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North Korea invades South Korea
After many small battles North Korea finally invaded along the 38th parallel with 135,000 men. This was the official start of the Korean War and happened without any warning. -
First Air Victory
The first air victory of the Korean War took place when a 68th All-Weather Squadron F-82 shoot down a North Korean Yak fighter. Two more enemy planes were destroyed in the air battle. -
First Naval Aviation Kill
Around the area of Pyongyang, Naval fighters from Fighter Squadron 51 shot down two North Korean YAK-9s. -
Battle at Osan
On the western side of the peninsula American troops went against Northern Korean forces at Osan. They eventually lost 150 people as a result and failed to halt the North Korean's advance. -
Nurses Arrive
57 nurses arrived in Pusan, Korea to establish a hospital for the wounded. Two days later some of these nurses move on to go with soldiers for a mobile unit. -
Invasion at Inchon
This invasion has come to be known as one of the greatest tactical victories in American military history. This invasion was a complete surprise to the North Koreans and allowed for MacArthur to cut off supplies to further communist troops. -
Capturing of Seoul
Immediately after capturing Inchon, MacArthur felt the need to gain control of Seoul. The marines did this by approaching the capital from the north, south, and west. Soon the American forces became involved in house-to-house combat which resulted in the liberation of Seoul. -
Truman Authorizes Advance
At this point President Truman recognized that MacArthur was doing something right and as long as he continued to feel confident, he could continue to push North Korea back to the North. The war shifted from rescuing the South Koreans to pushing back the Communist advance. -
China joins the War
Truman and MacArthur met on Wake Island so that Truman could remind his opponent the importance of keeping the Korean conflict limited. This meeting led to MacArthur's further hatred for Truman and also suggested to the Chinese that Americans were planning a big operation; causing China to join. -
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Korean War Stalemate
It started off with Communist forces driving Americans and South Koreans to the south. Although, the US soon organized themselves and set up a great defensive line not far from the 38th Parallel. From here both sides tried multiple offensive attacks but neither was making much headway. -
Peace Talks Begin
Soon seeing that neither side was going anywhere, the United Nations passed a resolution calling for a negotiated end to the conflict. This peace talk dragged on for two more years following this announcement. Half of the original 36,000 American soldiers lost their lives after the peace talks began. -
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MacArthur urged Truman to use of the atomic bomb
Truman refused this order. Instead, in February 1951, he sent more troops and stepped up the bombing raids. The Americans drove the Chinese back (the Chinese lost between 390,000 and a million men), but lost 54,000 men killed in the process. -
MacArthur gets fired
Once America had regained the territory from the Chinese, Truman decided to make peace to prevent further fighting. MacArthur did not agree with this action and wanted China to surrender or be invaded. He went on to talk against the president causing the peace negotiations to go on for another two years; causing him to be fired. -
Attacking in the air
On this date one of the largest air strikes took place during the Korean War. More than 1,400 aircrafts were hit in the city of Pyongyang. -
The war comes to an end
A buffer zone between North and South Korea created under the terms of the armistice signed on July 27, 1953 which ended the war. Though the zone was supposed to be free of both troops and weapons, in practice it is heavily militarized, with over 1 million North and South Korean troops facing off.
