Korean war

what was Korea divided along

the 38th parallel

rulers of north and south korea

nk - kim ii sung
sk- syngman rhee

what did the post war conferences in Yalta feb 1945 decide

korea / 4, powershare: USA, USSR, GB, China

what was the outcome of potsdam, july 1945

USA felt that the USSR would not act quickly - had time

what happens in 1946/7

tension increases between n/s korea

what type of state does nk develop into

communist state - like russia

what type of state does sk develop into

capitalist state - communists oppressed

korea being referred to by the UN in sep 1947, means that..

elections will be overseen (especially in the south)

what was communist nk known as

DPRK

what did sung want in terms of korean control and why couldn't he

to invade sk - Stalin refused to support it

what was the capitalist sk known as

ROK

what did sk do, in terms of korean control

attacked communists, 1949 requested US support

north korea's involvement in the outbreak of the Korean war

- reunify as a one party state and communist society
-asks ussr for help but refused
-border clashes - provoke war

south korea's involvement in the outbreak of the Korean war

- reunify as a capitalist society
-asks for USA support
-provoke border clashes more than north.

US involvement in the outbreak of the Korean war

-supported south korea
-jan 1950 fail to state korea as in the defence perimeter strategy
-senator connally's speech suggests that the US wouldn't oppose sung
-republican congress reject bill for aid to south korea

why does stalin change his mind over supporting north korea (4 reasons)

1. believed the us wouldn't get involved
2. china could dominate the communist world
3.humiliated in europe - failure of the berlin blockade
4. limited war

what triggered the initial beginning to the korean civil war

Kim il sung's decision to invade south korea in 1950

why was Sung refused help initially from china and russia

russia - stalin's fears concerning an escalation in tension in asia, china - ongoing chinese civil war

where did us forces first land

ongjin

what happens in june 1950 at ongjin

several border clashes and invasion by the north, sk and us forces retreat, high casualties

how many us casualties by sept 1950

8000

where do us forces retreat to

pusan perimeter - most of sk is under control of the north

what does MacArthur decide to do

launch landings at inchon on sept 15 1950

what happens as a result of the inchon landings

seoul is recaptures on sep 27, UN becomes involved, 15 countries send soldiers

what prompts chinese invasion

US/UN cross border into nk, reach yala river where chinese send 'human waves'

what was the issue at the yala river between the us/un and china

2 equally matched sides and it was winter

what were the casualty and frostbite rates at chosin

50% casualty rate and 25% frostbite rate

what happened at chosin

us soldiers under heavy chinese attack, saved by air supremacy

when was stalemate

June 1951 - July 1953

2 battles of the iron triangle

pork chop hill and heartbreak ridge

when is the peace settlement

1953

3 reasons for military stalemate

1. bothe evenly matched (us technology and china more soldiers 2.difficult terrain, suitable for trench warfare 3.both sides want a 'limited war' usa rejects nuclear weapons and ussr won't send troops

why did the us want peace

war was expensive, lost public support, damage to usa reputation

why did china want peace

casualties, focus on domestic policies

why did north korea want peace

reunification not possible, food shortages

why did russia want peace

ease usa tension, decrease risk of major war4

4 problems in achieving peace

1. most involved were military personnel, not diplomats
2.all sides want to 'save face' 3.chinese pow, don't want to be returned to china - what should us/un do 4.stalin wanted the war to last as a distraction for the us and china

what leadership changed in 1953

russia - stalin to khrushchev
usa- truman to eisenhower

how did the us/un deal with pow

claimed they had 'escaped'

what were the backroom talks (achieving peace)

between george keenan (long telegram) amd jacob malik - soviet ambassador to UN

what did the peace in 1953 result in

permanent division of korea

how many military and civilian casualties did sk take

1/4 million military and 1 million civilian

how many military and civilian casualties did nk take

400,000 military and 600,000 civilian

south korea's economy post war

economy boomed due to us investment, rhee established an authoritarian state

north korea's economy post war

economy struggling, sung established dictatorship

how many casualties did the us take

30,000

what happened as a result of the us backing their allies (ie sk)

sk was undemocratic, invested $67mill, damage to truman and the democratic party and a rise in mccarthyism and fear of communists

impact of the korean war on china

1 million casualties however impressive military performance, consolidating mao