The Korean War

After World War 2 the United States occupied the southern half of the Korean peninsula. On the northern half of the Korean peninsula were Communist forces supported by the Soviet Union and later Communist China. The peninsula was divided along the 38 degree north latitude line or also called the 38th parallel. In 1950 the North Korean forces, supported by the Communists in China and the Soviet Union, invaded the southern half of the Korean peninsula - occupied by democratically aligned forces with the United States. This war was an early crisis that defined the basis of the Cold War overall.



The northern invasion of Korea was initially successful. By the time of the arrival of UN and American reinforcements in the South, only a small pocket of territory around the Pusan region was still under South Korean and American control. The capital Seoul was captured early in the conflict. With the southern foothold intact, the reinforcements arrived and created a solid defensive perimeter which repelled the last attacks by the northern communist forces.

General Douglas MacArthur, an American hero from the Second World War, was given command of the southern forces. With his confidence in his men and willingness to to take risks in combat, General MacArthur created a plan that called for an end-around seaborne invasion near the 38th parallel behind enemy lines. The invasion at Inchon, Korea was successful and forced the retreat of the communists from the southern half of the Korean peninsula. Eventually MacArthur's forces would push the communist fighters all the way north to the frontier along the Yalu River (Border between China and Korea).

Fearing an invasion of its mainland, the Chinese communist forces crossed the Yalu River and pushed the South Korean and American forces back to the 38th parallel. The Americans were caught off guard. By 1953 the war had bogged back into a stalemate along the 38th parallel. An armistice, or a stop to hostilities, was signed thus stopping the Korean War. The result of the war was that no major territorial gains were made by either side, but thousands had lost their lives fighting in one of the first major events of the Cold War.