Korean War
Inchon Invasion
September of 1950 MacArthur planned a breakout
· an amphibious assault on Inchon, halfway up the peninsula
· MacArthur planned to use Inchon as a base to attack Seoul, and from cut off supplies to the North Korean People's Army
· September 15 the US controlled Inchon
· classic "pincer" move, intended to crush the North Koreans between the Army at Pusan and MacArthur's troops landing at Inchon
· Syngman Rhee was restored to power in Seoul
§ MacArthur's invasion of Inchon was particularly bold and difficult
§ Inchon's tides fluctuate wildly, and if the invasion was not timed perfectly, the area planned to traverse by boat would be nothing but a mudflat
§ A second difficulty arose because MacArthur decided invade in the middle of typhoon season
· Rather than stopping at the 38th Parallel, MacArthur, with American support, sent his forces north of the dividing line
· Communist China promised that they would defend North Korea and send troops across the Yalu if the US crossed the 38th Parallel
· the US announced its goal of unifying Korea
· In October MacArthur sent his forces across the 38th Parallel wanting to capture Pyongyang
Truman flew to Wake Island to meet with MacArthur
· At the meeting, Truman tried to emphasize the importance of handling the Korean situation carefully and diplomatically
· MacArthur predicted that neither the USSR nor the PRC would likely come to North Korea's aid
Having defeated the North Korean army and pushed it out of South Korea, why didn't the US quit while it was ahead?
§ Dean Acheson and John Foster Dulles were hawkish and pushed for a fully unified Korean anti-Communist state
§ the growing prevalence of McCarthyism in the US made many Americans afraid of appearing "soft on Communism."