16. The Seesaw Korean War Was Filled With Unexpected Twists and Turns
The Korean War (1950 – 1953) was very much a seesaw affair in its first half. The conflict began when the North Koreans launched a surprise attack that routed their opponents. Within weeks, they overran most of the Korean Peninsula, and all that was left under the control of South Korean and American forces was a small corner around the port city of Pusan. Then American general Douglas MacArthur outflanked the North Koreans with a brilliant amphibious landing at Inchon, which led to the invasion’s collapse.
MacArthur then chased the routed enemy up the Korean Peninsula. Despite warnings that communist China would intervene if his forces reached the Chinese border, MacArthur insisted that they would not dare do so. As a result, his forces pushed up to the Sino-Korean border. Unfortunately for MacArthur, the Chinese dared. In an unexpected attack, they caught him off guard, routed his forces, and chased him down the Korean Peninsula even faster than he had raced up it a few weeks earlier.