How Did Macarthur Enter The Korean War?

The Korean War was an influential event that started in 1950 and caused a lot of controversy among Americans and Koreans. The war was caused by the US trying to preserve the Democratic side of Korea, the south side. The Koreans were not happy, however, and the Viet Kong and North Korean soldiers fought tooth and nail to get the Americans out of the country. There was eventually an end to the war of course but not without lots of casualties on both sides and a hostile environment around the border of the two countries.

"To what extent can the Korean War be regarded as a Cold War proxy war?"

President Truman’s actions during the war were most reasonable because he had been “duped” by MacArthur and his belief that China would not enter the war when their troops reached Yalu River. Truman’s response to this was firing MacArthur; the action he took was justified as MacArthur needed punishment for his blunder in the war. While MacArthur did deserve to be relieved of his position, maybe it was not the right time to do so. He was an exceptional general with experience, and surely he would not have made a mistake of the same magnitude again.

The Korean War was a defining part of the United States foreign policy in the Cold War Era and was a response to threats from the Soviet Union. The Korean War was a culmination of tensions between North and South Korea that had resulted from the influences the United States and the Soviet Union inculcated into the countries during their occupation. When the Korean War was initiated, by the invasion of South Korea by North Korea, the United States and their allies in the United Nations perceived the invasion as a bold communistic expansion effort that occurred without provocation. (Document A). Further validating this idea was the fact that the attack was endorsed by the USSR, and partially lead by Red China, both of which were communist countries

A Japanese invasion that same year caused his forces to leave that country. a year after that he made many successful offensive operations against the Japanese military in that region.in 1945 president Harry S. Truman appointed MacArthur supreme allied commander. For the next six years he stayed in japan to command the occupation forces. When North Korean army invaded South Korea in 1950, he started to command the newly united nation’s forces. On April 11, 1951, Truman removed MacArthur from his command for insubordination. This made people in America very mad, but Truman stayed focused on keeping the conflict with North Korea a limited war. Americans started to understand that MacArthur’s recommendations might have led to a massively expanded war in

In June 1950, 90,000 soldiers from the communist Korean People’s Army crossed the 38th Parallel into South Korea. The most important reason for a military response from the US was the document NSC 68, which stated that they must meet communism wherever it arises. Due to this document, it was the US assumption that the invasion on South Korea was not a Civil War due to the events in Korea, and the permanent divide in 1948. However, there was also US domestic policies, and Truman’s fear of being accused of being ‘soft on communism,’ as well as the US based organisation, the UN, which was a new institution, which Truman had to support. Furthermore, containment in Europe and Asia and the

While World War II ended all worries and hardships Americans faced, events gradually initiated signs of the Cold War which created an increased state of tension that swept all of America and Korea. During the 1940s, the potential Communist invasion of nations worldwide began to create a frightening reality to the people of the United States. The Soviet Union’s exportation of Communism greatly worried America as they wanted to contain Communism from all nations, especially nations in Asia. The Korean peninsula divided into two territories: a north, Soviet supported government, and a south, American supported government, a separation as a result of World War II. The Soviet Union invaded Korea, which had been under Japanese control since 1900; fearing the Soviet’s intention to seize the entire peninsula, the United States responded by quickly sending in their troops to South Korea. Truman’s decision to become involved in conflicts in Korea grew out of the Soviet Union’s radical actions, events in Asia, and internal criticism in the Truman Administration in America, providing him with an opportunity to defend a nation from a communist invasion.

| In 1950, Truman sent U.S. troops to aid South Korea from being invaded by North Korean communist armies. The UN had successfully cleared the North Korean invaders from South Korea; however, Truman with the support of General MacArthur decided cross the 38th parallel to fight communism in North Korea which ended up backfiring. Truman discharged General MacArthur because he went against his orders and made public statements about expanding the war into China.

On the outbreak of the Korean War (Jul 1950), he became commander of United Nations forces in Korea, in which capacity he directed the Inchon offensive that forced the invading North Koreans to surrender most of their gains. When Chinese forces began fighting alongside the North Koreans in November 1950, he forcefully advocated an extension of the war into China. This led to conflict with President Truman, who relieved MacArthur from command (11 Apr 1951). This caused great controversy; MacArthur returned home to the hero's welcome he had not yet enjoyed; and concluded his address to Congress with his citation of an old military song, ‘Old soldiers never die, they just fade away’. Talk of his running for president came to nothing, and after

Efforts to unify Korea resulted in more than 100,000 deaths due to guerilla warfare. In April 1950, North Korean leader Kim II Sung persuaded Joseph Stalin to back an invasion of South Korea, convincing Stalin that the United States would not intervene. Stalin agreed to provide arms, equipment, and advisors to the North Koreans (“Korean War”). Kim II Sung did not stop there as he also persuaded the newly communist Chinese to aid the North Koreans. The Korean War, (June 25,1950 – July 27, 1953), occurred when over 75,000 North Korean Army invaded the land across of the 38th parallel. American president Harry Truman was feeling heat after “letting China fall”, so Truman ordered American troops into action on South July, the United Sates entered the conflict on South Korea’s behalf. The next three years would be the darkest and most horrific in Korean history. As seen in American reporter Bill Shinn’s account, “the North Koreans were gruesome…during the occupation of South Korea, they killed over 165,000 civilians. Also, I witnessed a South Korean mass execution of civilians suspected of having helped the communists. Korea was a mess” (“The Forgotten War Remembered: Korea, 1950-1953). This shows the depths of the horror that was perpetrated in Korea for three years.

He unsuccessfully failed to prevent the incoming attacks by Chinese forces and was soon forced to fall back. After his defeat, MacArthur still believed that the war should be expanded to include China. President Truman gave MacArthur many warnings of keeping his opinions to himself. MacArthur refused to do so, so President Truman relieved him of his command in April 1951. According to History, “In an address to Americans that day, the president stated, ‘I believe that we must try to limit the war to Korea for these vital reasons: To make sure that the precious lives of our fighting men are not wasted; to see that the security of our country and the free world is not needlessly jeopardized; and to prevent a third world war.’” After being relieved from command, MacArthur would try to continue to tell his opinion on how to end the Korean War to Dwight Eisenhower, who had been elected president. MacArthur’s strategy on how to end the Korean War resulted in the use of atomic weapons, which was rejected. MacArthur died later on, on April 5 ,1964 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington,

The United States and China were eagerly ready to be drawn into the Korean War. Why wouldn’t they be? After WWII, Japan was forced to relinquish Korea, among other territories that it claimed , and Korea was left to fend for herself. Korea was managing but the country could not come to an agreement on a major topic: The type of government the country should fall under as a unified nation. The northern half, lead by Kim II Sung, wanted to operate under the communist rule; but the southern half, lead by Syngman Rhee, wanted to operate under a democracy (non-communist and independent ruling). This was like a set of twin siblings arguing and fighting over which of the two of them should carry the basketball as they walk down the street to the basketball court. They are that they both want to play basketball together but they can’t agree on who should be in charge and carry the ball. Well, the older and more experienced neighbors, The United States and China, wanted to play too but since it was Korea’s court, they decided to just sit back and await a decision but could only bear to watch the argument and fight for so long. They too had an opinion about who should carry the ball or should I say which governmental theory to abide; therefore, they wanted to intervene.

War broke out in the Communist state of Korea, splitting the country into North Korea and South Korea. Near the end of the war, General Douglas MacArthur, head of U.S. and U.N. forces, disputed President Truman and other leaders of America and their plan of “containment”, resulting in General MacArthur’s being relieved of his position and replaced with General Matthew B. Ridgeway. Consequently, the results of “containment” being fulfilled were the many casualties, $67 billion output during the war, and the numerous soldiers made prisoner of the enemy or abandoned in Communist incarceration camps. All of these insurrections were the result of the weakness of America in fighting

The United States geared up for a war against communism. Not more than a day after Seoul fell, the US had officially entered the war and had ground troops committed, an action backed by the U.N. At the beginning of the war the U.S. soldiers had little combat experience and they were in a foreign land. This was the reason for the mass casualties sustained by the U.S. “US Army casualties from June 25 through July 31, 1950 totaled 6,003: 1,884 Killed In Action, 2,695 Wounded In Action, 523 Missing In Action and 901 reported captured. Of these more than half were from the 24th Infantry Division- 3,610.”( Evanhoe, Ed. "The Korean War." The Korean War. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2012. <http://www.korean-war.com>.)

America's Involvement in the Korean War The USA emerged from WWII as the dominant Western, democratic superpower. She quickly established for herself a role as world policeman, and defender of the "free world". When, on June 25th 1950, Communist North Korean forces invaded the South of the country, the USAwas quick to step in, and with UN support and approval, sent in military forces to restore the balance. However, it is questionable whether moral principles were the only reason for America's involvement in the Korean War, or whether perhaps the Truman administration had other validation for such a huge scale military campaign.