How the Korean War Ended - COLD WAR DOCUMENTARY

[Music] China's intervention into the Korean War completely changed the strategic situation prior to China's involvement the UN coalition had all the momentum and it seemed that they would be able to assert control over the whole territory of Korea the final stage of the Korean War was about to begin if you're interested in the history of this era don't forget to check out our second channel the Cold War the link is in the top right corner shout out to the sponsor of this video war thunder this free to play online military vehicle combat game is available on PC ps4 and Xbox and in cross play between the platforms with no purchase necessary just download and play great graphics music sound effects and realistic physics and damage models fully immersed it's more than 20 million players worldwide into the massive battles three different modes allows everyone to select the level of realism suitable for them the developers are very active and constantly provide free major updates to the game and add new features vehicles and maps so what's he waiting for play war thunder for free on PC PlayStation 4 and Xbox one support our channel and get a premium aircraft tank or ship and a three day account upgrade as a bonus Buy in the description Chinese success prompted its leadership to continue its advance Mao Zedong was warned about the difficulties in this especially regarding logistics and the overstretching of their supply line still Mao ordered to continue the advance of the army with an aim to destroy the ROK forces along the 38th parallel given that the US units were not interspersed between the ROK formations and therefore were unable to support them the third phase offensive of the Chinese army was scheduled to be launched on the 31st of December 1950 in the hopes that the Americans would be caught off guard due to the holiday the UN forces had their own troubles the ROK force is now mainly consisted of new recruits due to previous casualties while the US 8th army was suffering from low morale following the losses in the second phase offensive and were expecting to be evacuated from Korea general Ridgway was appointed as the new commander of the 8th army on the evening of December 31st 1950 the PVA 13th army launched a massive attack against the ROK forces along the 38th parallel simultaneously the ROK x' 1st Infantry Division which was defending on the southern bank of the Indian River was defeated by elements of the PVA 38th and 39th course with the ROK 6th Infantry Division also retreating the UN defenses at the Indian River and hamton River had completely collapsed with the PVA advancing 14 kilometers into UN controlled territory actions at cap young and cheng-chun also resulted in a serious defeat for UN forces and inflicted severe cash he's on our okay Infantry Division's 2 & 5 with the UN defense line collapsing general Ridgway ordered the evacuation of Seoul On January 3rd 1951 due to the risk of the USA's army being encircled Chinese commander Poong ordered the PVA 13th army to pursue the retreating UN forces by attacking towards Seoul following the fighting around Seoul On January 4th the kPa 1st Corps the PVA 38th core and the PVA 50th corps entered the city on January 5th Kimpo and Incheon were also captured by January 7th Pung had halted the third offensive phase due to over stretching of supply lines and the exhaustion of the Chinese and North Korean troops another successful Chinese offensive had sunk the morale of the UN troops even further the leadership was even contemplating withdrawing from Korea due to the dire situation but the work of general Ridgway to restore morale and the Chinese rejection of the ceasefire proposed by the US kept such intentions at bay Mao instructed Poong to conduct a last battle to decide the fate of Korea while the UN commander General MacArthur went as far as to call for a nuclear strike on Chinese forces but general Ridgway was able to stabilize the UN forces without such drastic measures along a line with Suwon in the West one Jew in the center and the territory north of San chalk in the east general Ridgway was aware of the logistical difficulties hampering the Chinese and launched operation Thunderbolt in late January 1951 previous air and ground reconnaissance did not present conclusive information on the enemy forces and their movement therefore on the 25th of January Ridgway ordered a reconnaissance in force elements of the 1st and 9th corps started an advance towards the Han River since the advance was supposed to be coordinated in the initial phase of the operation the gains were small and at a background of light resistance by the kpa on the 30th of January this operation turns into a full-fledged offensive aided by their air superiority the UN forces were able to complete their objective of reaching the Han River and taking back one Jew with momentum back on the side of the UN forces the ROK 11th division engaged in the killing of communist sympathizers and guerrillas with up to fifteen hundred casualties registered in bo chiang saen chong and ham yang in order to regain lost territories and momentum the Chinese military leadership ordered the fourth phase offensive with an attack on Hong Hong the offensive started with the Chinese 66th army moving against the ROK 8th Infantry Division On February 11th the ROK were defeated and then the 66th Army's 190 7th division marched south to engage the ROK 3rd division where they were able to push it northeast of hangsang despite the support of American and Dutch units the PVA and kPa were able to defeat the UN forces in the Battle of pen song while inflicting twelve thousand casualties and numerous equipment and vehicle losses the next target of the Chinese forces was chip Yong nee where the Chinese sent the entirety of the 39th army and divisions of the 40th and 42nd armies totaling 20 to 25,000 men they aimed to encircle and destroy chief Jung knee fighting against three infantry divisions of Americans and French along with other smaller units totaling 4,500 men after a fierce battle that went on for almost two days the Americans and French were able to withstand fierce Chinese attacks from a number of directions with the aid of the air superiority when forces enjoyed the Chinese withdrew after losing almost a thousand men this was a huge morale boost to the UN forces as despite their numerical disadvantage they were able to halt Chinese progress and put an end to the fourth offensive phase unlike the previous offensives the fourth did not succeed this UN victory was followed by Operation killer this was a full frontal attack by the USAF army which led to the occupation of the south side of the Han River and hangsang on the 14th of March 1951 the Eighth Army retook Seoul which was before found final change of hands for Seoul during the war all in all the UN forces were able to advance north of the 38th parallel and stood on the so-called kansas line aware of the Chinese Army's difficulties Mao appeals to Stalin for help to address the air superiority of the UN Stalin was impressed with the Chinese effort in the war and decided to help with two Air Force divisions three anti-aircraft divisions and 6,000 trucks the Chinese were suffering from a shortage of ammunition and supplies along with losing 53,000 men between January and April of 1951 in April President Truman dismissed General MacArthur as supreme commander there was a disagreement between the two since Truman believed that the US forces should not intend to occupy North Korea given the circumstances and balance of powers whereas MacArthur aimed for total victory for which moving the war into China was the only possible outcome this could have led to a direct conflict with the Soviet Union which the Americans wanted to avoid moreover MacArthur believed that the US should use a nuclear bomb against the Chinese and thought that it was up to him to make this decision while for obvious reasons Truman Emily disagreed general Ridgway whose appointment as the eighth army commander had brought success was promoted to supreme commander to replace MacArthur with an aim to drive the UN forces out of Korea once and for all the Chinese launched the fifth phase offensive with 700,000 men on April 22nd despite the fact that the Chinese and kPa forced the UN army to fall back following the fierce battles of the Indian River and Cathy on the UN withdraw off to the defensive line north of Seoul was orderly in the Battle of so yang River again after initial success the Chinese advance was halted on May 20th Chinese casualties were between one hundred and two thousand and one hundred and sixty thousand men against up to sixteen thousand losses for the UN v offensive was far from reaching its aim that being the final defeat of the UN forces and instead put the Chinese in a vulnerable and weakened position the UN used this chance to attack push the Chinese bank beyond the 38th parallel and solidify their defensive positions it was becoming increasingly clear for both sides that it would be very difficult if not impossible to gain an all-out victory in this conflict from July 1951 to July 1953 there was a stalemate along the 38th parallel both sides were fighting and exchanging artillery fire with each other but there was no significant exchange of territories the Armistice talks began in July 1951 but it did not prevent major battles happening until the signing of the ceasefire finally on the 27th of July 1953 a ceasefire agreement was signed in Panmunjom between the United Nations command on one side and North Korea and China on the other side which decided on cessation of all hostilities establishment of the 38th parallel as the de facto border between the two Koreas and the establishment of the demilitarized zone usually referred to as the DMZ along the 38th parallel the South Korean leaders refused to sign the agreement over all the UN forces had suffered up to two hundred thousand losses against 550,000 to 750,000 losses suffered by the North Koreans and the Chinese the Korean Civil War was the first major conflict after the Second World War which directly involved great powers but it would not be the last if you like the history of this era check out our second channel for cold war the link is in the description or in the top right corner so make sure you are subscribed to both we would like to express our gratitude to our patreon supporters and channel members who make the creation of our videos possible now you can also support us by buying our merchandise by the link in the description this is the kings and Generals channel and we will catch you on the next one [Music]

Channel: Kings and Generals

Views: 458,337

Keywords: south korea, north korea, korean war, korean war (military conflict), united states, kim jong un, history channel, soviet union, 38th parallel, old movies reborn, united nations, us army, south korean, north korean, republic of korea, douglas macarthur, kim il sung, history of korea, cold war (military conflict), kings and generals, six day war, 6 day war, pusan, cold war, the korean war, kim jong-il, air force, kim jong-un, general douglas macarthur, inchon, north

Id: 1te1PWJrXmM

Length: 12min 31sec (751 seconds)

Published: Sat Dec 28 2019