The Korean War began as a conflict between North and South Korea. The United States became involved in the war to assist South Korea. The boundaries of the war has been termed South to the Naktong..North to the Yalu. This is the area used to describe the boundaries of the Korean War where American troops fought. U.S. troops’ first battle in Korea occurred in the Naktong Bulge. A significant move made by American and U.N. troops in Korean occurred in the Inchon port. The Inchon landing was a terrible risk for the UN allies because Inchon port was behind enemy lines, it was a narrow port, and it had been known for its extreme fluctuating tides. General MacArthur believed that for these reasons North Koreans would not expect UN troops to attempt a landing in the Inchon. General MacArthur was very aggressive in the conflict and was relieved of command due to a disagreement he had with President Truman and the role of the American military in the war. MacArthur wanted to move forces into North Korea and Truman was not confident about the move as he feared China’s possible involvement. Truman reluctantly agreed to MacArthur’s suggestion and when troops moved into North Korea, China immediately responded with troops that ultimately pushed American troops back to South Korea. This is why China got involved in the war. After this incident, MacArthur wanted to bomb China and Truman refused. Truman feared an attack on China would lead to involvement by the Soviet Union. Thus, Truman replaced MacArthur with General Matthew Ridgeway and stood firmly on his desire to not extend the war into a conflict with China. This was not a mistake by Truman as it prevented a full scale war with both China and the Soviet Union. When ceasefire finally occurred, it occurred in the little town of Panmunjom is located between North and South Korea. It is the place where the ceasefire between North and South Korea was negotiated and signed. In the Korean War, the United States set up MASH units. MASH is a mobile army surgical hospital. The hospitals were first created in 1945 as fully functioning and self-contained hospitals. During the Korean War, injured soldiers were sent to one of these for treatment. The television show entitled MASH was inspired by these units and attempted to portray the day to day lives of the medical staff in one of these units.
References
MASH - Mobile Army Surgical Hospital. 16 March 2012. <http://armedforcesmuseum.com/mash-mobile-army-surgical-hospital/>.
The Korean War. 2016. <https://history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952/korean-war-2>.
