How significant was China’s intervention in deciding the course and outcome of the Korean War? (30 Marks)
Some argue that China’s intervention in the Korean War played a very significant role in deciding the course and outcome of the war in several ways. One of the most significant factors is the role that was played by the Chinese volunteer army which managed to push the UN forces back to the 38th Parallel which then prolonged a conflict which the UN was going to win. The lack of this intervention would mean that the Armistice would have never happened which was very crucial. In addition if China had not intervened (much to Truman’s dismay) MacArthur would not have been fired an would still be head of the army because his failure to advance China was a reason to why President Harry Truman fired him. Effectively, the war had the possibility of it triggering a third world war and the world’s first nuclear war. Fortunately, this possibility was avoided, but at the very least it ended the dreams of a reunited Korea and ensured that the war would continue in 1953. China's intervention kept the UN from having a victory against the Communist forces from the North.
The Korean War began on the 25th of June 1950 when some 75,000 soldiers from the North Korean People’s Army moved across the 38th parallel, (which was the boundary between the Soviet-backed Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to the north and the pro-Western Republic of Korea to the south). This invasion was the first military action of the Cold War. By July, American troops had entered the war on South Korea’s behalf. The war then ended in July 1953 and as a whole 5 million soldiers lost their lives during the war. China’s intervention came about in 1950 October when they launch a limited offensive near the border and there were a range of reasons to why they chose to intervene. One reason is because the Peoples Republic of China wanted to preserve the Communist state of North Korea. As the UN forces...