End of the Korean War and Cuba

Lesson 21

Korea

Approaching the Yalu

• MacArthur continued to push north, ignoring threats of Chinese intervention

• On October 25, the Chinese army attacked after having infiltrated into North Korea

• After suffering setbacks, the U.N. forces stabilized their lines by November 5

• Chinese withdrew northward

• MacArthur launched a great offensive toward the end of November, which he optimistically hoped would end the war in Korea

Counteroffensive

• MacArthur’s “all-out offensive” to the Yalu had barely begun when the Chinese attacked en masse on the night of November 25.

• Roughly 180,000 Chinese troops shattered the right flank of Walker’s Eighth Army in the west, while 120,000 others threatened to destroy the X Corps near the Chosin Reservoir.

• On November 28, MacArthur informed the Joint Chiefs, “We face an entirely new war.”

• U.N. retreat ended about 70 miles below Seoul.

Stalemate• Beginning January 15, Ridgway

led the U.N. in a slow advance northward.

• U.N. re-recaptured Seoul (the fourth and final time it changed hands) on March 15, and had patrols crossing the 38th parallel on March 31.

• In the meantime, MacArthur had been steadily pushing Washington to remove the restrictions on his forces.

• Truman declined for fear of widening the war and fired MacArthur for insubordination on April 11.

MacArthur’s Relief• MacArthur repeatedly

made public statements that were contrary to official US policy– In August, he sent a

speech to be read to the VFW proposing Formosa’s utility as a base of operations

– He suggested that Truman Administration policies were responsible for the retreat of the Eighth Army

MacArthur and Truman met at Wake Island, Oct

14, 1950

MacArthur’s Relief

• On Dec 6, 1950, Truman published an executive order– aimed at MacArthur– requiring all government officials to clear their public statements on foreign and military policy with the Administration

• Truman planned to use recent military successes to invite the Communists to negotiate

• MacArthur broadcast an ultimatum to the enemy which undermines Truman’s authority

• Sent a letter to Congressman Joseph Martin further criticizing the Administration

MacArthur’s Relief

• “I deeply regret that it becomes my duty as President and Commander in Chief of the United States Military Forces to replace you as Supreme Commander, Allied Powers; Commander in Chief, United Nations Command; Commander in Chief, Far East; and Commanding General United States Army, Far East. You will turn over your commands, effective at once, to Lieutenant General Matthew B. Ridgway.”

“But once war is forced upon us, there is no other alternative than to

apply every available means to bring it to a swift end. War’s very object is victory, not prolonged indecision. In

war there is no substitute for victory.” MacArthur’s Farewell Address

Apr 19, 1951

Civilian Control of the Military

• President serves as Commander in Chief and Chief Executive– Ensures civilian

control over military policy

– Appointment of officers

– Appointment of Secretary of Defense

• Congress provides for the common defense…– Declares war– Raises and supports

armies– Provides and maintains a

Navy– Controls budget– Make rules for the

government and regulation of the land and naval forces

Negotiation and Stalemate

• On June 29,1951, Ridgway broadcast a message to his Communist counterpart announcing his willingness to negotiate

• Eighth Army transitioned to an “active defense”

• Unsuccessful attempts to break Communist supply line with air and artillery

Matthew Ridgway

Operation Ratkiller

• The slowing down of maneuver allowed the UN to turn its attention to counterguerrilla operations.– Behind the lines in South Korea there were over

8,000 guerrillas and bandits, 5,400 of whom were reported armed.

– Concentrated mainly in the mountains of the rugged Chiri-san area of southwestern Korea

• Although they were chiefly of nuisance value, there was always the chance that in the event of a major offensive, they could pose a real and dangerous threat to supply and communication lines and to rear areas.

Operation Ratkiller

• During November 1951 there was an upsurge in raiding operations as the guerrillas launched well-coordinated attacks upon rail lines and installations.

– In mid-November Lieutenant General James Van Fleet ordered the ROK Army to set up a task force composed of the ROK Capital and ROK 8th Divisions, both minus their artillery units.

– Van Fleet wanted the group organized and ready to stamp out guerrilla activity by the first of December.

Operation Ratkiller• Since the Chiri-san held the core

of guerrilla resistance, Van Fleet directed that the first phase of the task force operations cover this mountainous stretch some twenty miles northwest of Chinju.

• On December 1, the ROK Government declared martial law in southwestern Korea. – Restricted the movement of

civilians, established a curfew, and severed telephone connections between villages.

• On the following day Task Force Paik initiated its antiguerrilla campaign, Operation Ratkiller

Operation Ratkiller: Phase One

• Encirclement

– Moving in from a 163-mile perimeter, Task Force Paik closed on the Chiri-san.

– The ROK 8th Division pushed southward toward the crest of the mountains and the Capital Division edged northward to meet it.

– Blocking forces, composed of National Police, youth regiments, and security forces located in the area, were stationed at strategic positions to cut off escape routes.

Operation Ratkiller: Phase One

• As the net was drawn tighter, groups of from ten to five hundred guerrillas were flushed, but only light opposition developed.

• After twelve days, Task Force Paik ended the first phase on December 14 with a total of 1,612 reported killed and 1,842 prisoners.

Operation Ratkiller: Phase Two

• The hunt shifted north to Cholla Pukto Province for Phase II with the mountains around Chonju the chief objectives.

• From December 19 to January 4 the ROK 8th and Capital Divisions ranged the hills and sought to trap the guerrillas and bandits hiding in the rough terrain.

• By the end of December it was estimated that over 4,000 men had been killed and another 4,000 had been captured.

Operation Ratkiller: Phase Three

• When Phase III opened on January 6, the task force returned to the Chiri-san to catch the guerrillas who had filtered back into the area after Phase I.

• On January 19, the Capital Division carried out the most significant action of the campaign.

– While the ROK 26th Regiment took up blocking positions north of the mountains, the ROK 1st and Cavalry Regiments attacked from the south, in two consecutive rings.

– Although one small group broke through the inner ring, it was caught by the outer circle of troops.

Operation Ratkiller: Results

• What was believed to be the core of the resistance forces in South Korea perished or was taken prisoner during this drive.

• When Phase III ended at the close of January, over 19,000 guerrillas and bandits had been killed or captured in the Ratkiller operation.

• The last phase became a mopping-up effort against light and scattered resistance.

• Ratkiller officially terminated on March 15, when the local authorities took over the task.

Negotiation and Stalemate

• In spite of the slowdown in major maneuver, both sides expend enormous amounts of effort to solidify their lines– Costly seesaw battles

like Bloody Ridge, Heartbreak Ridge, and Old Baldy

• Negotiations characterized by intransigence– POWs a major

obstacle• Armistice not signed till

July 27, 1953

Heartbreak Ridge with Bloody Ridge in background

Korean War and the Cold War

• Truman put limitations on MacArthur because he had concluded that Korea was not worth risking a third world war

• Korea was part of the US policy of containment, but stopped short of initiating the policy of “roll back”

• Contributed to the formation of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) by Australia, France, Great Britain, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand, and the US in 1954

Secretary of State John Foster Dulles advocated a policy of rolling back Soviet gains and “unleashing” Chiang Kai-shek

Korea Today

• The war ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty

• The Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) encompasses 2 kilometers on either side of the 151 mile long Military Demarcation Line (MDL)

• North Korea remains communist and a nuclear threat

Panmunjeom is the official diplomatic headquarters at the DMZ. North Korean guards, in brown, face their South Korean

counterparts, in blue.

Cuba

Fidel Castro

• In the early 1950s Cuba was controlled by a moderate right-wing military regime that was friendly to the US government and businesses

• The US supported Fulgencio Batista as an anti-communist and a proponent of the US in domestic and international policies

• However, in 1959 Fidel Castro was able to mobilize the disaffected rural peasants and topple Batista’s regime

A Cuban crowd listens to Castro after his takeover

Fidel Castro

• Castro assumed dictatorial powers and announced his goal was to create a society based on Marxist principles

• He nationalized large-scale landholdings, sought economic aid from the Soviet Union, and tried to export revolution throughout Latin America through peasant and urban guerrilla warfare

Che Guevara directed many of Castro’s Latin American operations

until he was killed in Bolivia in 1967

Bay of Pigs

• The US could not accept the presence of a revolutionary Marxist government so close to its borders and President Eisenhower authorized planning for a force of anti-Castro Cubans to invade Cuba and overthrow Castro

• When Kennedy became president he authorized the invasion but stipulated that the US not be involved in the landing itself

Bay of Pigs

• The invasion took place at the Bay of Pigs in April 1961 and proved to be a disaster

• Instead of rallying to the invaders, the local population supported the Castro government

• The failure embarrassed the US and weakened President Kennedy in the eyes of the Soviet Union– However, it strengthened

Kennedy’s personal resolve to act more vigorously in any future crisis

Castro helping to repel the invasion

Cuban Missile Crisis• Castro feared the US

would try again to overthrow him and he called for additional support from the Soviet Union

• Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev responded by sending medium-range bombers and missiles to Cuba to help defend Castro and threaten the US

• In Oct 1962, US spy planes discovered missile sites under construction in Cuba Map used to brief the range of missiles

and bombers being deployed to Cuba.

Kennedy’s Response

• Kennedy responded decisively, demanding that the Soviets remove the missiles and bombers or face their destruction by air strikes or invasion

• He also imposed a naval “quarantine” of Cuba

Quarantine

The US destroyer Joseph P. Kennedy stops, boards, and inspects a dry-cargo ship of Lebanese registry under Soviet charter to Cuba on Oct 26, 1962

US Victory

• On Oct 28, Khrushchev agreed to remove the missiles

• “Eyeball to eyeball, they blinked first.”– Dean Rusk, US

Secretary of State

• The Cuban Missile Crisis had shown the dangers of nuclear apocalypse in the bipolar world

• It was a major Cold War victory for the US and a major loss of face for the Soviet Union and Khrushchev

1962 British cartoon showing Kennedy and Khrushchev arm wrestling on top of nuclear

weapons

Cold War Society

Next

• Vietnam