The Korean War
Background
In 1949, China became communist after a long civil war. Support for the communists had increased due to corruption, high taxes, food shortages and a desire for land. Mao Zedong had led the communists to defeat the Nationalist Government of Jiang Jieshi (Chiang Kai-shek) who had been backed by American Financial Aid.
American spies had also informed Truman that Stalin was using cominform to help communists in Malaysia, Indonesia, Burma, the Philippines and Korea to take control.
The Government was very anxious as the USSR had recently successfully tested an atomic bomb. The US feared that the Soviets wished to take over the entire continent of Asia!
Korean Crisis
Until 1945, the Japanese Empire ruled over the Korean peninsula. At the end of WW2, the North of Korea was liberated by the Red Army, while the South was liberated by the US.
The Soviets helped Kim Il Sung's Communist Government to take control of the North, while the US supported Syngman Rhee's anti-communist government, despite its severe corruption and undemocratic nature.
Korea became divided at the 38th parallel and both leaders were very hostile towards each other.
North Korea used a surprise attack and invaded South Korea which overwhelmed their army.
By September of 1950, the South Korean army had been pushed back to Pusan, a small area on the Southern Tip of Korea.
The course of the Korean War: What problems arose and how did the US react?
On June 25th 1950, North Korean forces invaded South Korea and conquered all but the Pusan area of South Korea. The US responded by taking the issue to the UN Security Council. At this time, the USSR couldn't veto any actions as they were boycotting the United Nations. As a result, the UN sent forces (mainly US troops) to Korea.
The UN Army was led by General MacArthur, a World War Two veteran, who planned a counterattack to push out the North Koreans with land offense and an amphibious assault behind enemy lines. Truman backed MacArthur's plan and it was successful. On September 15th, General MacArthur lead an amphibious landing at Inchon, successfully pushing the North Korean forces back. The UN forces were able to take control of the South Korean capital within 4 days and had reached the border by October 1st.
By the 1st of October, UN soldiers had reached the 38th Parallel. Truman had to decide whether to invade North Korea or stop at the border. However, this could result in Chinese intervention. MacArthur persuaded Truman to order the troops to advance. By October 7th, the troops had reached the Yalu River near the Chinese border, deep inside North Korea.
China warned that they would enter the war if the UN soldiers continued their advances. However, the US ignored their warning, and China crossed the Yalu river, launching a massive counteroffensive against UN forces in late October. UN forces were forced to retreat while French and British leaders asked for the US to negotiate a peace settlement to end the war. MacArthur planned a new counter attack which failed. By December 6th, North Korea had regained the North and taken over Seoul and much of South Korea.
General MacArthur continued to ask for further action, while British Prime Minister Clement Attlee was persuading Truman to end the war. Again, Truman agreed with MacArthur's counterattack in January 1951, and this time is was a success, pushing North Korean and Chinese forces back to the 38th Parallel.
Now Truman had begun to agree that a peace settlement was necessary. MacArthur wanted to continue fighting and criticised Truman and the idea of a peace settlement with China. As he was ignoring Truman's order, he was dismissed on April 11th.
Peace settlements were negotiated and an armistice agreement was signed at Panmunjom on 27th July 1953, officially ending the Korean War and establishing the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) which divides North and South Korea along the 38th parallel.
To this day, North Korea still claims that it won the war.
Why would Truman want to get involved?
The Korean War occurred during the early stages of the Cold War when the United States was pursuing a policy of containment against the spread of communism. Hence, he felt obligated to contain North Korea's act of communist aggression to prevent further expansion of communism in Asia as many U.S. policymakers feared that if South Korea fell to communism, it would lead to a domino effect, and other countries in the region would fall under communist influence.
The United Nations Security Council passed a resolution authorizing military intervention to defend South Korea from the North Korean invasion. Truman saw this as an opportunity not only to demonstrate U.S. commitment to the newly formed United Nations but to rally international support against communist aggression.
As a place of military and economic strategic importance in East Asia, protecting South Korea aligned with U.S. interests in maintaining stability and security in East Asia.
How successful was the US in Korea?
Successes:
The US involvement repelled the North Korean forces from South Korea, preventing South Korea from becoming communist and it became an important anti-communist ally in Asia. They had even managed to make advancements into the North Korean territory prior to Chinese involvement.
The war lead to the creation of SEATO (South East Asian equivalent of NATO)- an anti-communist military alliance
The Korean War reaffirmed the United States' commitment to the policy of containment, which aimed to prevent the spread of communism. While the war did not result in the reunification of Korea or the overthrow of the communist regime in the North, it did succeed in containing communist expansion on the Korean peninsula.
The War had shown American commitment to containing communism in Asia, which was a warning to other communist rebels.
Failures:
The war had shown that the US was not invincible. North Korean forces had been able to inflict several defeats and many casualties on the UN army, and the Chinese involvement led to a long and bloody stalemate.
The signing of the Korean Armistice Agreement in 1953 essentially restored the pre-war status quo, with the Korean peninsula divided along the 38th parallel. While the armistice ended the active fighting, it did not result in a reunification of Korea or a formal peace treaty.
The Korean War resulted in millions of military personnel and civilian casualties and mass displacement.
The USSR had realised that it should never boycott the UN Security Council again as it was clear that the power of veto was important in blocking US attempts to stop the spread of communism.
The War solidified the division of Korea into North and South, which also contributed to the broader Cold War rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union.
The US policy of "Roll Back"* had been a failure and was criticised by many of America's allies.
*What was the US policy of "Roll Back"?
"Roll Back" was a Cold War policy where the US aimed to overthrow communist governments by supporting anti-communist movements, and even sometimes by military intervention. Unlike containment, which focused on preventing communism's spread without necessarily changing existing regimes, "Roll Back" sought to remove communism from power wherever it existed.