Monday:
Korean War/Conflict:
- Korea was invaded and ruled by Japan from 1910 until 1945
- after WWII, Korea was split into two-north(USSR) and south(US) at the 38th parallel
- an election was going to be held eventually unify Korea
- the United Nations held en election in 1948
- the soviet union refused to allow participation in the election in their occupied zone
- instead, they handed over power to the North Korean Communist Party under Kim IL-Sung
- the South elected the nationalist exile Syngman Rhee
- US government stated in January, 1950 that Korea was outside o four defense perimeter
- this encourage president Syngman Rhee and North Korea leader Kim II-Sung both wanted to reunite Korea under their own systems
- Because of the US withdrawal, the North Koreans were the ones able to go the offensive
- the people's republic of china and the soviet union were wary of a war in Korea
- Mao and Stalin were concerned that it would encourage american intervention in Asia after just leaving
- Kim was able to manipulate both Mao and Staling into supporting their invasion of South Korea
The War Begins:
- on June 25, 1950, North Korean forces invaded the south
- using soviet equipment, their surprise
- within days south Korean forces
- Seoul was captured by the north Koreans in early July
- eventually the south Korean forces and the small number of americans in Korea, were driven into a small area in the south(Pusan Perimeter)
- with the help of US supplies and air support, the south Korean forces managed to stabilize this area
- although more UN support arrived it looked as though the north could gain control of the entire peninsula
- the invasion of south Korea came as a complete surprise to the US
- on hearing of the invasion, Truman agreed to use US airstrikes against the north Korean forces
- General Douglas MacArthur was put in charge of American forces in the Pacific
United Nations Police Action:
- United Nations Security Council voted to send troops to help South Korea
- US, Great Britain, France, China, and the Soviet Union were permanent members that could veto the police action
UN Forces vs Communist Forces:
- US, South Korea, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, France, Turkey, Thailand, Greece, the Netherlands, Ethiopia, Colombia, the Philippines, Belgium, and Luxembourg
- North Korea, Soviet Union , China
UN Attacks:
- in order to help troops in Pusan Perimeter, MacArthur ordered an amphibious landing for behind the north Korean troops further at Inchon
- United Nations troops landed at Inchon and faced mild resistance and quickly recaptured Seoul
- the North Koreans, finding their supply lines cut, began a rapid retreat north wards from the Pusan Perimeter
- UN and SK forces drive north ward from the Pusan Perimeter
- to unite with the Inchon troops
- the United Nation troops drove the Koreans back past the 38th parallel
- Due to the victory at Inchon, the goal of saving south Korea had been achieved
- the US/UN decided to continue into North Korea to try and unite the country
- this greatly concerned the Chinese, who worried that the UN forces might not stop with North Korea and might continue into China
- Many in the west thought that spreading the war to china was a good idea
- truman and the other leaders disagreed
- MacArthur was ordered to be very cautious when approaching the Chinese border
Tuesday:
work day
Wednesday:
started presenting on the 1950's
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