Although South Korea was not a member state of the United Nations, sixteen states supplied direct military personnel, while the other five provided ambulances and other medical technology. The United States intervention fell under the umbrella of the UN intervention force, and it supplied up to 140,000 direct combat personnel at one time during the course of the conflict. The Soviet Union might have vetoed UN action with its position as a permanent member of the security council, but the Soviet representative Jacob Malik had begun boycotting the Security Council after failing to pass a referendum to expel Nationalist China from the UN. Thus, the Security Council passed a 9-0 condemnation of the war and led to "police action".
In actuality, much of the war was fought with US resources. Not only did it contribute the most manpower, but also provided air, naval, artillery, and military infrastructure for the other countries. In fact,
"nearly 90% of all army personnel, 93% of all air power and 86% of all naval power for the Korean War had come from America."US General Douglas MacArthur assumed the commanding position for all combined forces.
Korea lay within the US's interests mainly due to the Soviet expansion of power from a successful atom bomb test and US efforts around the world of containment under the Truman Doctrine, which had recently suffered a major setback in Asia due to China's civil war.
Although immediately after the North Korean invasion, South Korean forces were pushed to the southeast to Pusan, UN forces did not concentrate in that area. Instead, on Sept 15 1950, they attacked and Inchon, a port city close to the capital of Seoul. Cut in two, the North Korean offensive was destroyed, and MacArthur chose to push into North Korea in order to reunify the Korean states. However, as the UN closed in on the Yalu River, the border between North Korea and China, Chinese forces attacked and forced a stalemate.
The UN's quick and decisive action in Korea can be contrasted with the League of Nations' inability to fix similar crises, like the occupation of the Ruhr region.
Sources
"Korean War," HISTORY, http://www.history.com/topics/korean-war
North Korea, "United Nations Forces in the Korean War," Australia's Involvement in the Korean War, http://korean-war.commemoration.gov.au/armed-forces-in-korea/united-nations-forces-in-the-korean-war.php
7-21-2015, "US Enters the Korean Conflict," National Archives, https://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/korean-conflict/
"Soviets boycott United Nations Security Council," http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/soviets-boycott-united-nations-security-council
History Learning Site, 5-26-2015, "The United Nations and the Korean War," http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/modern-world-history-1918-to-1980/the-united-nations/the-united-nations-and-the-korean-war/
History Learning Site, 3-17-2015, "League of Nations Failures," http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/modern-world-history-1918-to-1980/league-of-nations-failures/
"sixteen states supplied direct military personnel, while the other five provided ambulances and other medical technology."
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing to see how the world can come together so fast in order to protect their common interests which in most cases tends to be democracy. It's also interesting that even though so many countries contributed to the effort most of the assets used were the United States.
I agree with Nathan, despite the fact that South Korea wasn't part of the UN, the United States still felt it to be necessary to defend democracy. However, this isn't always the case. Democracy isn't always a sufficient reason for America to go to war although it does boost morale. As stated in the post, the U.S. defended South Korea to prevent the Soviet Union from winning the arms race. Is the fight for democracy enough to unite people for destructive war?
ReplyDeleteThe Korean War was an interesting example of a world immediately after World War II, uncertain about nuclear weapons and dealing with a vastly different geopolitical scheme. In a region that had been Japan's playground since its acquisition of the peninsula in 1910. At that time, Japan had been the East Asian power and the Anglo-French were the strongest colonial powers.
ReplyDeleteThe Korean War showed how different this new world was. Russia was supplying the North Koreans and the Chinese became the largest military force in the East. The old European powers were gone and the United States reigned in Asia.
In fact, our landing at Incheon showed how capable we were. The fact that we could completely sail around a military force uncontested, sweep behind it with overwhelming air and land forces, and storm the capital so quickly was a testament to American firepower. The civilian casualties were a testament to the inaccuracy and indiscriminate nature of the newest weapons of the US military.
I believe that the Korean War, although it is known as "The Forgotten War" was the clearest example of the changed world order after WW2. The world was uncertain how each other would react after the war, and the Korean War gave them examples.