How far was the Korean War a military and political success for the USA?

Arguably, the numerous political and militant events mean that it is possible to state that the Korean War was infact a success for the USA, with events such as the Inchon Landings, and the pushing back of the opposing forces to the 38th Parallel. However, it can be equally argued that it was a Military failure, with the most obvious example being the retreat following the Dragon Attacks. Similarly, the complex political nature of this war also means that success is debatable, for example, the anti – communist paranoia and the decision to introduce General McArthur.

The Inchon Landings serve as on of the most famed military successes achieved by the US army to this very day. Despite being extremely risky in theory, with the very real possibility of the target area being mined by the North Koreans, the attack went on regardless, under the orders of McArthur. This event was a hugely successful attack, taking the Koreans by complete surprise, and as a result Inchon was successfully taken. Moreover, in terms of military casualties for the US, these were extremely minimal. Furthermore, the entire North Korea position within South Korea collapsed, a massively success story in the eyes of the US. Additionally, Walkers army in Pusan forced the remainder of North Korean troops into retreat. As a result, Kim’s forces were left with no option but to return to the 38th Parallel, due to being subsequently cut off from essential supplies.

However, the above event can arguably also be classed as a militant failure. Unlike the Inchon `Landings, this had crippled the US, with many military casualties resulting as a consequence. Regardless, in terms of military failures for the US within this war, nothing trumps the humiliation of the Dragon Attacks. With Chinese forces confronting all sections of the Army, the low estimates from key military figures were clearly wrong, and despite the Marine Commander suspecting a trap, he followed given orders. Thus, we have one of the arguably most humiliating failures for the US military of all time – the longest military retreat globally on record. The 300 mile retreat was not only mortifying for the Army, but as a consequence, morale plummeted within all ranks of the Army. Therefore clearly, this was far from a success for the US.

In terms of political success, the complex nature and varying factors again mean that it can be argued either way. Firstly, arguably there was a very strong Anti-communist paranoia running throughout Korea, and this influenced numerous political decisions. For example, an arguable negative political impact is that widespread fear of the Domino theory – not only within Politics but echoed across the electorate – meant extra provisions were sent to the French within Indochina, and as a prolonged result, this ultimately leads to a major factor in involvement within the upcoming Vietnam War. This of course is a major failure, as they emerged from this war as losers, with great loss to military personnel as well as weaponry. However, it is possible to argue this as a subtle success, as it showed that the US was supported by fellow capitalist countries, for example, the UK.

However, perhaps the most infamous Political failure would be the appointing of General McArthur. Although seemingly a military success, he proved to be a nightmare for Truman’s government. A national treasure, the seventy year old general was outspoken, and had no issue with voicing his discontent with the Government. He often spoke out of turn to various forms of press, for example in December of 1950 where he blamed the restraints placed upon him for reasoning as to why he was forced to retreat. His powerful, influential voice definitely didn’t play into the hands of Truman’s Government, and the more Truman shot down his opinions, the less electorate support he held. After Macarthur’s melodramatic sacking, the public turned on Truman, with 7.5 million turning up to New York to express their support for MacArthur.

However, debatably, this did eventually progress into a success for Truman’s Government. In terms of a military success, they had ridded themselves of a leader within Vietnam who was outwardly defying them, and as Truman had expected, the outrage began to die down. More rational politicians began to hear him out, as well as better informed press outlets publishing articles that supported and rationalized his decisions. Furthermore, overall the US government underestimated the war entirely, and this can be seen as a miserable failure on the part of officials. It resulted in a bloody war of attrition, with the outcome not particularly showing differentiation from how Korea looked in 1950, when the war had begun. Although South Korea hadn’t fallen to Communism, North Korea was not a democratic nation either – so there was no sign of roll back, just weak containment. Therefore, the Korean War can be seen as almost unnecessary.

Therefore, overall, in terms of Political success, although at first many events can be seen as working in favour of the Government, underlying facts - and the influence of individuals such as McArthur - prove that the Korean War was evidently a miserable failure in political terms. In Militant terms, although I acknowledge there was some success stories – e.g. the Inchon landings, the humiliating 30 mile retreat means that I believe overall this was also a Military failure, with large casualties also standing against success. Thus, the weight of the evidence suggests that the Korean War was neither a political or militant success, just a set up for the upcoming struggle in Vietnam.