The Korean War

1. The Korean War Created by Steve

2. How it all began • After World War 2 two State Department aides split up the Korean peninsula into one part communist (Russian backed) and one part democratic (US backed) • The northern section built up a formidable military while the southern section didn’t • In 1950 the North Koreans decided to reunite the peninsula by force and sent its military and air force into the much weaker South

3. The War itself • Was going poorly until a UN counterattack cut off North Korean supply routes and forced them to retreat • After UN forces had pushed North Korean forces almost to the Yalu River, China sent troops to fight off the Americans • Ends in stalemate as the UN forces couldn’t push the Chinese from the 38th parallel and the North Koreans couldn’t push into the South

4. Russia v. USA • Initially the North Korean attack seemed unsanctioned by the Soviet Union, but Stalin quickly sent pilots into the peninsula to train North Korean pilots in the workings of their fighters (sometimes on the ground and in the air) • US pilots knew this since some of these pilots captured were obviously not of Korean descent, but command chose not to release information since that might encourage enrage the public into declaring war on Russia

5. Aftermath • The US government sees direct intervention in containing the spread of communism as part of its foreign policy • After this war it seemed in the world that communism was mightier than the USA since it only took Chinese and North Korean forces to beat the US back to the 38th parallel • The USA intervened directly in the Vietnam war, indirectly with the Taliban in Afghanistan (when Russia invaded it) and throughout South America (through influence)