An American History

ORIGINS OF THE COLD WAR ★^915

MacArthur demanded the right to push north again and possibly even invade
China and use nuclear weapons against it. But Truman, fearing an all- out war
on the Asian mainland, refused. MacArthur did not fully accept the principle
of civilian control of the military. When he went public with criticism of the
president, Truman removed him from command. The war then settled into a
stalemate around the thirty- eighth parallel, the original boundary between
the two Koreas. Not until 1953 was an armistice agreed to, essentially restoring
the prewar status quo. There has never been a formal peace treaty ending the
Korean War.
More than 33,000 Americans died in Korea. The Asian death toll reached
an estimated 1 million Korean soldiers and 2 million civilians (many of them

Pyongyang

Seoul

Pusan

Hungnam

Wonsan

Chongjin

Chorwon Kumhwa

Kaesong Panmunjom Chunchon

Wonju

Osan

Inchon

Taejon

38 th Parallel^

Inchon^ Landing^

September^1

5 , 1950

ArmisticJune 27, 1953e Line

FaNorthest UN advvember 1950ance

FaSeptember 1950rthest North Korean advance

JAPAN

NORTH

KOREA

SOUTH

KOREA

CHINA

U.S.S.R.

Sea of Japan

Yellow

Sea

Kor

ea^

St

rait

0

0

50

50

100 miles

100 kilometers

North UN offensive, September–November 1950Korean offensive, June–September 1950

Communist Chinese counteroffensive, November 1950–January 1951

THE KOREAN WAR, 1950–1953

As this map indicates, when General Douglas MacArthur launched his surprise landing at
Inchon, North Korean forces controlled nearly the entire Korean peninsula.

What series of events and ideological conflicts prompted the Cold War?