Korean War Lessons

From the Korean War we the United States can learn that communism is spreading rapidly and therefore we are not prepared for a war with the Soviet Union and their allies. Communism is indeed spreading. Even China, soon after the Soviet take-over of eastern Europe, became Communist in 1949. Now suddenly a massive new Communist state had appeared on the map. It is clear that these communist countries are working together, and that Communism is getting stronger around the world. Because of these reasons, America initiated a war in Korea that we were not prepared for. The type of lessons that we can learn from this wear is that we must not under estimate any country. We had underestimated the Chinese, and therefore were forced to push back into South Korea. I think it is also important to realize that we should listen to countries when they warn us, and to not get ahead of ourselves and therefore to know when to stop. When the Chinese had warned us that pressing on would mean
China's joining the war, we still moved on and approved the plan to advance into North Korea.

The United States had certain aims to achieve in the Korean War. Primarily, we had wanted to remove North Korean troops from South Korea. By the help and support of the UN this was able to happen. But as time went on the United States got ahead of ourselves and we therefore kept pushing. Our vaulting ambition only caused us to fall on the end of disaster. We underestimated the power of the Chinese and were therefore pushed back into South Korea. However, with the help of the members of the United Nations we were able to achieve our first goal, which was to remove North Korean troops from South Korea. Although there is some communism still in Korea we did push them farther North making the Soviet Union's control weaken.

At the time General MacArthur had the role of Commander. MacArthur had been the one to make the mistake of underestimating the power of the Chinese. He had invaded North Korea without even thinking about the possible threat of the Chinese, even when they had warned us. I do not believe that MacArthur should have been allowed to invade North Korea. He had gone too far by pushing the border of South Korea almost to the Yalu River, he should have stopped after successfully removing North Korean troops from South Korea. After these actions, MacArthur had even advocated that the United States should carry on the war, invading China and even using nuclear weapons if necessary. Truman however did not agree, but that did not stop MacArthur. MacArthur blatantly ignored the UN instruction and openly threatened an attack on China.
Because of his failure to follow the commands, and his risky/dangerous ideas, it was clear he was not ready for the role of Commander and therefore MacArthur was removed.

The casualties of the Korean War were a total of 1.4 billion! Although most were on North Korea and China's side, the people that got the most casualties was all of Korea, with North Korea being the most and South Korea coming next with 570,000 civilians and soldiers killed. American and UN soldiers had lost the least amount of soldiers and civilians with 34,500 deaths.

Although the United States had successfully removed North Korean troops from South Korea, we were overall not prepared for the Korean War. For future actions, we need to consider what's the most important thing we need to accomplish, and to therefore not let our country get ahead of itself. We also need to realize that Communism is spreading, and therefore they have many allies making them stronger.

Overall I would say that President Truman's containment plan was somewhat successful. His plan did successfully allow us to push communism and the Soviet Union somewhat out of North Korea, allowing us to stop the spread of communism and the Soviet Union in becoming too powerful. However there were some downfalls. Communism did reach into China and almost got us into a third war world. In my opinion there should be more done to the policy of containment because clearly it is not strong enough to stop communism from spreading.

Dropping the Atomic Bomb

1. What factors have affected viewpoints on Truman's decision?
There were many factors that affected viewpoints on Truman's decision to use the atomic bombs on Japan. One of them for example, was that when Truman received details of secret Japanese signals that showed that the Japanese military were determined to fight to the finish, Truman came to the conclusion that the bomb had to be used as a 'normal' weapon without any warning. Another reason was that while testing the bomb, all the tests indicated that the bomb was of such power that no country could recover from its impact. From that being said, and the estimated number of casualties if they did invade Japan, Truman believed that since invading Japan would be so dangerous and could kill so many American lives, it was best for them to just use the atomic bomb.


2. Do you think he made the right decision? Give your reasons.
I think that the decision was the right one. Using the atomic bomb saved thousands of American Soldiers lives, and stopped the bloody invasion in Japan from happening. I think the most important thing at the time was to think about how to protect our people, not worry about the others. If we didn't use the atomic bomb, there would have been millions of either dead soldiers, or many casualties. It's often argued that the bomb used on Japan was unnecessary, and immorally wrong. Another reason is that by using the atomic bomb on Japan, we stopped the war from continuing. Since it was said that many military leaders planned to overthrow Hirohito and continue the war. Therefor in conclusion, by using the atomic bombs America successfully stopped the deaths of thousands of American soldiers, and stopped the war from continuing.

War in the Pacific

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1. What was the importance of the Battle of Midway?
The battle of Midway was a very important battle because it was known to be the turning point of the war. America had the upper hand in the battle, and caught the Japanese with their planes still on the decks of the carriers. The result of the battle was devastating, the Japanese lost 4 aircraft carriers, a cruiser, and 250 planes. It was said by a Japanese official that America had even "avenged Pearl Harbor" Soon after this battle, America began "island hopping" and island by island they won territory back from the Japanese. Thus making the battle the turning point of the war.

2. What strategy did the United States adopt in fighting Japan?
While fighting Japan, the United States adopted the strategy of island hopping. Where the United States Marine Corps would take one island at a time as they make their way toward Japan.

3. Why did the Japanese fight so hard on Iwo Jima?
The Japanese fought extremely hard on Iwo Jima because it held 20,700 Japanese troops. Also, if America had successfully won the battle on Iwo Jima, this now meant they had one more obstacle (Okinawa) then they would be able to bomb Japan, having it be the end for Japan in the war.

4. Why did the Allies believe Okinawa was a foretaste of an invasion of Japan?
The Allies believed that Okinawa was a foretaste of an invasion of Japan because the battle cost thousands of American lives, and it was overall a very difficult and long battle. Much harder than the battle on Iwo Jima. America realized that the invasion of Japan would cost them even more lives of American soliders, and would be even more of a challenge that the battle in Okinawa.

5. What was the Manhattan Project?
The Manhattan Project was a secret development of the atomic bomb led by General Leslie Groves and by American Scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer. This was where they tested the atomic bomb, which ended successfully.


6. Ultimately, why did President Truman decide to drop atomic bombs on Japan?
President Truman decided to drop the atomic bombs on Japan because he believed this was the only way to end the war with Japan. He had even warned Japan that if they did not surrender now, they would be faced with grave danger soon. But they refused to surrender, giving Truman no choice but to enforce the atomic bombs.

War for Europe and North Africa - Part II

6. What was D-Day?
D-Day, June 6th 1944, was the day that the 3 million british, american, and canadian troops gathered to attack Normandy in Northern France. D-Day was the first day of the allies invasion. Shortly after midnight, three divisions parachuted down from German lines. They were followed in the early morning by thousands upon thousands of seaborn soldiers- the largest land-sea-air operation in army history.

7. What happened at the Battle of the Bulge?
When America captured its first German town, the Hitler responded by ordering his troops to break through the Allied lines and to recapture the Belgium port of Antwerp. Thus creating the Battle of the Bulge. At the battle eight German tank divisions broke through the weak American defenses. The tanks drove 60 miles into the territory of the Allies, creating a bulge in the lines that gave the battle it's name. The battle lasted for a month, the Germans were a bit pushed back, but other than that nothing seemed to change.

8. What did Allied troops find in Germany?
Allied troops found the horrid Nazi death camps in Germany.

9. What happened to Hitler? What happened to F.D. Roosevelt? Who became U.S. President?
After America's finding of the Nazi death camps, Hitler killed himself realizing that this was the end for him anyways. Roosevelt soon after had a stroke and died, electing vice president Harry. S. Truman as the nations 33rd president.