The Korean War is often categorized into in 3 phases, or 4 if you count the ending stalemate a phase.
1. After America had slowly withdrawn its support in South Korea, Kim II-Sung, the North Korean leader, decided to make advances towards the South Korean capital. He believed after the Americans had left, the North's more prepared and experienced army would crush Southern resistance. He was right, and managed to push back South Korean forces to their furthest land down in the bottom of Korea.
2. The United States and the U.N had begun to worry about the future of Korea. Many in the U.N were against communism, and most of those who might not have been were either not present, or also condemned the war. It was agreed upon that something had to be done. Resolution 83 was the answer, which recommended that military assistance should be provided to the South.
It was decided that the Americans should be in charge of these forces. After many failed attempts to regain land, the U.S. had stalled North Korean advances long enough to receive more troops. U.S. commander Douglas MacArthur lead a valiant charge against the North Koreans by going behind enemy lines and surprising them with an assault landing by sea. Despite the odds, the charge was a massive success, and North Korean forces fled toward the north.
3. Many were worried about China's warnings about proceeding through the 38th parallel, but not MacArthur. He believed that he could crush the chinese, and that they wouldn't even try to attack. The Chinese, having more information on the U.S. soldiers than before thought, constantly launched very small attacks to size up MacArthur's forces. After finishing their espionage-like intelligence gathering, they withdrew into the mountains. MacArthur made the mistake of thinking this was a retreat, and sent his men forward for a push to win the war. The Chinese capitalized on this by not only intercepting MacArthur's orders, but planning ambushes along their route. MacArthur's push, named the "Home-by-Christmas" offensive, failed miserably. The U.N supplied new men to front and managed defend.
While there was still more fighting, and the eventually removal of MacArthur for insubordination by Truman, all of it lead to a stalemate, where neither side would push past the 38th parallel for fear of massive loss. For more in-depth information on the Korean war, see the links below.
1. After America had slowly withdrawn its support in South Korea, Kim II-Sung, the North Korean leader, decided to make advances towards the South Korean capital. He believed after the Americans had left, the North's more prepared and experienced army would crush Southern resistance. He was right, and managed to push back South Korean forces to their furthest land down in the bottom of Korea.
2. The United States and the U.N had begun to worry about the future of Korea. Many in the U.N were against communism, and most of those who might not have been were either not present, or also condemned the war. It was agreed upon that something had to be done. Resolution 83 was the answer, which recommended that military assistance should be provided to the South.
It was decided that the Americans should be in charge of these forces. After many failed attempts to regain land, the U.S. had stalled North Korean advances long enough to receive more troops. U.S. commander Douglas MacArthur lead a valiant charge against the North Koreans by going behind enemy lines and surprising them with an assault landing by sea. Despite the odds, the charge was a massive success, and North Korean forces fled toward the north.
3. Many were worried about China's warnings about proceeding through the 38th parallel, but not MacArthur. He believed that he could crush the chinese, and that they wouldn't even try to attack. The Chinese, having more information on the U.S. soldiers than before thought, constantly launched very small attacks to size up MacArthur's forces. After finishing their espionage-like intelligence gathering, they withdrew into the mountains. MacArthur made the mistake of thinking this was a retreat, and sent his men forward for a push to win the war. The Chinese capitalized on this by not only intercepting MacArthur's orders, but planning ambushes along their route. MacArthur's push, named the "Home-by-Christmas" offensive, failed miserably. The U.N supplied new men to front and managed defend.
While there was still more fighting, and the eventually removal of MacArthur for insubordination by Truman, all of it lead to a stalemate, where neither side would push past the 38th parallel for fear of massive loss. For more in-depth information on the Korean war, see the links below.