who won the korean war in 1953

Full Answer

Who really started the Korean War?

The Korean War (1950-1953) was the first military action of the Cold War. It was sparked by the June 25, 1950 invasion of South Korea by 75,000 members of the North Korean People’s Army.

What was the bloodiest battle in the Korean War?

The standard US media has the following rules on US’ war with other countries:

• The other country has to be somehow at fault.
• The other country must be a threat to good ol’ USA, but not so threatening that it can defeat USA.
• If US has to withdraw, it has to be due to “human cost being protected”.
• If US has to admit defeat, the opponent must have used underhanded tactics/sacrificed tons of lives/generally being evil.

More items...

Who won the Korean War really?

Who Won the Korean War? Neither side actually won the Korean War. In fact, the war goes on to this day, since the combatants never signed a peace treaty. South Korea did not even sign the Armistice agreement of July 27, 1953, and North Korea repudiated the armistice in 2013. Explanation: Answer from: mricee9718.

How many died in Korean War?

Korean War Casualties 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 the Vietnam War’s.) Almost 40,000 Americans died in action in Korea, and more than 100,000 were wounded.

Who Won Korean War end?

After three years of a bloody and frustrating war, the United States, the People's Republic of China, North Korea, and South Korea agree to an armistice, bringing the fighting of the Korean War to an end. The armistice ended America's first experiment with the Cold War concept of “limited war.”

Did the US win or lose the Korean War?

Although the war ended where it began, the United States and its allies did succeed in preventing communism from overtaking South Korea.

Why didn't us win the Korean War?

The US had just defeated 1 Axis power and contributed greatly to the defeat of another. Its soldiers saw wide ranging combat experience over the 3 years in conflict against veteran soldiers of Germany and Japan. Both Axis powers also have much higher technical expertise and industrial output than North Korea or China.

Did China win the Korean War?

Beijing claims the CPV won the war, but this is as phony as the claim that the Chinese troops were “volunteers” rather than regular units of the PLA. Mao and Kim did not fulfill their goal of conquering the peninsula, and barely kept Kim from paying the full price for starting the war by losing control of the north.

Did North or South Vietnam win?

Communist forces ended the war by seizing control of South Vietnam in 1975, and the country was unified as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam the following year.

What wars has America lost?

Wars The United States Didn't WinBay of Pigs Invasion.Korean War. ... Russian Civil War. ... Second Samoan War. ... Formosa Expedition (Paiwan War) ... Red Cloud's War. ... Powder River Indian War. ... War of 1812. The War of 1812 lasted for two years between 1812 and 1814. ... More items...•

Why did North and South Korea split?

Japan fought wars to conquer Korea, but after WWII, Japan lost all power over it, after which the US and the Soviets divided it along the 38th parallel. Korea was split into North and South Korea when Japan was forced to surrender all of their colonies to the Soviets and the United States after losing WWII.

Did the US lose the Vietnam War?

Those who argue that the United States won the war point to the fact that the U.S. defeated communist forces during most of Vietnam's major battles. They also assert that the U.S. overall suffered fewer casualties than its opponents. The U.S. military reported 58,220 American casualties.

Why is Korea called Korea?

The name “Korea,” used by English speakers today, appears to have derived during the time of the Silk Road when the dynasty in Korea called itself Goryeo. The word was transliterated as “Cauli” in Italian and used by Marco Polo. The English words “Corea” and then “Korea” came from this transliteration.

Did we win the Vietnam War?

Vietnam defeated the United States by nearly twenty years of war, with fancy guerrilla tactics, territorial advantages and a strong sense of victory. The Vietnam War is one of the biggest instances in US military history.

Why did US enter Korean War?

America wanted not just to contain communism - they also wanted to prevent the domino effect. Truman was worried that if Korea fell, the next country to fall would be Japan, which was very important for American trade. This was probably the most important reason for America's involvement in the war.

Who would win a war between North and South Korea?

With more than fifty times the economic strength, a vast technological advantage, and twice the population, South Korea could build a military of the size and capability necessary to deter and, if necessary, defeat another North Korean invasion.

Why did the Korean War start?

After defeating Japan in World War II, Soviet forces occupied the Korean Peninsula north of the 38th parallel and U.S. forces occupied the south. K...

How was the United States involved in the Korean War?

Prior to Kim Il-Sung’s Soviet-backed invasion in 1950, the United States military was involved in rebuilding Korea south of the 38th parallel and t...

How were China and the Soviet Union involved in the Korean War?

After the partition of the Korean Peninsula in 1945, the Soviet Union was instrumental in purging its zone of political dissidents and supporting t...

Was the Korean War technically a war?

The armed conflict in Korea, which began in 1950, lasted three years and claimed the lives of millions of Korean soldiers and civilians on both sid...

How did the Korean War end?

On July 27, 1953, the United Nations Command reached an armistice with China and North Korea. A demilitarized zone (DMZ) was established along the...

What is the Korean War?

Clockwise from top: A column of the U.S. 1st Marine Division 's infantry and armor moves through Chinese lines during their breakout from the Chosin Reservoir.

How many people died in the Korean War?

Approximately 3 million people died in the Korean War, the majority of whom were civilians, making it perhaps the deadliest conflict of the Cold War-era. Samuel S. Kim lists the Korean War as the deadliest conflict in East Asia—itself the region most affected by armed conflict related to the Cold War–from 1945 to 1994, with 3 million dead, more than the Vietnam War and Chinese Civil War during the same period. Although only rough estimates of civilian fatalities are available, scholars from Guenter Lewy to Bruce Cumings have noted that the percentage of civilian casualties in Korea was higher than in World War II or the Vietnam War, with Cumings putting civilian casualties at 2 million and Lewy estimating civilian deaths in the range of 2 million to 3 million. Cumings states that civilians represent "at least" half of the war's casualties, while Lewy suggests that the civilian portion of the death toll "may have gone as high as 70 percent", compared to Lewy's estimates of 42% in World War II and 30%–46% in the Vietnam War. Data compiled by the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) lists just under 1 million "battle deaths" over the course of the Korean War (with a range of 644,696 to 1.5 million) and a mid-value estimate of 3 million total deaths (with a range of 1.5 million to 4.5 million), attributing the difference to excess mortality among civilians from one-sided massacres, starvation, and disease. Compounding this devastation for Korean civilians, virtually all of the major cities on the entire Korean Peninsula were destroyed as a result of the war. In both per capita and absolute terms, North Korea was the country most devastated by the war, which resulted in the death of an estimated 12%–15% of the North Korean population ( c. 10 million), "a figure close to or surpassing the proportion of Soviet citizens killed in World War II ", according to Charles K. Armstrong. The May 1953 bombing of major North Korean dams threatened several million more North Koreans with starvation, although large-scale famine was averted with emergency aid provided by North Korea's allies.

What did Acheson say about the invasion of South Korea?

Truman and Acheson discussed a US invasion response and agreed that the US was obligated to act, paralleling the North Korean invasion with Adolf Hitler 's aggressions in the 1930s, with the conclusion being that the mistake of appeasement must not be repeated. Several US industries were mobilized to supply materials, labor, capital, production facilities, and other services necessary to support the military objectives of the Korean War. President Truman later explained that he believed fighting the invasion was essential to the US goal of the global containment of communism as outlined in the National Security Council Report 68 (NSC 68) (declassified in 1975):

How many American prisoners of war died in Korea?

Later, a US Congress war crimes investigation, the United States Senate Subcommittee on Korean War Atrocities of the Permanent Subcommittee of the Investigations of the Committee on Government Operations, reported that "two-thirds of all American prisoners of war in Korea died as a result of war crimes".

What did Kim Il Sung believe about the North Korean invasion?

However, Kim Il-sung believed that widespread uprisings had weakened the South Korean military and that a North Korean invasion would be welcomed by much of the South Korean population. Kim began seeking Stalin's support for an invasion in March 1949, traveling to Moscow to attempt to persuade him.

What was the Soviet Union's plan for the Pacific War?

At the Tehran Conference in November 1943 and the Yalta Conference in February 1945, the Soviet Union promised to join its allies in the Pacific War within three months of the victory in Europe. Germany officially surrendered on 8 May 1945, and the USSR declared war on Japan and invaded Manchuria on 8 August 1945, three months later. This was three days after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. By 10 August, the Red Army had begun to occupy the north of Korea.

Where did the US deploy tanks to Korea?

Tank battalions deployed to Korea directly from the US mainland from the port of San Francisco to the port of Pusan, the largest Korean port.

When did the Korean War start?

PHOTO GALLERIES. The Korean war began on June 25, 1950, when some 75,000 soldiers from the North Korean People’s Army poured across the 38th parallel, the boundary between the Soviet-backed Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to the north and the pro-Western Republic of Korea to the south. This invasion was the first military action ...

When did the Korean peninsula split?

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.

How many North Koreans died in the Korean War?

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.

What was the North Korean invasion?

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.”)

How wide is the demilitarized zone in South Korea?

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.

How many people died in 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 the Vietnam War’s .)

What is the most famous war in popular culture?

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.

What was the Korean War?

The Korean War had its immediate origins in the collapse of the Japanese empire at the end of World War II in September 1945. Unlike China, Manchuria, and the former Western colonies seized by Japan in 1941–42, Korea, annexed to Japan since 1910, did not have a native government or a colonial regime waiting to return after hostilities ceased. Most claimants to power were harried exiles in China, Manchuria, Japan, the U.S.S.R., and the United States. They fell into two broad categories. The first was made up of committed Marxist revolutionaries who had fought the Japanese as part of the Chinese-dominated guerrilla armies in Manchuria and China. One of these exiles was a minor but successful guerrilla leader named Kim Il-sung, who had received some training in Russia and had been made a major in the Soviet army. The other Korean nationalist movement, no less revolutionary, drew its inspiration from the best of science, education, and industrialism in Europe, Japan, and America. These “ultranationalists” were split into rival factions, one of which centred on Syngman Rhee, educated in the United States and at one time the president of a dissident Korean Provisional Government in exile.

Who was the president of Korea in 1947?

The two sides could not agree on a formula that would produce a unified Korea, and in 1947 U.S. President Harry S. Truman persuaded the United Nations (UN) to assume responsibility for the country, though the U.S. military remained nominally in control of the South until 1948.

How many people died in the Korean War?

Korean War, conflict between the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea ( North Korea) and the Republic of Korea ( South Korea) in which at least 2.5 million persons lost their lives. The war reached international proportions in June 1950 when North Korea, supplied and advised by the Soviet Union, invaded the South.

When was the Republic of Korea established?

Amid partisan warfare in the south, the Republic of Korea was established in 1948. By 1950 the violence had convinced North Korean leader Kim Il-Sung that a war under Soviet auspices was necessary for reunification.

Who backed the invasion of South Korea?

The U.S.S.R. backed communist leader Kim Il-Sung ’s 1950 invasion of South Korea. When the invasion was beaten back, China sent a formidable expeditionary force into Korea, first to drive the United Nations Command out of the north and then to unify the peninsula under communist control.

Who was the leader of the United Nations in South Korea?

When the United Nations Security Council called for member nations to defend South Korea, U.S. General Douglas MacArthur took charge of the United Nations Command. Thereafter, U.S. troops constituted the bulk of the UN’s expeditionary force in Korea.

When did South Korea become independent?

Military vehicles crossing the 38th parallel during the Korean War. NARA. The creation of an independent South Korea became UN policy in early 1948. Southern communists opposed this, and by autumn partisan warfare had engulfed parts of every Korean province below the 38th parallel.

Who won the presidency in the Korean War?

Dwight Eisenhower and the Republicans won the presidency, despite the war's initial popularity. Republicans also gained control of the House and Senate. The United States dropped more ordnance on North Korea in three years of fighting than it did on the entire Pacific Theater of World War II.

What was the Korean War?

The Korean War was the first time the United States military engaged in a shooting conflict after the end of World War II; it was also the first of many sparks that really turned the Cold War hot. From 1950 to 1953, the Korean War was at the forefront of American minds and politics. A public emerging from the World War II years and weary ...

How many Korean War veterans are still alive?

According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, there are 1.16 million Korean War veterans still living today. So if you see one, tell them everything you learned about their war. They will appreciate your taking the time to remember. -- Blake Stilwell can be reached at [email protected].

What was the resolution that North Korea was pushing South Korea back to the 38th parallel?

But time was not on the Communists' side. The United Nations passed U.N. Resolution 83 , which called for military aid to South Korea to push North Korea back to the 38th parallel.

Why did Eisenhower go to Korea?

Newly elected President Dwight D. Eisenhower (formerly general and supreme allied commander during WWII) went to Korea to find out for himself how to end it. Indian General K.S. Thimayya laid out a solution to the problem of prisoners of war, one both sides accepted.

How many troops did the Republic of Korea lose?

Republic of Korea (ROK) defenders had no tanks, artillery or heavy weapons to defend the position. Within five days, the South Koreans had lost 73,000 troops, and the capital of Seoul had fallen to the Communists.

What division did the Chinese attack?

They routed the 8th Cavalry Division and forced its retreat, before disappearing into the mountains. The attack was so fast and their disappearance so sudden that the U.N. command didn't even believe the Chinese intervention actually happened. Two weeks later, the war began in earnest.

Background

The first Sino-Japanese War resulted in the short-lived Korean Empire which lasted from 1897 until 1910. This independence simultaneously marked the end of China’s extensive influence over Korea.

Why did the Korean War start?

The conflict was instigated by the North Korean army’s crossing of the 38th Parallel and subsequent invasion of South Korea.

Who won the Korean War?

The UN forces, predominantly comprising US troops, succeeded in attaining their objective of repelling the North Korean invaders from South Korea.

The Division of Korea

After Japan officially surrendered, effectively ending WWII, the future of Korea fell into the hands of the Allied leaders. Prior to Japan’s capitulation, they had agreed to place Korea under an international trusteeship till the nation was deemed prepared for self-rule.

The Korean Election

The Korean election which took place in May 1948 marked a milestone in Korean history. For the first time, the Korean people experienced democracy. The voter turnout was 95.5%. However, democracy came only to the South.

The Chinese Civil War

The end of China’s war with Japan in 1945 marked the resumption of the Chinese civil war between the Nationalists and the Communists. As the Communists struggled for power, they were immensely aided by the North Koreans.

Insurrections in the South

Backed by North Korean agents, communist guerillas launched attacks in the spring of 1949. Armed and organized by the North Korean regime and buttressed by nearly 2,400 commandos of the Korean People’s Army (KPA), who had infiltrated the South, these guerillas launched a massive offensive in September.

Overview

Course of the war

Names

Background

Characteristics

Aftermath

See also

External links