How far was the Korean War a military and political success for the USA?
Arguably, the numerous political and militant events mean that it is possible to state that the Korean War was infact a success for the USA, with events such as the Inchon Landings, and the pushing back of the opposing forces to the 38th Parallel. However, it can be equally argued that it was a Military failure, with the most obvious example being the retreat following the Dragon Attacks. Similarly, the complex political nature of this war also means that success is debatable, for example, the anti – communist paranoia and the decision to introduce General McArthur.
The Inchon Landings serve as on of the most famed military successes achieved by the US army to
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In terms of a military success, they had ridded themselves of a leader within Vietnam who was outwardly defying them, and as Truman had expected, the outrage began to die down. More rational politicians began to hear him out, as well as better informed press outlets publishing articles that supported and rationalized his decisions. Furthermore, overall the US government underestimated the war entirely, and this can be seen as a miserable failure on the part of officials. It resulted in a bloody war of attrition, with the outcome not particularly showing differentiation from how Korea looked in 1950, when the war had begun. Although South Korea hadn’t fallen to Communism, North Korea was not a democratic nation either – so there was no sign of roll back, just weak containment. Therefore, the Korean War can be seen as almost unnecessary.
Therefore, overall, in terms of Political success, although at first many events can be seen as working in favour of the Government, underlying facts - and the influence of individuals such as McArthur - prove that the Korean War was evidently a miserable failure in political terms. In Militant terms, although I acknowledge there was some success stories – e.g. the Inchon landings, the humiliating 30 mile retreat means that I believe overall this was also a Military failure, with large casualties also standing against success. Thus, the weight of the evidence
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.
Maj. Gen. Smith understood GEN MacArthur’s intent in pushing forward to the North Korea border but was reluctant to push as fast as possible understanding that the information provided by Japan was defective and was not providing accurate enemy disposition. Maj. Gen. Smith, a cautious man, had never shared MacAuthur’s expectation of a quick victory in North Korea-privately; he scoffed at the “home by Christmas baloney” (Drury, pg 16).
The Battle of the Chosin Reservoir was a pivotal battle in the Korean War. The battle was a brutal 17 day fight in bitterly cold weather fought from 27 November to 13 December 1950. [1] During the battle the United States X Corps was attacked by the Chinese 9th Army in the vicinity of the Chosin reservoir. The Chinese forces quickly surrounded the US troops and forced them to fight a retrograde attack in order to fight their way out to friendly lines to the south. Due to poor Chinese intelligence on UN forces and logistical shortcomings the UN forces were able to evade total annihilation and were able to retreat to safety with the majority of their men and equipment intact.
In conclusion, America’s involvement in the Vietnam War was the right course to take we showed the world we will not stand for communism and will fight for what we believe. The Vietnam War stopped the domino theory and even more spread of communism, and show America’s war tactics should be changed. US may of lost the war but still sent a message to the
"To what extent can the Korean War be regarded as a Cold War proxy war?"
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
Alot of good things came out of this ,some may say that we lost this war because of communism staying in North Korea after us leaving.However after America leaving leaving the war and it ending in 1953, communism did not spread to South Korea and that's what ¨containment¨ was, for the U.S. this was a very document that the U.S. stresses this alot and this was to contain communism from spreading to wherever it did not exist already. Not stopping North Korea from taking over South Korea would be leading it spread, so the U.S. was obligated to go and help South
The landing at Inchon during the Korean War was a strategic turning point for the securing of the southern Korean capital of Seoul. Had it not been for mission planning, strategic preparation, and valuable intelligence gathering by the Army, Air Force, Marines, and Navy, the Battle of Inchon would not have been a success. If
The Korean War had a major impact on American society, military, economy, and culture. The War started in 1950 and it ended after a dreadful three years. It all began when soldiers from the North Korean People’s Army poured across the 38th parallel to invade South Korea. The United States is allied with South Korea, therefore it was affected greatly by the war. The U.S. had one hundred and forty-two thousand casualties from the war. United States defence spending went up from twelve to sixty billion dollars and failed to liberate North Korea. The war is often referred to as the forgotten war, because it was never really a war according to President Truman. Truman labeled the war as a police action. Furthermore, World War II is also a reason for the Korean War being called the forgotten war. The Korean War has affected multiples people’s lives in different ways.
The Korean War was a military victory for the United States because it pushed the North Koreans out of South Korea and preserved
The United States got into the Korean war to oppose the growing communism in the region and to fight off the growing threat that China had become. When the North Koreans invaded the South with China backing it, the US government felt like it was there duty to preserve democracy. This pushed America to send troops to give aid to the fight against communism. This had negative impacts on the relations with the rest of Asia and caused great issues for the future. The US military actions in Korea had a negative impact China's outlook on the US.
The outcome of the war wasn’t what most people expected. Yes, The Korean War was short but it was extremely bloody. Nearly 5 million people died during the time of the war, which is devastating. More than half of these people who died were civilians and didn’t deserve this punishment for no reason.
According to Robert, without Korean War there would be a huge difference in the world’s history. In addition to that Robert also stated “the Korean war shaped the course of the cold war by both resolving the incoherence which characterized U.S. foreign and defense efforts in the period 1946-1950 and establishing important new lines of policy”(1980). The Korean War led to the changes of policy through three processes in changes on the domestic political situation, defense budget and NATO. The domestic policy changes let the leader of the country to do whatever they wanted to do before (Robert,
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>.)