Korean War - Facts & Summary - HISTORY.com Google The Two Koreas “If the best minds in the world had set out to find us the worst possible location in the world to fight this damnable war,” U.S. Secretary of State Dean Acheson (1893-1971) once said, “the unanimous choice would have been Korea.” The peninsula had landed in America’s lap almost by accident. Since the beginning of the 20th century, Korea had been a part of the Japanese empire, and after World War II it fell to the Americans and the Soviets to decide what should be done with their enemy’s mperial possessions. In August 1945, two young aides at the State Department divided the Korean peninsula in half along the 38th parallel. The Russians occupied the area north of the line and the United States occupied the area to its south. Did You Know? Unlike World War II and Vietnam, the Korean War did not get much media attention in the United States. The most famous representation of the war in popular culture is the television series “M*A*S*H,” which was set in a field hospital in South Korea.

The series ran from 1972 until 1983, and its final episode was the most-watched in television history. By the end of the decade, two new states had formed on the peninsula. In the south, the anti-communist dictator Syngman Rhee (1875-1965) enjoyed the reluctant support of the American government; in the north, the communist dictator Kim Il Sung (1912-1994) enjoyed the slightly more enthusiastic support of the Soviets. Neither dictator was content to remain on his side of the 38th parallel, however, and border skirmishes were common. Nearly 10,000 North and South Korean soldiers were killed in battle before the war even began. The Korean War and the Cold War Even so, the North Korean invasion came as an alarming surprise to American officials. As far as they were concerned, this was not simply a border dispute between two unstable dictatorships on the other side of the globe. Instead, many feared it was the first step in a communist campaign to take over the world. For this reason, nonintervention was not considered an option by many top decision makers.

(In fact, in April 1950, a National Security Council report known as NSC-68 had recommended that the United States use military force to “contain” communist expansionism anywhere it seemed to be occurring, “regardless of the intrinsic strategic or economic value of the lands in question.”) “If we let Korea down,” President Harry Truman (1884-1972) said, “the Soviet[s] will keep right on going and swallow up one [place] after another.” The fight on the Korean peninsula was a symbol of the global struggle between east and west, good and evil. As the North Korean army pushed into Seoul, the South Korean capital, the United States readied its troops for a war against communism itself. At first, the war was a defensive one–a war to get the communists out of South Korea–and it went badly for the Allies. The North Korean army was well-disciplined, well-trained and well-equipped; Rhee’s forces, by contrast, were frightened, confused, and seemed inclined to flee the battlefield at any provocation.

Also, it was one of the hottest and driest summers on record, and desperately thirsty American soldiers were often forced to drink water from rice paddies that had been fertilized with human waste. As a result, dangerous intestinal diseases and other illnesses were a constant threat. By the end of the summer, President Truman and General Douglas MacArthur (1880-1964), the commander in charge of the Asian theater, had decided on a new set of war aims. Now, for the Allies, the Korean War was an offensive one: It was a war to “liberate” the North from the communists. Initially, this new strategy was a success. An amphibious assault at Inchon pushed the North Koreans out of Seoul and back to their side of the 38th parallel. But as American troops crossed the boundary and headed north toward the Yalu River, the border between North Korea and Communist China, the Chinese started to worry about protecting themselves from what they called “armed aggression against Chinese territory.” Chinese leader Mao Zedong (1893-1976) sent troops to North Korea and warned the United States to keep away from the Yalu boundary unless it wanted full-scale war “No Substitute for Victory”?

This was something that President Truman and his advisers decidedly did not want: They were sure that such a war would lead to Soviet aggression in Europe, the deployment of atomic weapons and millions of senseless deaths. To General MacArthur, however, anything short of this wider war represented “appeasement,” an unacceptable knuckling under to the communists. As President Truman looked for a way to prevent war with the Chinese, MacArthur did all he could to provoke it. Finally, in March 1951, he sent a letter to Joseph Martin, a House Republican leader who shared MacArthur’s support for declaring all-out war on China–and who could be counted upon to leak the letter to the press. “There is,” MacArthur wrote, “no substitute for victory” against international communism. For Truman, this letter was the last straw. On April 11, the president fired the general for insubordination. The Korean War Reaches a Stalemate In July 1951, President Truman and his new military commanders started peace talks at Panmunjom. Still, the fighting continued along the 38th parallel as negotiations stalled.

Both sides were willing to accept a ceasefire that maintained the 38th parallel boundary, but they could not agree on whether prisoners of war should be forcibly “repatriated.” (The Chinese and the North Koreans said yes; the United States said no.) Finally, after more than two years of negotiations, the adversaries signed an armistice on July 27, 1953. The agreement allowed the POWs to stay where they liked; drew a new boundary near the 38th parallel that gave South Korea an extra 1,500 square miles of territory; and created a 2-mile-wide “demilitarized zone” that still exists today. Casualties of the Korean War The Korean War was relatively short but exceptionally bloody. Nearly 5 million people died. More than half of these–about 10 percent of Korea’s prewar population–were civilians. (This rate of civilian casualties was higher than World War II’s and Vietnam’s.) Almost 40,000 Americans died in action in Korea, and more than 100,000 were wounded.

Tags Eisenhower Presidential Library The Korean War After five years of simmering tensions on the Korean peninsula, the Korean War began on June 25, 1950, when the Northern Korean People's Army invaded South Korea in a coordinated general attack at several strategic points along the 38th parallel, the line dividing communist North Korea from the non-communist Republic of Korea in the south. North Korea aimed to militarily conquer South Korea and therefore unify Korea under the communist North Korean regime. Concerned that the Soviet Union and Communist China might have encouraged this invasion, President Harry S. Truman committed United States air, ground, and naval forces to the combined United Nations forces assisting the Republic of Korea in its defense. President Truman designated General Douglas MacArthur as Commanding General of the United Nations Command (UNC). The first several months of the war were characterized by armies advancing and retreating up and down the Korean peninsula. The initial North Korean attack drove United Nations Command forces to a narrow perimeter around the port of Pusan in the southern tip of the peninsula.

After the front stabilized at the Pusan perimeter, General MacArthur surprised the North Koreans in September 1950 with an amphibious landing at Inchon behind North Korean lines, forcing the North Koreans to retreat behind the 38th parallel. In October, the United Nations, urged by the United States Government, approved the movement of UN forces across the 38th parallel into North Korea in an effort to unify the country under a non-communist government. In spite of warnings issued by the Chinese Government, the United Nations forces moved toward the Yalu River, marking the North Korean border with Manchuria. Discounting the significance of initial Chinese attacks in late October, MacArthur ordered the UNC to launch an offensive, taking the forces to the Yalu. In late November the Chinese attacked in full strength, pushing the UNC in disarray south of the 38th parallel with the communist forces seizing the South Korean capital, Seoul. In early 1951 the Chinese offensive lost its momentum and the UNC, bolstered by the revitalized 8th U.S. Army led by General Matthew B. Ridgway, retook Seoul and advanced back to the 38th parallel.

From July 1951, until the end of hostilities the battle lines remained relatively stable and the conflict became a stalemate. The Truman Administration abandoned plans to reunite North and South Korea and instead decided to pursue limited goals in order to avoid the possible escalation of the conflict into a third world war involving China and the Soviet Union. When General MacArthur publicly challenged the Truman Administration's conduct of the war, the President, "...concluded that...MacArthur is unable to give his wholehearted support to the policies of the United States Government..." and relieved him from command in April 1951, replacing him with General Ridgway. Acting on a campaign pledge, President-elect Dwight D. Eisenhower went to Korea on December 2, 1952. After visiting the troops, their commanders and South Korean leaders, and receiving briefings on the military situation in Korea, Eisenhower concluded, "we could not stand forever on a static front and continue to accept casualties without any visible results. Small attacks on small hills would not end this war." President Eisenhower sought an end to hostilities in Korea through a combination of diplomacy and military muscle-flexing.

On July 27, 1953, seven months after President Eisenhower's inauguration as the 34th President of the United States, an armistice was signed, ending organized combat operations and leaving the Korean Peninsula divided much as it had been since the close of World War II at the 38th parallel. The Korean U.N. "police action" prevented North Korea from imposing its communist rule on South Korea. Also, the United States' actions in Korea demonstrated America's willingness to combat aggression, strengthened President Eisenhower's hand in Europe as he sought to organize European military defense under the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and insured that the United States would pursue its military buildup called for in the famous cold war document, National Security Council Policy Paper No. 68. The Korean War Timeline of Important Dates Japan declares a protectorate over Korea. 1910 Japan Annexes Korea Japan formally annexes Korea as a colony. Japanese investments begin to flow into the new colony, turning it into a source of industrial and agricultural wealth for Japan.

Jul 1945 Potsdam and Korea By mutual agreement at the Potsdam Conference , the United States and Soviet Union—allies in World War II —make plans to jointly occupy Korea following the defeat of Japan. Soviet troops will occupy the northern portion of the country and the United States will take the southern half, with the 38th parallel serving as the dividing line between the two zones of occupation. Aug 10, 1945 Russians Arrive in Korea In the last days of World War II , Russian troops begin moving into northern Korea. There are not yet any American troops on the peninsula. Aug 15, 1945 Japan surrenders to the Allies, officially ending World War II . Aug 26, 1945 38th Parallel Soviet forces complete their occupation of northern Korea, halting their southward advance through the country exactly at the 38th parallel, as agreed at the Potsdam Conference. The Soviets will wait patently for several weeks as the Americans hastily organize their own occupation of southern Korea. Sep 9, 1945 American forces finally reach Seoul, where they accept the Japanese surrender of southern Korea.

Mar 5, 1946 Iron Curtain Speech British Prime Minister Winston Churchill gives his famous "Iron Curtain" speech at a college graduation in Fulton, Missouri: "From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the Continent. Behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe. Warsaw, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade, Bucharest and Sofia; all these famous cities and the populations around them lie in what I must call the Soviet sphere, and all are subject, in one form or another, not only to Soviet influence but to a very high and in some cases increasing measure of control from Moscow." 4 Mar 12, 1947 Truman Doctrine In a speech later remembered as the "Truman Doctrine," President Harry S. Truman pledges American assistance to any nation in the world threatened by Communism, officially establishing the worldwide containment of Communism as a vital American national security interest. Sep 1947 US to Leave Korea American forces begin to prepare to withdraw from Korea, hoping to leave the South as an independent state under the leadership of the pro-American conservative Dr. Syngman Rhee.

May 1948 Syngman Rhee Elected South Korea holds its first elections. With the Communists and other anti-Rhee factions boycotting the vote and challenging its legitimacy, Dr. Syngman Rhee wins easily, positioning himself to become South Korea's first president. Jul 26, 1948 Truman Desegregates Military President Truman desegregates the US Armed Forces by signing Executive Order 9981 . The order states, "It is hereby declared to be the policy of the President that there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion, or national origin." In order to implement this policy, the order also establishes the President's Committee on Equality of Treatment and opportunity in the Armed Services. Aug 1948 Republic of Korea Dr. Syngman Rhee's South Korean regime proclaims itself the independent Republic of Korea, denying the legitimacy of North Korea and claiming sovereignty over the entire Korean Peninsula.

Sep 1948 Democratic People’s Republic of Korea Communist North Korea, led by Kim Il Sung, proclaims itself the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, denying the legitimacy of South Korea and claiming sovereignty over the entire Korean Peninsula. Jan 12, 1950 Dean Acheson Delares Defensive Perimeter In a speech , Secretary of State Dean Acheson pledges that the United States will fight to defend all territory within its "defensive perimeter," which he defines to include Japan, and the Philippines—but not Korea. Soviet leader Josef Stalin misinterprets this speech to mean that he can green-light North Korean leader Kim Il Sung's "liberation" of South Korea with little risk of intervention by the United States. Mar 1950 Stalin Approves Korean Invasion North Korean leader Kim Il Sung goes to Moscow to ask Soviet leader Josef Stalin's permission to invade South Korea and begin the Korean War. Stalin gives the green light because he believes the United States has little interest in Korea.

May 1950 1950 Korean Election President Syngman Rhee's unpopular conservative faction loses its control over the South Korean assembly when voters elect anti-Rhee moderates to office in the 1950 elections. Rhee remains president. Jun 25, 1950 North Korea Invades Communist North Korean troops launch a full-scale invasion of the South, beginning the open military phase of the Korean War. North Korean tanks and infantry surge across the 38th parallel into South Korean territory, quickly overrunning the defensive positions of overmatched South Korean forces. The Communists continue their southward advance, meeting little resistance in the countryside. Jun 25, 1950 Syngman Rhee and the Summer of Terror In response to North Korea's invasion of his country, South Korean president Syngman Rhee orders his military and special police forces to eliminate the threat posed to his regime by political prisoners and leftist dissidents, whom he fears will join forces with the Communist invaders. In the so-called "Summer of Terror" that follows, Rhee's forces will execute more than 100,000 people.

Jun 26, 1950 Truman Meets at Blair House While the situation in Korea rapidly deteriorates, President Truman convenes two days' worth of high-level meetings at Washington, D.C.'s Blair House (his temporary residence while the White House undergoes renovations). In consultation with top officials of the State and Defense Departments, Truman makes the critical decision to offer military aid to South Korea without seeking an official declaration of war from Congress.

Jun 27, 1950 US and UN Condemn North Korea In the morning, President Truman issues a statement announcing to the American public the decision made at Blair House on 25 and 26 June: "I have ordered United States air and sea forces to give the Korean Government troops cover and support." In the afternoon, the United Nations Security Council —temporarily being boycotted by the Soviet Union—passes an American-drafted resolution condemning North Korea as the aggressor in the conflict and calling on all members states to "furnish assistance to the Republic of Korea as may be necessary to repel the armed attack and to restore international peace and security in the area." Though Truman will cite the UN resolution as justification for his intervention, in fact he makes his decision to commit American forces to the conflict before the UN request of assistance to the South Korean regime. Jun 28, 1950 North Korean forces capture the South Korean capital city of Seoul. Jul 4, 1950 Battle at Osan American ground troops go into battle against Northern Korean forces at Osan (just south of Seoul on the western side of the peninsula).

The Americans, expecting an easy victory over an overmatched foe, are stunned to discover that the North Korean army will be a formidable adversary. The Americans suffer 150 casualties in the battle and fail to halt the North Koreans' southward advance. Jul 21, 1950 North Korea Advances to Daejeon Communist forces continue their southward advance through the Korean peninsula, driving American forces back to Daejeon, 100 miles south of Seoul. Aug 4, 1950 Retreat to Pusan Perimeter American and South Korean forces end more than a month of retreat by establishing, finally, a stable defensive line outside the city of Pusan, at the far southeastern tip of the peninsula. The shattered remnants of the South Korean army and the entire American force in Korea crowd into the tiny area behind the so-called Pusan Perimeter ; the entire rest of the country, more than 90% of Korea's land area , is now under Communist control. Over the next six weeks, North Korean forces will launch a series of ferocious assaults against the Pusan Perimeter, hoping to achieve a decisive victory to end the war.

But the Americans hold the line, buying time for General MacArthur to organize a counterattack. Aug 4, 1950 MacArthur and the Inchon Landing General MacArthur orchestrates one of the great tactical victories in American military history, a massive amphibious landing of thousands of soldiers and Marines at Inchon, a city located along Korea's west coast not far from Seoul, hundreds of miles behind enemy lines. MacArthur's audacious Inchon Landing catches the North Koreans completely by surprise, allowing the Americans to cut vital lines of supply to the Communist troops farther south at Pusan, forcing them into a desperate retreat back to the North. It will take only ten days after the Inchon Landing for the Americans to recapture Seoul, and only a few weeks to regain control over all territory south of the 38th parallel. By the end of September, MacArthur will be confident that he is well on the way to winning the war. Sep 27, 1950 Truman Authorizes Advance President Truman authorizes General MacArthur to order his forces to pursue the retreating North Koreans across the 38th parallel, into North Korean territory.

This decision marks a fundamental enlargement in American war arms, now expanded from merely rescuing South Korea to rolling back the Communist regime in North Korea. Truman's orders direct MacArthur to keep pushing northward as long as he does not encounter Soviet or Chinese opposition and he remains confident of victory. Oct 20, 1950 US Reaches Pyongyang The US First Cavalry Division enters Pyongyang , the North Korean capital. The jubilant American soldiers are convinced that victory in the broader war is near, taking bets on exactly when they will be able to ship out for home. Oct 25, 1950 Chinese Cross the Yalu Communist Chinese forces, who have been secretly infiltrating Korean territory by slipping across the Yalu River under cover of darkness, ambush a South Korean regiment high in the mountains of North Korea. This is the first of many Chinese victories over unprepared and overstretched South Korean and American units over the winter of 1950-51. Nov 1950 China Enters Korean War Chinese leader Mao Zedong , fearful of the consequences of hostile American forces taking up positions along his country's border at the Yalu River, orders hundreds of thousands of Chinese soldiers into battle in Korea.

The massive Chinese intervention into the Korean conflict catches American military leaders completely off guard, leading to a series of crushing defeats. American prospects in the Korean War deteriorate rapidly, as hopes of imminent victory give way to a desperate struggle to avoid defeat. 1951 Korean War Stalemate In the first half of 1951, the war in Korea begins to settle into stalemate . The year begins with surging Communist forces driving American and South Korean troops into a desperate southward retreat. By springtime, however, American forces organize a successful defensive line not far from the 38th parallel, halting the Chinese advance. Both sides launch a series of offensives aimed at breaking through the increasingly entrenched lines of battle, but neither can make much headway. Feb 1, 1951 Peace Talks Drag With the Korean War seemingly settling into a bloody stalemate, the United Nations passes a resolution calling for a negotiated end to the conflict. The first peace talks between American, Chinese, North Korean, and South Korean negotiators will begin in August 1951, but will drag on for nearly two years.

More than half of the 36,000 American soldiers killed in the Korean War will lose their lives after the beginning of the peace talks. Apr 1951 Truman to Fire MacArthur The Senate passes legislation reaffirming the scope and purpose of a unified NATO and authorizes President Truman to send four American divisions to be stationed in Europe. Truman now feels free to fire MacArthur. Mar 24, 1951 MacArthur Rebukes Truman General MacArthur—frustrated by the Truman administration's strategy of limited war in Korea, which precludes him from attacking China directly or making use of nuclear weapons—makes an unauthorized public statement threatening the Chinese with imminent destruction if they do not withdraw from Korea. In Washington, President Truman and his Joint Chiefs of Staff conclude that MacArthur has become dangerously insubordinate, liable to do or say something so provocative it will drag the United States into a wider war. Though Truman believes MacArthur will soon have to be fired, he does not yet feel he can take such a dramatic action against the popular general. Apr 5, 1951 Douglas MacArthur Writes Congress House Minority Leader Joseph W. Martin , a Republican from Massachusetts, reads a letter from General MacArthur.

It is a private letter but MacArthur has given no instructions with regard to confidentiality, so Martin reads it into the Congressional Record for the benefit of the American people. In the letter, MacArthur recommends "meeting force with maximum counterforce" in Korea—comments construed to mean that the general favors the use of Chinese Nationalist troops from Taiwan in the fighting (an action which would almost certainly lead to full-scale war with Communist China and a possible world war). The Truman administration vehemently opposes such an expansion of the war. Apr 6, 1951 Truman and Cabinet Discuss MacArthur Following the public announcement of General MacArthur's belligerent comments, President Truman calls a meeting with cabinet members to discuss the situation. Apr 9, 1951 Matthew Ridgway Replaces Douglas MacArthur President Truman and his advisors agree that the time has come to relieve General MacArthur from his command. General Matthew Ridgway will replace MacArthur as Supreme Commander in Korea. Truman Fires MacArthur The White House makes a special late-night announcement that General Douglas MacArthur has been relieved of his duties.

MacArthur learns of his firing when one of his aides hears the radio broadcast at headquarters and telephones the general's residence in Tokyo to tell him. Truman Speaks to Nation In a statement broadcast nationally on radio and television, President Truman explains why he has relieved General MacArthur of his position as Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers. He does not discuss the General's comments or the constitutional issues pertaining to MacArthur's insubordination, but instead stresses the American goal in Korea to avoid a third world war, and states that "a number of events have made it evident that General MacArthur did not agree with that policy." 5 MacArthur Praised General MacArthur returns to the United States, arriving in San Francisco to a hero's welcome. In these early days of the Truman-MacArthur dispute, the American people seem to be siding with MacArthur. Truman's public-approval ratings plummet below 25 percent. Apr 18, 1951 MacArthur Addresses Congress General MacArthur, addressing a joint meeting of Congress, receives a standing ovation from a bipartisan majority of the legislators packed into the House chamber. Only a few Democrats loyal to President Truman do not stand to applaud the general.

MacArthur, speaking from a prepared text, reiterates his belief in the need to take any measures necessary to achieve total victory in Korea. Over the course of his 34-minute speech , he is interrupted by applause 30 times. Apr 19, 1951 MacArthur Receives Ticker-Tape Parade In New York City, an estimated 7.5 million people turn out to cheer for General MacArthur as he parades through the city in the back of an open Chrysler. The streets are so thronged with supporters that it takes MacArthur's motorcade more than seven hours to cover the 19.5-mile parade route, from the Battery to St. Patrick's Cathedral and back again. May 3, 1951 MacArthur Hearings The Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services committees begin joint hearings to investigate the dismissal of General MacArthur. Republican congressmen demand the hearings in hopes of vindicating their fallen hero, but the subsequent testimony ends up discrediting him more than restoring his reputation. Through more than a month of hearings, MacArthur's arrogance, recklessness, and insubordination are clearly revealed; most Americans come to believe that Truman was correct to remove MacArthur from command.

MacArthur, his reputation badly damaged by the hearings, will make a failed bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 1952, then largely fade away from any prominent involvement in public affairs. Nov 4, 1952 Eisenhower Elected In the American presidential election, Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower receives more votes—almost 34 million—than any previous candidate in American history. Eisenhower, a retired general and World War II hero, has built his campaign largely around a promise to pursue an honorable truce in the Korean War to allow the withdrawal of American combat forces as soon as possible. Jul 27, 1953 Korean War Armistice After nearly two years of negotiations, diplomats from the United States, North Korea, and China reach agreement on an armistice to end the "UN peace action" in Korea without a formal peace treaty. Both sides claim victory; Korea remains divided at the 38th parallel.

Oct 1953 Peace Villiage Talks Fail Diplomats from China, North Korea, and the United States convene in Panmunjom —the so-called "Peace Village" located on the border between North and South Korea at the 38th parallel—to plan a political conference to reach agreement on a final, permanent peace treaty to end the war. Even this preliminary planning breaks down amidst angry accusations and counter-accusations from both sides. Apr 1954 Geneva Talks Fail At a high-level conference in Geneva, representatives from the United States and China fail to resolve the Korean issue. The armed stalemate at the 38th parallel will continue indefinitely. 2002 Mass Graves Discovered A severe typhoon uncovers a mass grave holding victims of the 1950 "summer of terror," South Korean President Syngman Rhee's campaign of executions against leftists and other potential political dissidents. It becomes increasingly difficult for the South Korean government to deny that the killing ever occurred.

2006 South Korea Truth and Reconciliation The South Korean government, having undergone far-reaching democratic reforms in the late 1980s and 1990s, establishes a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate its own role in the 1950 "summer of terror" killings. 6 Jan 2008 South Korea Apologizes for Summer of Terror South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun, citing the findings of his Truth and Reconciliation Commission, formally apologizes for the atrocities committed during the "summer of terror" in 1950, calling them "illegal acts the then-state authority committed." 7 SparkNotes: The Korean War (1950-1953): Summary The Korean War (1950-1953) Table of Contents Context World War II divided Korea into a Communist, northern half and an American-occupied southern half, divided at the 38th parallel. The Korean War (1950-1953) began when the North Korean Communist army crossed the 38th Parallel and invaded non-Communist South Korea.

As Kim Il-sung's North Korean army, armed with Soviet tanks, quickly overran South Korea, the United States came to South Korea's aid. General Douglas MacArthur, who had been overseeing the post-WWII occupation of Japan, commanded the US forces which now began to hold off the North Koreans at Pusan, at the southernmost tip of Korea. Although Korea was not strategically essential to the United States, the political environment at this stage of the Cold War was such that policymakers did not want to appear "soft on Communism." Nominally, the US intervened as part of a "police action" run by a UN (United Nations) international peace- keeping force; in actuality, the UN was simply being manipulated by US and NATO anti-Communist interests. With the US, UN, and South Korean (ROK) forces pinned against the sea at Pusan, MacArthur orchestrated a daring amphibious assault on Inchon, a port on the western coast of Korea. Having made this landing, MacArthur crushed the North Korean army in a pincer movement and recaptured Seoul, the capital of South Korea.

Instead of being satisfied with his rapid reconquest of South Korea, MacArthur crossed the 38TH Parallel and pursued the North Korean army all the way to the northernmost provinces of North Korea. Afraid that the US was interested in taking North Korea as a base for operations against Manchuria, the People's Republic of China secretly sent an army across the Yalu River. This Chinese army attacked the US/UN/ROK forces. Only after the appointment of Lt. General Matthew Ridgway as commander of ground forces did American morale improve and the initiative begin to swing against the Chinese Communists. Although President Truman hoped to end the war quickly and pressed MacArthur to be more tactful, the brilliant strategist went against presidential orders and continued spouting incendiary lines about his hopes to reunify Korea. After gaining the support of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), Truman relieved MacArthur of command. The move was extremely unpopular in America; MacArthur was perceived as a popular war hero. Only the support of the JCS saved Truman from impeachment after the firing.

Ridgway took MacArthur's command and held off the Communists with strong fortifications and entrenchments just north of the 38TH Parallel, sending occasional offensives against the Iron Triangle, the Communists staging area for attacks into South Korea. Peace negotiations dragged on at Kaesong, then moved and continued to drag at Panmunjom through 1951 and 1952. The US tried using strategic bombing to intimidate the Communists into negotiating a peace treaty, but they wouldn't budge, particularly on the issue of POW (Prisoner of War) repatriation. Neither side wanted to appear weak, and so the talks went on, occasionally breaking down for months. Only after Eisenhower, who was a war hero and was unafraid of Republican criticism (since he himself was a Republican), became President, could the US make substantial concessions to the Communists. In 1953 a peace treaty was signed at Panmunjom that ended the Korean War, returning Korea to a divided status essentially the same as before the war. Neither the war nor its outcome did much to lessen the era's Cold War tension.

The Korean War | The United States Army The United States Army Tweet The Korean War, often referred to as "The Forgotten War," was fought from June 25, 1950, to July 27, 1953. This website is dedicated to thanking and honoring all the veterans of the Korean War, their families, and especially those who lost loved ones in that war. The U.S. Army will never stop honoring the service and sacrifice of Korean War veterans. This site should serve as a tool to educate Americans of all ages about the historical significance of the Korean War. The Hangul text in the banner says "6-25," or "yoog-ee-o" in Korean. South Koreans often call the Korean War, "6-25," because this war started, June 25, 1950. Caption Time -- Korea 1950-1953 June 25, 1950: The North Korean People's Army invades across the 38th Parallel.

The South Korean people simply say "6-2-5 (pronounced yoo-gee-o), June 25th, (see above in Hangul) to remember the beginning of the war that divides their homeland to this day. We salute the thousands of American and allied veterans who served and fought in war-torn Korea in 1950-1953 and beyond. today's Soldiers are inspired by their courage and sacrifices as they too defend our freedoms around the world. Caption June 25, 1950 North Korean People's Army (NKPA) invades across the 38th Parallel with 135,000 men. The outnumbered Republic of Korea Army (ROKA), which does not have effective anti-tank weapons, field artillery, or combat aircraft, suffers heavy casualties. North Korean forces enter Seoul June 28. Caption July 5, 1950 First battle between the U.S. Army and the NKPA. The 24th Infantry Division's Task Force Smith, a battalion combat team deployed from Japan, attempted to delay the advance of an NKPA division near Osan.

Outnumbered and poorly equipped, Task Force Smith delays the North Koreans for only a short period before retreating with heavy casualties. Caption Aug. 6 - Sept. 12, 1950 Defense of Pusan Perimeter. After a series of costly delaying actions during July, the U.S. Eighth Army withdrew Aug. 1, into a final defensive line around the key port city of Pusan. After deploying from Japan the previous month, Eighth Army had assumed command of all U.S., ROKA, and other nations' ground combat units fighting to defeat the North Korean invasion. As reinforcements from the U.S. and several other nations arrive at the port, Eighth Army directed the successful defense of the perimeter against major NKPA attacks in August and September. Caption Sept. 15, 1950 X Crops amphibious assault at Inchon, Seoul's port city. General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, commander-in-chief of Far East Command and commander-in-chief of United Nations Command, plans to liberate Seoul and crush the NKPA between X Corps and Eighth Army. Eighth Army begins its breakout from the Pusan Perimeter Sept. 16. Caption Sept.

28, 1950 X Corps completes liberation of Seoul. Eighth Army has linked up with X Corps, and while many North Korean soldiers escape, most NKPA units are destroyed. Caption Oct. 19, 1950 Eighth Army seized Pyongyang, capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, after UN forces shift from the defense of South Korea to the destruction of the North Korean regime. The NKPA can mount only very limited and generally ineffective opposition. Meanwhile, X Corps has been withdrawn from Seoul to land in northeastern Korea. Caption Nov. 26-30, 1950 Two army groups of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) attack and defeat outnumbered UN forces in North Korea, inflicting heavy casualties. The People's Republic of China (PRC), after warning the UN, intervenes to prevent the destruction of the North Korean regime and the establishment of an American-allied Korea on its border. after the attack, the Eighth Army breaks contact with the Chinese and retreats into South Korea; X Corps is withdrawn by sea to South Korea, where it joins Eighth Army.

Two significant battles during this period include the 2nd Infantry Division's harrowing withdrawal through the Kunur-ri gauntlet and the 1st Marine Division's heroic efforts in the Chosin Reservoir battle. Caption Jan. 4, 1951 UN forces evacuate Seoul after the Chinese and NKPA launch another major offensive. Eighth Army breaks contact with the enemy and withdraws to a new defensive line south of the Han River. Caption Jan. 24, 1951 Eighth Army begins a counter-offensive with an emphasis on using its superior firepower to inflict heavy casualties on the enemy. After defeating another major enemy attack in February, the counter-offensive begins. Caption March 27, 1951 Eighth Army reaches the 38th Parallel. Enemy resistance continues to be light, but intelligence indicates that the Chinese are massing their forces for another major offensive. Caption April 11, 1951 President Truman relieves Gen. MacArthur as CINCFEC/CINCUNC after MacArthur had publicly and repeatedly questioned President Truman's strategy for the war.

Caption April 22-29, 1951 & May 16-20, 1951 Chinese Spring Offensives. After forcing the outnumbered Eighth Army to make tactical withdrawals, Chinese and North Korea units in April and May are decimated by superior UN firepower. This is the last attempt by either side to win the war by inflicting a crushing battlefield defeat on the enemy's army. Caption Oct. 6-15, 1952 Battle for White Horse Mountain. The successful defense of this position by the ROKA 9th Division, with the assistance of U.S. artillery and air strikes, against heavy Chinese attacks signals the great improvements the ROKA has made, with the aid of American advisers, in its tactical and technical competence since the first year of the war. Caption Oct. 8, 1952 Armistice negotiations recessed because of a deadlock on the issue of repatriation of POWs. While the Geneva Convention of 1949 mandates immediate repatriation of POWs after hostilities end, the U.S. decides to press for allowing POWs to chose whether they will be repatriated. The U.S.

Takes this position because screening of enemy POWs has revealed that tens of thousands of them are either South Korean conscripted into the KNPA or Nationalist veterans of the Chinese Civil War drafted into the PLA after the communist victory in that war. These POWs do not want to go to North Korea of the PRC after hostilities end. Caption April 26, 1953 Armistice negotiations resume. While both South and North Koreans still desire to defeat each other and unify the peninsula, the UN and the PRC wish to end what has become a bloody and expensive war who objective, the status quo ante bellum, is for them not worth the cost of continuing. Caption May 28-29, 1953 The 25th Infantry Division battle for Nevada outpost complex. The Chinese repeatedly attack to take these outposts, suffering very heavy casualties, until Eighth Army decides to abandon the outposts. With an armistice agreement in sight, senior UN commanders conclude that holding an outpost, after the Chinese have demonstrated a willingness to sacrifice whatever number of soldiers require to take it, is not worth the cost in UN soldiers' lives.

The Chinese take several other outposts with this tactic, which is designed to distract from their concessions at the armistice negotiations and to keep pressuring the UN during the final stage of the negotiations. Caption June 8, 1953 Agreement reach at armistice negotiations on repatriation of POWs. All POWs will choose whether they will be repatriated, and both sides will be allowed an attempt to persuade its POWs to choose to be repatriated. Caption July 13-19, 1953 Chinese offensive against ROKA units in Kumsong Salient. A major attack breaks through ROKA lines and inflicts heavy losses, but the Chinese do not attempt to exploit the breach, even though they also have suffered heavy casualties. The purpose of the attack is to punish the South Koreans for unilaterally releasing 27,000 POWs who had refused repatriation and to distract world attention from the concessions made at the armistice negotiations. Caption July 27, 1953 Armistice signed at Panmunjom. Both sides then withdraw slightly to create a demilitarized zone between the two Korean regimes. Caption Aug.

1953 - Feb. 1954 Exchange of POWs. A total of 82,493 Koreans and Chinese POWs are repatriated, as are 13,444 UN POWs (3,746 of which are Americans). 21,839 communist POWs refuse repatriation, as do 347 UN POWs, including 21 Americans. Harry Truman - U.S. Presidents - HISTORY.com Google Harry Truman’s Early Years Harry S. Truman was born on May 8, 1884, in the farm community of Lamar, Missouri , to John Truman (1851-1914), a livestock trader, and Martha Young Truman (1852-1947). (Truman’s parents gave him the middle initial S to honor his grandfathers, Anderson Shipp Truman and Solomon Young, although the S didn’t stand for a specific name.) In 1890, the Trumans settled in Independence, Missouri, where Harry attended school and was a strong student.

As a child, he had to wear thick eyeglasses due to poor vision, and his doctor advised him not to play sports in order to avoid breaking them. Truman had hoped to attend the U.S. military academy at West Point, but his eyesight prevented him from gaining admittance. Did You Know? On November 1, 1950, two Puerto Rican pro-independence activists tried to assassinate President Truman at the Blair House in Washington, where he was living while the White House was under renovation. Truman was unharmed, although a police officer and one of the would-be assassins were killed. Truman’s family could not afford to send him to college, so after graduating high school in 1901 he worked as a bank clerk and held various other jobs. Starting in 1906, he spent over a decade helping his father manage the family’s 600-acre farm near Grandview, Missouri. During this time, Truman also served in the Missouri National Guard. In 1917, when America entered World War I , Truman, then in his early 30s, reenlisted in the National Guard and was sent to France.

He saw action in several campaigns and was promoted to captain of his artillery unit. In 1919, after returning from the war, Truman married Elizabeth “Bess” Wallace (1885-1982), his childhood classmate. That same year, Truman and a friend opened a men’s clothing store in Kansas City; however, the business closed in 1922 due to a poor economy. The Trumans had one daughter, Mary Margaret Truman (1924-2008), who grew up to become a professional singer and author of biographies and mystery novels. From County Judge to U.S. Vice President In 1922, Harry Truman, with the backing of Kansas City political boss Thomas Pendergast (1873-1945), was elected district judge in Jackson County, Missouri, an administrative position that involved handling the county’s finances, public works projects and other affairs. In 1926, Truman won election as the county’s presiding judge. Earning a reputation for efficiency and integrity, he was reelected in 1930. In 1934, Truman was elected to the U.S. Senate.

As a senator, he supported President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal programs, designed to help lift the nation out of the Great Depression, which began in 1929 and lasted about a decade. Additionally, Truman was instrumental in the passage of the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938, which established government regulation of the burgeoning aviation industry, and the Transportation Act of 1940, which established new federal regulations for America’s railroad, shipping and trucking industries. From 1941 to 1944, Truman headed the Senate Special Committee to Investigate the National Defense Program, which worked to reduce waste and mismanagement in U.S. military spending. Commonly known as the Truman Committee, it saved American taxpayers millions of dollars and propelled Truman into the national spotlight. In 1944, as Roosevelt sought an unprecedented fourth term as president, Truman was selected as his running mate, replacing Vice President Henry Wallace (1888-1965), a divisive figure in the Democratic Party.

(Truman, a moderate Democrat, was jokingly referred to as the “second Missouri Compromise .”) In the general election, Roosevelt easily defeated Republican Thomas Dewey, the governor of New York , and was sworn into office on January 20, 1945. Less than three months later, on April 12, 1945, the president died suddenly of a cerebral hemorrhage at age 63. Several hours after learning of Roosevelt’s death, a stunned Truman was given the oath of office in the White House by Chief Justice Harlan Stone (1872-1946). The new president later told reporters, “I don’t know if you fellas ever had a load of hay fall on you, but when they told me what happened yesterday, I felt like the moon, the stars and all the planets had fallen on me.” Harry Truman’s First Administration: 1945-1949 Upon assuming the presidency, Harry Truman, who had met privately with Roosevelt only a few times before his death and had never been informed by the president about the construction of the atomic bomb, faced a series of monumental challenges and decisions.

During Truman’s initial months in office, the war in Europe ended when the Allies accepted Nazi Germany’s surrender on May 8; the United Nations charter was signed; and the president participated in the Potsdam Conference to discuss postwar treatment of Germany with Great Britain’s Winston Churchill (1874-1965) and the Soviet Union’s Joseph Stalin (1878-1953). In an effort to end the war in the Pacific and prevent the massive U.S. casualties that could result from an invasion of Japan, Truman approved the dropping of atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima (on August 6) and Nagasaki (on August 9). Japan’s surrender was announced on August 14, 1945; however, Truman’s use of the atomic bomb continues to be one of the most controversial decisions of any American president. In the aftermath of the war, the Truman administration had to contend with deteriorating U.S.-Soviet relations and the start of the Cold War (1946-1991). The president adopted a policy of containment toward Soviet expansion and the spread of communism.

In 1947, he introduced the Truman Doctrine to provide aid to Greece and Turkey in an effort to protect them from communist aggression. That same year, Truman also instituted the Marshall Plan , which gave billions of dollars in aid to help stimulate economic recovery in European nations. (The president defended the plan by stating that communism would thrive in economically depressed regions.) In 1948, Truman initiated an airlift of food and other supplies to the Western-held sectors of Berlin, Germany, that were blockaded by the Soviets. He also recognized the new state of Israel. On the home front, Truman was faced with the challenge of transitioning America to a peacetime economy. Amid labor disputes, a shortage of consumer goods and a national railroad strike, he saw his approval ratings plummet. He ran for reelection in 1948 and was widely expected to lose to Republican challenger Thomas Dewey. However, Truman conducted a vigorous whistle-stop campaign in which he traveled by train around the country, giving hundreds of speeches. The president and his running mate Alben Barkley (1877-1956), a U.S.

senator from Kentucky , won with 303 electoral votes and 49.6 percent of the popular vote, while Dewey captured 189 electoral votes and 45.1 percent of the popular vote. Dixiecrat candidate Strom Thurmond (1902-2003) earned 39 electoral votes and 2.4 percent of the popular vote. An iconic photograph from the day after the president’s upset victory shows him holding a copy of the Chicago Tribune featuring the inaccurate front page headline “Dewey Defeats Truman.” Harry Truman’s Second Administration: 1949-1953 Harry Truman was sworn in for his second term in January 1949; his inauguration was the first to be nationally televised. The president set forth an ambitious social reform agenda, known as the Fair Deal, which included national medical insurance, federal housing programs, a higher minimum wage, assistance for farmers, repeal of the Taft-Hartley labor act, increases in Social Security and civil rights reforms.

Truman’s proposals were largely blocked by conservatives in Congress; however, he had some legislative successes, such as the Housing Act of 1949, and also issued executive orders (at the end of his first term) to end segregation in the U.S. armed forces and to prohibit discrimination in federal government jobs. The threat of communism continued to be a major focus of Truman’s second administration. The president supported the creation in 1949 of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a military alliance of democratic nations, including the United States, Canada, France, the United Kingdom and eight other countries, and appointed Dwight Eisenhower (1890-1969) as its first commander. Also that year, a revolution in China brought the Communists to power, and the Soviets tested their first nuclear weapon. Additionally, during his second term Truman had to contend with unproven accusations made by U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy (1908-1957) of Wisconsin that the president’s administration and the U.S. State Department, among other organizations, had been infiltrated by communist spies. In June 1950, when communist forces from North Korea invaded South Korea, Truman sent in U.S.

planes, ships and ground troops to aid the South Koreans. The conflict turned into a lengthy stalemate that left Americans frustrated and hurt Truman’s popularity; however, his decision to intervene ultimately preserved South Korea’s independence. Although he was eligible to run for another presidential term, Truman announced in March 1952 that he would not do so. In that year’s general election, Democrat Adlai Stevenson (1900-1965), the governor of Illinois , was defeated by Republican Dwight Eisenhower. Harry Truman’s Final Years After Eisenhower’s inauguration in January 1953, Harry and Bess Truman traveled by train from Washington to their home in Independence. There the former president penned his memoirs, met with visitors, continued his habit of brisk daily walks and raised funds for the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library, which opened in Independence in 1957. Truman died at age 88 on December 26, 1972, in Kansas City, Missouri. He was buried in the courtyard of the Truman Library. His wife, who died at age 97 in 1982, was buried beside him. Access hundreds of hours of historical video, commercial free, with HISTORY Vault .

Start your free trial today. Tags War Powers | Wex Legal Dictionary / Encyclopedia | LII / Legal Information Institute FAQ War Powers Article I, Section 8, Clause 11 of the U.S. Constitution grants Congress the power to declare war. The President, meanwhile, derives the power to direct the military after a Congressional declaration of war from Article II, Section 2 , which names the President Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. These provisions require cooperation between the President and Congress regarding military affairs, with Congress funding or declaring the operation and the President directing it. Nevertheless, throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, Presidents have often engaged in military operations without express Congressional consent. These operations include the Korean War, the Vietnam War, Operation Desert Storm, the Afghanistan War of 2001 and the Iraq War of 2002. Commander in Chief The questions of whether the President possesses authority to use the military absent a Congressional declaration of war and the scope of such power, if it exists, have proven to be sources of conflict and debate throughout American history.

While some scholars believe the Commander-in-Chief Clause confers special powers on the President, others argue that, if the President does have these powers, the Constitution does not provide how far the President may go. These scholars wish to construe the Clause narrowly, claiming that the Founders gave the President the title to preserve civilian supremacy over the military, not to provide additional powers outside of a Congressional authorization or declaration of war. After the Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon Administrations had spent nearly a decade committing U.S. troops to Southeast Asia without Congressional approval, Congress responded by passing the War Powers Resolution in 1973. The War Powers Resolution requires that the President communicate to Congress the committal of troops within 48 hours. Further, the statute requires the President to remove all troops after 60 days if Congress has not granted an extension. When passed, Congress intended the War Powers Resolution to halt the erosion of Congress's ability to participate in war-making decisions. The terrorist attacks against the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, however, created new complications for the separation of powers within the war powers sphere.

After September 11, the United States Congress passed the Authorization for Use of Military Force against Terrorists (AUMF). President George W. Bush and his cabinet invaded Afghanistan to root out the Taliban government, which ruled Afghanistan and permitted the Al Qaeda terrorist network to conduct terrorist training within the country's borders. During the conflict, the U.S. military rounded up alleged members of the Taliban and those fighting against U.S. forces. The military then placed these "detainees" at a U.S. base located at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba at the direction of the Bush Administration who designed the plan under the premise that federal court jurisdiction did not reach the base. Consequently, the Bush Administration and military believed that the detainees could not avail themselves of habeas corpus and certain protections guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. As the military held many of these prisoners at the base for years without bringing formal charges against them, the prisoners found counsel within the United States to file habeas corpus petitions within U.S. federal courts. A series of cases then came before the U.S. Supreme Court dealing with the constitutionality of the prisoners' detentions at Guantanamo. In 2004 Rasul v.

Bush became the first case in which the Supreme Court directly discussed the Bush Administration's policies. 542 U.S. 466. The Court in this case held that 28 U.S.C. § 2241 permits federal district courts to hear habeas corpus petitions by aliens held within territory over which the United States exercises "plenary and exclusive jurisdiction." This holding included Guantanamo detainees. The Court then instructed the district courts to hear the petitions. After the Bush Administration responded to Rasul by permitting detainees to bring their petitions before military tribunals, the Supreme Court again addressed the matter in 2006 when they handed down Hamdan v. Rumsfeld . 548 U.S. 557. The Hamdan opinion held that the President lacks constitutional authority under the Commander in Chief Clause to try detainees in military tribunals. The tribunals also violated the Uniform Code of Military Justice and the Geneva Conventions . Furthermore, the Court rebuked the government's arguments that the AUMF expanded Presidential authority. Congress responded by passing the Detainee Treatment Act , which provides that "no court, court, justice, or judge shall have jurisdiction to hear or consider . . .

an application for a writ of habeas corpus filed by . . . an alien detained . . . at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba." Lakhdar Boumediene, an Algerian citizen, challenged the constitutionality of this statute in Boumediene v. Bush (06-1195) in 2008. The Court struck down the Bush Administration's policies for a third time, holding that a Congressional suspension of habeas corpus requires an explicit suspension of the writ and that merely stripping the federal courts of jurisdiction does not actually suspend the writ. The Court also argued that the detainees lacked proper procedural safeguards to ensure a fair trial and the ability to ascertain the nature of their charges. Emergency Powers The Constitution does not expressly grant the President additional powers in times of national emergency. However, many scholars think that the Framers implied these powers because the structural design of the Executive Branch enables it to act faster than the Legislative Branch. Because the Constitution remains silent on the issue, the courts cannot grant the Executive Branch these powers when it tries to wield them. The courts will only recognize a right of the Executive Branch to use emergency powers if Congress has granted such powers to the President.

A claim of emergency powers was at the center of President Abraham Lincoln's suspension of habeas corpus without Congressional approval in 1861. Lincoln claimed that the rebellion created an emergency that permitted him the extraordinary power of unilaterally suspending the writ. With Chief Justice Roger Taney sitting as judge, the Federal District Court of Maryland struck down the suspension in Ex Parte Merryman , although Lincoln ignored the order. 17 F. Cas. 144 (1861). President Franklin Delano Roosevelt similarly invoked emergency powers when he issued an order directing that all Japanese Americans residing on the West Coast be placed into internment camps during World War II. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld this order in Korematsu v. United States . 323 U.S. 214 (1944). Harry Truman declared the use of emergency powers when he seized private steel mills that failed to produce steel because of a labor strike in 1952. With the Korean War ongoing, Truman asserted that he could not wage war successfully if the economy failed to provide him with the material resources necessary to keep the troops well-equipped. The U.S.

Supreme Court, however, refused to accept that argument in Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer , voting 6-3 that neither Commander in Chief powers nor any claimed emergency powers gave the President the authority to unilaterally seize private property without Congressional legislation. 343 U.S. 579. US Enters the Korean Conflict | National Archives US Enters the Korean Conflict (Originally published in Social Education, the Journal of the National Council for the Social Studies). Background While the end of World War II brought peace and prosperity to most Americans, it also created a heightened state of tension between the Soviet Union and the United States. Fearing that the Soviet Union intended to "export" communism to other nations, America centered its foreign policy on the "containment" of communism, both at home and abroad. Although formulation of the Truman Doctrine, Marshall Plan, and the Berlin Airlift suggested that the United States had a particular concern with the spread of communism in Europe, America's policy of containment extended to Asia as well. Indeed, Asia proved to be the site of the first major battle waged in the name of containment: the Korean War.

In 1950 the Korea Peninsula was divided between a Soviet-backed government in the north and an American-backed government in the south. The division of Korea into two halves had come at the end of World War II. In August of 1945 the Soviet Union invaded Korea, which had been under Japan's control since 1910. Fearing that the Soviets intended to seize the entire peninsula from their position in the north, the United States quickly moved its own troops into southern Korea. Japanese troops surrendered to the Russians in the north and to the Americans in the south. In an effort to avoid a long-term decision regarding Korea's future, the United States and the Soviet Union agreed to divide Korea temporarily along the 38th parallel, a latitudinal line that bisected the country. This line became more rigid after 1946, when Kim Il Sung organized a communist government in the north---the Democratic People's Republic. Shortly after, nationalist exile Syngman Rhee returned to Korea and set up a rival government in the south---the Republic of Korea (ROK). Each government hoped to reunify the country under its own rule.

War broke out along the 38th parallel on June 25, 1950. On that day, North Korean troops coordinated an attack at several strategic points along the parallel and headed south toward Seoul. The United Nations Security Council responded to the attack by adopting (by a 9-0 vote) a resolution that condemned the invasion as a "breach of the peace." The Council did not have a Soviet delegate, since 6 months prior, the Soviet Union had left to protest the United Nation's refusal to seat a delegate from China. President Harry S. Truman quickly committed American forces to a combined United Nations military effort and named Gen. Douglas MacArthur Commander of the U.N. forces. Fifteen other nations also sent troops under the U.N. command. Truman did not seek a formal declaration of war from Congress; officially, America's presence in Korea amounted to no more than a "police action." However, the entry of the United States into the conflict signaled a reversal of policy toward Korea. Although it backed the government of Syngman Rhee, the United States had begun withdrawing its troops from South Korea in 1948.

As late as January of 1950, Secretary of State Dean Acheson had implied that the Korea Peninsula lay outside the all-important "defense perimeter" of the United States, a statement that some took to mean that the United States would not defend the ROK from communist attack. So why did the United States become involved in the Korean conflict? The decision to intervene in Korea grew out of the tense atmosphere that characterized Cold War politics. On the eve of the North Korean invasion, a number of events had made Truman anxious. The Soviet Union exploded an atomic bomb in 1949, ending the United States' monopoly on the weapon. In Europe, Soviet intervention in Greece and Turkey had given rise to the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan, which funneled aid to war-torn Europe in the hopes of warding off communist political victories. In early 1950, President Truman directed the National Security Council (NSC) to conduct an analysis of Soviet and American military capabilities. In its report, known as "NSC 68," the Council recommended heavy increases in military funding to help contain the Soviets. Events in Asia also contributed to an increased sense of insecurity.

In 1949 China underwent a revolution that brought Mao Zedong and his Communist party into power. The nationalists, led by Chiang Kai-Shek, had retreated to the island of Formosa (Taiwan) while they continued their war with mainland China. Mao quickly moved to ally himself with the Soviet Union, and signed a treaty with the Soviets in 1950. The Truman administration faced criticism from Republicans who claimed he had "lost" China. They criticized him for not providing enough aid to the Chinese nationalists. The suggestion by Secretary of State Dean Acheson that the administration recognize the communist government of China only gave them more ammunition for their attacks. The Truman administration also faced internal criticism regarding its commitment to anticommunism at home. Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin had recently begun his infamous hunt for communists within the U. S. Government. Although McCarthy was just warming up, the recent trials of Alger Hiss and others for espionage left the Truman administration apprehensive about its anticommunist credentials. Truman and his advisors found themselves under increased domestic pressure not to appear "soft" on communism abroad.

Thus, when North Korean troops invaded the South, the Truman administration seized upon the opportunity to defend a noncommunist government from invasion by communist troops. Determined not to "lose" another country to communism, and interested in shoring up its anticommunist credentials, the Truman administration found itself defending a nation a world away from U.S. soil. Yet Truman's response was not merely a response to internal pressure. The invasion of South Korea made Truman genuinely fearful that the Soviet Union and China intended to expand the sphere of communism throughout Asia. Truman's statement of June 27 illustrates his concern with communist aggression and expansion. In it, Truman argues that "communism has passed beyond the use of subversion to conquer independent nations and will now use armed invasion and war." Truman's statement suggests that he believed the attack by North Korea had been part of a larger plan by communist China and, by extension, the Soviet Union. The President believed that the Korean situation was similar to that of Greece in 1947. He informed his advisors that he believed the invasion was "very obviously inspired by the Soviet Union." This gave America a moral imperative to act.

"If we don't put up a fight now," Truman observed to his staff, there was "no telling what they'll do." His concern over the future of anticommunist governments in Asia showed in his public statement. Truman pledged to defend Formosa (Taiwan) from attack and to support French forces in Indochina, a conflict that would eventually escalate into the Vietnam War. Yet Truman had no wish to provoke a full-scale war with the Soviets. By blaming "communism" in the statement, as opposed to the Soviet Union, Dean Acheson later explained, the administration sought to give the Soviets a "graceful exit" and not provoke open confrontation with Russia. Truman's statement also reflected a new military order. Although the United States took the lead in the Korean action, it did so under the rubric of the United Nations. Truman made it clear that his actions fell within the measures recommended by the United Nations, and reminded "all members of the United Nations" to "consider carefully the consequences of this latest aggression in Korea" and that America "will continue to uphold the rule of law." This document is part of the George M. Elsey papers, located at the Harry S.

Truman Presidential Library in Independence, Missouri. Elsey, who had worked under President Franklin D. Roosevelt during World War II, was a top administrative assistant to the President. Truman met with Elsey and other advisors on the morning of the 27th to draft and revise the public statement--his second on the Korean conflict. At 11:30 a.m. the President met with members of the foreign affairs and foreign relations committees of Congress and, shortly after, the statement was released to newspaper reporters. That afternoon, Truman attended another meeting of the United Nations to propose a resolution urging all members of the United Nations to give assistance to South Korea. The meeting had been originally planned for the morning but was postponed to accommodate one of its members. Secretary of State Dean Acheson later reflected that the Soviets liked to point out that since the U.N. meeting occurred after the President's statement, Truman could not truthfully claim that his decision to commit forces was influenced by the wishes of the United Nations. When it did meet later that day, the United Nations passed his resolution, although a handful of dissenting countries abstained.

Question: Who was the president for all but the last 6 months of the Korean war?
Answer: Harry S Truman