Forgotten War: The Korean War

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The Korean War, also called the Forgotten War, occurred from June 25, 1950 to July 27, 1953 between North and South Korea. North Korea was lead by Kim Il-sung who of which had allies with both China and the Soviet Union. South Korea was lead by Douglas MacArthur who maintained allied support from the United States of America. The North Korean Communist Army demanded control of South Korea therefore pouring across the 38th Parallel, this action being the first battle to initiate the Cold War. The United Nations and North Korea used Sun Tzu techniques that would be supported, but also used techniques that would have been advocated against by Sun Tzu. During the Korean War, MacArthur’s army was pushed to the Southmost area of South Korea, known…show more content…
An example of a mistake that was made was when the United Nations underestimated China. This was a violation of chapter three in the Art of War : Planning Attacks. It says, “Therefore I say : One who knows the enemy and knows himself will sometimes win, sometimes lose. One who does not know the enemy and does not know himself will be in danger in every battle.” Another mistake was made when MacArthur went to war. He went to war when Sun Tzu says “Never go to war if not necessary.” He should have returned to the status quo, and remained at the DMZ. As well as making mistakes, the United States and United Nations were also successful in light of Sun Tzu. They had MacArthur’s plan as well as the Pusan Perimeter. MacArthur planned to go beyond North of the 38th Parallel divider, with the help of American support. He used Inchon as a base to attack Seoul to cut off the supply lines from the North Korean People’s Army (NKPA), which was then assaulting Pusan. Zhou Enlai, the PRC Foreign Minister, promised that the PRC would defend North Korea if the U.S./UN attacked. So he sent troops across the Yalu River. This tactic had surprise, since the NLPA would not allow the United States or United Nations to travel around the border. As well as having maneuverability for the troops. They had an offense attack which is also benefited the South and there was an objective behind this…show more content…
One mistake made by the North Koreans according to Sun Tzu’s logic were the continuous direct attacks on the United Nations and the United States at the Pusan Perimeter. The North Koreans were deflected numerous times, but continued to attack. Sun Tzu would have advocated against these direct attacks because even though the North Koreans had superior manpower, they were not in a position to win and Sun Tzu states that an army should never go to war they are not in a position to win. The North Koreans could not penetrate the enemy lines time and time over, but they continued with the same type of attacks that had previously failed them. A second mistake made by the North Koreans was the fact that they assumed victory was already in their hands. Because they had successfully pushed the enemy so far South, they assumed they had already won. Sun Tzu states that nothing in war was sure, especially victory. So by assuming victory, the North Koreans were not prepared for the enemy forces at both the Pusan Perimeter and the Inchon Invasion. The North Korean and Chinese armies also also had many successful plans of attack as well. One successful action the North Korean army did, that is relatable to Sun Tzu is their use of tunnels. Due to the use of tunnels, they had many advantages such as being able to use the tunnels for a type of defense, or using them to transfer troops from one area of the battle

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