korean war Flashcards
Causes of the Conflict in Korea
In the 1950s there was a strong fear of Communism in the USA:
In the 1950s there was a strong fear of Communism in the USA:
· The USA was in conflict with the USSR in the 1950s. This conflict was called the
Cold War.
· One reason for this conflict was that the USSR was Communist.
· Both the USSR and USA wanted to avoid direct conflict with each other, but they
were willing to take military action to spread their own influence or stop the
other superpower from becoming more powerful.
· After WW2, the USSR had taken control of many countries in Eastern Europe.
The USA was committed to stopping the spread of Communism.
· In 1947, US President Truman made it clear that the USA would help countries
which might be taken over by Communists. This policy was called the Truman
Doctrine.
· Because of this, the USA put $2 billion of aid into China to help the Nationalists
(the anti-Communist government of China). However, in 1949, China became
Communist.
Key Events of the Korean War
The UN forces quickly won back territory from the North:
The UN forces quickly won back territory from the North: · 18 countries provided troops for the UN force in Korea, but the majority of troops were American. · The UN forces landed at Inchon which was near the 38th parallel. At the same time, South Korean forces advanced from Pusan. · Within weeks, the UN forces had taken control of territory all the way to the 38th parallel which meant that they had met their objective of removing Communism from South Korea. · However, the UN forces carried on fighting and started to take territory in North Korea. The UN approved a plan to continue the attack in North Korea. This was now a policy of roll-back, rather than containment of Communism. · China’s leader Mao Zedong, warned the UN that China would get involved if the invasion continued. · This warning was ignored and, by October, US forces were at the Yalu River which was on the border with China.
Consequences of the Korean War
There were no clear winners in the conflict:
· The UN had gained respect because it had demonstrated its power by taking effective joint action in Korea. However, it had only been able to act because the USSR had boycotted the Security Council. · The USA had lost 30,000 troops in the conflict and increased its defence spending from $12billion to $60billion. However, it had successfully stopped Communism from spreading into South Korea. · China had developed a closer relationship with the USSR and gained the respect of other Asian Communist supporters. It had also secured North Korea as a buffer state. · However, China had suffered huge casualties (around half a million) and had made its relationship with the USA much worse, which resulted in a loss of trade. · The impact on Korea was disastrous. There were 1.3 million casualties including a large number of civilians. Much of the country’s industry and agriculture had been destroyed. Neither side had gained the united Korea which it was fighting for.
Consequences of the Korean War
The Korean War extended the Cold War into Asia
· The USA and UN supported the Nationalist Chinese government (the enemies of Mao’s government) who were in exile on the island of Formosa (Taiwan). · Relationships between the USA, USSR and China were extremely complicated and there was a danger of further conflict. · In 1954, the South East Asia Treaty Organisation (SEATO) was founded. This was like the existing organisation NATO which was an alliance of anti-Communist states in Europe. · This increased the tension between the USA and USSR.
causes of the conflict in korea
North Korea was a Communist state which was in conflict with South Korea:
· Korea had been ruled by Japan until 1945. When WW2 ended, the North was
freed by Soviet troops (from the USSR). The South was freed by American troops.
· After WW2, North Korea continued to be Communist led. It had a Communist
leader, Kim Il Sung, who had been trained in the USSR.
· South Korea was ruled by Syngman Rhee. He had been elected to power in 1948,
but his government was not very democratic.
· The USA supported Rhee because he was anti-Communist.
causes of the conflict in korea
In 1950, North Korea successfully invaded the South:
Since 1945, North and South Korea had been divided by a line at the 38th
parallel. There was a lot of hostility between the two sides.
· In 1950, Kim Il Sung ordered the invasion of South Korea.
· The North Korean forces were supported by equipment from the USSR. Later
they were supplied by China.
· Within four months, the North had taken over almost all of Korea except a small
corner in the south-east.
causes of conflict in korea
The USA intervened to support the South:
Truman immediately sent warships to South Korea and offered advisers and
supplies to the South.
· The USA appealed to the United Nations (UN) to stop the invasion. The UN was
an international organisation, which had replaced the League of Nations, set up
to solve disputes.
· The USA had blocked China from joining the UN in 1949. In protest, the USSR was
boycotting (refusing to take part in) the UN.
· The USA put pressure on the UN to send troops to defend South Korea. Because
the USSR was not present at the meeting, it could not veto (block) this
suggestion.
· The UN agreed to send troops to Korea. These troops would be from a number of
countries but would include many American troops and be led by an American
general called MacArthur.
Key Events of the Korean War
The involvement of China quickly reversed the UN successes:
In October 1950, 200,000 Chinese troops (called People’s Volunteers) joined the war and launched a very successful attack. · The Chinese troops were committed to Communism and had been taught to hate the Americans. · They were also supplied with modern tanks and planes by the USSR. · By January 1951, the UN forces were driven out of Seoul (the capital of South Korea). · A few weeks later, after bitter fighting, the US forces pushed the Chinese back to the 38th parallel. The war had become a stalemate.
key events in the korean war
MacArthur disagreed with Truman and was sacked:
President Truman felt that the US forces had achieved enough by freeing South Korea of Communism. · He was also worried about the threat of the USSR joining the war. · The UN also wanted to stop the attack and agreed to keep the division of North and South Korea. · However, General MacArthur wanted to attack China directly. He even considered using nuclear weapons to defeat China. · In March 1951, MacArthur blatantly ignored the instructions of the UN and his President and openly threatened to attack China. · In April 1951, Truman removed MacArthur from his position and brought him back to the USA. · Truman also made it clear that the policy of the USA was containment (stopping the spread of Communism) not attacking countries which were already Communist.
key events in the korean war
It took two years to conclude peace talks in Korea:
June 1951: Korean War reached a stalemate in early 1951. Peace talks began in June. These talks failed to reach an agreement over the exchange of prisoners of war between North and South Korea. · 1952: Talks began again but failed to make progress. Fighting in Korea continued. · November 1952: Truman was replaced by Eisenhower as President. Eisenhower wanted to end the conflict in Korea. · March 1953: Stalin died without an obvious successor. This meant that Soviet policy in future was uncertain and made China and North Korea less confident. · July 1953: Because of this uncertainty, a peace agreement was finally signed.
