Warm greetings to everyone from the harsh Urals, where summer is short, and winter is the main season! Now we will analyze the most important topic both in the history of Russia and in world history.

Korean War 1950-1953 Is also a conflict that marks a milestone in the Cold War. It is a manifestation of the confrontation between the socialist camp of states and the capitalist camp, the USSR and the USA. Do not go to the exam in history until you thoroughly repeat this topic. In this article, we will just briefly and clearly analyze it.

Painting of the DPRK artist about the war

This confrontation is believed to be the first military conflict during the Cold War. But strictly speaking this is not the case. Don't forget the 1948 Berlin Crisis. Although you can argue.

Origins

The reasons for the war in Korea are related both to the international situation in the mid-20th century and to Korea itself. It all started with the defeat of Japan during World War II: on September 2, 1945, the Land of the Rising Sun signed unconditional surrender in front of the United States. Korea was actually under the protectorate of Japan. At least the Japanese militarists saw it as their sphere of influence.

After World War II, Korea became a de facto independent state. But it was divided into spheres of influence between the USSR and the United States: the northern part was controlled by the Soviet Union, and the southern part was controlled by the United States. In May 1948, in the southern half, the Government of the Republic of Korea was proclaimed, headed by Lee Seung Man, and in September in the North half, the Korean People's Democratic Republic led by Kim Il Sung.

Kim Il Sung

Immediately after its proclamation, North Korea took aim at the South: Kim Il Sung constantly came to Soviet Union and asked not only for loans, but also for military assistance to unite the country. However, Stalin was cautious: until it was decided that such a war would become protracted, and external intervention was not ruled out. However, after a few months the situation turned 180 degrees.

Lee Seung Man

On October 1, 1949, Mao Zedong proclaimed the creation of the People's Republic of China. Conservative forces left the country and fled to Taiwan. The civil war in China ended in victory for the communist forces. This meant, firstly, the appearance of a strong strategic ally for the USSR in Far East and secondly, China's support for North Korea's aspirations. The Soviet Union could no longer stand aside and also supported these sentiments: to unite Korea under the rule of the Northern part.

I.V. Stalin

Other reasons for the Korean War include:

  • The arms race and the struggle for spheres of influence between the USSR and the United States immediately after the end of World War II. After all, the information noise began already on March 5 - with Winston Churchill's speech in Fulton. Also, let's not forget about the open and monstrous US demonstration of nuclear weapons on August 6 and 9 in Japan - Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
  • , which began in 1946/1949, also contributed to the growth of confrontation between the countries of capitalism and socialism.
  • Constant military tensions along the 38th parallel border between the Koreas, with more than 1,000 small-scale sudden military clashes. Permanent partisan detachments on both sides only exacerbated the situation.

Key events

On June 24, 1950, the North Korean Minister of War ordered the offensive. Reportedly, the military forces of the southern part of the country themselves provoked such an order. As a result, two serious army groups were sent to Seoul to encircle the capital and cut off the path to retreat. As a result, by July 5, Seoul was taken.

The further offensive was suspended: the command of the aggressor counted on an uprising in the southern part of the country in order, relying on it, to continue the forcible unification of the country. But the uprising did not happen.

General Douglas MacArthur

On June 27, 1950, General Douglas MacArthur gave the order to bring American troops to combat readiness in the region. As a result, both the UN peacekeeping force and the US military were involved in the war. By October, they pushed the North Korean armies back to the Chinese border. This state of affairs created a threat to the unification of the country no longer under North, but under South Korea. The USSR could not afford this and was also directly involved in the conflict. China did the same.

The war became protracted. By July 1951, the situation had stabilized around the notorious and ominous 38th parallel.

Thus, the situation at the front was capricious. Either the southerners almost reached the border of North Korea with the USSR, or the northerners seized the initiative. Such fluctuations were largely due to the resources that the USSR and China, on the one hand, and the United States and UN, on the other, sent to this war.

Conflict Map

In 1953, I.V. Stalin. On July 27, 1953, a ceasefire document was signed. War is over. The border between the Koreas to this day runs along the same 38 parallel ...

Outcomes

The consequences of the war were ambiguous and can only be assessed from the present. The ceasefire and, in fact, the civil war meant that Korea will henceforth develop in two alternative directions. The results of this development are visible only now: South Korea is a very prosperous state in Southeast Asia after Japan and China; North Korea is a country where people are dying of hunger.

After Deng Xiaoping's reforms, China also began to develop essentially according to the capitalist scenario. I think you understand who was right, at least on this moment... Time will tell whether Korea will be a united state again. Germany has been united over there, so it is still full of problems there, and this is in a country where the treaty is part of the culture. In Korea, everything will be much more complicated, in my opinion. What do you think? Write in the comments!

Also my advice to you: do not confuse this war with. The map is similar, but the wars are different. In order not to confuse anything, it is better to go.

Best regards, Andrey Puchkov

The Korean War of 1950-1953 is usually called a local military conflict between two warring parts of the once one country, which was divided after World War II into South and North Korea. In fact, it was a proxy war, waged by the hands of the Korean people by two military-political systems - "Soviet" and "American". The pro-communist North Korea was supported by the USSR and China, whose participation in this conflict was unofficial. In the fighting on the side South Korea the UN peacekeeping force took part.

In Pyongyang, this war is called the Patriotic Liberation War, and in Seoul it is called the "Troubles or the June 25 Incident."

This military conflict, which happened more than half a century ago, has not officially ended, since there have been no reports of the end of its statements. And the confrontation between the two Koreas continues today.

Reasons leading Korea to war

Such a development of events could have been foreseen even in the summer of 1945, when soldiers of the armies of the USSR and the United States appeared on the territory of the Korean Peninsula. And after the Second World War ended, and the peninsula was temporarily divided into northern and southern parts along the 38th parallel, the confrontation between them became more and more tangible, although it was assumed that over time, Korea should become a single country. But the "cold" war began, and in the face of confrontation between the two opposing world systems, it became almost impossible to agree on reunification. Therefore, North Korea developed under the patronage of the Soviet Union and became a communist country, while South Korea was more focused on the United States and followed the capitalist path of development. But both Secretary General Kim Il Sung and President Lee Seung Mann were striving for unification, but each saw a united Korea under their leadership. At the same time, both leaders understood that they could not do without the use of force, so they were preparing for war.

Seoul and Pyongyang were also prompted to take military action by the political situation in the world: the exacerbation of the Cold War, the emergence of Soviet nuclear weapons, and the creation of the People's Republic of China. Well, the most important reason for the war was the interference of the world's strong powers in the internal affairs of Korea in order to pursue their policy on the Korean Peninsula.

The course of the war

Until 1950, Soviet and American troops left the territory of the peninsula, leaving there not only military equipment, but also their military advisers.

Clashes along the borderline between the two Koreas occurred regularly, and the situation remained extremely tense until June 25, 1950, escalated into an armed conflict that began with a surprise North Korean offensive.

The UN Security Council discussed the Korean issue on the same day, and as a result, they came to an agreement to provide military assistance to South Korea, and North Korea, in an ultimatum, was obliged to withdraw its military forces from the southern territories. Such decisions were made possible because at that time the representative from the Soviet Union refused to participate in the meetings of the Security Council and was unable to exercise the right of veto.

On June 27, US air and naval forces, and on July 1, ground forces arrived to participate in the Korean War. In addition to the United States in fighting military formations of 16 more states entered.

Initially, the North Korean army was very successful, and it managed to flee the South Korean troops along with the peacekeeping forces. The northerners successfully conducted military operations in the area of ​​Suwon, Seoul, Naktogan, Daejeon and Busan and as a result occupied most of South Korean territory. The enemy troops were pinned to the sea in the area of ​​the port of Pusan.

The Supreme Commander of the Peacekeeping Forces in Korea, General Douglas MacArthur, not only managed to competently organize the defense of the port of Busan, but also carried out a counterattack with an American landing in the port of Incheon. On September 15, Incheon was taken, and the combined forces of UN peacekeepers and the South Korean army, successfully moving forward, recaptured previously lost territories. North Korean troops were thrown back to the very border with China. This meant that the entire territory of the Korean Peninsula could be occupied by American and South Korean forces. Therefore, in order to prevent such a development of events, the Soviet Union and China decided to come to the aid of their ally. And by the beginning of November, Chinese troops (they were called "Chinese People's Volunteers") and Soviet MiG-15 fighters were in Korea.

Until January 1951, hostilities proceeded with varying degrees of success, but neither side achieved significant results. By July 1951, the enemy troops took up positions approximately along the 38th parallel, that is, they were where the war began a year ago.

In July 1951, opponents started talking about a truce. Although negotiations began, the fighting continued. Now the fighting has moved into the air, where American and Soviet pilots competed.

In the spring of 1953, J.V. Stalin died, and the USSR decided that it was time to end this war. Without the help of the Soviet Union, North Korea did not dare to continue the hostilities.

Therefore, on July 27, 1953, an agreement on the cessation of hostilities was signed in the village of Panmunjom on the border of North and South Korea, which, in fact, meant the end of the Korean War. According to this agreement, a 4 km neutral demilitarized strip was established between the two states, and the rules for the return of prisoners of war were determined.

Outcomes

In this war, both sides suffered huge human losses. Among those who fought on the side of North Korea, more than 1.5 million people were killed and wounded, including about 900 thousand Chinese. The losses of the Southerners reached almost a million people, more than 150 thousand of whom were Americans. Losses among the civilian population of the Korean Peninsula reached about 3 million people.

In addition to human casualties, Korean industry also suffered, 80% of which was destroyed. As a result, the entire peninsula was on the brink of a humanitarian disaster.

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Find "KOREAN WAR" on

At the final stage of the war, the USSR and the USA decided to consider the 38th parallel on the Korean Peninsula as the demarcation line of allied military actions against Japan. Soviet troops accepted the Japanese surrender to the north, and American troops south of the 38th parallel.

Immediately after typing Soviet troops in Korea, a government of a united Korea that was simpatizing to the Soviet Union was created. The Americans opposed this government with the interim Korean government, which had previously been in exile. These two governments vied for power in the country, although it was assumed that the division of the country along the 38th parallel would be temporary. Nevertheless, on August 15, 1948, the Republic of Korea was proclaimed with its capital in Seoul, and on September 9 of the same year, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) with its capital in Pyongyang. In fact, the inhabitants of both parts of the country never got the opportunity to decide their own destiny, and Korea still remains divided: the temporary military borders have become permanent.

After the victory of the communists in China, Mao Zedong was able to help the communists in North Korea in their quest to create a unified state. It was with the support of Mao Zedong and with the knowledge of Stalin that the attack by North Korean troops to the south followed. In 1950, the leader of the Korean communists, Kim Il Sung, informed Stalin that as soon as the communists crossed the 38th parallel, a popular uprising would begin in the south and the whole thing would be limited to a short civil war.

The corrupt regime in South Korea was not popular with the people; in the course of various uprisings against it, about 100 thousand people died. In addition, Stalin apparently believed that the United States did not attach great strategic importance to South Korea and would not intervene in the conflict. However, the American leadership, confused by the events in Berlin, believed that communism was on the march and must be stopped at all costs.

In 1950, the USSR for some time left the United Nations. The US leadership did not fail to take advantage of this situation, which was able to involve the UN in solving the Korean problem. US and UN troops were sent to Korea.

The Americans hoped for a quick resolution of the conflict, but a three-year bloody war awaited them, which was the result of the participation of the Chinese army in it.

It is curious to note that during the Korean War (in which the US was officially involved, but the USSR was not), Washington knew for certain that at least 150 Chinese aircraft were actually Soviet and were flown by Soviet pilots. The Americans kept this information secret, since they reasonably believed that Moscow did not want to be drawn into the war at all. In other words, the main concern of both sides was to prevent actions that could be regarded as steps towards unleashing a war between the powers.

On July 9, 1951, the USSR proposed an armistice. Negotiations were extremely sluggish, and the front line, meanwhile, stabilized at the same positions where hostilities began - along the 38th parallel. On July 26, 1953, an armistice was concluded.

Victims

In the Korean War, 4 million Koreans, 1 million Chinese, 54,246 Americans, 120 Soviet pilots of the 4th Fighter Aviation Corps were killed. Material from the site

The prestige of China

China's victory, paid for by a large number of victims, but forcing the Americans to back off, caused a state of shock in the Western world. Military successes in the fight against American and UN troops, as well as the pursuit of a policy independent of Moscow, increased China's international prestige. The Korean War showed that China can no longer be ignored in international affairs.

Arms race

The Korean War was a global event. She contributed to the development of the arms race. After the Korean War, the size of the army in the United States increased sharply from 1.5 million in 1948 to 3.2 million in 1951 (in the USSR, from 2.9 million to 3.1 million, respectively). Under the influence of the Korean War, it was decided to permanently deploy American troops in Europe. From the end of 1953, the United States began to deploy tactical nuclear weapons on the European continent.

During the war, the United States was able to attract the UN, morning or military spending to its side, created NATO, it became possible to arm Germany, which happened in 1955.

Despite the fact that the Second World War put an end to the bloodiest regime modern history, its results became the foundation of a new military-political confrontation in the world. This tension was especially acute in those regions of the world where the troops of the former allies in the anti-Hitler coalition were stationed in the liberated territories. In the controlled territories, each of the parties tried to create its own zone of influence, contributing to the formation of national state entities with different ideological connotations. The political situation looked more complicated where the territory of one state was artificially divided into occupation zones. Occupied allied forces Germany and the Korean Peninsula are a vivid example of the artificial division of one country and one people into two irreconcilable camps.

If in Europe it was still possible to somehow maintain the status quo, then in the Far East the war in Korea was a response to the refusal of attempts to peacefully resolve political problems. The military-political situation on the Korean Peninsula, which remained after the defeat of Japan, later became a kind of detonator of one of the largest local armed conflicts in new history... The Korean War, which lasted three years, from June 1950 to July 1953 was the first act of armed confrontation between the two political systems that split the world into two camps.

Causes and effects leading to the war

The victorious countries of the Second World War considered the liberated territories as their fiefdoms. The Korean Peninsula became the last springboard where the allies in the anti-Hitler and anti-Japanese coalition of the USA and the USSR acted together. Northern part the countries were liberated by the Red Army, while the Americans managed to land in the south of the country. Under the terms of the agreements between the allies, the 38th parallel was supposed to be the line of advance of the Soviet and American troops. Accordingly, different parts of the country established their own zones of occupation with their own military administration. An artificial split of the country along the ideological principle has been outlined. External interference only intensified centrifugal tendencies, which ultimately led to the split of the Korean people into two different civil societies.

Considering the fact that both the USSR and the USA declared in words the right of the Korean people to self-determination, the reasons for the Korean War lie precisely in the desire of each of the parties to impose their own vision of solving the problem of Korean statehood. The result of the confrontation between the two superpowers was the formation in 1948 on the Korean Peninsula of two Korean states with completely different ideological platforms. In the north of the country, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea was formed with a pro-communist regime. In the southern part of the country, under the patronage of the Americans, another state appeared - the Republic of Korea.

Even the withdrawal of Soviet and American troops from the territory of the country did not lead to the desired result. By 1949, the formal attempts by the Koreans to unite the two parts of the country into one whole were exhausted. The pro-communist North, fueled by the USSR and the Chinese communists, did not make any political concessions. The position of the southerners looked similar, who relied on the position of the United States in their proposals. Both sides sought to unite the country only on their own terms. The parties soon moved from peaceful negotiations and political consultations to preparing a military option for resolving the crisis situation. The Soviet Union and the United States of America strongly supported the puppet regimes on both sides of the demarcation line, strengthening their military and technical assistance.

The Korean peninsula has quickly turned from a ball of discord and a bone of contention into a powder keg, ready to explode at any moment. We didn't have to wait long. The Korean War, which began as a civil conflict, quickly developed into a mediated armed confrontation between the two world political systems, led by the United States on one side, and the USSR and the People's Republic of China on the other.

Stages of an armed conflict

The North Korean leadership, trying to pursue its political line, decided to move to an open armed invasion. Despite the attempts of the Soviet political elite to control the military preparations of the DPRK, the military and top political leaders of North Korea decided to use military force to achieve their goals. Counting on surprise and technical superiority, on June 25, 1950, units of the Korean People's Army crossed the 38th parallel. The Korean War began, which quickly escalated into an international armed conflict, marking the beginning of an open confrontation between the leading world powers. Armed confrontation can be conditionally divided into four stages, each of which determined not only the ultimate goals of the parties to the conflict, but also characterized the current situation at the front and the political coloring of the confrontation.

War stages:

  • The first stage, June 25 - September 14, 1950. The invasion of North Korean troops into South Korea and the subsequent offensive into Seoul;
  • Second stage, September 15 - mid-October 1950. US troops entered the war under the auspices of the UN. Defeat of parts of the Korean People's Army by the forces of the international coalition and the seizure of the DPRK capital Pyongyang;
  • Third stage, mid-October 1950 - July 1951. China entered the war on the DPRK side. Strengthening military-technical assistance to the USSR. The beginning of the retreat of the multinational UN and US forces;
  • The fourth stage is the final one, July 1951 - July 27, 1953. Positional hostilities with varying success along the 38th parallel, holding the first peaceful consultations and negotiations.

At every stage of the war, events took an unexpected turn. Often the scales tipped in favor of one of the opposing sides. It should be noted that without external intervention, hostilities on the Korean Peninsula could have ended in the fall of 1950. However, the US attempts to save the puppet regime in South Korea led to the transition of the war into a new phase, the phase of international armed conflict. The participation of Chinese volunteers allowed the North Korean regime of Kim Il Sung to avoid complete defeat. Soviet military assistance helped the DPRK army to withstand the superior forces of the enemy. All this led to an artificial prolongation of the war. Koreans, both in the North and in the South, played the role of cannon fodder, the country lay in ruins. Attempts to achieve a ceasefire constantly ran into the political ambitions of the leadership of both Korean states and the geopolitical goals of the main players in the USA, USSR and China.

It should be said that each of the parties made attempts to find a peaceful way out of the impasse. The initiative came in turn from the side that was in the worst tactical and strategic situation. When North Korean troops captured Seoul and were able to establish control over almost the entire South, Kim Il Sung was already trying on the laurels of the winner and received congratulations. As soon as the Americans landed in the rear of the North Korean troops in Incheon and launched a counteroffensive from the bridgehead in Busan, the entire North Korean army began to rapidly roll back to the north.

After the entry into the war of the American army and the international coalition forces under the auspices of the United Nations, the situation of the North Korean regime became catastrophic. The defeat of the North Korean troops was complete. The American forces led by General MacArthur were able to deliver a series of sensitive blows to the North Korean army. Attempts to encircle and cut off KPA units led to the fact that already at the end of September 1950, hostilities spread to the territory of the DPRK, and on October 20, Pyongyang was taken by allied forces. Affected not only by the military-technical superiority of the allies' armed forces, but also by the poor preparation of the North Korean military command in tactical and strategic terms.

At this stage, already in the USSR, they started talking about the need to stop hostilities and withdraw all the opposing sides to the original demarcation line, to the 38th parallel. From that moment on, assistance to North Korea from the USSR and China increased. To stop the advance of American troops further north, it was decided to send a million Chinese volunteers into battle. The participation of such a force in a military conflict could not but affect the course of hostilities. Under the blows of the Chinese troops, the American and allied forces were forced to retreat to the south, where they fortified themselves in new positions. With the entry of China into the war and the active military-technical assistance of the Soviet Union, the Korean War entered a new round. The involvement of such heavyweights as China, the USSR and the USA in the military conflict led to the fact that none of the parties to the conflict could achieve the final result.

Forces of the parties. Military participation in the military conflict of the USSR, China, USA and their allies

The war in Korea, which was originally planned and conceived as a civil conflict, has become a fundamentally new version of armed confrontation. In a relatively small theater of operations, large military forces of the North and South, military formations and contingents of troops from other countries were involved. Thus, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea was able to mobilize almost 300 thousand people into the ranks of the KPA. On the part of the Republic of Korea, twice as many took part in the hostilities - 590 thousand people. Relatively a large number of foreign formations directly involved in hostilities. So the maximum number of the American army in different periods of the war varied from 300 thousand to half a million people. In addition to the United States, the largest foreign contingents were sent to the Korean front by Great Britain and Canada. The maximum size of the British and Canadian armies was 63,000 and 36,000, respectively.

In addition to the Americans, British and Canadians, troops of 13 other countries fought under the UN flags on the side of South Korea. Some of them were allies of the United States in the North Atlantic Alliance, while others were states bound by military treaties with the United States and Great Britain. Over the years, Greek and Turkish soldiers have visited the battlefields in Korea. Units of the Union of South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and the Netherlands participated in the secondary sectors of the front. Notable for their participation in the war and the army of Thailand, the Philippines, Luxembourg, Colombia and Ethiopia. Even the Cuban announcer Batista was different - he offered the Americans to help their armed forces.

The North Korean side was supported by the countries of the socialist camp. The Soviet Union formally took part in hostilities, sending military advisers to the country and supplying the Korean People's Army with samples of weapons. During the years of the war, through the crucible, the number of Soviet military advisers amounted to almost 26 thousand people, of which the lion's share were anti-aircraft gunners and service personnel of aviation units. However, the participation of the USSR in the Korean War was not limited to advisory and military-technical assistance. Beginning in the fall of 1950, the Soviet aviation corps, equipped with new MiG-15 fighters, joined the fight in the air. 536 pilots from the Soviet Union took part in the hostilities.

The People's Republic of China is a party to the conflict that has managed to deploy the largest military contingent. In total, almost 800 thousand Chinese soldiers took part in the hostilities on the side of North Korea. At first they were volunteers, and later regular formations of the People's Liberation Army of China took part in the battles.

Results of the Korean War

The participation of foreign troops in the course of the military conflict has led to the fact that the form of armed confrontation has changed. The initial successes of the North Koreans, thanks to the participation of the Americans and the coalition forces, were quickly nullified. The South Korean regime escaped defeat only thanks to the military intervention of the United States and an armed coalition of pro-Western states. The situation with the defeats of the North Korean army looks similar. The Americans, together with their allies and the South Korean army, managed to capture almost the entire territory of the communist North. Allied troops reached the Chinese border. Only the entry into the war of China and the increased military assistance of the USSR prevented the collapse of the communist regime of Kim Il Sung.

As a result, after three years of bloody battles and battles, when the opposing sides were again at their original lines, another attempt was made to achieve an armistice. Moscow and Washington decided to end the armed confrontation. The losses of the opposing sides in the Korean War were so great that everyone perfectly understood the need to put an end to the useless and bloody meat grinder. Neither side could defeat the other. The continuation of hostilities only exacerbated the plight of the Koreans. The country was completely destroyed. Among the civilian population alone, the losses amounted to more than 8 million people, not counting the missing and wounded. China has lost almost 250 thousand people. The US Army suffered significant losses, which lost 54 thousand of its servicemen. The Soviet Union, hiding its participation in the conflict for a long time, according to foreign intelligence, lost from 700 to 1,500 of its servicemen. Pilots accounted for the lion's share of Soviet losses.

The three-year war on the Korean Peninsula ended on July 27, 1953, when the official ceasefire along the front line and the forces of the side were separated to a safe distance. The situation has taken on a status quo, which continues to remain the same to this day.