Korea 2 Flashcards
How did the US get involved in Korea?
The USA used the United Nations as a front to invade Korea and prevent a Communist takeover. The United Nations was boycotted by the USSR refusal to allow China to sit on the UN security council. Thus the relationship between the USA & USSR & China already strained.
A United Nations army was sent to Korea. Eighteen countries contributed but over 90% of the 300,000 soldiers sent to Korea were American. The army was led by General McArthur who took orders from President Truman. The fact the USA were taking the lead would have the effect of allowing Truman to enforce rollback despite the army’s orders being containment
USSR involvement
Initially Stalin warned Kim Il Sung off the planned invasion & only reluctantly got involved fearing Kim would look to China for help. Yes Stalin and the USSR would have benefited from a North Korean Communist victory. Stalin however was afraid of a nuclear war and only gave North Korea indirect help. USSR military planners helped Kim Il Sung’s invasion plans. USSR supplied pilots and planes. The Russian pilots disguised their role by wearing Chinese uniforms and painting Chinese symbols on their planes. All this suggests Stalin wanted minimal involvement with the war as he feared the risk of any confrontation from the US
China’s involvement
Chinese involvement only happens when they fear they are to be invaded. The USSR and China feared that the USA would use the UN army to remove Communist control in North Korea and even China. The Inchon landing in September 1950 was a very effective seaborne counterattack and by October the North Korean army was pushed back over the border.
The UN army went on the offensive and followed the policy of roll back and was soon at the Yalu River near the border with China. China was afraid to risk open war with the USA which had a nuclear bomb. It was clear that McArthur and Truman were following a more ambitious aim to roll back Communism from all of Korea. Stalin encouraged Mao Ze Dong to resist but only gave China indirect help. The USSR supplied guns and planes and the Chinese pushed the UN army back into South Korea. So In October 1950, 250,000 Chinese troops called “People’s Volunteers” crossed into North Korea. This shows that China did as little as it could against the US and only to protect itself from rollback, Mao was unwilling to confront the US anymore than he had to
Was containment in Korea successful
By September 1950 the UN army under the direction of the American General McArthur were being very successful. The army of Syngmann Rhee was on the verge of surrender. The Inchon landings in September forced the retreat of Kim Il Sung’s army back to North Korea. At the time of the armistice of 1953 the 38th parallel remained the border between North and South Korea. Thus the involvement of the USA ensured the survival of South Korea as a non-Communist country. However, this success was not enough for McArthur or Truman who felt he needed to prove he was tough on Communism.
Therefore despite the fact that it went beyond the UN resolution, America abandoned the goal of Containment extending its aims to wanting rather roll back. This would be the reunification of Korea under the control of the souths leader. However, the USA failed to achieve its more ambitious aim to roll back Communism in Korea. The involvement of China who feared invasion showed the risks of this policy. When Truman fearing Soviet intervention & an escalation in hostilities returned to the policy of Containment, McArthur was sacked for criticizing Truman’s this more cautious approach.
The war dragged on until eventually the border remained. Containment was successful but at a cost. America was forced to triple spending on the military & over 30,000 American soldiers were killed in the Korean War, with two million Koreans killed.
Thus Containment was achieved at a cost, where that was viewed as a success or was their true aim depended on your point of view as the attitudes of General McArthur showed
