Korean War Timeline

  • korea divided

    korea divided
    after world war 2 korea is divided into communist north korea and anti-communist south korea at a spot called the 38th parallel
  • end of ww2

    japan surrenders, ending ww2. u.s army officials determine the postwar dividing line between the soviets and u.s. zone controls
  • u.s. and china dispute

    u.s. and china dispute
    china does not follow their promise to the u.s. for free elections. communism is established in north korea under the power of kim il sung
  • invasion

    with permission from russia, north korea invades south korea and continues on to the capital of seoul
  • u.s joins the war

    u.s joins the war
    president harry truman send u.s troops to korea, hoping to stop the spread of communism to south korea
  • victory at incheon

    victory at incheon
    general macarthur leads an invasion into south korea at the city of inchon. from there, the united nationstroops go to seoul and take it back from north korea
  • china joins the war

    china joins the war to fight on the side of north korea. chinas army wins several important victories and pushes the u.s and south korean troops back across 38th parallel
  • united states reaches the capital of north korea

    u.s troops push their way to pyongyang, the capital of north korea
  • the u.s nation forces launch ¨home by chrismas¨

    the u.s nation forces launch ¨home by chrismas¨
    general macarthur orders the u.s. nation forces to move to yalu river, the boarder between north korea and northeast china. macarthur said they would be home by christmas, but are attacked by 180,000 chinese soldiers and have to retreat
  • peace talks begin

    with the fighting at a stand still, peace talks begin. however, it will take 2 years for the 2 sides to come to an agreement
  • battle of heartbreak ridge

    battle of heartbreak ridge
    u.s and french troops battle with north korean and chinese troops in a part of south korea known as the punchbowl. the u.s. and france win the month long battle
  • dwight eisenhower is elected president

    dwight eisenhower is elected president
    general dwight eisenhower defeats illinois senator adlai stevenson to become president of the u.s.
  • a truce is reached

    north and south korea sign an agreement to end hostilities. korea is still divided, but the 2 countries agree to create a nuetral zone to separate the countries
  • talks fail to unite

    u.s. and chinese representatives fail to come to an agreement and korea remains divided