The Advantages and disadvantages of the Chinese Intervention in the Korean War

THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF THE CHINESE INTERVENTION IN THE KOREAN WAR
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(January 26, 2012)
Outline
Introduction
The Chinese Intervention
Conclusion
The Advantages and disadvantages of the Chinese Intervention in the Korean War
Introduction
The Korean War was the first main armed clash between the forces of Communism and the Free World. The war began on 25th June 1950. As a result of the war, China experienced both negative and positive effects. The Peoples Republic of China had sent part of its well trained troops to join the war. There were some victory cases to the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) at the initial stages. On the contrary, some losses took place. The losses were both in terms of casualties, materials and the battle field. The losses exposed China’s weaknesses in air support, firepower, communication and logistics. These effects made the country to professionalize and modernize itself on a very large scale. During the war, the commander of the Peoples Liberation Army of China was known as Marshal Peng Dehuai. He was later made into the first defense minister. This was a strategy to ensure that he implemented the reforms and changes within the military like weaponry modernization, discipline and training, conscription and a rank system.
The Chinese Intervention
The Chinese soldiers attacked the American soldiers of the 8th Cavalry Regiment surprisingly. The attack had not been expected at all. The Chinese soldiers emerged from nowhere near the hills at Unsan, North Korea. They then launched an attack on the United State’s soldiers. They came blowing bugles at the American soldiers who were still in confusion and totally surprised from the attack. The attack was on November 1st 1950. They threw grenades and fired their guns at the American soldiers who were still in awe. Many Chinese troops had launched their attacks from all sides against the widespread American and South Korean soldiers.
By virtue of entering and fighting during the Korean War, the country attained its main objective of preventing the North Korean government from collapsing. The country also victoriously stopped both the militaries of America and South Korea from entering its Manchurian border. During that period, Liaoning region of Manchuria was the most industrialized centre in China. Hence, it entered the war in an attempt to protect the Manchurian industrial zone. In addition, China’s support to the state of North Korea made it to obtain approximately three hundred kilometers of the buffer zone from America. This would in turn avoid the military spending required to protect the Manchurian border for many coming years.
Additionally, China’s intervention during the Korean War had a foundation on the help it received from the Soviet Union. The former Soviet Union provided a lot of equipment to the different divisions of the Chinese army. This assisted China to quickly form an air force. The air force contained a strong capacity for fighting. This in turn improved the effectiveness of China’s combat during the war. On the basis of the long-term interests, China’s intervention in the Korean War eased the Soviet Union’s pressure in Europe. It’ hence, led to trust between the Soviet Union and itself. This action exerted inestimable effect on China’s economic recovery plus its future development.
Another memorable effect of the Korean War was the fact that China got rid of the threat of foreign invasion on its soil completely. This had lasted for a period of one hundred years. The country had put tight measures to prevent any troops from entering its land.
Moreover, a key aspect of the Korean War was that China was able to fully shake off the threat of invasion by external forces which had lasted since the 19th century. The idea that China dared to fight against the world’s superpower during the Korean War portrayed the forceful tendency of a developing nation. The Chinese army drove away the American headed United Nation’s armies from Yalu River to the 38th Parallel. Doubtlessly, the country was able to rebuild its national dignity and win international recognition and respect. The country also recovered fully from the extended loss in national confidence due to the lose during the Opium War. History holds that the triumph in resisting the aggression from America and assisting North Korea made China regain its confidence. It provided an essential psychological support for the great nation’s revival. The war against the aggression from America and its help to Korea during the Korean War matched the Battle of Salamis and Leuthen. The war was a determination of the future of China as a country (Rumsfeld, 2011).
The Korean War too contained its disadvantages on China. The war called for a lot of spending on its side. This was in terms of domestic manpower, financial resources and materials. This led to power centralization within its planned economy. The planned economy was normally advantageous for a temporary state of war but it was unfavorable on the side of long term development of China. Thus, its participation in the Korean War was a logical continuation of the policy for diplomacy of learning on a single side.
Despite the fact that some people like General Zhang Zhizhong expected that the new China would take a neutral stand in the world with both America and the Soviet Union, this did not occur. The two powers, the Soviet Union and America were contradicting powers and China intended to reap on the spoils of this. This affected China in terms of scale, quantity and the speed of foreign economic aid.
As a result of the Korean War, China had cut off all the possibilities of any other development in another direction. The bad relationship between America and the Chinese communist government became irredeemable as a result of its intervention in the Korean War. China almost turned into a potential enemy into an actual foe of America. Hence, this enmity remains insoluble. Additionally, Chin’s intervention in the war made America to interfere with the affairs of Taiwan supposing the communist government of China tried to liberate Taiwan by use of force. Supposing the entire country had been reunified and China kept its neutrality as far as democracy was concerned, America would have been keen to maintain good relations with China (Choo, 2006).
After the Korean War ended, the weaknesses and strengths of the American and the Chinese army were established. The weaknesses of the American army were its small number, long lines of supply, inadequate of the correct political motivation, tactical inflexibility and the dismissal of nuclear weapo...