Called "The Forgotten War"
1945 Japan leaves occupation of Korea
In South Korea, 1947, S. Korea holds elections and American troops from WWII leave, leaving them vulnerable
June, 1950, North Koreans attack
Attack is fast and effective, S. Koreans are pushed back to nearly to the sea
MacArthur leads U.S. troops into Korea, facing little resistance by means of a brilliant naval landing
Push N. Koreans back up, past the the 38th Parallel
Oct, 1950: Chinese volunteer army pushes U.N. troops back, past the 38th Parallel
1951: Stalemate
MacArthur wants full control of the military to push in China, and eliminate communism
Advocates atomic bomb strikes
Scares Truman, who removes MacArthur
Warhawks in U.S. were upset, claiming MacArthur could have destroyed communism
Truman brings in Bradley
Fighting continues to 1952
In 1952 elections, Eisenhower is elected
Eisenhower is elected on the strength of his military knowledge
1953: Stalin dies
Not fully leader of USSR anymore, but has great influence
His death thaws the Cold War situation
July 1953: Armistice is signed
War never officially ended
"Mig Alley" over Korea is the first arena in which U.S. aircraft fights USSR made aircraft
USSR planes prove superior
The Key Players
Truman
Syngman Rhee (SK)
President of South Korea
UN
Foreign soldiers are involved, but far fewer than American soldiers
MacArthur
Bradley
MacArthur's replacement
Kim Il Sung (NK)
President of North Korea
Mao Zedong
Stalin
Each side thought they won the war
S. Korea remained free
Containment of communism worked
Infrastructure of N. Korea is destroyed
Still seperate today
Still U.S. troops in Korea
Human cost
Casualties
780,000 total N. Korean and Chinese
500,000 South Korean Civilians
70,000 South Korean Soldiers
30,000 Americans
4,500 U.N. Troops
1950: Has Containment worked?
Most Americans agreed with containing communism
Some wanted a more aggressive policy, like MacArthur's
More alliances were setup that were anti-Communist
NATO
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