Although
I’ve done a blog on “M*A*S*H”, in which I briefly covered this war, I never did
a blog on this war itself. Coming
shortly on the heels of World War II – just 5 years after – it pulled in many
WWII veterans.
Phase I. North Korea kicks ass. On June 25, 1950, the North Korean army
(Korean People’s Army, KPA) launched a surprise attack across the 38th
Parallel and pushed the South Korean (Republic of Korea, ROK) forces all the
way down to the very southeast tip of the peninsula, at Pusan. This small pocket held out against amazing
odds. [M*A*S*H item: Veteran surgeon
cracks after too long – Hawkeye is disturbed, as the man was at Pusan. If a man who survived Pusan can break, what
hope is there for anyone who didn’t go through all that?]. In addition to the KPA outnumbering the AROK
by 3 to 1, they had also had tanks – the South Koreans had none – and more
aircraft. There were no US forces in
South Korea, but there were nearby in Japan.
The
US got an UN resolution passed, and sent its own forces from Japan to reinforce
the South Koreans. Troops & tanks,
of course, but also overwhelming air superiority which blitzed the KPA. By September the UN forces were actually
breaking out of the perimeter. Note: although the US provided the majority of troops,
air support, and supplies, the Allied effort was a UN effort. French and Turkish troops wound up playing
pivotal roles in several battles.
Phase II. UN kicks ass.
September 15, 1950, MacArthur engineered a brilliant landing at Inchon,
which is on the west coast of the peninsula about halfway up. This was well behind North Korean lines and
completely took them by surprise. South
Korea was liberated, and the UN forces rolled all the way up to the Chinese
border on the Yalu River. KPA forces
disintegrated and left North Korea almost defenseless.
MacArthur publicly argued that the UN should
invade China, and Truman disagreed with him – and sacked him. Remarkably, the US had competent military
commanders aside from him who managed to get the job done.
Phase III. Mao kicks ass. On October 25, 1950, Mao sent millions of
“volunteers” over the border – mostly former Nationalist armies who surrendered
after Chiang Kai-Shek fled to Taiwan, relabeled the People’s Volunteer Army
(PVA) – to overwhelm the UN forces by sheer numbers. After the initial shock, the UN forces
rallied and held the communist forces…right around the 38th Parallel
– i.e. the original border. The first
half of 1951 involved a series of costly but strategically significant battles
between the UN forces and the PVA, ending by June 1951.
Phase IV. Stalemate.
For the next two years the battle dragged on at that place, neither side
gaining an advantage over the other.
Peace talks dragged on, much to Hawkeye’s annoyance. Mao seemed to be the only one who wanted to
continue the war, but Hawkeye never bitched to him (by the time “M*A*S*H”
aired, Nixon had made Mao a popular guy in the US).
Chinese
forces suffered heavy casualties. They
had little air support. The .50 machine
gun did a great job of slicing through dense ranks of soldiers. Most of the forces were former Nationalist
armies Mao didn’t care about. Moreover,
Mao was trading Chinese lives to get Soviet technology from Stalin.
Leaders. US:
Harry S. Truman (until January 1953); Republic of Korea (South Korea):
Syngman Rhee; Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (North Korea): Kim Il-Sung
(grandfather of current leader); China: Mao Zedong; USSR: Josef Stalin.
Tanks. The communists used
mainly T34-85s left over from WWII. The
US forces used M46 Patton tanks, which replaced the T26 Pershing tanks
originally designed in 1945 but were outdated by 1951.
MiG-15. This was originally my angle, until I
realized that the war itself was a more substantial topic. The war gave jets an opportunity to show what
they could do on a broader scale than WWII, where the ME262 was the only jet to
get any substantial airtime.
The Russians brought the MiG-15 to
the table. Although they trained North
Korean and Chinese pilots, most of the planes were flown by Russian
pilots. They pretended to speak Korean
on the radio, but reverted to Russian when under stress and/or swearing. Since Stalin didn’t want any captured – which
would prove the Russians were in the cockpits – they had orders not to fly over
enemy territory.
The MiGs themselves were highly
competitive with the US jets, the F86 Sabres.
They also shot B29s out of the sky fairly easily, which meant the US had
to fly those bombers only at night.
R&R in Tokyo. Instead of being firebombed, Tokyo is where
Hawkeye and Trapper John go for R&R.
Amusing turn of events, as least as far as the Americans are concerned. Also, my military history professor at UM, Sumida, made an interesting observation. It seems there were some North Korean prisoners who refused to talk. The Americans brought in a Japanese officer, merely as an observer. When the North Koreans saw him, they immediately started talking.
Armistice, but no
Peace Treaty. Technically the war ended with a cease fire
on July 27, 1953, not a peace treaty, so it’s going on right now. The demilitarized zone was added as part of the
armistice terms.
Uncle Jeff. The only relative I know who fought in Korea (he also fought in the Pacific in WWII). Sadly, I can't remember any war stories from Korea. For that matter, I don't recall him telling stories about WWII. My Uncle Larry, navigator in a B17, did observe an ME262.
Uncle Jeff. The only relative I know who fought in Korea (he also fought in the Pacific in WWII). Sadly, I can't remember any war stories from Korea. For that matter, I don't recall him telling stories about WWII. My Uncle Larry, navigator in a B17, did observe an ME262.
Movies. It turns out that there are lots of Korean
War films, but I’ve only seen a handful.
M*A*S*H. The original, with Donald Sutherland as Hawkeye
and Elliot Gould as Trapper John. This
had Robert Duvall as Major Frank Burns and Rene Auberjonois – Odo on Boston
Legal – as Father Mulcahy. Gary Burghoff,
aka “RADAR” O’Reilly, was the only actor to play in both the movie and the series.
Since
it mainly dealt with the doctors, I don’t really consider it much of a Korean
War film. Moreover, unlike the TV
series, which was a comedy, this film is more of a drama, albeit highly
irreverent.
The Manchurian
Candidate. Although the events in question started in
Korea – the US squad captured by the Reds – all the main plot takes place in
the USA. Not much of a Korean War movie.
The Steel Helmet. B&W, made in 1951. Features a gruff sergeant, a young Korean boy ("Short Round"), a Japanese-American soldier, Tanaka - proud veteran of the 442nd in WWII - and a black medic. For a movie of that vintage, it pushes a whole bunch of buttons: racism in the US, internment camps, and general discord and nastiness among US soldiers. I noticed a few Mosin-Nagants and a PPSH. Thanks, Dave!
The Steel Helmet. B&W, made in 1951. Features a gruff sergeant, a young Korean boy ("Short Round"), a Japanese-American soldier, Tanaka - proud veteran of the 442nd in WWII - and a black medic. For a movie of that vintage, it pushes a whole bunch of buttons: racism in the US, internment camps, and general discord and nastiness among US soldiers. I noticed a few Mosin-Nagants and a PPSH. Thanks, Dave!
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