1. The Korean War June 25th, 1950 - July 27th, 1953

2. -After WWII Korea was divided in half at the 38 th parallel -The USSR controlled the Northern half, which was communist, it’s leader was Kim Il Sung. -The Americans established a Democratic government (R.O.K) in the South, led by Syngman Rhee.

4. Syngman Rhee

5. -The North and South fight almost from the beginning. -The North has been given weapons from the Soviets and prepares to invade the South, which has an army with 2-3 times less men and weapons. --In the predawn hours of Sunday, June 25, 1950, the North Korean forces invade the South, taking them by surprise.

7. -The US and the UN came to the aid of the South Koreans in an effort to squash the Soviet advance. -The UN calls an emergency session, which the Soviets abruptly leave. The UN decide to send troops for a “police action”

9. -The North Koreans quickly crushed South Korean defenses at the 38th parallel. - South Korea's army was simply overwhelmed. The capital of Seoul fell in three days.

11. The suburbs of Seoul, destroyed by artillery and air strikes. Photo taken 08/20/1951.

13. -American General MacArthur felt that the North Koreans were vulnerable to an amphibious envelopment. -A landing at Inch'on, the Yellow Sea port just twenty- five miles west of Seoul, would cut North Korean supply routes.

14. -The assault on Inch'on on 15 September 1950 encountered light resistance and UN forces steadily pushed inland. -This was a huge confidence builder for the forces and particularly MacArthur.

15. - The course of the war changed abruptly, and within weeks much of North Korea was taken by United States and South Korean forces. -In October, the North Korean capital of Pyongyang was captured and ROK troops reached the Yalu River.

16. -MacArthur ordered an advance to the northern Korean border with China at the Yalu River. -Victory seemed at hand, but within 24 hours the situation suddenly changed. -When Kim's regime was nearly dead, the Soviet Union did very little to save it -- China picked up the pieces.

17. -The Chinese Army had 850,000 troops north of the Yalu River. -The UN force's advance had continued despite warnings of a massive Chinese intervention. -Mao Tse Tung feared that the Allies would not stop in Korea, but would continue across the Yalu River into China and attempt to overthrow communism in mainland China.

20. - MacArthur had Truman’s consent to take over all of North Korea. -However, the President did not agree to his suggestions of bombing China, including use of the atomic bomb. - After MacArthur publicly advocated widening the war, Truman fired him.

22. In November 1952 Dwight D. Eisenhower was elected President on the campaign pledge to "go to Korea."

24. President- elect Eisenhower during his visit to the Korea, December 4, 1952

25. -Armistice July 1953 between North Korea, South Korea, the UN, and the Chinese government. -The war lasted just over three years, and destroyed much of the Korean peninsula and the world around it. -Casualities were high, including 180,000 South Korean and UN troops and nearly 37,000 Americans -Number of communist deaths is unknown

27. July 27, 1953: Peace Treaty signed at Panmunjom 38th parallel reset as boundary between communist North and anti- communist South. Cold War tensions continue unabated. Gen. Mark W. Clark says he has "the unenviable distinction of being the first US Army commander to sign an armistice without victory."