Korean War Paper
...m, Buddhism, Taoism, and, more recently, Christianity. The Korean community possesses many factors which fuse its people together, such as their common ancestry, language, geographical area, and common historical experiences. Because of this fusing, the Korean population has had no reason to split themselves because of a minor difference such as religion. The war as an instrument of policy In the beginning of the war, President Harry Truman’s goal was to reunite North and South Korea into a single country. As the Chinese and North Korean troops began overtaking formerly South Korean territory, Truman changed his policy from reuniting the countries to stopping the spread of Communism. This was to prevent the onset of yet another world war. Had Truman engaged in war with the Chinese, it would have also led to war with the Soviet Union and probably caused the European allies of the US to withdraw their support. The UN forces were supposedly the first international peace-keeping forces, but in reality it was the American forces which did this. Only 16 other countries sent troops in to fight and these nations were decidedly anti-Communist. The UN forces were definitely mostly American. Of the millions of men who served, 5.7 were American. Only approximately 40,000 were from other UN peacekeeping countries, and of these about 20,000 were British. In fact, the non-American forces tended to hinder UN force progress because they did more to confuse planning than to help it. The UN forces were obviously an instrument of US policy that simply implied international agreement rather than an actual international peacekeeping organization. Strategy The Communist strategy was designed to void UN's advantage of air power and artillery. They used night fighting tactics. It would start an attack when night fell, withdrew and went to cover at dawn, so US airplanes could not harass them. It also used close combat, threw its units into enemy line, so the enemy artillery could not operate. Another PVA tactics was to infiltrate deep into enemy positions, attack their command posts and artillery positions directly from inside. During the truce talks, PVA invented the bunker war, they would dug very long and deep bunkers in the hills and stock supplies there, when enemy shell the hills, they would withdraw into the bunkers, when the shelling stopped, they came out to fire on the attackers, after the surface positions taken by enemy, they would withdraw back into the bunkers, then North Korean artillery would shell the enemy on the surface and they came out the bunkers again to assist the retaking of the hill. North Korea’s main strategy at the beginning was the so-called "movement war", the main objective was to divide the enemy into isolated pieces and then use superior strength of force to annihilate the encircled enemy piecemeal before enemy reinforcement could be brought in, to do this, North Korea used frontal attacks and simultaneous penetrations to cut directly into enemy rear, cut off main supply routes, and withdraw routes, trap enemy units when they tried to redeploy. Tactics All US marines were trained to fight as infantrymen. They observed that the Chinese were much more determined in their fighting. They would stand and fight, but made many big tactical errors. Besides frontally attacking the same strong positions repeatedly, they did not know how to exploit a breakthrough. They would wander around on captured hills, making easy targets. Besides being outumbered, the Marines inflicted hideous casualited on the Chinese frontal assaults. Every time the Chinese captured a ridge, the Marines counterattacked and drove them back off of it. Human wave attacks were abandoned. Instead, Peng endorsed “small-scale annihilation”- methodically destroying enemy battalions. He particularly sought to engage in “see-saw battles.” In a see-saw battle, the Communists would attack a certain UNC position repeatedly until they held it, regardless of how many times UNC forces counterattacked and recaptured the position. Even if they suffered heavier losses than the UNC in the ebb and flow of a see-saw battle, the Communist commanders believed that their superior manpower would make the UNC relatively worse off. The Communists also fortified their front line and increased their strength in artillery. Mao was still resolved to fight a protracted war, believing that the USA would cave in under prolonged attrition. But to do so, a method of fighting needed to be developed that would reduce Chinese casualties. In April 1952, Peng returned to Beijing to oversee the Central Military Commission (the PLA high command). Although Peng was still officially commander and Yang Dezhi, commander of the Nineteenth CPV Army Corps, was given charge of all combat operations. “Active positional defense” became the new doctrine of the CPV. Any UNC advance would be immediately counterattacked with CPV reserves. Small attacks on enemy outposts would seize the initiative and destroy UNC units piecemeal in see-saw battles. In the course of the continuing battles, the tactics of see-saw battles were modified in order to reduce casualties. Chinese infantry rerly made the kind of unsupported mass frontal assualts that had marked their earlier tactics. Rather, careful reconaissance, combined-arms tactics, artillery preparation, and concentration of forces were emphasized. Army commanders were certain of success before launching an attack. The Communists built extensive underground fortifications along their MLR and back to the waist of Korea from the summer of 1951 until the end of the war. Large tunnels cut through their defensive position. Military campaigns Because of the abruptness of the attack, the US did not have enough time to properly send troops into Korea, so instead they were deployed immediately. Because of this inadequate deployment, the US troops failed to be very effective and lost ground quickly. The Americans would wait for the North Korean forces to approach and then start to fire on them, but when they did, the North Koreans would stop to send in their infantry which flanked the American troops. The Americans would then be forced to withdraw. Many hoped that the Communist forces would be stopped at the Kum River, but they got around the defenses and the Americans were forced to withdraw. The most dangerous and bold of the American attacks was General MacArthur’s invasion of Inchon. This invasion was particularly risky because of the unbridled fluctuation of the tides of the river. If not timed perfectly, the portion of the river on which MacArthur planned to use boats would end up being nothing but a huge expanse of mud. The invasion was also potentially difficult because the invasion was planned for the middle of typhoon season. Fortunately for MacArthur, his plan went well and the potential dangers of the river did not interfere. After his great success at Inchon, the American people admired him even more than before and raised him up as a hero. This soon contributed to his egotism and he was later fired from his position. Civil Warfare Because it was a war between the divided sides of North and South Korea, the Korean War was technically a civil war. On Sunday June 25, 1950, North Korean troops invaded South Korea without any previous warning. South Korea was completely unprepared for this attack were therefore poorly armed. North Korean troops, on the other hand, were heavily armed and had strong Russian tanks. The South Koreans had had no idea what was about to happen and were therefore practically defenseless. South Korea then asked the UN for assistance. The UN ordered all Communists to retreat to the 38th Parallel and invited all of its member countries to give military support to South Korea. US troops soon moved into the country, followed by Australia, Belgium, Britain, Canada, Columbia, Ethiopia, France, Greece, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, and Turkey. The US Navy brought most of the American troops and Marines to Pusan. While the UN “peacekeeping force” occupied the perimeter, Douglas MacArthur started his Inchon attack on September 15. During this attack, he had men go in boats onto the river and then go up to the land and cut off Communist supply lines. Resistance movements Truman was eager to end the Korean War by early 1952. The American people were growing impatient with the war and so was he. Unfortunately for Truman, General Douglas MacArthur had started to become an egomaniac by then and was making his own decisions. One of these decisions was to threaten the People’s Republic of China. This made Truman mad because the threat only made the Chinese more determined to keep fighting in the war. Many US citizens were very unhappy to hear that their favorite hero had been dismissed. When he arrived back home, he had many enthusiastic fans to greet him. Guerilla warfare Guerilla warfare played a very important role during the Korean war. Guerilla forces extended all the way down to the tip of the southern peninsula. Guerillas took over towns and villages, and destroyed and sabotaged railroad systems and communication lines. From June 25, 1950 to August 31, 1950 alone, 67,250 guerillas were killed, 23,840 were captured , and 44,150 surrendered. In September of 1950, 30,000 to 35,000 guerillas were estimated to be active throughout South Korea. Men were not alone in engaging in guerilla activites. Guerilla forces also included women and sometimes children. During the battle for Taejon, men, women, and children, appearing to be refugees, came to the U.S. battle line. As soon as they approached the battle line, at a given signal, they grabbed rifles, grenades, and guns from the Southern units and attacked them. Thereafter, refugees were often looked upon suspiciously. Guerilla forces, accordingly, aided North Korean forces. U.N forces often had to fight the guerilla forces in the south and the Northern unit's attacks from the north. While retreating south in December, U.N. forces were trapped in the east coast near Lake Changjin and battered by guerilla forces The U.S. forces began burning and destroying villages and towns suspected of harboring guerillas. Twenty civilians were killed in Kongju by U.S. forces because they were suspected of being guerillas. Furthermore, villages were destroyed just to prevent guerilla infiltration. By the end of 1951, "Operation Ratkiller" was devised to systematically combat guerilla warfare. According to U.S. sources, by the end of Janurary 1952, nearly 20,000 guerilla units were killed or captured because of "Operation Ratkiller". But the effectiveness of "Operation Ratkiller" is debatable and unknown. War economy On July 7, the UN asked the US to name a commander for the UN peacekeeping force. Truman speedily designated General MacArthur as Commander in Chief of the UN forces. MacArthur quickly took charge and demanded more troops. Truman's Korean War budget soon neared the tripling of military expenses recommended by the National Security Council. America boosted Japan's economy toward becoming a technological and economic superpower by its tremendous spending during the war. Defense spending rose from the anticipated $14 billion in 1951 to $54 billion in 1953. The economic acquirement of the war came mostly from the United States and the UN for the South Koreans and from Russia and China for the North Koreans. The war economy did not come necessarily in the form of money, but in guns, rations, troops, medical supplies, and the well known tanks for the North Koreans. MacArthur attempted several times to obtain additional funds for the war, but the United States was not sure how much money should be invested into this war since it had erupted so quickly. Badly prepared men and ill-planned battles are to blame for many of the lives lost in the war. The UN allied forces which provided troops were: France, UK, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, United States, Canada, South Africa, Turkey, New Zealand, Philippines, Colombia, Ethiopia, Greece, Australia, Thailand, and the following countries provided few troops but were mostly there for medical support: Sweden, India, Denmark, Norway, and Italy. These countries all wanted to fight communism. The home front Life in the US was close to normal during the Korean war. Although everyone had knowledge of the war, there were no outstanding effects in the US. The nation was confident about itself, having just won the Second World War. The people were happy and self-assured. McCarthyism had started spreading through the US and the citizens were ready to fight communism. Of course, military families felt the war much more than the non-military ones. They were busy missing their loved ones while they were gone, hoping that they would see them again. If a military man was not already overseas, his family worried and hoped that he would not be sent there, but would be a lucky one who got to stay home Women and war When the Korean War erupted in June 1950, women in the armed services numbered 22,000. Roughly 7,000 of these women were healthcare professionals, the rest served in line assignments in the Women's Army Corps (WAC); Women in the Air Force (WAF); Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service, or Navy Women's Reserve (WAVES); and Women Marines. Although Congress had passed the Women's Armed Forces Integration Action in 1948 giving women increased prospects for military careers, the Department of Defense's efforts to recruit more women during the Korean War met with limited success and were discontinued in 1952. Individually, the WAC, WAVES, WAF and Women Marines each increased their strength during the war. However, the overall number of enlisted women in the services during the Korean War declined as a net percentage of Armed Forces personnel. With the onset of the Korean War, the need for more personnel from the Women's Army Corps increased quickly because Army leaders viewed these women as a means of releasing male soldiers for combat duty. To augment WAC numbers, the Army initiated voluntary and involuntary recalls for WAC reservists, began an ambitious recruiting campaign, and suspended the separation-on-marriage rule. The rule was reinstated for enlisted women and officers in July 1951 and October 1952, respectively. Nearly 1,600 members of the WAC, Army Nurse Corps and Women's Medical Specialist Corps, who were members of the Organized Reserve Corps (changed to U.S. Army Reserve in 1952), volunteered for active duty in the Army between July 1950 and June 1951. Fewer than 200 WACs were involuntarily recalled to active duty in 1951; this was the first time women were summoned to active duty without their consent. Commanders in the Far East Command (FEC) and other overseas installations requested Women's Army Corps officers and enlisted women. These WACs worked in FEC Headquarters, other Tokyo and regional Japanese commands and station hospitals. In 1950, there were only 629 WACs in the FEC; one year later, that number increased to 2,600. WAC units in Japan, primarily hospital units, increased from two in 1950 to nine by 1953. A WAC unit in Okinawa, staffed by both medical and administrative personnel, was opened in 1951. Seven WACs served in Korea during 1952 and 1953; two were stenographers, four were interpreters and one was an aide-de-camp. The arts The Navy had a Combat Art Program, which was established in World War II as a way of documenting history as it happened. The images more that paid for themselves with the massive public interest they created. Artistic images have more impact than ordinary photography. By manipulating the image, an artist can give his work an emotional message that is often clouded by unnecessary detail in photographs. In the Korean War, the Nave was fortunate to have two artists in uniform. These were Herbert C. Hahn and Hugh Cabot. At the start of the war, the Navy called many reservists into action, among them Herbert C. Hahn. Assigned to USS Boxer as a photographer, he began making drawings of ship personnel and activities during his spare time. Some of his work was sent up the chain of command until it reached the desk of the Secretary of the Navy, Francis P. Matthews. At his request, Hahn was reassigned to the Public Information Office, Tokyo, as a combat artist. Hugh Cabot volunteered to join the Navy soon after the start of the war, and due to his civilian background as an artist, he was assigned to the Office of Naval Personnel as a Journalist-Seaman. He went to Korea as a combat artist and spent the duration of the war observing action with various ships and units. Media Media inaccuracy and bias in the US is being realized more and more in the US. But due to those very same omissions, distortion, inaccuracy and the bias in the US mainstream media, it is difficult for the average American citizen to obtain an open, objective view of many of the issues that involve the United States. Since the United States is the largest economic and military power in the world, it is naturally involved in many issues. The military often manipulates the mainstream media. They restrict what information is presented and hence what the public are told. This has happened throughout the 20th century (and all that have come before). Over time then, the way that the media covers conflicts is becoming more vague with the nee...