Originally written November 20th, 2020.
The Korean War was the first major conflict of the Cold War. Occurring only five years after the end of World War II, it has often been described as the forgotten war. While the fighting ended in 1953, there has never been a formal end to the war, and its effects are still seen to this day. Korea would be the first proxy war between the West and the Soviet Union, with each supporting one side, but at the same time avoiding coming into combat with each other. The United Nations with troops mostly contributed by the United States, but also with significant contributions from the United Kingdom, Canada, Turkey, Australia, New Zealand, and others did engage in direct combat with North Korean forces, while the Soviet Union avoided conflict with the western powers. The war is also notable because it is the first (and so far, only) armed conflict between the People’s Republic of China and the West. The Korean War could be seen as a World War that occurred inside of a bubble. There was a very distinct political divide along the two sides, with the Communists hoping to spread communism as far as they could and the Western hoping to contain it. It involved countries from every continent, even though the fighting only took place on one. While Korea was fought over a relatively small piece of territory, it involved most of the world’s key players and highlighted the recent east-west divide that had separated a good portion of the world into two major camps. Winston Churchill’s “Iron Curtain” extended across more than just Europe. The major powers in these camps would be looking to strengthen and extend their spheres of influence in Asia and to deny the same to their enemy. It also included a heroic effort by Canadians that no World War could be without.
Scope
The general understanding of the term World War is generally only used to describe the wars of 1914-1918 and 1939-1945. If we look at history, however, there are numerous wars that could be considered to be world wars based on the number of countries involved or how far spread the fighting was. Some of these were various colonial wars such as the Seven Years War, more recent wars such as the War on Terror, or even the broader Cold War itself. Taking out the requirement of the fighting taking place over a large area, Korea still involved a considerable number of countries, and the fighting stayed local due to efforts by some participants to not engage each other.
Origins
The early origins of the war begin with the fall of the Qing Empire in China, this would open the area up to conquest by Japan in the First Sino-Japanese War, although Korea would not be annexed in till 1910. Japan attempted to snuff out all forms of Korean nationalism, however, this would lead to Korean resistance. These Korean Nationalists would seek international support after the end of the First World War, due to combined efforts to isolate the new Soviet Union with Japan, western powers were reluctant to get involved.[1]
It was at this time that Korean Communism started to develop alongside nationalism. The Korean Communist Party was formed in 1925. There were some in Korea who saw Communism as their only real alternative to Imperial Japanese rule.[2] One of these was a man named Kim Il-sung, who would fight against the Japanese in China, before being forced to flee to the Soviet Union where he would join the Red Army.[3]
During the war, the allies had agreed to create an independent Korea. When the Soviets went to war with Japan in 1945, they agreed to occupation zones that were separated by the 38th parallel, which was only supposed to be for the duration of the war. After the war, the Communists in the North led by Kim Il-sung and the Nationalists in the South led by Syngman Rhee were unable to come up with an agreement for a unified Korea. Any hope of a unified Korea disappeared in 1948 when South Korea had separate democratic elections and with the declaration of the Republic of Korea with the capital in Seoul that same year. Kim would respond by declaring a new state in the north with the name Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.[4]
The United States and her allies had just finished spending an incredible amount of resources defeating Japan in the Second World War in order to reach a level of military security in the Pacific, this was now only a few years later, no longer the case. In fact, due to the disbarment of Japan, the United States was now responsible for the defence of Japan. The United States also had defence agreements with the newly independent Philippines. With all of these commitments, the United States hoped that South Korea would be able to fend for themselves now that the American occupation had ended.[5] The Second World War had led to global alliances being redrawn, very recent enemies soon became allies out of necessity due to the threat of communism. In contrast to the First World War, there was no spark such as the assassination of the Archduke, the road to war came gradually, however, there was already a clear line drawn between nations placing all those involved into two camps.
At this point, the two Koreas were more than ready to go to war with each other to force the unification of the Korean peninsula. It was their superpower allies that were not ready for a war. The civil war in China was still going on at this point, preoccupying Soviet interests, and the Americans felt that a divided Korea might help to reduce the likelihood of war. However, after the end of the Chinese Civil War, Kim was able to get both Stalin’s and Mao’s blessing to attack the south in 1950. While much of the planning for the attack was done by the Soviets, and there was considerable equipment supplied by them, Kim was told that this was his war. The attack was launched on 25 June 1950.[6] Kim had felt that as a communist that it was his responsibility to listen to Stalin’s orders and would not have attacked without his blessing.[7] The two sides had different political views, with the Soviet Union and allies seeking to spread communism, and the Western powers seeking to contain it.
Beginnings
Gaining UN favour for intervention in Korea was not difficult since the Soviet Union was boycotting the UN Security Council because the United States refused to seat China under the Communist Party. The Soviets did have the power to veto the resolution, however, they did not, hoping that the fighting would have concluded by the time that the United States intervened.[8] The United States took the position that even if the Soviet Union were to veto the resolution, they would still be able to act to protect the UN charter and would like participation by all members including Hong Kong.[9]
While the North Korean advance had been highly successful, they failed to destroy South Korean forces, these forces joined by the first of the US troops were able to hold the city of Busan in the Southeast. They would soon breakout from Busan and combined with a US landing near Seoul on September 15th, were able to retake considerable amounts of territory. Seoul would be liberated in a week’s time. The North Korean forces in the South would be forced to flee back to the North. Already disorganized, over 100,000 North Koreans would surrender.
China’s involvement in the war was a concern for the United States, especially if the United States were to advance close to the Chinese border. However, General MacArthur felt that there was little chance of Chinese intervention due to the United States superior Air Force. He also felt that because they had not become involved at the beginning of the war, they would not become involved later. Western forces would cross into North Korea on October 7th.[10] Pyongyang, the North Korean capital would fall on October 19th, however, Chinese forces would cross into North Korea on the same day. While Mao Zedong had been in favour of joining the war because he felt that war with America was not avoidable. He believed that the circumstances at the time were favourable and felt that fighting the Americans in a foreign country would be better than fighting them in China. However, the Chinese Politburo was not overly supportive, and it would take pressure from Stalin for them to agree. China at first planned to send their troops into North Korea and would only engage enemy forces who crossed the 38th Parallel in till the equipment that was promised by the Soviets arrived.[11] The Americas decided to conduct an offensive against the Chinese without understanding the size of their forces. The American defeat would result in a retreat out of North Korea. On January 4th, Seoul would fall again. It would be retaken in March and the frontline stagnated close to the 38th parallel for the remainder of the war.[12]
Canada’s most memorable day of the war occurred on April 22, 1951, near the Kapyong River, when 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (along with 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment) adopted blocking positions in the Kapyong valley after the Chinese broke a South Korean division to the north. While the Australians were forced to withdraw to the rear of the 27th British Commonwealth Brigade, the Canadians were able to withstand the assault of an entire Chinese Division that was thrown against them.[13] While this was a smaller scale than some of Canada’s major battles of the two world wars such as Vimy Ridge or Juno Beach, its significance should not be understated due to the fact that it prevented the Chinese from breaking the UN line.
Peace talks would begin in the summer of 1951; however, the war would last till 1953. Neither North nor South Korea wanted to end the war because they felt that all of Korea needed to be liberated from the other. While Mao supported ending the war, Stalin wanted it to continue, because it drew attention away from his positions in Europe. President Harry Truman would decide not to seek re-election in 1952 and Dwight Eisenhower was elected with the promise to end the war one way or the other. However, in March 1953, Stalin died, and his successors did not want to continue the war, worried that the war would eventually spread, due to the build-up of US and NATO forces in Europe.[14] While the fighting stopped in 1953, no formal end of the war has ever occurred and there are still significant tensions between North and South Korea to this day.
Conclusion
Looking at the Korean War as a World War that occurred inside of a bubble can have a unique historical perspective. While the threat of a global world war was very real during the Cold War, there has been much speculation about what it would look like. It is perhaps suitable that the “Forgotten War” would be the closest example that the world would see of this. There was a very distinct political divide along the two sides, with the Communists hoping to spread communism as far as they could and the Western hoping to contain it. It involved countries from every continent, even though the fighting only took place on one. While Korea was fought over a relatively small piece of territory, it involved most of the world’s key players and highlighted the recent east-west divide that had separated a good portion of the world into two major camps. Like the world wars, it would have implications that continue into the present day.
[1] Odd Arne Westad, The Cold War: A World History, (New York, Basic Books, 2017), 159-160
[2] Westad, 161-162
[3] Westad, 162-163
[4] Westad, 164-165
[5] Secretary of State Dean Acheson Defines the Defense Perimeter in Asia, 1950, in Dennis Merrill, Thomas G. Paterson, Major Problems in American Foreign Relations, Volume II: Since 1914, 7th ed. (Boston: Wadsworth, 2010), 243-246
[6] Westad, 166-169
[7] North Korean Leader Kim Il Sung Pleads for Soviet Support, January 1950, in Dennis Merrill, Thomas G. Paterson, Major Problems in American Foreign Relations, Volume II: Since 1914, 7th ed. (Boston: Wadsworth, 2010), 246-247
[8] Westad, 170
[9] President Harry S Truman and His Advisers Confer at the “Blair House Meeting,” 1950 in in Dennis Merrill, Thomas G. Paterson, Major Problems in American Foreign Relations, Volume II: Since 1914, 7th ed. (Boston: Wadsworth, 2010), 247-250
[10] Westad, 171
[11] Chinese Leader Mao Zedong Informs Joseph Stalin of China’s Decision to Enter the Korean War, 1950, in Dennis Merrill, Thomas G. Paterson, Major Problems in American Foreign Relations, Volume II: Since 1914, 7th ed. (Boston: Wadsworth, 2010), 250-251
[12] Westad, 174-175
[13] Desmond Morton, A Military History of Canada, 5th ed. (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 2007), 235
[14] Westad, 179-182
Charles Veale
January 16th, 2022
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