The Cold War & The Korean War

The Cold War

The Cold War refers to the period between the end of the Second World War and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, during which the world was largely divided into two ideological camps the United States-led capitalist “West” and the Soviet-dominated communist

“East.

The Beginning

The Cold War was rooted in the collapse of the American-British-Soviet alliance that defeated the Germans and Japanese during the Second World War.

The two sides were divided on ideologies (Communism vs. Capitalism), and worried about the other side’s world plans

American and British diplomatic relations with Joseph Stalin’s Soviet Union severely cooled after the war No longer united against a common enemy,

tensions grew between both sides

The Beginning cont’d

The Soviets placed and kept local communist parties in power as puppet governments in once-independent countries across Eastern Europe, without due democratic process.

This situation led former British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill to state in 1946 that an “iron curtain” had descended across the European continent.

The Iron Curtain

Refers to the invisible barrier that divided Europe physically and ideologically between the United States-led capitalist “West” and the Soviet-led Communist “East”

The Deep Freeze

The period 1947-1953 became the Cold War’s “deep freeze” as East-West negotiations on the future of Europe broke down and stopped.

The international climate worsened with several high-profile events. 

Canada was involved in some of these events, including the Korean War

Canada and the Cold War After the death of Stalin in 1953, diplomatic

discussions between the East and the West resumed International tensions remained high for the next several

decades On a global scale, Canada contributed armed forces

to peacekeeping operations throughout the world, including in areas divided between communist and anti-communist factions.

Canadian political and military leaders, who at times critiqued American actions against communism in the Middle East, Latin America, and Asia, still prepared for possible war against the Soviets in Europe.

The Cold War at Home

The Canadian NATO commitment on the continent included an army brigade group in West Germany air force fighter jets capable of carrying

nuclear weapons. For both Canada’s government and its

people, the fear of nuclear war between the US and the Soviet Union remained ever-present throughout the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.

The Korean War

The Korean War began 25 June 1950, when North Korean armed forces invaded South Korea.

The war’s combat phase lasted until an armistice was signed 27 July 1953.

However, the two Koreas remain technically at war today.

The War Begins

Late in the Second World War, the Japanese-held Korean peninsula was liberated by both Soviet and American armed forces.

Soviet troops occupied the country north of the 38th parallel, with the Americans to the south.

June 25, 1950: 75,000 soldiers from the North Korean People’s Army poured across the 38th parallel, This invasion marked the first military action of the Cold War. 

Meanwhile…

In late 1949, the Chinese Civil War ended with the establishment of the communist People’s Republic of China.

Communist Chinese and Soviet leaders believed that North Korea could unify Korea by force, without Western interference.

In late June 1950, with Chinese and Soviet-supplied weapons and equipment, the North Korean Army invaded the South.

The UN Intervenes

The United States led the decision to help the Republic of Korea through the UN.

The UN General Assembly was dominated by Western countries.

The Security Council thus condemned North Korean aggression and called on UN members "to render every assistance" to the Republic of Korea. 

Life for Soldiers

At first, the war was a defensive one. The aim was to drive the communists out of South Korea. This did NOT go well for the Allies of the West

The North Korean army was well-disciplined, well-trained and well-equipped

American forces were frightened, confused, and seemed inclined to flee the battlefield at any provocation.

This was also one of the hottest and driest summers on record desperately thirsty American soldiers were often forced to drink

water from rice paddies that had been fertilized with human waste.

As a result, dangerous intestinal diseases and other illnesses were a constant threat.

The USA goes on the Offensive President Truman and General Douglas

MacArthur had decided on a new set of war aims. Now, for the Allies, the Korean War was an

offensive one: It was a war to “liberate” the North from the communists.

UN forces drove the North Koreans back, first to the 38th parallel, then to Korea’s border with China.

However, by the end of October 1950 thousands of Chinese army "volunteers" crossed the Yalu River into North Korea, driving the UN forces back south.

General Douglas McArthur

Led the United States military in the Korean War

The War Continues

As far as American officials were concerned, it was a war against the forces of international communism itself

After some early back-and-forth across the 38th parallel, the fighting stalled and casualties mounted with nothing to show for them.

Meanwhile, American officials worked anxiously to fashion some sort of armistice with the North Koreans.

Fear of World War 3

The Americans tried to get the North Koreans to agree to an armistice

they feared a wider war with Russia and China Some even warned of the possibility of

WWIII. Finally, in July 1953, the Korean War

came to an end. About 5 million soldiers and civilians lost

their lives during the war. The Korean peninsula is still divided

today.

Canada’s Efforts in the War

On 28 June 1950 Lester B. Pearson, Canada's Secretary of State for External Affairs, encouraged a Canadian response through the UN, and under US military leadership.

In the government's view, Canada would fight for the UN and the principle of collective security.

For the United States, this was a war against communism itself

Canada’s Efforts in the War cont’d

As part of a United Nations force consisting of 16 countries, 26,791 Canadian military personnel served in the Korean War, during both the combat phase and as peacekeepers afterward.

The last Canadian soldiers left Korea in 1957. After the two world wars, Korea remains

Canada’s third-bloodiest overseas conflict, taking the lives of 516 Canadians and wounding more than 1,200.

Canada’s Military Contributions Initially, Canada contributed

three Royal Canadian Navy destroyers (HMCS Athabaskan, HMCS Cayuga, and HMCS Sioux)

and a Royal Canadian Air Force transport squadron, No. 426 “Thunderbird” Squadron.

American, UN, and domestic pressure then led to Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent’s announcement on 7 August 1950 of a Canadian Army Special Force (CASF) later named the 25th Canadian Infantry Brigade

Group — to expand the country’s UN contributions to Korea.

Canada’s Military Contributions cont’d

In November 1950, the Canadian Army Brigade’s 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry Regiment, was sent overseas and landed in Korea in December. In May 1951, the rest of the Canadian brigade arrived.

For the army, the Korean War became largely a “war of patrols” in rough, mountainous terrain, but infantry, tank, and artillery units were also involved in heavy fighting at the battles of Kapyong (22-25 April 1951) Hill 355, also known as Kowang-San, (22-25 November

1951 and 22-24 October 1952) Hill 187 (2-3 May 1953), among many other actions.

The Battle of Kapyong

The Battle of Kapyong is one of Canada's greatest, yet least-known, military achievements.

For two days in April, 1951, a battalion of roughly 700 Canadian troops helped defend a crucial hill in the front lines of the Korean War against a force of about 5,000 Chinese soldiers.

Besieged by waves of attackers, the Canadians held their position amid the horror of close-combat until the assaulting force had been halted and the Canadians could be relieved.

Their determined stand contributed significantly to the defeat of the Communist offensive in South Korea that year.

Canada’s Military Contributions cont’d

Eight Canadian warships took turns in Korean waters protecting UN aircraft carriers, attacking enemy trains along the coasts, and helping other onshore operations.

The air force’s transport planes ferried people and materials across the Pacific Ocean

22 Canadian pilots flew jet aircraft with the United States Air Force

After the Armstice

Until the war ended the fighting took place along the 38th parallel, mostly consisting of patrols and raids against hilltop trench positions across the area in-between UN and enemy lines, known as “No Man’s Land.”

During the two years that followed the 1953 armistice, Canadians continued to serve in Korea

many were troops who guarded and patrolled the South side of the Demilitarized Zone which continues to separate the two Koreas.

After the Korean War

The Soviets, Americans, and their Korean supporters could not agree on the country’s government.

The United Nations Temporary Commission on Korea, which included Canadian members, oversaw elections in May 1948, but the Soviets forbid these elections in the north.

The pro-West Republic of Korea was then founded in the south and not long after, the communist Democratic People’s Republic of Korea was declared in the north.

Questions

Why was the Korean war important to the Cold War?

Why did the Americans work so hard to bring the Korean war to a swift conclusion?

If you were a major decision-maker in the United Nations, what would you do with the Korea in 1950?