Korean War

By koreanwargroup

  • 38th Parallel

    Soviet forces complete their occupation of northern Korea, halting their southward advance through the country exactly at the 38th parallel, as agreed at the Potsdam Conference. The Soviets will wait patently for several weeks as the Americans hastily organize their own occupation of southern Korea.

  • US to Leave Korea

    American forces begin to prepare to withdraw from Korea, hoping to leave the South as an independent state under the leadership of the pro-American conservative Dr. Syngman Rhee.

  • Truman to Fire MacArthur

    The Senate passes legislation reaffirming the scope and purpose of a unified NATO and authorizes President Truman to send four American divisions to be stationed in Europe. Truman now feels free to fire MacArthur.

  • Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

    Communist North Korea, led by Kim Il Sung, proclaims itself the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, denying the legitimacy of South Korea and claiming sovereignty over the entire Korean Peninsula.

  • Stalin Approves Korean Invasion

    North Korean leader Kim Il Sung goes to Moscow to ask Soviet leader Josef Stalin's permission to invade South Korea and begin the Korean War. Stalin gives the green light because he believes the United States has little interest in Korea.

  • 1950 Korean Election

    President Syngman Rhee's unpopular conservative faction loses its control over the South Korean assembly when voters elect anti-Rhee moderates to office in the 1950 elections. Rhee remains president.

  • Syngman Rhee and the Summer of Terror

    In response to North Korea's invasion of his country, South Korean president Syngman Rhee orders his military and special police forces to eliminate the threat posed to his regime by political prisoners and leftist dissidents, whom he fears will join forces with the Communist invaders. In the so-called "Summer of Terror" that follows, Rhee's forces will execute more than 100,000 people.

  • North Korea Invades

    Communist North Korean troops launch a full-scale invasion of the South, beginning the open military phase of the Korean War. North Korean tanks and infantry surge across the 38th parallel into South Korean territory, quickly overrunning the defensive positions of overmatched South Korean forces. The Communists continue their southward advance, meeting little resistance in the countryside.

  • US and UN Condemn North Korea

    In the morning, President Truman issues a statement announcing to the American public the decision made at Blair House on 25 and 26 June: "I have ordered United States air and sea forces to give the Korean Government troops cover and support."

  • North Korea Captures Seoul

    North Korean forces capture the South Korean capital city of Seoul.

  • Battle at Osan

    American ground troops go into battle against Northern Korean forces at Osan (just south of Seoul on the western side of the peninsula). The Americans, expecting an easy victory over an overmatched foe, are stunned to discover that the North Korean army will be a formidable adversary. The Americans suffer 150 casualties in the battle and fail to halt the North Koreans' southward advance.

  • Truman Authorizes Advance

    President Truman authorizes General MacArthur to order his forces to pursue the retreating North Koreans across the 38th parallel, into North Korean territory. This decision marks a fundamental enlargement in American war arms, now expanded from merely rescuing South Korea to rolling back the Communist regime in North Korea. Truman's orders direct MacArthur to keep pushing northward as long as he does not encounter Soviet or Chinese opposition and he remains confident of victory.

  • Chinese Cross the Yalu

    Communist Chinese forces, who have been secretly infiltrating Korean territory by slipping across the Yalu River under cover of darkness, ambush a South Korean regiment high in the mountains of North Korea. This is the first of many Chinese victories over unprepared and overstretched South Korean and American units over the winter of 1950-51.

  • China Enters Korean War

    Chinese leader Mao Zedong, fearful of the consequences of hostile American forces taking up positions along his country's border at the Yalu River, orders hundreds of thousands of Chinese soldiers into battle in Korea. The massive Chinese intervention into the Korean conflict catches American military leaders completely off guard, leading to a series of crushing defeats.

  • Eisenhower Elected

    In the American presidential election, Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower receives more votes—almost 34 million—than any previous candidate in American history. Eisenhower, a retired general and World War II hero, has built his campaign largely around a promise to pursue an honorable truce in the Korean War to allow the withdrawal of American combat forces as soon as possible.

  • Korean War Stalemate

    In the first half of 1951, the war in Korea begins to settle into stalemate. The year begins with surging Communist forces driving American and South Korean troops into a desperate southward retreat. By springtime, however, American forces organize a successful defensive line not far from the 38th parallel, halting the Chinese advance. Both sides launch a series of offensives aimed at breaking through the increasingly entrenched lines of battle, but neither can make much headway.

  • Matthew Ridgway Replaces Douglas MacArthur

    President Truman and his advisors agree that the time has come to relieve General MacArthur from his command. General Matthew Ridgway will replace MacArthur as Supreme Commander in Korea.

  • Peace Villiage Talks Fail

    Diplomats from China, North Korea, and the United States convene in Panmunjom—the so-called "Peace Village" located on the border between North and South Korea at the 38th parallel—to plan a political conference to reach agreement on a final, permanent peace treaty to end the war. Even this preliminary planning breaks down amidst angry accusations and counter-accusations from both sides.

  • Korean War Armistice

    After nearly two years of negotiations, diplomats from the United States, North Korea, and China reach agreement on an armistice to end the "UN peace action" in Korea without a formal peace treaty. Both sides claim victory; Korea remains divided at the 38th parallel.