Chinese Army And The North Korean Troops example essay topic

The Forgotten War Two Koreas and two completely different governments lead to one deadly war. The Korean War is sometimes referred as the "Forgotten War". Since the 1400's either Japan or China has conquered Korea. From 1910 to 1945, Korea was completely under Japanese control. Then, after World War II Korea was on its own.

The people had no government, no money, and no navy or army to protect their country. Due to the lack of organization that Korea had, it sparked attention from other powerful nations to conquer. On January 12, 1950, the U.S. Secretary of State, Dean Acheron, addressed the National Press Club in Washington D.C. He made the announcement that, in the line with the U.S. policy of containing communism in a certain geographical boundaries. The defense perimeter in the Pacific would run from Aleutians, off Alaska, down Japan, the Ryukyu's Islands and the Philippines. The countries lying beyond the perimeter would have to rely upon their own resources to prevent any communist advances. To the Korean people this meant that the fate of their country was to be left to them.

The speech was greeted with horror by the government of South Korea. The government feared that the military power of the communist government would take over the Democratic republic of North Korea. The North Korean government believed that the refusing of the country under communist control could be achieved without interference of the United States. On June 25, the United States was caught unprepared. As the North Korean troops advanced into the South to meet with the anti-government forces within the country.

The United States President Harry S. Truman met up with his advisors to decide what to do. The policy formed a few months earlier was reversed and the United States pledged to provide military support to the government in the South. The Korean City of Pusan was very important during the Korean War. It was a perfect place for the United States military force to land troops and supplies and to use as a base for carrying on a war in Korea. On July 5, when the North Korean force that had been sent to capture Pusan reached the place where Smith's troops were waiting, the North Koreans did not hesitate to fight. Within a few hours, Smith and his men were in full retreat; they lost more than one-third of their men.

The United States had been beaten in its first encounter with North Korean troops. Then the Twenty-fourth division arrived in Korea. It was under the command of Major General William Dean. He quickly went into action and placed his soldiers in positions to ward off oncoming North Korean troops.

The Twenty-fourth division was soon to find themselves outnumbered and with few or no weapons to fight off enemy tanks. They were unable to stand against the North Koreans, so they were pushed back in retreat. General Dean was cut off from escape and was captured. Without the command of General Dean, the soldiers of the Twenty-fourth Division managed to hold off the North Korean advances for several days. More and more U.S. troops landed in Pusan. These troops were under the command of Lieutenant General Walton Walker and were called the "Eighth Army".

They formed a ring around Pusan. The North Korean soldiers were almost successful in pushing trough the lines, but the American soldiers managed to fight off the North Koreans. Then, General MacArthur, who on July 7th had been appointed Supreme Commander of United Nations forces, made a move that suddenly changed the course of the war. General MacArthur had worked out a plan for the United Nations forces to move into South Korea behind the North Korean army that was advancing in to Pusan. This would cut off the North Korean army from its source of supplies. MacArthur planned to land troops at the port city of Inchon on Korea's west coast, but there were many risks to his plan.

North Korea had captured Inchon, and North Korean troops were stationed there. This meant the United Nations landing force would have to fight its way to shore. The channel was narrow and twisted. If the North Koreans had mined the channel with floating explosives, ships carrying United Nations troops would be damaged or sunk. Because of these problems, the generals and admirals in charge of the U.S. Army, Navy, and Marine Corps were apposed to MacArthur's plan.

For six weeks they and MacArthur argued over it. During that time, the United Nations forces around Pusan were fighting to hold off the North Koreans. Finally, MacArthur got his way. Troops and ships were assembled and the landing force sailed to its target.

On September 10, 1950, the assault began. Marine and navy planes flew over a tiny island called Wol mi-do Island, dropping down bombs. They destroyed many buildings, trees, and killed most of the North Korean troops. On September 15, a battalion of the Fifth Marine Regiment stormed onto the island and moved forward, wiping out all position. Within an hour the island was captured, and the way to Inchon was clear. That afternoon, the attack on Inchon began.

Men of the First and Fifth Marine Regiments jumped out of their boats and marched toward the 15-foot wall that blocked their path to the city. Once they passed the wall they found North Korean soldiers hiding behind barricades. The marines charged, and the North Korean soldiers surrendered. MacArthur's plan was a success. Once Inchon was under control, the American forces moved against Seoul from two directions, fighting nonstop battles against north Korean troops all the way, hill after hill, mile after mile. Marines moving up from behind passed the dead bodies of marines who had fought ahead of them.

Most of these young soldiers were poorly trained and inexperienced. The units of North Korean troops being thrown against them could slow the down, but not to stop them. The Americans were finding out, as a young soldier said, "There is no glory in war. It's cruel, miserable, dirty, and nothing worth bragging about (Bevin 26)". In Seoul, North Koran soldiers barricaded the streets and hid inside buildings, firing down from windows. "American soldiers had to fight there way from street to street, throwing hand grenades in to buildings and moving behind tanks that smashed threw the barricades (Denison)".

Because of this kind fighting, much of the city was destroyed. By September 28, Seoul was under UN control; the defeated North Koreans had pulled out of Soul and were fleeing northward. In the South, the UN army in a ring around Pusan had begun a strong push against the North Korean force facing it. This pushed was time to coincide with landing at Inchon; the UN leadership believed the North Korean troops in the south would be clear for the Eighth army to move out after them. The Korean army had not yet been notified of the landing, and had stayed right where it was, so the UN soldiers found themselves engaged in cruel fighting, able to move forward only very little or none at all. Within a few days the North Koreans learned that Inchon and Seoul had fallen and their army was cut off.

Some North Koreans surrendered, and some were pursued by the United States, British, and the Eighth Army and were under constant attack from U.S. aircrafts. Soon, the North Korean army began to break apart, turning into thousand of little groups of desperate men with no goal but some how to get back across the 38th parallel to the safety of North Korea. Many of these men were killed or captured. By September 29, the only North Korean soldiers left in the south were the prisoners. The Korean War was still far from over.

North Korea had not surrendered. The North Korean army had been badly damaged but not yet destroyed. President Truman decided to permit General MacArthur to send UN army across the 38th parallel into North Korea to destroy the North Korean army. MacArthur was directed to allow ROK troops, and no Americans, to go into the northernmost part of North Korea, along the Chinese border. This was intended to show the Chinese that the United States was not trying to threaten them.

The Chinese felt threaten. The Chinese Communist government feared that if North Korea were conquered, the United States might use it as a base to wage war against China to put the old government back in power. One of the Chinese leaders said, "If American troops crossed the 38th parallel, China would enter the Korean War (McGowen 7)". American officials ignored this warning. The North Korean army collapsed in the invasion. Thousand of soldiers surrendered, but most escaped to the north.

On October 19, the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, had been captured by UN troops and the North Korean government had fled. ROK units moving near the Yalu River, found themselves in combat with Chinese soldiers. The Chinese would move at night so they would not be seen by United States airplanes, four Chinese armies had crossed bridges over the Yalu River and now occupied the Mountainous regions of North Korea. General Peng Dehai, one of China's most capable leaders of the civil war, commanded them; they called themselves "The Chinese People's Volunteers (McGowen 29)". The troops of American division pursuing the Chinese soon found themselves in combat. The Chinese launched heavy attacks, usually at night.

American soldiers were suddenly jolted out of sleep by sounds of whistles, drums, and shouting voices. Half asleep, the American troops struggled to their feet, suddenly becoming aware of Chinese soldiers surrounding them. The Chinese were moving right through the American Division. The American Division was hoping to find a place were they could turn around and fight back, but the Chinese had managed to split them into small groups. Many American were killed or captured. More UN troops were sent forward, they soon ran into brutal attacks and had to pull back.

By November 16, it was clear the UN army was in trouble, the army's forward movement had been stopped, and it was being pushed back. Suddenly the Chinese pulled back into the mountains of North Korea and seemed to vanish. On November 24, 1950, MacArthur ordered the Eighth Army to move up along the east coast of North Korea. Then without warning the Chinese struck; they had received reinforcements. The Eighth Army was hit on its right flank by an attack of about 180,000 Chinese troops.

The Eighth Army had retreated all the way back below the 38th parallel, out of North Korea. The UN forces had suffered "disastrous" defeat and were now facing the "onslaught" of both the Chinese army and the North Korean troops, which were advancing toward the South Korean border. On December 23, General Walker's jeep, racing along the icy road, collided with an ROK army weapons carrier, and he was killed. Four days later, Lieutenant General Mathew Ridgeway was appointed to command the UN ground force in Korea. General Ridgeway visited individual units and gave them pep talks, replacing useless officers, recognizing and rebuilding discipline. The troops began to respond.

January 4, 1951, UN forces had to pull out of Seoul as the Chinese army approached. The South Korean capital was in enemy hands again. In a long battle that lasted from January 8th to the 15th. The American troops stopped the Chinese from advancing. On March 13th the Chinese began to pull back. On March 15th American troops and their UN allies recaptured Seoul.

By April 3, the UN army had crossed the 38th parallel and moved back in North Korea. The UN leaders insisted that warfare had to be limited only to Korea, MacArthur disagreed, and when he publicly criticized President Truman for going along with this "limited war" idea, he was then removed from command. President Truman then appointed General Ridgeway to supreme commander. United States General James Van Fleet became commander of the ground force in Korea.

On April 22, the Chinese launched an attack that stopped the UN advances and pushed the North Koreans back. On May 22, General Van Fleet ignited a counter attack supported by amount of artillery fire directed at Chinese positions. The Chinese army was now in extremely bad condition, and began to pull back. Fearing that the Chinese and North Korean forces might collapse, leaving all of Korea in non-communist hands, the Soviet government ordered its ambassadors to the UN to call for a cease-fire. The Chinese government also desired to call for a cease-fire. On June 29, General Ridgeway offered to meet the Chinese and North Korean commanders to discuss a cease-fire and an armistice.

Peace talks began on July 10th at a city called Kae song, in South Korea. On July 27, 1953, due to the talks and spurts of fighting an armistice was finally signed. There is still tension between North and South Korea. As of 1991, there were still thousands of U.S. soldiers stationed in South Korea to prevent another invasion from either direction.

The South Korean army suffered 58,127 deaths during the war; the United States lost about 54,256 men in the war. There was also 300,000 men wounded, of which 175,743 were South Korean and 103,284 were American. It is estimated the North Korean and Chinese forces suffered nearly 1.5 million dead and wounded soldiers. The Korean War was the first time in history in which a number of countries joined together to prevent one country from taking over another and changing its way of life. The Republic of Korea has never quite been a democracy; today it is a wealthy nation with a healthy standard of living for most of its people. Had the United States and its UN allies not moved at once to stop North Korea's violence, the situation might now be far different.