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Containment Case Study One: The Korean War 1950-1953

Background

Korea had been ruled by Japan between 1910 and 1945. In 1945, Japanese troops based in Korea

surrendered to the Soviet Russians in the north of the country and to the Americans in the South.

The dividing line between the Soviet and American zones was set at the 38 th Parallel. It was only

supposed to be temporary. In 1947, the United Nations called for free, nationwide elections to

elect a democratic government for the whole of Korea. This didn’t happen.

 In 1948, elections were held in the south under UN supervision. The Republic of Korea was

set up under the presidency of Syngman Rhee, with its capital and centre of government in

Seoul. South Korea was anti-Communist. It wasn’t very democratic, but it did have the

support of the USA.

 In 1948, the Soviet Union helped to establish the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in

the north. The leader was Kim Il-Sung, and the capital and centre of government was in

Pyongyang. It was a Soviet-style one-party system.

Both governments claimed to be the legitimate government of the whole of Korea.

Remember that from 1947 onwards, the USA followed the policy of Containment.
This meant that the government wanted to hold back Communism so that it didn’t
spread any further. By 1949 most of Eastern Europe was under Soviet control,
China was communist and the Soviet Union had developed its own atomic bomb.

Why did the North invade the South in June 1950?

Kim Il-Sung wanted to unite Korea under communist rule. By June 1950 he had good reason to think
that by invading the South he would be successful.

 He had the support of Stalin (USSR) and Mao Zedong (China)

What was the attitude of the USA?

 The USA was determined to stop any further communist expansion under their policy of
containment.
 As far as the Americans were concerned, communism was a single force controlled and
directed by Moscow.
 The USA was worried that if South Korea fell to the communists then the Chinese would
attack Formosa (now called Taiwan). This would make Japan the next target and after
World War 2 it had become one of America’s main trading partners and ally.
 If these countries became communist then the Soviet Union would have more power.

Why did the United Nations get involved?

When the North invaded the South, President Truman immediately sent

advisers, supplies and warships to the waters around Korea. But he was aware

that if he was going to take action it would look better to the rest of the

world if he had the support of the United Nations Organisation (UNO or UN)

Truman put enormous pressure on the UN Security Council to condemn (criticize) the actions of

North Koreans and to call on them to withdraw their troops. The USA was the single biggest

contributor to the UN budget and thus had a lot of power. Normally, however, the Soviet Union

could have used its right of veto to block the call of action by the UN. But, the USSR was

boycotting the UN over the issue of Communist China, which hadn’t been allowed to join. Thus,

Truman could state that it was an UN-sponsored operation.

According to Resolution 84, the UN committed to using its members’ armies to drive North Korean

troops out of South Korea. 15 other countries provided troops, but the majority of the UN force

was American; 50% of ground troops, 90% of the air force and 85% of the navy. In addition,

Truman appointed General Douglas MacArthur to be the commander of the UN forces.

Phase 1: Success for North Korea: June to September 1950.

North Korean troops successfully took over most of South Korea,

capturing the capital Seoul. South Korean and UN forces were confined

to the Pusan Pocket.

Phase 2: Success for the UN: September to October 1950

The UN forces launched two counter attacks. They pushed back up from

Pusan towards Seoul. At the same time, MacArthur led a seaborne attack on

the west coast at Incheon, 200 miles behind enemy lines. Both were

successful. Seoul was taken again by the South Koreans and the original UN

mission was complete within a few weeks.

Phase 3: The UN attempts to reunite Korea: October to November

1950

Despite warnings from China’s leader, Mao Zedong, that it the UN

forces pressed northwards then China would join the war, the UN

approved a plan to advance into North Korea. The goal now was to unite

the whole of Korea under Syngman Rhee. This policy becomes known as

roll-back. Initially, the UN forces had a lot of success. Pyongyang was

captured on 19th October and by the end of November American troops had reached the Yalu River

and border with China.

Phase 4: The Chinese Attack: October 1950 to January 1951.

In late October 1950, 300,000 Chinese troops (the “People’s

Volunteers”) joined the North Koreans. They were soldiers who were

strongly committed to Communism and they had been taught to hate

the Americans. They also had modern tanks and planes supplied by

the Soviet Union. They quickly forced the UN troops back into South

Korea. Seoul was recaptured by the Communists in early 1951.

Conditions were terrible for the UN forces with an extremely harsh

winter. The Chinese, on the other hand, were more familiar with the

landscape- jagged mountains, forested ravines and treacherous

swamps.

By mid-January most of the fighting was occurring around the 37 th Parallel.

Phase 5: The UN Counter-Attack: January to July 1951.

The UN troops pushed the Chinese and North Koreans back to the 38 th Parallel. Seoul was retaken
by UN forces in March 1951. At this point, Truman and MacArthur fell out. MacArthur wanted o
carry on the war and was ready to invade China and use nuclear weapons if necessary. Truman,
however, felt that saving South Korea was good enough. He felt that the risks of attacking China
were too great, especially as he was worried that it would bring the USSR into the war.

In March 1951 MacArthur ignored the UN instructions and openly threatened to attack China. In
April, Truman removed him from his position and replaced him with General Ridgway. It made it
clear that Containment was the American policy, not roll-back.

Phase 6: Stalemate leading to an Armistice: July 1951-July 1953.

The fighting finally reached stalemate around the 38 th parallel in the middle
of 1951. Peace talks between the North and South took place at Panmunjom,
but bitter fighting continued for two more years and millions were killed
and injured on both sides. In 1953 Eisenhower replaced Truman as US
president. This was, in part, due to a campaign promise to end the Korean
War. Stalin died in March 1953, which made the Chinese and North Koreans
less confident. An armistice was finally signed in July 1953.

A success for containment?

In one sense the Korean War was a success for the USA. The cost and casualties were high (36,000
American soldiers killed, 220,000 South Korean soldiers killed, 4,500 UN soldiers killed), but it
showed that the USA had the will and the means to contain Communism. South Korea remained out
of Communist control. The UN had been able to reverse an act of aggression supported by two
major powers (the USSR and China).

On the other hand, it showed the limits of the policy. Military action was only possible because the
USA had a large number of troops stationed in Japan. The USA had to accept that North Korea
remained Communist. It also highlighted the tensions between American leaders. Headlines anti-
Communist politicians and military leaders (such as MacArthur) wanted to go beyond communism and
use “roll-back.” They thought that Truman had shown weakness in not attempting to achieve
outright victory. More moderate politicians thought that it would not be worth the risk.

Approximately four million Koreans were killed in the war, and countless others were made homeless
and left with nothing.