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- Pre-War (1945-1950)>
- The War (1950-1953)>
- North Korea Invades the South (1950)
- The U.N. Intervenes (1950)
- Landing at Inchon/Defense of Pusan (1950)
- China Enters War (1950)
- Operation Piledriver (1951)
- The Relief of MacArthur (1951)
- Racial Intergration Inside Forces (1951-1954)
- U.S. Air Force Attacks North Korea (1952)
- Eisenhower Enters Office (1953)
- The Battle of Pork Chop Hill (1953)
- North Korea Invades the South (1950)
- The War is Over!>
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- Characteristics of the War
- After the War...
Matthew Ridgway and Operation Piledriver
This map shows where the Iron Triangle was located and it's boundaries.
On April 14, 1951, following MacArthur's dismissal, Matthew Ridgway assumed MacArthur's position and controlled America's war effort from Tokyo. General James Van Fleet moved into Ridgway's old role, getting command of the Eighth Army in Korea, which was now strongly entrenched about 20 miles north of the 38th Parallel. Ridgway had his sights set on the Iron Triangle, one of the North Korean's vital staging areas for attacks against South Korea. To secure the Kansas Line, the U.S. sent four divisions--1st Cavalry and the 3rd, 7th and 25th Infantry--in June 1951. They were headed toward the Iron Triangle, called "the ganglion of the enemy's strategic power," by historian Michael Hickey.
The villages of Chorwon and Kumhwa formed the base of the Iron Triangle, with Pyongyang at the top. Given its foreboding name by American journalists, the region included rail lines running all the way to Manchuria and a vital network of highways, which had supplied and reinforced the major Communist offensives of the war. As long as the Iron Triangle remained under Chinese control, the Kansas Line, and for that matter all of South Korea, would be at risk. Operation Piledriver's objectives were clear--form a new defensive line (Wyoming) at least 12 miles north of Line Kansas and knock out the sides of the Iron Triangle. The 1st Cav and 3rd divisions were to seize Chorwon (on the left side of the Triangle), while the 25th and 7th swung toward Kumhwa on the right. What the troops may not have known was that Piledriver would be the final major push of the war--the last in an endless series of attacks and counterattacks. It was designed to "inflict maximum personnel and materiel losses" on the enemy.
With basically a stalemate achieved, in which the Communists could not push against the US/UN/ROK line and the US would not allow attacks further north, Truman began to push for negotiation to end the war. On May 18, under US guidance, many UN countries began a military goods boycott of North Korea and China, hoping to create pressure for a peace treaty.
The villages of Chorwon and Kumhwa formed the base of the Iron Triangle, with Pyongyang at the top. Given its foreboding name by American journalists, the region included rail lines running all the way to Manchuria and a vital network of highways, which had supplied and reinforced the major Communist offensives of the war. As long as the Iron Triangle remained under Chinese control, the Kansas Line, and for that matter all of South Korea, would be at risk. Operation Piledriver's objectives were clear--form a new defensive line (Wyoming) at least 12 miles north of Line Kansas and knock out the sides of the Iron Triangle. The 1st Cav and 3rd divisions were to seize Chorwon (on the left side of the Triangle), while the 25th and 7th swung toward Kumhwa on the right. What the troops may not have known was that Piledriver would be the final major push of the war--the last in an endless series of attacks and counterattacks. It was designed to "inflict maximum personnel and materiel losses" on the enemy.
With basically a stalemate achieved, in which the Communists could not push against the US/UN/ROK line and the US would not allow attacks further north, Truman began to push for negotiation to end the war. On May 18, under US guidance, many UN countries began a military goods boycott of North Korea and China, hoping to create pressure for a peace treaty.