China Fights Back
Learning Objectives:
1. To understand why China entered the Korean War.
2. To be aware of the war’s events after China got
involved.
The Korean War – a recap
1945 – The End of WW2
Japan had controlled
Korea during WW2, but
were forced to leave in
1945.
The USA invaded from
the south, and
communist forces
backed by Russia from
the North. The country
was split into North
and South Korea.
1950 – The Cold War
By 1950 the Cold War was
underway.
Communist Russia (USSR)
and China put Kim Il Sung
in control of North Korea.
The USA used the Truman
Doctrine and Domino
Theory to justify putting a
pro American leader
Syngman Rhee in control
of South Korea.
MacArthur fights back with UN
forces
In September 1950
United Nations
forces led by
American General
Douglas MacArthur
invaded at Inchon
and quickly forced
the North Korean
communist forces
back to the Yalu
River close to the
border with China.
?
The North Invade
In June 1950
Communist North
Korean forces led by
Kim Il Sung invaded
the South and
quickly surrounded
the forces of
Syngman Rhee
within the Pusan
Perimeter.
South Korea then
asked the United
Nations for help.
By November 1950…
• The UNC soldiers had
advanced nearly to the
border of China.
• This alarmed Mao
(China’s leader) and
Stalin (leader of the
USSR).
• Why would they be so
concerned by this?
• The map should give you
an idea…
Mao’s View
• Both Mao and Stalin were worried that
the UNC advance would upset the
balance of power in East Asia.
• It would put US soldiers directly on the
border of both China and the USSR.
• Stalin did not want to risk a head-to-head
confrontation with the USA.
• He therefore asked China to help out
North Korea instead.
• China suspected they might face
retaliation from the USA if they got
involved.
• However they decided that their aim was
to force all of the UNC soldiers of Korea.
• All of Korea would then become
communist!
‘If the US imperialists won
the war they would become
more arrogant and would
threaten us. We should not
fail to assist the Koreans.
We must lend them our
hands in the form of
sending out military
volunteers there.’
Show 26.00 –
30.20
China Prepares
• China needed a little time to get ready for war.
• They had only finished a civil war in 1949.
• The Chinese Army (CPV) was poorly equipped
and relied on labourers to carry supplies on foot.
• Therefore the USSR agreed to provide military
equipment to help.
• However China would still have pay for these
weapons such as artillery and vehicles.
• The USSR also offered their air force to provide
air cover over the Chinese armies.
• What China did have was an enormous number
of men who had recent experience of fighting in
war.
• They were also motivated to protect communism
and stand up to the USA.
Meanwhile…
• The UNC had been warned that China may enter the war.
• However MacArthur and the US government ignored these
warnings.
• The US now wanted a unified Korea.
• Therefore 200,000 UNC kept on advancing beyond the 38th
Parallel.
• Believing the war was almost over, soldiers became
complacent.
• Units became spread out. They did not prepare for a counterattack.
• Rumours spread that US troops would be ‘home by
Christmas’.
• The UNC were soon near the Yalu River and the border with
China.
• But…the UNC had fallen into a big Chinese trap.
Attack!
• On 25th November 1950, China launched a
huge attack on the UNC soldiers.
• The Chinese attacked in two main areas,
using 300,000 soldiers.
• The UNC were caught off-guard and
rapidly began to retreat.
• Some UNC units totally collapsed.
• The Chinese attacked with huge waves of
men and also used night attacks.
• The Chinese suffered heavy loses but now
had the upper hand.
Chinese Tactics
‘It was enough to make your hair stand on end. When the
bugles died away we heard a voice through a megaphone
and then the blast of a police whistle. I was plenty
scared, but who wasn’t? I couldn’t believe my eyes when
I saw them in the moonlight. It was like the snow coming
to life, and they were shouting and shaking their fists –
just raising hell. The Chinese didn’t come at us by fire and
manoeuvre, they came in a rush like a pack of mad dogs.
Even though I was ready it was a terrible shock.’
Corporal Arthur Koch, US Marines
Why do you think the Chinese used these tactics?
One soldier’s view…
‘We’d been humiliated and overwhelmed. The news
writers would slant it all to sound like a minor setback.
Take it from me, however, it was carnage. Intelligence
said they hit us with one-third of a million men. I believe
it. They turned our Army into a leaderless horde, running
headlong for Pusan. Our soldiers had lost every bit of
confidence in all of their leader, from the commander in
chief down to platoon leaders.’
Captain Charles Bussey, US Army
How useful is this source to an historian studying the Chinese
invasion of Korea in 1950?
The UNC Fights Back
• The UNC generals were in panic.
• MacArthur wanted to USA to attack China itself,
maybe even using nuclear weapons.
• However this would risk a war with the USSR.
• It took a US general on the ground, Matthew Ridgway,
to stabilise the crisis.
• He motivated US soldiers and encouraged them to
fight back.
• At the same time the Chinese had very long supply
lines and their attacks slowed down.
• This allowed the UNC to fight back and push the
Chinese armies back north.
• By February 1951, both sides were once again on the
38th Parallel, back where the war had began.
Show 33.50 –
38.35 for an
overview of
the Chinese
invasion.
Thinking Time…
• You are General MacArthur.
• The two sides are now back to where they started.
• What would you do next and why?
What should I
do now?
Exam Question Time…
Write an account of how events in Korea became an
international crisis in 1950. 8 marks
Your Task:
Use the rest of the lesson to plan your answer to this question
in your jotter.
You will then write up your answer for homework.
Activity…
Another tale of two maps…
Add to your notes from the last
lesson by rewriting the bullet point
below but as a written paragraph
which explain the next stage of the
Korean War.
• By October 1950 United Nations forces led by General
MacArthur had pushed the communist forces of North Korea
back to the border with China.
• They thought they were very close to victory and became
complacent thinking the war was almost over.
• Yet a month later 300,000 highly committed Chinese communist
soldiers counter attacked causing mass panic.
• By February 1951 both side were back where they had started
close to the 38th parallel.