At 4:00am on the 25th June, the NKPA launched an attack across the 38th Parallel,
They totalled 135,000 and had combat experience from the Chinese Civil War
Kim Il Sung expected a quick victory.
Stalin authorised this for a number of reasons: 1. They had tested the atom bomb in 1949, 2. China was now an ally, 3. The unclear nation of US policy, 4. NSC 68 - South Korea is not vital to US Interests
The NKPA started off very successfully. The 95,000
troops in the south were woefully underprepared
Seoul taken 29th June, NKPA looking for quick victory
US troops rushed from Japan, whilst a
Stand or Die order was held over Pusan. If
Pusan was lost, the supply route to Japan
would be gone and the war would be over
Walker held Pusan for 5 weeks, and
soon superior air support arrived
General MacArthur was a national
institution, almost untouchable
MacArthur launced a daring attack on Inchon called
Operation Chromite. The attack was very successful,
and NK troops fell across the South. The army (and Air
Superiority) around Pusan pushed the NKPA back
across the 38th Parallel
America's policy changed
from Containment to
Rollback so it made sense
to invade North Korea
Militarily it would be more sensible to stop at a
more defensive position further north
Possibility of
the North
recovering and
reattacking
USSR sanctioned the 1950 attack,
breaking the 1945 agreements
The Rise of McCarthyism
Invasion of North Korea
American's crossed
October 1950. The
Americans struggled to
navigate the mountains
and underestimated the
threat from the Chinese
They were walking
into a trap -
Hundreds of
thousands of
Chinese waiting to
attack
The Chinese attacked November, and the US
retreated 300 Miles. Morale plummeted and the
Chinese retook Seoul but were considerably damaged
by US air support
Sacking of MacArthur and Ending of the War
MacArthur continued to
disobey Truman's orders.
By March 1951, American's
recaptured Seoul. Truman
had to sack MacArthur
when he wrote to the
Republicans claiming a
Total Victory was needed,
Although an armistice
had been reached, the
war would continue
until 1953. Peace
negotiations stuck over
the location of the
Border, a distrust
between the two sides
and the issue of POWs.