History 369 Final Exam Study Cards: May 11, 2005
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- Harry S. Truman
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* Under Truman, American foreign policy was based on the containment of communism
* Truman said that intervening in Korea was not a war, but a police action
* Truman directed MacArthur to furnish Air Force, Navy, and logistic assistance on June 25, 1950 (the 1st day of the N.Korean invasion of S.Korea)
* At the end of 1950, Truman insisted troops be removed from Korea and that WWIII should be avoided - Truman Doctrine (1948)
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* primarily directed toward Turkey and Greece
* stated that any country with a communist revolt would be aided by the US
* US joined NATO under Truman: first time US joins a military alliance in peacetime - Dwight D. Eisenhower
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* unpopularity of the Korean war aided Eisenhowers election
* pledged to go to Korea to put an end to the war
* after threats that the US would use nuclear weapons, an armistice was reached on July 27,1953
* John Eisenhower (the President's only son) was serving as an officer in Korea - Douglas MacArthur
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* Head of the FEC (Far East Command)
* General of the US Army
(in command of 4 divisions that were not ready for combat)
* wanted to enforce the original US resolution and proceed past the 38th parallel into N.Korea
* Met with Truman at Wake Island
* "THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR VICTORY"
* Fired by Truman (insubordination) - FEC
- * Far East Command
- Walton Walker
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* Lt. General and Commander of the 8th US Army in Pusan
* "Johnnie Walker" nicknamed after his favorite whiskey
* Patton called him "my fightingest son-of-a-bitch"
* initiated and constructed the Pusan Perimeter after leading a fighting withdrawl - Matthew Ridgway
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* After the death of Walker, he was appointed commander of the 8th US Army (AKA "amphibious eight)
* replaced MacArthur after MacArthur was relieved of his command
* replaced Eisenhower as Supreme Allied Commander, Europe (SACEUR) in May 1952 - Amphibious Eight
- * 8th US Army
- SACEUR
- * Supreme Allied Commander, Europe
- James Van Fleet
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* Replaced Ridgway, taking command of the 8th US Army
* UN troops drove N.Korean and Chinese forces north until Van Fleet was ordered to stop his northward push, as the communists were beginning to ask for peace talks
* his troops held for 2 years as negotiations for an armistice took place
* established training facilities
* retrained the S.Korean forces - Syngman Rhee
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* 1st President of S.Korea in 1948
* known as an authoritarian ruler
* US pulled out of S.Korea in June of 1949, and one year later (June 25, 1950), S.Korea was attacked by N.Korea
* The UN Security Council stated that S.Korea should be defended
* kept power after the war, but was removed after 2 elections by a student uprising in Korea
* no one believed that the elections were fair - Kim Il-Sung
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* in 1945, he was placed at the head of the N.Korean provisional government
* attacked S.Korea b/c he thought they would welcome his governmental regime
* instituted an authoritarian dictatorship
* to reinforce his rule, he fabricated a "cult of personality"
* he was persuaded in 1994 to end the attempt at developing an atomic bomb - Mao Zedong
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* leader of the communist movement in China
* created the Peoples Republic of China on October 1, 1949
* led country w/ highest population of the world under communist regime - Zhou Enlai
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* Became premier and foreign minister of the Peoples Republic of China
* headed the Chinese Communist delegation to the Geneva Convention of 1954 - Peng Dehuai
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* commander of the Chinese Communist Forces in the Korean War
* due to lack of intelligence the US possed about the Chinese, no one knew that he was commander until the 1980's - Chiang Kai-Shek
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* leader of the nationalist movement in China
* was defeated repeatedly by Mao Zedong, and forced to flee to the island of Taiwan
* MacArthur's plan was to re-arm the Nationalist's in Taiwan and re-ignite the Chinese civil war -
Chinese Civil War
(final phase), 1946-1949 -
* Soviet Union provided limited aid to the Communists
* US assisted the Nationalists in an unlimited fashion
* In January 1949, Beijing was taken by the Communists without a fight (they then changed the name back to Beijing) -
Peoples Republic of China
(established October 1, 1949) -
* due to the defeat of the Nationalists by the Communists, the Peoples Republic of China was established
* under Communist rule, led by Mao Zedong -
The Korean War
(1950-1953) -
* a war between N.Korea and S.Korea, that is viewes as a proxy of the Cold War between the US and the Soviet Union/PRC
* the US and UN intervened as part of the plan of "containment" (the prevention of the spread of communism) -
N.Korea invades S.Korea
(June 25, 1950) -
* N.Korea successfully moved into S.Korea w/ substantial forces
* Seoul was captured 3 days into the invasion
* the S.Koreans & the few Americans were forced into the far south to the city of Pusan -
Seoul falls to NKPA (North Korean People's Army)
(June 28, 1950) - * Seoul - formerly the capital of the Republic of Korea (now the capital of S.Korea) fell to the NKPA 3 days after the invasion
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Destruction of TF Smith
(July 5, 1950) -
* Task Force Smith consisted of the 1st US soldiers arriving in Korea (this arrival was intended to intimidate N.Korean troops)
* Task Force Smith was defeated in an extreme way
* S.Korean POW's were tortured -
Battle of Taejon
(July 16-20, 1950) -
* Taejon is considered to be a strategic inlet inot S.Korea and must be defended
* US & S.Korea suffered great losses here
* one of the worst cases of N.Koreans killing S.Koreans (civilians or military) -
Defense of the Naktong River line
(July - Sept, 1950) -
* seen as a natural defensive boundary, and was part of the Pusan Perimeter (but it did have many points in which the NKPA could attack the UN forces)
* the NKPA repeatedly attacked all of these weak points (approx. 4) along the Naktong River line
* the attack made no forward progress -
Inchon landing
(Sept. 15, 1950) -
* AKA "Operation Chromite"
* amphibious landings at Ichon behind enemy lines
* US Marines secured Inchon and broke N.Korean control of the Pusan region through a series of landings in enemy territory
* led to the eventual liberation of Seoul -
Breakout from Pusan Perimeter
(Sept. 15,16, 1950) -
* led by Lt. General Walton Walker
* this event took place one day after the invasion of Inchon
* US forces out numbered the N.Korean forces by 1/2 (14,000 to 7,000)
* US forces suffered a small number of casualties -
Seoul liberated
(Sept 26, 1950) -
* on Sept 29, 1950 the capital city was returned to President Rhee
* the NKPA virtually dissentigrated
* after Seoul was retaken by the S.Koreans and the UN forces, the UN was left with the question of what to do next -
UN forces cross the 38th parallel
(October 1, 1950) - * the Secretary of Defense allowed MacArthur to advance beyond the 38th parallel, but McArthur demanded that the N.Koreans surrender before crossing the parallel. N.Korea did not respond, therefore leaving MacArthur to advance on N.Korea
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Wake Island Conference
(October 15, 1950) -
* AKA the WIC
* a meeting between President Truman and General MacArthur to discuss the "true" aim of the war in Korea
* MacArthur initially refused the meeting b/c he was in charge of a new offensive in N.Korea
* he eventually agreed to meet at Wake Island instead of Honolulu, which was the original selected site for the meeting
* Truman wanted to get the US forces out of Korea, and informed MacArthur that Russia was preparing to attack wester Europe -
UN forces capture Pyongyang
(October 20, 1950) - * 8th Army seizes Pyongyang, the capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, after UN forces shift from the defense of S.Korea to the destruction of the N.Korean regime
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Battle of Unsan
(Oct. 25 to Nov 1, 1950) -
* 5 days after the capture of Pyongyang, S.Korean forces advanced toward the small town of Pusan
* upon their arrival, the S.Koreans were ambushed by the Chinese
* the survivors of the ambush told the UN forces that the Chinese were further north
* the US forces proceeded to check the area for the "supposed" Chinese, but were ambushed by a large number of Chinese forces, and annihilated at Unsan -
Chinese First Phase Offensive
(Oct. 24 - Nov. 14, 1950) -
* the Chinese Communist Forces entered Korea w/ a short, violent, probing offensive
* approx. 30,000 CCF soldiers were deployed (these were veterans of war, so they had fought before)
* After re-grouping, the 8th Army again formed on the Chongchon River, and prepared to launch a general assault on Nov. 25, 1950 to get our troops "home for Christmas" -
"Home by Christmas" Offensive
(November 24, 1950) -
* on a visit to Korea, General MacArthur announces the start of the "Home by Christmas" offensive
* the 8th Army was hit heavily and forced to retreat to defensive positions in Pyongyang
* all troops are forced into an all out retreat and the offensive is a failure -
Chinese Second Phase Offensive
(November 25, 1950) -
* MacArthur says "WE NOW FACE AN ENTIRELY NEW WAR..."
* was a push by a massive number of CCF and N.Korean troops southward into the main concentration of US and UN forces
* the US then decides that China can not be defeated -
Battle of Chosin Reservoir
(Nov. 27 - Dec. 9, 1950) -
* large numbers of Chinese soldiers swept across the Yalu River and encircled many UN units at the Chosin Reservoir
* a brutal battle in freezing weather; in the end the Chinese gain (no true victor)
* high number of casualties on both sides
* Chinese were able to expel the UN forces -
Rearguard stand of 2nd ID
(Nov. 26-30, 1950) -
* during the 8th Army retreat from the Chongchon River, the 2nd Infantry Division was made to guard the rear of the 8th Army
* the 2nd Infantry Division faced a CCF unit of over 100,000 - the 2nd Infantry saved the US Army from annihilation -
Seoul falls to Communists
(Jan 4, 1951) -
* on New Year's Day, the CCF and N.Korean forces headed for Seoul
* Ridgway ordered the retreat of his forces and the UN forces fled 40 miles south of Seoul, destroying bridges along the way
* on Jan. 4, 1951 the last of the UN forces in N.Korea were pulled out -
Battle of Chipyong-ni
(Feb. 1951) -
* Chipyong-ni was the culminating point of the Fourth Chinese Offensive and the CCF's first operational defeat of the war
* the Battle of Chipyong-ni was a defense of the remaining line of the UN forces
* the CCF attack was focused on the 8th US Army -
Seoul re-captured by UN forces
(March 14, 1951) -
* peace negotiations were attempted, but failed
* Chinese resistance dissipated south of the Han River near Seoul, and Seoul was retaken by the UN forces
* UN commanders were then forced to answer the question of whether or not to advance beyond -
MacArthur relieved of command
(April 11, 1951) - * he is frustrated with many of the restrictions