Nkpa War

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On June 25, 1950, the NKPA crossed the 38th parallel in force with the justification that the ROK soldiers attacked first. Between 25 and 30 June, NKPA reduced the ROK military from 95,000 to approximately 22,000, drastically reducing combat power. Given the United Nation’s embedded interest in the situation between Communist North Korea and budding Democratic South Korea, the United States, under resolutions backed by the UN, met the inability of the ROK to halt the advance of North Korea, covertly backed by the Soviet Union and China, with almost immediate military aid. Other UN members also provided troops, in a limited capacity, as well as supplies towards the effort. President Harry Truman, under the authority of the UN, put General …show more content…
At this point, approximately ten percent of the Korean Peninsula remained under the control of the Republic of Korea and the United Nations. Throughout August and September, US and UN forces held the Pusan perimeter while continually receiving personnel from garrisons in Japan and equipment from the States. By September the combined forces received enough reinforcements to counterattack and push through the perimeter. On September 15, Gen MacArthur ordered an amphibious assault on Incheon, resulting in a shattering defeat of NKPA forces. Following the defeat of NKPA, US politicians debated the advisability of continuing the advance north of the 38th parallel. American officials worried about provoking a physical response from either the Soviet Union or China. Despite warnings from the two nations against continuing north, the Joint Chiefs of Staff approved the decision to continue the advance, as long as the Soviet Union and China did not physically enter the Korean Peninsula or announce the intention to enter the peninsula. This proved to be an unwise …show more content…
A corps of ROK soldiers initiated the advance north of the 38th parallel and continued across the Ch'ongch'on River, situated 65 miles south of the Yalu River, the border between Korea and China. This initiated another warning from China via the Indian ambassador stating that if any American forces crossed the parallel, China would enter the war. President Truman decided to allow the attack to continue as long as US forces had “a reasonable chance of success.” This demonstrated a lack of faith in the reporting of the Indian ambassador. Open source reporting from China asserted China's readiness to intervene in Korea, as well as unknown reporting, which identified a full 24 Chinese divisions standing near the Yalu River crossings. Despite this multi-source reporting, much of the US command believed that China blustered with no intention of acting against the combined forces. This failure to take intelligence into planning directly impacted the events of the Battle of
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