Why was Korea such a difficult war for the U.S. to win?

Answer 1

It hasn't been "won." There are still no treaties signed that has ended that war/police action - and we are in fact still policing for that country as of today. Just as we will for Iraq, 40+ years from now.

Answer 2

Because it wasn't a war. It was a UN Peace Enforcement Mission authorized by the UN Security Council under Chapter Seven of the UN Charter. It's objective was to restore the state of things on the Korean Peninsula prior to North Korea invading South Korea on June 25, 1950. Six days after the amphibious landing at Inchon General MacArthur and the UN forces had done exactly that by expelling all North Korean forces back across the 38th Parallel which was the border between the two Koreas. But, for reasons passing understanding, MacArthur pursued those North Korean forces to a point near the Yalu River which was the border between North Korea and Communist China. This caused Communist China to send over half a million armed troops across the border and engaged the UN forces. That led to a bloody and protracted series of engagements which only produced a cease fire in place in 1953.
Simply put, MacArthur didn't understand or appreciate the difference between waging war and accomplishing the objectives of a UN Peace Enforcement Mission. General H.Norman Schwarzkopf did understand the difference when he headed up the UN Peace Enforcement Mission in 1991 to expel Iraqi troops from Kuwait. Once those troops were expelled, offensive military operations ceased.

Answer 3

Well initially we were woefully unprepared and our troops stationed in Japan were badly trained; also the South Korean army wasn't very good.

Then with better troops and some brilliant maneuvers, we "won" rather handily, at least for the time being.

Then of course China entered the war with her unlimited manpower supply and the jig was up. We couldn't possibly have fought a land war against that many troops.

Once the Chinese supply lines got stretched, then it was their turn to bleed again, as logistically the Chinese were not very good.

And so back and forth back and forth. Since atomic weapons were ruled out (thankfully so), it became a stalemate.

Once again, America put its foot into what was essentially a civil war; just like Vietnam, just like Iraq.

It's interesting that the wars we fought after WW II were really just continuations of unresolved disputes.

In a very real way we are still fighting WWII. It hasn't quite ended, and I think historians will one day view 1914-2014 as "A Hundred Years War".

Answer 4

Please ignore the statements about how we couldn't possibly beat that many chinese. The Chinese military was huge at the time, yes, but it was also primitive, the Chinese forces consisted mainly of infantry, they had almost no Navy or AirForce, and their armored units were small and inexperienced.

The largest contributing factors in the Korean War were twofold:

First, the vast majority of US soldiers in Korea were reactivated WWII vets. Many of them had only been out of the military for two or three years, were in college, or had started businesses and families. They felt as though they had taken on an unfair amount of the burden, many of them didn't want to be there and felt they didn't deserve to be there, so morale was something of a problem. This happened for the same reason we have so many reservists in Iraq now - it's much cheaper and much faster to send troops who already have experience than to recruit and train new ones.

Secondly - and more importantly - the war was fought under artificial restraints (just like Viet Nam). The ground forces were generally restricted from operating north of the 38th parallel (now known as the DMZ). so Korean and Chinese troops only had to retreat across the border to get out of a fight they were losing. Also, Air Force and Navy pilots had to have explicit orders before they could go into North Korea to take out targets, and they were not allowed to go into China at all, even after Chinese troops and aircraft (flown by Russina pilots) entered the war. Additionally, US (and UN) forcres often had to ask permission from higher ranking officers (behind the lines) before they could bomb or shell certain targets where enemy troops were operating (Bhuddist temples for one). By the time they got permission to attack the building or village in question, the communist troops had frequently escaped to safety. This was the same kind of restrictions the US military had to operate under in 'Nam.
So, imagine yourself in a house to house gunbattle in WWII France. The German troops can use both sides of the street, and any house, and can shoot at you anywhere at any time.
You, however, have to call your HQ to get permission to attack any house (and only one house at a time) the Germans are occupying, AND, you cannot cross the street to the other half of town to go after them. And 3/4 of your infantrymen are P.O.'ed 'cause they lost their businesses when the war started, and they just came back from another war somewhere else.
Think you could win?

Answer 5

The U.S. did not win this United Nations sanctioned conflict, there were many more countries involved including Great Britain, Australia & New Zealand, Belgium, France, Greece, Turkey, Ethiopia, to name but a few.

As of today its still a war with both sides sitting behind the 38th parallel, watching and waiting.

Answer 6

As I recall my history we did in fact have the war won. Our forces, Army and Marine were on the Yalu River border between North Korea and China when the Chinese came across the border in force. Seems our intelligence agencies failed yet once again and prophesized that China would not enter the war. It was all down hill from there.

Answer 7

Because they made it a defensive "police action." If we had gone into North Korea and taken down their government it would have been fought as a war. Sitting back and trying to keep the other guy from crossing a line on a map is a recipe for disaster. We tried that garbage in Vietnam as well. If you are going to go to war, then go to war.

Answer 8

Because we were essentially fighting North Korea, China, AND Russia. That's a tall order. We're lucky we got a draw out of it. Thank goodness for air superiority!

Answer 9

It was not that difficult for the war was won only in the dream.

Answer 10

Because it comes down to a simple ratio of bullets to enemy soldiers...Chinese soldiers. We WERE WINNING until the Chinese entered the war. There just weren't enough bullets to kill all those Chinamen.