Part 1: Map Quiz Part 2: Korea and Cuba Theme: Early Cold War challenges

1. Part 1: Map QuizPart 2: Korea and CubaTheme: Early Cold War challenges Lesson 24

3. Korea

4. Divided Korea • After World War II, Japan’s former colony of Korea was divided into two occupation zones along the 38th parallel with the Soviet zone in the north and the US zone in the south • Before the occupation forces departed, an anticommunist regime was established in the south and a communist one in the north

5. US in Asia • The US was uncertain as to the extent of its commitment in Asia • It knew its umbrella definitely covered Japan, Okinawa, and the Philippines, but it was unclear about Taiwan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia • Believing the US did not intend to protect South Korea, the USSR allowed the North Koreans to invade the south in 1951 Secretary of State Dean Acheson’s speech to the National Press Club omitted South Korea from the US “defensive perimeter”

6. North Korea Attacks: June 25, 1951 • North Korean army crossed the 38th parallel with an invasion force totaling over 90,000 troops and 150 Soviet-built tanks • By the night of June 28, Seoul had fallen and the South Korean forces were in disarray. • South Korea appealed to the United Nations for assistance • The UN passed a resolution recommending that “the members of the United Nations furnish such assistance to the Republic of Korea as may be necessary to repel the armed attack and to restore international peace and security to the area.”

7. United Nations • As a member of the UN Security Council, the Soviet Union could have vetoed UN involvement in the war, but instead Moscow was boycotting the Security Council at the time in protest of the UN’s failure to seat a representative of the newly established People’s Republic of China • (Remember from last lesson the victory of the communists over the nationalists in China) • In the absence of the USSR, the UN passed a resolution sending a military force to South Korea • The force was predominately American with Douglas MacArthur as the Supreme Commander. • There were also substantial contributions from the UK, Canada and other Commonwealth countries.

8. U.S. Armed Forces in 1950: 10 Army divisions (4 in Japan) 48 USAF air groups 331 combatants (64 in Pacific) 2 Marine divisions (-) North Korean People’s Army (NKPA) 14 Divisions (9 in invasion force) Soviet trained, armed and advised 150 tanks, almost 100 modern aircraft Force Comparison

9. Task Force Smith • To stem the North Korea advance, the US deployed “Task Force Smith,” a delaying force of two reinforced rifle companies to Pusan • Task Force Smith began occupying defensive positions on July 5 at 3:00 am • At 7:00 they began seeing enemy movement • At 8:16 they began firing artillery • At 2:30 the commander decided to withdraw Elements of Task Force Smith arriving at Taejon

10. When Lieutenant Colonel Smith arrived at Ch’onan on July 6, he counted 185 men • He began with 540 • After all stragglers returned, the total loss to TF Smith was 35%

11. “Hollow Army” • World War II peak Army strength was 8,268,000 • June 1950 strength was about 591,000 (1/14 the peak World War II size) • Had 10 active combat divisions but to keep them fielded, one battalion from each infantry regiment and one firing battery from each field artillery battalion had been eliminated • This move effectively reduced combat power by 1/3 • MacArthur’s Far East Command had mostly outdated World War II equipment and much of it was unserviceable • Occupation duties took precedence over training

12. Pusan Perimeter:June 27 to Sept 15 • The American forces were unprepared for the North Korean attack. • By the end of July, the North Koreans had pushed the U.N. forces to the southeast corner of the peninsula, where they dug in around the port of Pusan.

13. Inchon (Operation Chromite)Sept 15 • MacArthur completely changed the course of the war overnight by ordering -- over nearly unanimous objections -- an amphibious invasion at the port of Inchon, near Seoul. • The Americans quickly gained control of Inchon, recaptured Seoul within days, and cut the North Korean supply lines. • American and ROK forces broke out of the Pusan Perimeter and chased the retreating enemy north.

14. Approaching the Yalu • MacArthur continued to push north, ignoring threats of Chinese intervention • On October 25, the Chinese army attacked after having infiltrated into North Korea • After suffering setbacks, the U.N. forces stabilized their lines by November 5 • Chinese withdrew northward • MacArthur launched a great offensive toward the end of November, which he optimistically hoped would end the war in Korea

15. Counteroffensive • MacArthur's “all-out offensive” to the Yalu had barely begun when the Chinese attacked en masse on the night of November 25. • Roughly 180,000 Chinese troops shattered the right flank of Walker's Eighth Army in the west, while 120,000 others threatened to destroy the X Corps near the Chosin Reservoir. • On November 28, MacArthur informed the Joint Chiefs, “We face an entirely new war.” • U.N. retreat ended about 70 miles below Seoul.

16. Stalemate • Beginning January 15, Ridgway led the U.N. in a slow advance northward. • U.N. re-recaptured Seoul (the fourth and final time it changed hands) on March 15, and had patrols crossing the 38th parallel on March 31. • In the meantime, MacArthur had been steadily pushing Washington to remove the restrictions on his forces. • Truman declined for fear of widening the war and fired MacArthur for insubordination on April 11.

17. MacArthur’s Relief • MacArthur repeatedly made public statements that are contrary to official US policy • In August, he sent a speech to be read to the VFW proposing Formosa’s utility as a base of operations • He suggested that Truman Administration policies were responsible for the retreat of the Eighth Army MacArthur and Truman meet at Wake Island, Oct 14, 1950

18. MacArthur’s Relief • On Dec 6, 1950, Truman published an executive order– aimed at MacArthur– requiring all government officials to clear their public statements on foreign and military policy with the Administration • Truman planned to use recent military successes to invite the Communists to negotiate • MacArthur broadcast an ultimatum to the enemy which undermined Truman’s authority • Sent a letter to Congressman Joseph Martin further criticizing the Administration

19. MacArthur’s Relief • “I deeply regret that it becomes my duty as President and Commander in Chief of the United States Military Forces to replace you as Supreme Commander, Allied Powers; Commander in Chief, United Nations Command; Commander in Chief, Far East; and Commanding General United States Army, Far East. You will turn over your commands, effective at once, to Lieutenant General Matthew B. Ridgway.” “But once war is forced upon us, there is no other alternative than to apply every available means to bring it to a swift end. War's very object is victory, not prolonged indecision. In war there is no substitute for victory.” MacArthur’s Farewell Address Apr 19, 1951

20. Civilian Control of the Military • President serves as Commander in Chief and Chief Executive • Ensures civilian control over military policy • Appointment of officers • Appointment of Secretary of Defense • Congress provides for the common defense… • Declares war • Raises and supports armies • Provides and maintains a Navy • Controls budget • Make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces

21. Negotiation and Stalemate • On June 29,1951, Ridgway broadcast a message to his Communist counterpart announcing his willingness to negotiate • Eighth Army transitioned to an “active defense” • Made several unsuccessful attempts to break Communist supply line with air and artillery Matthew Ridgway

22. Negotiation and Stalemate • Both sides expended enormous amounts of effort to solidify their lines • Costly seesaw battles like Bloody Ridge, Heartbreak Ridge, and Old Baldy • Negotiations characterized by intransigence • POWs a major obstacle • Armistice not signed till July 27, 1953 Heartbreak Ridge with Bloody Ridge in background

23. Integration • On 26 June 1948, Truman signed an executive order calling for the equal treatment and opportunity of blacks in the military • The Army initially moved slowly to follow this order, but military necessity brought on by the Korean War accelerated the process • By 1952 integration was a fait accompli in the Far East Command

24. Segregated Units

25. Integrated Units • The Army’s integration was “the great victory of the Korean War” • -- The Compact History of the Korean War, Middleton, 1965, p. 90. • “Jim Crow died on the hills of Korea” • -- A Short History of the Korean War, Stokesbury, 1988, p. 232.

26. Military Integration in Context • 1948 Executive Order 9981 • 1954 Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education • 1957 Little Rock Central High School desegregated • 1961 James Meredith becomes first black to enroll at Ole Miss • 1964 Civil Rights Act • 1965 Voting Rights Act • 1965 First black students enroll at Southern Miss • 1967 Loving v. Virginia rules that prohibiting interracial marriage is unconstitutional • 1971 Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education upholds busing Clyde Kennard, a former Army paratrooper, tried unsuccessfully to enroll at USM in 1957, 1958, and 1959

27. Korean War and the Cold War • Truman put limitations on MacArthur because he had concluded that Korea was not worth risking a third world war • Korea was part of the US policy of containment, but stopped short of initiating the policy of “roll back” • Contributed to the formation of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) by Australia, France, Great Britain, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand, and the US in 1954 Secretary of State John Foster Dulles advocated a policy of rolling back Soviet gains and “unleashing” Chiang Kai-shek

28. Korea Today • The war ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty • The Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) encompasses 2 kilometers on either side of the 151 mile long Military Demarcation Line (MDL) • North Korea remains communist and a nuclear threat Panmunjeom is the official diplomatic headquarters at the DMZ. North Korean guards, in brown, face their South Korean counterparts, in blue.

29. Cuba

30. Fidel Castro • In the early 1950s Cuba was controlled by a moderate right-wing military regime that was friendly to the US government and businesses • The US supported Fulgencio Batista as an anti-communist and a proponent of the US in domestic and international policies • However, in 1959 Fidel Castro was able to mobilize the disaffected rural peasants and topple Batista’s regime A Cuban crowd listens to Castro after his takeover

31. Fidel Castro • Castro assumed dictatorial powers and announced his goal was to create a society based on Marxist principles • He nationalized large-scale landholdings, sought economic aid from the Soviet Union, and tried to export revolution throughout Latin America through peasant and urban guerrilla warfare Che Guevara directed many of Castro’s Latin American operations until he was killed in Bolivia in 1967

32. Bay of Pigs • The US could not accept the presence of a revolutionary Marxist government so close to its borders and President Eisenhower authorized planning for a force of anti-Castro Cubans to invade Cuba and overthrow Castro • When Kennedy became president he authorized the invasion but stipulated that the US not be involved in the landing itself

33. Bay of Pigs • The invasion took place at the Bay of Pigs in April 1961 and proved to be a disaster • Instead of rallying to the invaders, the local population supported the Castro government • The failure embarrassed the US and weakened President Kennedy in the eyes of the Soviet Union • However, it strengthened Kennedy’s personal resolve to act more vigorously in any future crisis Castro helping to repel the invasion

34. Cuban Missile Crisis • Castro feared the US would try again to overthrow him and he called for additional support from the Soviet Union • Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev responded by sending medium-range bombers and missiles to Cuba to help defend Castro and threaten the US • In Oct 1962, US spy planes discovered missile sites under construction in Cuba Map used to brief the range of missiles and bombers being deployed to Cuba. Notice Oxford, MS is shown. Why?

35. “I was more frightened at Mississippi than I was at Pearl Harbor or any other time during the war.” -- A US marshal on the scene

36. Kennedy’s Response • Kennedy responded decisively, demanding that the Soviets remove the missiles and bombers or face their destruction by air strikes or invasion • He also imposed a naval “quarantine” of Cuba

37. Quarantine The US destroyer Joseph P. Kennedy stops, boards, and inspects a dry-cargo ship of Lebanese registry under Soviet charter to Cuba on Oct 26, 1962

39. US Victory • On Oct 28, Khrushchev agreed to remove the missiles • “Eyeball to eyeball, they blinked first.” • Dean Rusk, US Secretary of State • The Cuban Missile Crisis had shown the dangers of nuclear apocalypse in the bipolar world • It was a major Cold War victory for the US and a major loss of face for the Soviet Union and Khrushchev 1962 British cartoon showing Kennedy and Khrushchev arm wrestling on top of nuclear weapons

40. Cold War Society

41. Next • Vietnam