The Forgotten War

1. The Forgotten War June 25, 1950 – July 27, 1953

2. Background • August 6, 1945 - Atomic bombing of Japan • August 8, 1945 - Soviet Union declares war on Japan • August 14, 1945 - Japan surrenders

3. 2 Separate Governments • US asks Soviet Union to stop at 38th parallel • US and Soviet Union disagree on how to reunite Korea • 1947 – UN proposes free elections but Soviet Union refuses. • Aug. 15, 1948 – Syngman Rhee elected first president of South Korea 이승만

4. Kim Il Sung Seeks Reunification • Kim Il Sung wants to reunite Korea by military means • Stalin: Korea should not count on direct Soviet participation because USSR had challenges elsewhere • Mao: Reluctantly agrees, but later not pleased with Kim Il Sung who launched war and then expected others to save the day. 김일성

5. North Korea Invades • June 25, 1950 – North Korea crosses into South • The United Nations Security Council unanimously condemned the North Korean invasion of the Republic of Korea. • The Soviet Union, a veto-wielding power, had boycotted the Council meetings since January 1950, protesting that the Republic of China (Taiwan), not the People's Republic of China, held a permanent seat in the UN Security Council.

6. Truman, 1945 - 1953 • Q: “Mr. President, everybody is asking in this country, are we or are we not at war”? A: “We are not at war.” • US President Harry S. Truman, four days after North Korea invaded South Korea. Officially it was never a war since Truman never asked Congress for a formal declaration of war. • Truman Doctrine – quarantine the aggressor

7. NK Takes Over • 89,000 North Korean troops vs. 38,000 South Korean troops • South Korean forces increased their resistance further south, hoping to delay North Korean units as much as possible. • Morale among the UN units was low - US forces had suffered over 6,000 casualties over the past month, while the South Korean Army had lost an estimated 70,000.

8. Camouflaged US troops on Alert (July 1950)

9. WASP pilot Elizabeth Gardener

10. This U.S. Army photograph, once classified "top secret", depicts the summary execution of 1,800 South Korean political prisoners by the South Korean military at Taejon, South Korea, over three days in July 1950. South Korean troops executed many civilians behind frontlines as UN forces retreated before the North Korean army, on suspicion that they were communist sympathizers and might collaborate with the advancing enemy.

11. US Prepares Counter Attack • August 4 - MacArthur reported 141,808 UN troops in Korea, so the UN ground force outnumbered the North Koreans 92,000 to 70,000. • More forces arrived during battle, and in early September 1950, ROK Army and UN Command forces outnumbered the KPA 180,000 to 100,000 soldiers.

12. MacArthur’s Tricky Plan • September 15 - while North Korea was fighting in the southeast, General MacArthur ordered a gigantic amphibious strike at Inchon, a desperate gamble using troops badly needed to hold the Pusan Perimeter. • The landings cut the supply lines of the invaders. Seoul was retaken on September 26.

13. Sept. 15, 1950 – Unloading men and equipment at Incheon

14. Sept. 19, 1950 - MacArthur tours Incheon

15. China Enters the War • October 25, 1950 – 200,000 Chinese troops enter Korea. • Seoul captured again • The PVA marched "dark-to-dark" (19:00–03:00), and aerial camouflage (concealing soldiers, pack animals, and equipment) was deployed by 05:30. During daylight soldiers were to remain motionless if an aircraft appeared until it flew away.PVA officers were under order to shoot security violators.

16. Dec. 4, 1950 - residents from Pyongyang, North Korea, and refugees from other areas crawl perilously over shattered girders of the city's bridge, as they flee south across the Taedong River to escape the advance of Chinese Communist troops.

17. PVA – People’s Volunteer Army • Constituted in order to prevent an official war with the United States. • Only 1/5 carried a rifle. • Employed a tactic which they termed Hachi Shiki, which was a V-formation into which they allowed enemy forces to move.

18. Stalemate • March 14, 1951 - UN troops regain Seoul • MacArthur’s solution: carry the war into mainland of China. “We must win. There is no substitute for victory.” - MacArthur, April 5, 1951

19. MacArthur vs. President Truman • MacArthur proposed naval blockade combined with bombing of Chinese bases in Manchuria. Tried to acquired 4 nuclear bombs and considered nuclear poison along Chinese border. • Truman believed that would bring response from Soviet Union and nuclear war. • Truman’s dilemma: if MacArthur was fired, it might split the country. But if he was not fired it might split the UN coalition. • April 11, 1951 – MacArthur relieved from duty

20. Armistice • July 10, 1951 - Negotiations started • Political conditions favoring a truce resulted from two events: • Republican Eisenhower's election as President (Eisenhower threatened nuclear war) • Death of Joseph Stalin • July 27, 1953 – Armistice (but ROK didn’t sign)

21. Marilyn Monroe visits troops after armistice

22. POW Exchanges

23. POW Exchanges FairExchange?

24. Military Casualties

25. Military vs. Civilian Casualties This doesn’t include the wounded and missing Civilian deaths to military deaths are estimated at a 2:1 ratio.

26. Situation today – a South Korean marine looks at the North Korean side Thanks for listening!