of large masses of
enemy troops was extremely rare.”[55][56][57][58][59] On November 29, 1952, U.S.
President-elect Dwight D. Eisenhower fulfilled a campaign
promise by going to Korea to find out what could be done to end the conflict.
With the UN's acceptance of India's proposal for a Korean armistice,
a cease-fire
was established on July 27, 1953, by which time the front line was back
around the proximity of the 38th parallel, and so a demilitarized zone (DMZ) was
established around it, presently defended by North Korean troops on one side
and by South Korean, American and UN troops on the other. The DMZ runs north
of the parallel towards the east, and to the south as it travels west. The
site of the peace talks, Kaesong, the old capital of Korea, was part of the South
before hostilities broke out but is currently a special city of the North.
North Korea and the United States signed the Armistice Agreement, with Syngman
Rhee refusing to sign.[60] [edit] Casualties
Memorials to
those who died can be found in many countries such as this one in Pretoria for
South African casualties. The total numbers of casualties
suffered by all parties involved may never be known. Each country's
self-reported casualties were largely based upon troop movements, unit rosters,
battle casualty reports, and medical records. The Western numbers of Chinese
and/or North Korean casulties are based primarily on battle reports of
estimated casualties, interrogation of POWs and captured documents. The Chinese estimation of UN casualties
states that the joint declaration of the Chinese People's Volunteers and the
Korean People's Army said their forces "eliminated 1.09 million enemy
forces, including 390,000 from the United States, 660,000 from South Korean,
and 29,000 from other countries." The vague "eliminated"
number gave no details to that of dead, wounded and captured. Regarding their
own casualties, the same source said that "the Chinese People's
Volunteers suffered 148,000 deaths altogether (among which 114,000 died in
combat, incidents, and winterkill, 21,000 died after being hospitalized and
13,000 died from diseases); 380,000 were wounded and 29,000 missing,
including 21,400 POWs (of whom 14,000 were sent to Taiwan, 7,110 were
repatriated)." This same source concluded with these numbers for North
Korean casualties, "the Korean People's Army had 290,000 casualties and
90,000 POWs; there was a large number of civilian deaths in the northern part
of Korea, but no accurate figures were available."[61] The casulties of the various UN
forces are listed in the infobox, along with their estimates of Chinese and
North Korean forces. [edit] Characteristics
[edit] Armored warfare
A Sherman
tank fires its 76 mm gun at enemy bunkers on “Napalm Ridge,” in support
of the 8th ROK Division May 11, 1952. In the initial invasion stage
of the war, North Korean armor was able to establish dominance using their
Soviet-supplied T-34-85
medium tanks. The WW2-vintage North Korean tanks were facing a South Korean
force with no tanks of their own and few modern anti-tank weapons.[citation needed]
Comparing the
earlier M9 bazooka
to the later, larger M20 model The South Korean army had anti-tank
rockets but these were World War II vintage 2.36 inch (60 mm) M9 bazookas. The
bazooka rocket could easily penetrate the 45 mm side armor of the T-34-85s at
any range, but the bazooka was nonetheless found to be ineffective.[citation needed] As U.S. forces arrived in
Korea, they were accompanied only by light M24
Chaffee tanks which had been left in Japan for post-WWII occupation
duties (heavier tanks would have torn up Japanese roads).[citation needed] These
light tanks were ineffective against the larger North Korean T-34-85 tanks.[citation needed] U.S. 105
mm howitzers were used on at least one occasion to fire HEAT ammunition over open sights.[citation needed] As the U.S. buildup continued,
shipments of heavier American tanks such as the M4 Sherman,
the M26
Pershing, the M46 Patton, and the British Centurion
as well as American and Allied ground attack aircraft were able to reverse
the Communists' tank advantage.[citation needed] However, in contrast to World
War II's heavy emphasis on armor, few open tank battles actually occurred
over the course of the Korean War. The country's heavily forested and
mountainous terrain, as well as the poor road network, meant that tanks were
able to operate only in small groups. [edit] Air warfare
Further information: MiG Alley and United States Air
Force Aircraft of the Korean War
MiG-15 shot down
by an F-86 over MiG Alley
Over the course
of the war, at least 16 B-29 bombers were shot down by communist
aircraft. The Korean War was the last
major war where propeller-powered fighters such as the P-51
Mustang, F4U Corsair and aircraft
carrier-based Hawker Sea Fury and Supermarine Seafire were used. Turbojet
fighter aircraft such as F-80s and F9F
Panthers came to dominate the skies, overwhelming North Korea’s
propeller-driven Yakovlev Yak-9s and Lavochkin
La-9s. From 1950, North Koreans began
flying the Soviet-made MiG-15 jet fighters, some of which were piloted by
experienced Soviet Air Force pilots, a casus
belli deliberately overlooked by the UN allied forces who were
reluctant to engage in open war with the Soviet Union and the People's
Republic of China. At first, UN jet fighters, which also included Royal Australian Air Force Gloster Meteors, had some success, but the
superior quality of the MiGs soon held sway over the first-generation jets
used by the UN early in the war.[62] In December 1950, the U.S.
Air Force began using the F-86 Sabre.
The MiG could fly higher, 50,000 vs. 42,000 feet (12,800 m),
offering a distinct advantage at the start of combat. In level flight, their
maximum speeds were comparable — about 660 mph (1,060 km/h).
The MiG could climb better, while the Sabre could turn and dive better. For
weapons, the MiG carried two 23 mm and one 37 mm cannon, compared to the
Sabre’s six .50 (12.7 mm) caliber machine guns. The American .50 caliber
machine guns, while not packing the same punch, carried many more rounds and were
aimed with a superior radar-ranging
gunsight. The U.S. pilots also had the advantage of G-suits, which
were used for the first time in this war. However, maintenance was an issue
with the Sabre, and a large proportion of the UN air strength was grounded
because of repairs during the war.[citation needed] Even after the Air Force
introduced the advanced F-86, its pilots often struggled against the jets
piloted by Soviet pilots.[citation needed] The
UN gradually gained air superiority over most of Korea that lasted
until the end of the war — a decisive factor in helping the UN first
advance into the north, and then resist the Chinese invasion of South Korea.
The Chinese and North Koreans also had jet power, but their training and
experience were limited. With the introduction of the F-86F in late 1952, the
Soviet and American aircraft had virtually identical performance
characteristics. After the war, the USAF claimed
792 MiG-15s and 108 additional aircraft shot down by Sabres for the loss of
78 Sabres, a ratio in excess of 10:1.[citation needed] Some
post-war research has been able to confirm only 379 victories, although the
USAF continues to maintain its official credits and the debate is possibly
irreconcilable. The Soviets claimed about 1,100
air-to-air victories and 335 combat MiG losses at that time. China's official
losses were 231 planes shot down in air-to-air combat (mostly MiG-15) and 168
other losses. The number of losses of the North Korean Air Force was not
revealed. It is estimated that it lost about 200 aircraft in the first stage
of the war, and another 70 aircraft after Chinese intervention. Soviet claims
of 650 victories over the Sabres, and China's claims of another 211 F-86s,
are considered to be exaggerated by the USAF. According to a recent U.S.
publication, the number of F-86s ever present in the Korean peninsula during
the war totaled only 674[citation needed] and
the total F-86 losses from all causes were about 230.[63] Direct comparison of Sabre and
MiG losses seem irrelevant, since primary targets for MiGs were heavy B-29 Superfortress bombers and ground-attack aircraft,
while the primary targets for Sabres were MiG-15s. By early 1951, the battle lines
hardened and did not change much for the rest of the conflict. Throughout the
summer and early fall of 1951, the outnumbered Sabres (as few as 44 at one
point) of the 4th FIW continued to seek battle in MiG Alley
near the Yalu against an enemy fielding as many as 500 planes, although only
a fraction of these were operational and active. Following Colonel Harrison
Thyng's famous message to the Pentagon, the 51st FIW reinforced the beleaguered
4th in December 1951.[64] For the next year and a half, the combat continued in
generally the same fashion.
Helicopters
like this H-19 were used in the Korean war.[65][66] The Korean war was the first
time the helicopter was used exstensively in a conflict.[67] While helicopters such as the YR-4
were used in World War Two,[68] their use was rare, and Jeeps like the Willys MB
were the main method of removing an injured soldier. In the Korean war
helicopters like the H-19 partially took over in the non
combat Medevac
area.[69] The helicopter proved to be a
valuable military asset for the United
States in Korea. Improvments made to helicopters since World
War Two were tested in combat. The need for close air support helicopters was seen, and by
the time of the Vietnam conflict gunships like the AH-1 Cobra
had been produced. Helicopters like those used in the Korean war for Medevac
missions and troop movment were also seen to work well in combat, and designs
were also improved apon. This "combat test" for helicopters was
important to the development of the military helicopter.[70] [edit] Naval warfare
As North Korea had no
significant naval presence, naval battles were infrequent. The only
significant "battle" took place on July 2, 1950, between the U.S.
cruiser Juneau, the British cruiser Jamaica,
and the British frigate Black Swan, against four North Korean
torpedo boats and two North Korean mortar gunboats. The torpedo boats
attempted to attack but they were quickly destroyed by the Anglo-American fleet.[71] Numerous other communist ships were sunk during the
war. Supply and ammunition ships were sunk by U.N. forces, denying use of the
sea to the North Koreans. Juneau sunk several ammunition ships that
had been present in her previous battle. The last instance of ship-to-ship
battle in the war occurred at Inchon a few days before the battle, when the
ROK ship PC 703 sank an enemy mine-laying craft and three other vessels in
waters off the Yellow Sea port. For the remainder of the war, the role of the
navies was to provide shore bombardment.[71] [edit] Proposed use of
nuclear weapons
Historian Bruce Cumings believes that Truman's allusions to
the possibility of nuclear weapons use at a press conference on November 30,
1950 "was a threat based on contingency planning to use the bomb, rather
than the faux pas so many assumed it to be."[26][verification needed]
Cumings argues that Truman sought MacArthur's removal primarily because he
felt that MacArthur would not be reliable enough in a situation in which Washington
had decided to use atomic weapons. Cumings notes that the same day as the
press conference, orders were sent between top Air Forces generals for the Strategic Air Command to "augment its
capacities and that this should include “atomic capabilities."[26] According to Cumings, the U.S. reached its closest
point of using nuclear weapons during the war in April 1951. At the end of
March, after the Chinese had moved large amounts of new forces near the
Korean border, U.S. bomb loading pits at Kadena air base in Okinawa were
made operational, and bombs were assembled there "lacking only the
essential nuclear cores." On April 5, the Joint Chiefs of Staff released orders for
immediate retaliatory attacks using atomic weapons against Manchurian bases
in the event that large numbers of new Chinese troops entered into the fights
or bombing attacks originated from those bases. On the same day, Truman gave
his approval for transfer of nine Mark IV nuclear capsules "to the air
force's Ninth Bomb Group, the designated carrier of the weapons" and
"the president signed an order to use them against Chinese and Korean
targets." Remarking that the signed order was never sent, Cumings offers
two reasons why this was the case. Firstly, Truman had used the crisis to
convince the Joint Chiefs of the necessity of MacArthur's removal (announced
April 10) and secondly, since the war was not thereafter escalated by the Chinese
and Soviets, no necessity of using them presented itself.[26] This viewpoint is contradicted
however by the facts, as on November 30, 1950, President Truman at a press
conference, remarked – no doubt extemporaneously – that the use of the atomic
bomb was under active consideration, unintentionally implying to some
observers that its use would be left to the discretion of General MacArthur.
Even though subsequently he attempted to subdue the storm of protest and
consternation which followed by pointing out that only he could authorize use
of the atomic bomb and that he had not given such authorization, he could not
avoid the real issue that any decision to use the bomb would be a United
States, not a United Nations, decision. This led to a meeting December 4 with
British Prime Minister Clement Attlee (who also represented the leaders
of the other Commonwealth nations) and with French Premier René
Pleven and Foreign Minister Robert
Schuman, to discuss their concerns over the possible use of the atomic
bomb. Indian Ambassador Pannikkar recalls, "that Truman
announced that he was thinking of using the atom bomb in Korea. But the
Chinese seemed totally unmoved by this threat.... The propaganda against
American aggression was stepped up. The 'Aid Korea to resist America'
campaign was made the slogan for increased production, greater national
integration, and more rigid control over anti-national activities. One could
not help feeling that Truman's threat came in very useful to the leaders of
the revolution to enable them to keep up the tempo of their activities."[44][72][73] Six days later, on December 6,
1950, after the Chinese intervention had forced the UN forces into a retreat
from northern North Korea, General J. Lawton Collins (Army Chief of Staff), General MacArthur,
Admiral C. Turner Joy and General George E. Stratemeyer, with key staff
officers Hickey, Willoughby and Wright, met in Tokyo for a full
discussion of what moves to take against the Chinese. They projected three
hypothetical scenarios covering the next few weeks or months.[44] In the first, they theorized
that if the Chinese continued their all-out attack but with the UN Command
forbidden to mount air attacks against China, no blockade of China set up, no
reinforcements sent to Korea by Chiang
Kai-shek, and that there would be no substantial increase in MacArthur's
U.S. forces until April 1951 when four National Guard divisions might be
sent, then the atomic bomb might be used in North Korea.[44] Under the second scenario, the
conferees assumed a situation in which the Chinese attack would continue but
with an effective naval blockade of China put in effect, air reconnaissance
and bombing of the Chinese mainland allowed, Chinese Nationalist forces
exploited to the maximum, and the atomic bomb to be used if tactically
appropriate. Given these conditions, General MacArthur said he should be
directed to hold positions in Korea as far north as possible.[44] Under the third scenario, in
which the Chinese would agree not to cross south of the 38th parallel,
MacArthur felt the United Nations should accept an armistice. The conditions
of the armistice should preclude movement of North Korean and Chinese forces
below the parallel. North Korean guerrillas should withdraw into their own
territory with the Eighth Army remaining in positions covering the
Seoul-Inch'on area, while X Corps pulled back to Pusan. An United Nations
commission should supervise the implementation of armistice terms.[44] So, while the U.S. had
contemplated using the atomic bomb in Korea, Truman did not publicly threaten
to use the bomb immediately after the Chinese intervention, but instead
remarked about the consideration of using the bomb around 45 days later and
only after UN forces were in retreat and had suffered some serious losses.
MacArthur and other military leaders did not work on scenarios for using the
bomb until after Truman's inadvertent remark during a press conference 6 days
earlier. The decision not to use the atomic bomb also was not due to "a
disinclination by the USSR and PRC to escalate" but rather due to
pressure from UN allies, notably Britain, the British Commonwealth, and
France, who were concerned that if the United States became involved in a war
with Communist China, American commitments to NATO would, through
sheer necessity, go by the board. China then might have little difficulty in
persuading the Soviets to move into western
Europe, and without U.S. resistance to this aggression, they could take
all of Europe at little cost.[44][74] [edit] War crimes
[edit] Crimes against
civilians
Main article: No Gun Ri massacre
Declassified
U.S. document says:
Prisoners
massacred by retreating North Koreans in Daejeon, South
Korea, October 1950 When parts of South Korea were
under North Korean control, political killings, reportedly into the tens of
thousands, took place in the cities and villages. The communists
systematically killed former South Korean government officials and others
deemed hostile to the communists, and such killing was intensified as North
Koreans retreated from the South.[75] South Korean military, police
and paramilitary
forces, often with U.S. military knowledge and without trial, executed in
turn tens of thousands of leftist inmates and alleged communist sympathizers
in the incidents such as the massacre of the political prisoners from the
Daejeon Prison and the bloody crackdown on the Cheju
Uprising.[76] Gregory Henderson, a U.S. diplomat in Korea at the
time, put the total figure at 100,000, and the bodies of those killed were
often dumped into mass graves. Recently, the South Korean Truth and
Reconciliation Commission has received reports of more than 7,800 cases
of civilian killings in 150 locations across the country where mass killings
of civilians took place before and during the war. Korean forces on both sides
routinely rounded up and forcibly conscripted
both males and females in their area of operations; thousands of them never
returned home. According to the estimate by R. J.
Rummel, a professor at the University of Hawaii, some 400,000 South
Korean citizens were conscripted into the North Korean Army.[75] Before the September 1950 liberation of Seoul by the
U.S. forces, an estimated 83,000 citizens of the city were taken away by
retreating North Korean forces and disappeared, according to the South Korean
government; their fate remains unknown.[77] North Korea insists the South Koreans defected
voluntarily and were not held against their will.[78] For a time, American troops
were under orders to consider any Korean civilians on the battlefield approaching
their position as hostile, and were instructed to "neutralize" them
because of fears of infiltration. This led to the indiscriminate killings
of hundreds of South Korean civilians by the U.S. military at places such as No Gun Ri,
where many defenseless refugees — most of whom were women, children and
old men — were shot at by the U.S. Army and may have been strafed by
the U.S. Air Force. Recently, the U.S. admitted having a policy of strafing
civilians in other places and times.[79][80] [edit] Crimes against
POWs
An executed US
prisoner The North Koreans were alleged
by a U.S. Government report to have mistreated prisoners of war.[81] Some made allegations of frequent communist-imposed
beatings, starvation, forced labor, summary executions, and death
marches on UN prisoners.[82] North Korean forces allegedly committed several massacres
of captured U.S. troops at places such as Hill 312 and Hill 303[83] on the Pusan Perimeter, and in and around Daejeon;
this occurred during early "mopping-up" actions. A U.S.
Congressional report alleges "two-thirds of all American prisoners
of war in Korea died due to war crimes."[84][85] North Korean forces claimed to
have captured more than 70,000 South Korean soldiers, repatriating 8,000. (In
contrast, South Korea repatriated 76,000 North Korean POWs.)[86] In addition to some 12,000 deaths in captivity, some
50,000 South Korean POWs might have been press-ganged into the North Korean
military.[75] According to the South Korean Ministry of Defense, by 2003
there were at least 300 POWs were still alive being held captive in North
Korea. More than 30 South Korean prisoners managed to escape the North
between 1994 and 2003, including a soldier captured in the war who escaped in
2003.[87] Pyongyang denied holding any POWs. The state controlled Korean Central News Agency claims that
the United States and its allies killed at least 33,600 POWs of the Korean
People's Army, and that tens of thousands more were wounded or crippled. On
May 27, 1952 it was alleged that at least 800 POWs were killed by flame
throwers at the 77th camp on Koje Island for rejecting "voluntary
repatriation" and insisting on their repatriation to the North Korea.
According to the North Korean Central News Agency, some 1,400 prisoners of
war had been secretly sent to the United States to be subjected to
experiments with atomic weapons. It has also been alleged that on July 19,
1951, a total of 100 prisoners of war had been shot by machine-gun fire in
the prisoner-of-war camp No. 62, in order to give the machine-gunners
training in shooting at moving targets. [88] [89] [edit] Legacy
Main article: Legacy of the Korean War The Korean War was the first
armed confrontation of the Cold War and set the standard for many later conflicts.
It created the idea of a limited war, where the two superpowers
would fight in another country, forcing the people in that nation to suffer
the bulk of the destruction and death involved in a war between such large
nations. The superpowers avoided descending into an all-out war with one
another, as well as the mutual use of nuclear weapons. It also expanded the
Cold War, which to that point had mostly been concerned with Europe. The Korean War damaged both
Koreas heavily. Although South Korea stagnated economically in the decade
following the war, it was later able to modernize and industrialize. In
contrast, the North Korean economy recovered quickly
after the war and until around 1975 surpassed that of South Korea.[citation needed]
However, North Korea's economy eventually slowed. Today, the North Korean
economy is virtually nonexistent while the South Korean economy is expanding. The CIA World Factbook estimates North Korea's GDP (PPP) to be $40 billion, which is a mere 3.34%
of South Korea's $1.196 trillion GDP (PPP). The North's per capita income is
$1,800, which is 7.35% of South Korea's $24,500 per capita income. A heavily guarded demilitarized zone
(DMZ) on the 38th parallel continues to divide the peninsula today.
Anti-Communist and anti-North Korea sentiment still remain in South Korea
today, and most South Koreans are against the North Korean government.
However, a "Sunshine Policy" is used by the controlling
party, the Uri
Party. The Uri Party and President Roh,
the South Korean president, have often disagreed with the United States in
talks about North Korea. The Grand National Party (GNP), the Uri Party's
main opposing party, maintains an anti-North Korea policy today. The war affected other nations
as well. Turkey's
participation in the war helped it become a NATO member.[90] According to a September 7,
2007 NPR report, U.S. President George
W. Bush stated that it is his administration's position that a formal
peace treaty with North Korea would be possible only when the North abandoned
its nuclear weapons programs.[91] According to Bush, "We look forward to the day
when we can end the Korean War. That will end — will happen when Kim
verifiably gets rid of his weapons programs and his weapons."[92] Some have characterized this as a reversal of Bush's
stated policy of regime change with respect to North Korea.[93] At the second Inter-Korean Summit in October 2007, South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and
North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il signed a joint declaration calling for
international talks towards a peace treaty formally ending the war.[94] [edit] Depictions
[edit] Art
Artist Pablo
Picasso's painting Massacre in Korea (1951) depicted violence
against civilians during the Korean War. By some accounts, killing of
civilians by U.S. forces in Shinchun, Hwanghae
Province was the motive of the painting.[citation needed] Ha Jin's War
Trash contains a vivid description of the beginning of the war from the
point of view of a Chinese soldier and of the fear of retribution Chinese
POWs felt from other Chinese prisoners if they were suspected of being
unsympathetic to communism or to the war. [edit] Film
Unlike World War II, there are
relatively few Western feature films depicting the Korean War.
There were several South Korean
films, including:
North Korea has made many films
about the war, mostly by the government supporting forceful, armed
reunification of the North and South of Korea. These have been highly
propagandized to portray potential war crimes by American or South Korean
soldiers while glorifying members of the North Korean military as well as
North Korean ideals.[96][97] Shangganling Battle (Shanggan Ling, Chinese: 上甘岭) is a depiction of the Korean War from
the Chinese point of view, made in 1956. The movie is about a group of
Chinese soldiers blocked in Shangganling mountain area for several days and
survive until they are relieved. [edit] See also
[edit] Notes
[edit] References
[edit] Further reading
Victims of a
massacre with their hands bound in burial area near Waegwan, Korea. [edit] Combat studies,
soldiers
[edit] Origins,
politics, diplomacy
[edit] Primary sources
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