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 * THE KOREA WAR
 * Soon after World War Two ended in August 1945, United States troops landed in Korea to occupy the area south of the 38th Parallel while troops from the Soviet Union entered the northern part of the country via roads to occupy the area north of the 38th Parallel. The idea at that time was for a national government to be formed, elections held, and once the new government was in place, both American and Soviet troops would depart. This did not happen because the Soviet Union want Korea to become a communist state while the United States wanted Korea to be a Democracy. The result of this ideological conflict was that in 1948 separate governments were established — a communist regime in the part of Korea north of the 38th Parallel (called the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea or North Korea) and a democratic regime in the area south of the 38th Parallel (Republic of Korea or South Korea.)

Even before the Republic of Korea was formed the first steps to building national army for the new country were underway. One of the first tasks undertaken by American occupation forces when they arrived beginning 8 September 1945 was to train and replace existing Japanese police and security forces. This took the form of a police academy to train policemen and the establishment of police constabulary regiments patterned on the U.S. infantry regiment of that time. The 1st Battalion, 1st Regiment Korean Constabulary was activated 14 January 1946 and began training at a former Japanese Army barrack area northeast of Seoul on the Ch’unch’on Highway. Besides the regiment in Seoul, by April 1946, constabulary regiments had been established at Pusan, Kwangju, Taegu, Iri, Taejon, Ch’ongju, and Ch’unch’on — one regiment for each province in South Korea. However, at the time these were regiments in name only since the total strength of the entire Constabulary in April 1946 was 2000 men but over the next two years were built up to approximately 26,000 men and officers. || On Oct. 19, the North Korean capital of Pyongyang was captured; by Nov. 24, North Korean forces were driven by the 8th Army, under Gen. Walton Walker, and the X Corp, under Gen. Edward Almond, almost to the Yalu River, which marked the border of Communist China. As MacArthur prepared for a final offensive, the Chinese Communists joined with the North Koreans to launch (Nov. 26) a successful counterattack. The UN troops were forced back, and in Jan., 1951, the Communists again advanced into the South, recapturing Seoul, the South Korean capital. || The Allies had declared in December, 1943, that Korea was to become "free and independent," and it was agreed that the Soviet Union was to occupy northern Korea, to the 38th parallel, and that the United States was to occupy the southern half of Korea -- to disarm the Japanese. That the Koreans were capable of dealing with a defeated Japan by itself was not considered. The result was a divided Korea and a center of world conflict. The Koreans had already organized a substantial resistance movement against Japanese rule. By 1945 they also had their own government in exile in China -- at Chongqing. As the day of Japan's surrender neared, Japan's governor-general in Korea, Nobuyuki Abe, was looking forward to saving lives and property of the Japanese in Korea and looking forward to an orderly withdrawal from Korea. He invited Korean leaders to meet with him to make this possible. || ||
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 * In the first weeks of the conflict the North Korean forces met little resistance and advanced rapidly. By Sept. 10 they had driven the South Korean army and a small American force to the Busan (Pusan) area at the southeast tip of Korea. A counteroffensive began on Sept. 15, when UN forces made a daring landing at Incheon (Inchon) on the west coast. North Korean forces fell back and MacArthur received orders to pursue them into North Korea.
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 * When the Korean War started in June 1950, Truman called on General Douglas MacArthur, the hero of the Pacific in WWII, to lead the troops in Korea. MacArthur made a successful amphibious campaign, landing behind the enemy’s lines at Inchon. His invasion began on September 15, 1950, and by November the U.S. Army had crossed the 38th parallel, taking control of the greater part of Korea. Although MacArthur’s actions were approved by Washington, the U.S. invasion northward provoked the Chinese. Prior to the invasion, MacArthur assured President Truman that China would not get involved, but he was proved wrong when the Chinese mobilized their troops The Chinese Army invaded Northern Korea and MacArthur pushed for a counter-offensive, but Truman and others in Washington disagreed. They felt that Europe and the Soviet Union were the priority and not war with China. An enraged MacArthur publicly denounced the President’s orders and Truman had no choice but to remove him from duty. Truman’s decision was not well received by the public. MacArthur came home a hero while Truman looked like a Communist appeaser. Without MacArthur, the war fell into a stalemate. For two more years the war continued and men died on the battlefield while Washington tried unsuccessfully to negotiate a cease-fire with China