the Korean War is often called forgotten mostly due to the comparisons to be later conflict in Vietnam however this bloody war and its results were crucial for the Cold War and in many ways continues to shape our present day as the chances of reconciliation on the peninsula look dimmer every passing day welcome to our series on the Korean War following the Japanese surrender and defeat in the Second World War Korea formerly occupied by Japan was divided by the USSR and USA along the 38th parallel the Soviet Union took control of northern Korea while America occupied the south with the capital Seoul Korea was first administered by the US Soviet Union Joint Commission which aimed to grant independence to Korea in five years following riots against this decision the u.s. declared martial law soon the work of the Joint Commission was considered ineffective paired with worsening relations between America and the Soviet Union the situation brought about a deepening of Korea's division the u.s. proposed elections in Korea under the UN's auspices which was rejected by the Soviets and the Korean communists who did not believe that the voting would be fair as a result South and North Korea held separate elections with pro US forces solidifying their power in the south while pro Soviet communists did the same in the north in 1948 North Korea became a state under the name of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea while the South declared independence and became the Republic of Korea both Soviet and American troops had left Korea before the start of the Civil War but they had an instrumental role in preparation for the war the leader of North Korea Kim il-sung and South Korea's assumed manry wanted to take the rest of Korea and were encouraging their respective Soviet and American allies to support them the Soviets wanted to avoid a direct confrontation tation with the US and believed that the Americans would not interfere given their non intervention in the civil war in China said civil war in China was over and China's desperate need for Soviet aid paired with Soviet pressure on China to provide military support to North Korea led to the Chinese decision to assist Kim Ilsan militarily even prior to the start of full-scale military operations in 1950 occasional skirmishes on the border and guerrilla warfare were employed by communists in the south as a result of this up to 8,000 Security Force personnel were killed in South Korea and the process of establishing the South Korean army was hindered the North was better prepared for the war by mid 1959 forces called the Korean People's Army kPa for short numbered between 150 and 200 thousand troops including thousands of Chinese Civil War veterans from Korea they were organized into ten infantry divisions one tank division and one Air Force division with 210 fighter planes and 280 tanks ready for deployment along with 14 fighters 78 bombers 105 t-34 85 tanks and some 30,000 soldiers stationed in reserve in North Korea in comparison the army of the Republic of Korea ROK for short had 98 thousand soldiers 65,000 combat 33,000 of support no tanks and a 22-piece air force this drastic difference and the unprepared nosov the ROK army predetermined early success for North Korea on the morning of the 25th of June 1950 the North Korean army passed the 38th parallel and this is considered the start date of the Korean Civil War it is unclear who fired the first shot but the North Korean started an orderly advance throughout the 38th parallel being supported by tanks and heavy artillery the South Koreans did not have tanks or anti-tank weaponry and instead of gathering all available troops at strategic points they were scattered across the they did not stand up challenge the principal offensive conducted by the kPa first corps with fifty three thousand men drove across the Indian River towards Seoul the second Corps with fifty four thousand soldiers attacked along two widely separated axes one through the cities of Qin Qian and injured to Hong Chen and the other down the East Coast road towards Kangnam on June 27th to 28th Seoul failed and the majority of the South Korean army was essentially defeated all the South Korean leadership under assuming re could do was to order a massacre of communists in the South which continued throughout the summer of 1950 and took up to 200,000 lives the remaining South Korean forces formed a defensive line south of the Han River the only hope for South Korea was a US intervention at first the US was reluctant to get involved directly in Korea since the possibility of direct confrontation with the USSR and China could have potentially led to full-scale global war along with that at the time Korea was not viewed as being as strategic as Japan or Germany therefore there were only 200 to 300 American troops stationed in Korea the US had decided against interfering in the civil war in China but the triumph of the Communists in China along with the swift advance of Kim il-sung in Korea caused significant concern for the Americans firstly they knew that a United communist Korea would be a serious security threat for strategic Japan secondly the Americans feared that if they did not intervene in Korea it might be interpreted as a signal of weakness and unwillingness to protect his allies US public opinion was not against supporting South Korea especially after the condemnation of the North Korean attack by the UN Security Council which was boycotted by the Soviet Union at the time and its approval of the use of force to ensure peace in Korea we face a serious situation we hope we face it in the cause of peace the only reason for the action which was taken on advice of all the brains that I could muster no it was hopefully always hope that we finally arrived at the peace in the world which we anticipated when we created the United Nations that the only reason for the action thank you very much in August 1950 President Truman got the consent of Congress to approve 12 billion dollars for military action in Korea even prior to the large-scale deployment of US troops in Korea smaller units were transferred from Japan to thwart or slow down the North Korean advance the Battle of Olson was the first battle of the Korean Civil War in which American troops participated the 540 man strong task force Smith a small element of the 24th Infantry Division flown from Japan faced elements of the 4th Infantry Division and 150 are division of the North Korean army Korean ground units were supported by 36 tanks in this battle against none on the American side a task force Smith were able to hold their ground for three hours to withdraw and a heavy North Korean attack while suffering 60 dead and 82 captured during the battle the 24th Infantry Division's 34th Infantry Regiment was able to set up in Pyong 10 15 miles or 24 kilometres to the south it would be similarly defeated in the Battle of young tech over the next month's the 24th Infantry Division were fighting numerous engagements to delay North Korean forces with similar results within a week the 24th Infantry Division had been pushed back today gern which where it was again defeated in the battle of teacher the North Koreans overwhelming US forces time and again were able to push the 8th army all the way back to Pusan by August 1950 the North Koreans controls the majority of Korea while the United Nations command with South Korean and American troops plus a small British contingent controlled a small portion of the southeast including the port of Busan which was strategically vital for the United Nations command as it allowed for the landing of American troops tanks and weaponry the Battle of Pusan Perimeter started on August 4th 1950 and went on until mid-september although North Korean troops had advanced quite rapidly through South Korea resistance by the United Nations forces had weakened them the North Koreans lost 58,000 of their troops and a large number of Tanks which forced them to rely on less experienced replacements and conscripts at the beginning of the battle the kPa had 70,000 men and 40 tanks during the course of the battle the North Koreans brought a total of 13 infantry divisions and one Armored Division to the fight at Pusan Perimeter the total number of UN troops in Korea on August 4th was 92 thousand of which 47,000 wearing us ground combat units and 45,000 in South Korean combat units thus the UN ground combat force outnumbered the North Koreans 90 mm to 70,000 the UN troops were commanded by a celebrated Second World War General Douglas MacArthur in September more troops and over 500 German and Pershing tanks were transferred to assist the UN troops the Americans also secured total naval and air domination against the North Koreans who were much weaker in that respect this was causing military and logistical difficulties for the kPa the UN Command organized a defense throughout the Pusan Perimeter natural barriers such as the Knapton River helped in this regard while full air domination allowed Americans and South Koreans to move inside the perimeter freely US forces demolished all bridges over the neck down river in the retreat which caused the deaths of the refugees fleeing to Pusan North Korean forces had four possible routes into the perimeter to the south the pass through the city of marsan around the confluence of the Nam and knocked on rivers another southerly route through the nekton Bulge and into the railroad lines at Mir yang through the route into tiger in the north and through Kyung Joo in the eastern corridor the aim of the UN Command was to repel the North Korean offensive and start a counter-offensive the North Korean 4th and 6th divisions were up against the American 24th and 25th divisions in youngsaeng Masson and mieh yang the North Korean 2nd and 3rd divisions were up against the u.s. 1st Cavalry Division and the 1st and 6th South Korean divisions around tiger in the northern part of the Pusan Perimeter the 13th 812 and 5th North Korean divisions were up against the 6th 8th 3rd and cap divisions from South Korea the Battle of Pusan Perimeter consisted of a series of battles which started with the USAF Army counter-offensive from Marsan to chinju with an aim to push the North Koreans out towards the Combe River and break up the North Korean forces near Tager the battle started on August 7th when task force Keane was confronted by the kPa 6th division which the Americans failed to achieve their aims of taking chinju and breaking up North Korean forces near taker but inflicted significant casualties this can be considered the first successful large-scale engagement by the American forces on the night of August 5th to 6th the kPa 4th division started its advance towards young San and caught the 24th american division by surprise which expected an attack from the north around the North Koreans were able to continue pressing forward and take globally hill and oblong Ridge critical terrain astride the main road in the Bulge area by August 11th the attack on young sand started the attack was repelled by the first provision of the game in conjunction with task force Hill which nearly annihilated the 4th kPa division another kPa attack started in the north of the perimeter the 8th 12 and 5th divisions attacked with an aim to secure the tiger meringue line initially this offensive was successful young doc was captured while ROK A's 3rd division was encircled and the area around Pohang dong was taken the ROK a 17th 25th and 26th regiments as well as the ROK a first anti-guerrilla battalion marine battalion and a battery from the US 18th Field Artillery Regiment were organized into task force Hoang dong and the 8th Infantry Regiment and 2nd Infantry Division were organized into task force Bradley to counter the kPa 5th division and 766 infantry regiment along with that our Kas 3rd division was evacuated from their encirclement by the US Navy and rushed to yummy obey to join the defense the UN forces successfully repelled the fierce kPa attack and forced them to withdraw on August 19 another kPa offensive was plans towards the UN Command headquarters in Taegu with five of its divisions participating the city was defended by the US 1st Cavalry Division and the ROK 1st and 6th divisions of the ROK ii poor again despite initial advances the kPa failed to achieve its aim after suffering significant casualties largely due to carpet-bomb conducted by the US Air Force in the largest air force operation since the Battle of Normandy towards the end of August 1950 the initial kPa offensive on the Pusan Perimeter was repelled by the UN forces which was accompanied by large losses for the kPa and increasing difficulties in supply due to the complete air superiority of the US for example by September 1st the North Koreans had less than 100 tanks in comparison with 600 American tanks nevertheless the kPa was still a formidable force which received reinforcements to launch a new offensive Kim il-sung ordered for the war to be over by September this time the kPa command decided to make a frontal attack instead of trying to outmaneuver the UN forces this attack known as the Great Neck tongue offensive started on September 1st and pushed both sides to their limits again the North Koreans were able to break through in a number of positions but by September 6th the UN forces were able to stabilize the perimeter the final blow on this offensive was the American landing at Inchon which took the North Koreans completely by surprise and allowed the UN forces to end the threat to the Pusan Perimeter United Nations forces were able to repel the attack of the North Korean forces on the Pusan Perimeter by September 1950 the kPa aim was to finish the war as soon as possible and the plan was to continue attacking the United Nations defenses in the only remaining territory not controlled by the kPa because an perimeter in order to relieve the situation of the defenders of the Pusan Perimeter General MacArthur and the UN military leadership planned to surprise the North Koreans with a landing behind their lines aside from lessening the pressure on the person perimeter this move aims to cut the supply and communication lines of the kPa caused panic among them forced the kPa forces to fight on a number of fronts and retake the capital of South Korea as soon as possible a number of landing spots were discussed at some point the port of Kunsan was being discussed as the more preferable option but MacArthur thought that the landing spot should be unexpected by the Koreans eventually dangerous and difficult Incheon port was chosen as a landing spot Incheon had only two naval passages to enter its port which could have been easily protected by sea mines but MacArthur calculated that the North Koreans would not expect a landing in such a tough spot furthermore Seoul was very close to engine and a successful landing would allow a chance to liberate soul before kPa forces recovered from the shock of the landing thus operation chromite was launched prior to landing in inch an american forces used deception tactics to confuse the North Koreans the Americans bombarded some other potential landing spots and succeed in diverting the attention of the KPA to a certain extent on the 13th of September the American and British Navy started bombarding the North Korean defenses Incheon and 12-metre two days later on September 15th the UN forces started landing on the so-called green blue and red beaches in and close to Incheon the first landing was on the green beach the northern side of the island of wall meadow the landing force consisted of 3rd battalion 5th Marines led by Lieutenant Colonel Robert tablet and 9 m26 pershing tanks from the USMC 1st tank battalion the kPa forces were outnumbered significantly and lost more than 200 men against 14 casualties among the UN forces wall meadow was entirely taken by them within a few hours even after their defeat at the green beach the North Korean leadership believed that this attack was a diversion and the main landing was going to take place in concern to q kPa troops were defending Incheon and the UN landing on red and blue beaches was successful without too many casualties the kPa is 22nd Infantry Regiment which was initially brought to defend Incheon was ordered to withdraw to Seoul the next objective of the UN forces was to march on Seoul and recover it as soon as possible on the next day the 1st and 5th Marine divisions started a march towards Seoul September 17th was an even bigger success for the UN forces they were able to defeat the kPa force resisting their march towards soul-destroying 6030 or tanks and killing 200 men after that the fifth Marine Division was able to capture the extremely important Kimpo airfield previously the America Air Force had to fly from Japan for their missions capturing Kimpo airfield allowed them to use an airfield within Korea since the KPA was not able to destroy Kimbo airfield in time the airfield was mostly left intact and ready to use for the Americans all attempts by the kPa to recapture Kimpo Airport were repulsed the facts that the KPA was mostly focused on the Pusan Perimeter made the defense against the American landing behind their lines weak and relatively unprepared approximately 7,000 troops of the 78th independent infantry regiment and the 25th Infantry Brigade were defending the Seoul area against approximately 40,000 to UN troops a number which became possible due to continued landings of American troops such as the 7th Infantry Division on the 19th of September in the evening the 31st infantry regiment of the 7th division engaged with kPa forces in the outskirts of Seoul on the 25th of September American forces entered Seoul it was heavily fortified the Americans had to engage in taxing house-to-house fighting against kPa forces who were defending fiercely nevertheless by September 28th the UN forces were able to defeat any nests of resistance in Seoul and took complete control over the city the UN forces suffered more than 500 losses between the landing in Incheon and the taking of Seoul while the KP A's losses were way more significant at 35,000 the defeats of the kPa and a South Korean advance were followed by the Namyangju & Co Yang cave massacres in which hundreds of civilians suspected to have communist sympathies were murdered by the South Korean police and local Lycia almost simultaneously to the landing in Incheon the UN forces started operations to break out of the Pusan Perimeter which they had defended fiercely and link up with the forces which landed in Incheon on the eve of the offensive which was launched on September 16th US intelligence estimated that the kPa had 13 infantry divisions online supported by one Armored Division and two armored brigades with the kPa first Corps on the southern half of the front having six infantry divisions with armored support a strength of 47,000 417 men and the second Corps on the northern and eastern half of the front having seven infantry divisions with armored support a strength of 54,000 men this made a total of one hundred and one thousand 417 enemy soldiers around the perimeter kPa formations were estimated to be at an average of 75 percent strength in troops and equipment UN forces had 140,000 men the UN strategy was for the u.s. 8th army and ROK armies to break through from the Pusan Perimeter and merge with the newly landed units of the tenth Corps the attack would be spearheaded by the US 24th Infantry Division with the 1st Cavalry Division in the rear while the 25th and 2nd infantry divisions would advance from the left and ROK 1st and 2nd cause from the right on September 16th the offensive commenced kPa forces were still very much capable of offering as strong resist when faucets it took three days for them to force the nekton River and make the North Koreans withdraw behind it until the 19th of September there was stout kPa resistance everywhere and no indication of voluntary withdrawal generally UN advances were minor and brought only at the cost of heavy fighting and numerous casualties then during the night of the 18th to 19th of September the kPa 7th and 6th divisions began withdrawing in the southern part of the line where they were farthest from North Korea the 6th division left behind well organized and effective delaying parties to cover any withdrawals on the 19th of September where Guan fell to the US v RCT and the ROK 1st division in the mountains north of tegu penetrated 2 points behind the KPA 1st and 13th divisions lines these divisions then started their withdrawals by the 23rd of September kPa forces were completely on a course of withdrawal the last North Korean troops in South Korea still fighting were defeated when General Walton Walker's 8th army broke out of the Pusan Perimeter joining the Army's 10th Corps in a coordinated attack on kPa forces of the 70,000 kPa troops around Pusan more than half were killed or captured however because UN forces had concentrated on taking Seoul rather than cutting off the KP A's withdrawal north the remaining 30,000 North Korean soldiers escaped to the north across the Yellow River but the North Koreans had suffered a significant number of casualties and had lost the majority of their tanks and artillery on the 29th of September the South Korean government was restored in Seoul their forces continued their advance and went past the 38th parallel China warned that if the US forces crossed the 38th parallel they would interfere nevertheless on the 7th of October the UN authorized American forces to cross into North Korea by the 19th of October the North Korean capital Pyongyang was captured by the UN forces on the 26th of October the u.s. made landings in rihwan and once an but both of them were already taken by the South Korean army by then the kPa had suffered some 200,000 men killed or wounded for a total of 335 thousand casualties since the end of June 1950 and had lost 313 tanks momentum was decisively on the side of the UN forces inability to break through the Pusan Perimeter suffering many casualties in an attempt to do this and successful American landings in Incheon changed the course of the Korean Civil War it was becoming clear that only in the case of foreign intervention which the advance of the UN forces be stalled Stalin clearly stated his reluctance to deploy Soviet troops but requested that the Chinese sent five to six divisions into Korea the upcoming Chinese intervention would prove to be a force strong enough to achieve stalemate in the Korean Civil War by October 1950 the UN and ROK forces at the upper hand they drove the kPa forces north of the 38th parallel quickly occupied North Korea's capital Pyongyang and headed towards the Yalu River in the north the border between Korea and China the power of the UN forces was just too much to withstand for the kPa and it was very clear that very soon the whole of Korea was going to fall under the control of the UN and ROK forces the commander of the UN forces General MacArthur wanted to move units to China to destroy supplies for the North Korean army President Truman was against this and unlike MacArthur he feared that Chinese intervention might cause a significant challenge to American gains in the Korean Civil War the Chinese leadership itself had differences of opinion about a possible intervention in Korea and confronting the Americans the Soviet Union did not want to personally be involved in the conflict so persuaded China to send five to six divisions to halt UN progress eventually Mao was able to persuade the rest of the leadership to intervene in Korea amid Stalin's promises to provide support to the Chinese intervention under the command of Poong de Hawaii on the 19th of October the Chinese 13th Army Group secretly crossed the Yalu River and launched their first phase offensive on the 25th of October they confronted the ROK x' 6th Infantry Division which prior to that had captured on Jong and aimed to move towards KO yang the Chinese 118th division was the main force resisting the ROK advance with the support of the 119 and 120 a--the divisions the Chinese forces gained a decisive win destroyed the 6th ROK division and inflicted significant damage on the ROK 2nd army which weakened the right flank of the US 8th army around the same time the Battle of Ernst and commenced moon San was a strategic place of entrance to the Yalu River area and was taken by the ROK 1st Infantry Division with the 6th Infantry Division - it's right and us 24th division to its left they were opposed by four divisions from the 39th and 40th paws of the Chinese army the Chinese had noticed that the UN front line around in sand was very thin and decided to make a pincer movement through it breaking up the line and surrounding own sand with UN forces still in it soon the Chinese were able to surround the ROK 1st division defeat the South Korean forces around in sand and the American troops sensitive support them the u.s. suffered one of its largest losses in the korean civil war losing more than 1,100 personnel during the battle of Winsett the ROK 15th Infantry Regiment and US 8th Cavalry Regiment were lost during the battle UN forces retreated back to the Chungcheong River the next significant engagement between the Chinese and the UN forces took place in the village of Baek Jong on the Italian River following their success in unsanded and 17th division pressed southward aiming to cut off the withdraw of the UN forces British and Australian forces supported by American artillery were able to halt the Chinese advance on their fifth while losing 300 men and inflicting 1500 casualties on the Chinese Chinese and kPa forces had to withdraw north while the UN forces won some time to reinforce the Chong Chon line this brought the first phase offensive to an end the Chinese were able to gain considerable success by halting the UN advance and destroying their momentum pushing its forces south while the Chinese advance took the UN forces by surprise the UN military leadership believed that the Chinese had not intervened with a large force and General MacArthur launched the home by Christmas offensive on the 24th of November prior to their offensive intelligence gathering was conducted on the Chinese lines and all they could observe were small numbers of troops with withdrawals being made from numerous positions which were earlier taken by the Chinese and kPa forces this brought the UN commands to the false conclusion that the Chinese had brought only 70,000 troops while the actual number was closer to 300,000 China had nine armies and three infantry divisions in Korea plus there were more than 70,000 kPa troops still ready to fight the UN forces had 720 3,000 men at the start of the offensive MacArthur's plan was to push north to the Korean border with the u.s. 1st Corps in the West the u.s. 9th corps in the center and the ROK 2nd Corps in the east the PVA 8th army groups six armies were located 10 to 15 miles 16 to 24 kilometers north of the 8th army front the 50th and 66th armies stood opposite the 1st Corps in the West the 39th and 40th armies were centrally located north of the ninth Corps the 38th and 42nd armies were above the ROK 2nd Corps in the east while the UN Command was planning its offensive the Chinese command was also doing the same it was preparing for the second phase offensive which aims to lure the UN forces towards the Chinese and Cape lines and confront them there in order not to overextend their supply lines and fight in the territory they knew better given their inferiority with respect to firepower artillery and air support visa feed the UN forces on the 25th of November the UN advance was met by the Chinese and kPa forces despite numerous Chinese units being present the faulty intelligence caused the UN forces to have an inaccurate perception of their strengths the PVA 13th Army launched a series of surprise attacks along the Chungcheong River Valley on the night of November 25th 1950 in the western half of the second phase campaign with a reconstituted ROK 2nd Corps placed on the 8th Army's right flank the advance was led by the US 1st Corps to the West u.s. 9th corps in the center and ROK 2nd court to the east but a massive frontal attack was launched against the entire UN line from young sangdong to young me to the west the ROK 1st Infantry Division and u.s. 1st Corps were attacked by the PVA 66th Corps at Yongsan Dom in the center strong probing actions by the PVA 39th and 40th cores were carried out against the u.s. 9th corps a tip sock and could Jack Don in the east the PVA 38 and 40 second cause broke through the ROK second port line as dr. John and young Donnie the right flank of the UN forces was identified as the weakest link since ROK armies lacked the manpower of the US troops and the most difficult terrain was at that point the Chinese were able to defeat the ROK troops on the right flank and take ton-chan and young Donnie forcing the US forces to commit to that part of the front line to in Koo Jiang dong the American offensive was also first stalled then pushed back more than 30 kilometers the American advance along the Korean River was also stalled when the PVA 39th Corps confronted the u.s. 25th Infantry Division and forced them to withdraw south after numerous losses on the 27th of November 1950 a Chinese force surprised the u.s. 10th Corps in the Choson reservoir area between the 27th of November and the 13th of December bloody battle in freezing weather took place 120,000 Chinese troops were able to encircle 30,000 to n troops the UN troops were able to break through to Hernando thanks to the support of the US Army task force faith while inflicting significant casualties on the Chinese the UN Command ordered the 8th army to withdraw from North Korea which is considered the longest withdrawal in American military history simultaneously the American 10th Corps and the Korean 1st Corps were being evacuated from home Nam surprisingly without any interference by the Chinese and kPa forces more than 100,000 troops approximately 100,000 refugees from North Korea and 17,500 vehicles from North Korea were evacuated from home Nam in what became known as a Christmas miracle prior to the involvement of the Chinese forces in the war everything looks very good for the UN forces and South Koreans and it looks like the war would be over soon and Korea would be united under pro-western forces but the Chinese interference reversed their fortunes completely the UN Command was very wrong about the scope of Chinese participation in the war and believed that the Chinese forces were not fit to oppose the UN advance the UN losses forced it to propose a ceasefire along the 38th parallel to the Chinese leadership some even proposed the US forces leave Korea and were concerned that China had enough manpower to overpower the UN forces the UN strategy from now on was to to the games they had already made and ensure the defense of South Korea the UN ceasefire offer was interpreted by Mao Zedong as a sign of weakness and he ordered the troops to continue the advance with the final aim being to occupy the rest of Korea despite the opposition of the Army Command 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 were 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 s first 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 treating the UN defenses at the Indian River and Hampton River had completely collapsed with the PVA advancing 14 kilometers into UN controlled territory actions at Camp Young and chan chán also resulted in a serious defeat for UN forces and inflicted severe casualties on ROK infantry divisions two and five with the UN defense line collapsing general Ridgway ordered the evacuation of Seoul On January 30 1951 due to the risk of the u.s. eight 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 38 Corps 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 exhaust tune 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 horses and their movement therefore on the 25th of January Ridgeway 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 met a background of light resistance by the Chinese and 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 taken back 1 June 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 gear 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 hyung song 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 batch of the pen song while inflicting 12 thousand casualties and numerous equipment and vehicle losses the next target of the Chinese forces was chip Jung knee 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 chip Yong nee fighting against three infantry divisions of Americans and French along with other smaller units totaling four thousand five hundred 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 UN forces enjoy 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 US eighth farming 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 the fourth and final change of hands for soles 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 believes 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 a name 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 facts that the Chinese and kPa forced the UN army to fall back following the fierce battles of the imogen river and kept young the UN withdrawal 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 the fifth 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 as for 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 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 via the link in the description they assist the cold war channel and we will catch you on the next one
