Korean War 1950 1953 losses of both sides. US losses in the Korean War are not just losses, but the first defeat in their history. US Air Force Black Thursday

Until the mid-70s, the Soviet Union did not officially recognize its participation in the Korean War of 1950-1953. The award lists and death notices spoke of “a particularly important task for the party and government.” And today few people know about this domestic page. But in the skies of Korea, for 3 years, Soviet and American pilots waged a real war for possession of the sky, figuring out “who is who.” The sky remained with the Soviet aces. This article is dedicated to the memory of Soviet pilots who fought and died in Korea.

"Hot" episodes of the Cold War

After representatives of Japan signed the act of surrender on September 2, 1945, the USSR and the USA again became rivals. The confrontation between the two world superpowers and the economic and military blocs they led remained in history as the Cold War. But the war was not always “cold”. Often the confrontation turned into a “hot” phase. Numerous military conflicts in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East were based on the desire of the USSR or the USA to establish their control, their hegemony in a certain point of the world. The territories of many countries became testing grounds where the USSR and the USA tested their military equipment, tested new methods of warfare in practice, where officers acquired and improved their combat experience.

Korean "mess"

On June 25, 1950, the North Korean army crossed the 38th parallel, the former border between the two Koreas, and began to rapidly advance south. By mid-August, about 90% of the territory of South Korea was under the control of North Korean troops. The American military decided that this was a very suitable occasion for conducting large-scale military field exercises in conditions as close as possible to combat. In order to provide political cover, the United States “pushed” through the UN a resolution on the introduction of peacekeeping forces into Korea, and already on July 1, the first American military units landed on the Korean peninsula. To the great surprise of the American military, North Korean troops broke through the defenses of their 24th Infantry Division and stormed the city of Cheonan, which it defended. The division, which did not have time to retreat, was surrounded and soon ceased to exist; its commander, Major General Dean, surrendered.

"Peacemakers"

The United States began to urgently increase the number of peacekeepers in Korea. Soon the American military was joined by combat units from Canada, Australia, Great Britain and other countries. 15 states sent their military contingents to Korea. By September 1, the number of “blue helmets” in Korea exceeded 180 thousand, half of them were Americans. On September 15, this entire colossus, twice the size of the DPRK army, went on the offensive and literally crushed the North Korean army into powder. The superiority of the “peacekeepers” in weapons, military equipment and, above all, aviation played a decisive role in the success of the offensive.

B-29

UN troops against the DPRK army

The strike force of the “UN peacekeepers” was the B-29 strategic bombers – “Flying Fortresses”, inaccessible to anti-aircraft artillery, capable of carrying up to 9 tons of bomb load. They were covered by F-80 Shooting Star jet fighters. 835 aircraft of the 5th Air Force of the US Air Force were opposed by 200 piston LA-9, LA-11 and IL-10 attack aircraft. The North Korean Air Force was doomed. By September 20, only 20 attack aircraft and 1 fighter remained, and they survived simply by miracle. In this situation, American pilots, “showing courage and selfless courage,” began the methodical destruction of the North Korean armed forces from the air, dropping tons of bombs on them, thereby ensuring the success of ground tactical operations. By October 1950, UN troops were already approaching the Chinese border.
North Korean leaders turned to China and the USSR for help. China sent 270 thousand “volunteers” to help its southern neighbor, and the USSR took over air cover for the troops.

Chinese pilots Li Si Qing and Wang Yu Shin

At the end of October 1950, the first pilots arrived in Korea from the USSR. They were dressed in Chinese military uniforms and given documents with new names, without photographs. This is where the origins of jokes about Chinese pilots with the surnames Li Xi Qing and Wang Yu Shin (Lisitsyn, Vanyushin) come from. MIG-15 jet fighters arrived along with the pilots. The planes bore North Korean or Chinese markings. In the air it was prescribed to conduct negotiations only in Chinese. The pilots wrote down the texts of the main commands in Russian letters and fastened these pieces of paper on their knees, but in the very first battle they switched to Russian, widely using profanity. The management very soon realized the absurdity of the order and canceled it. The group was called the 64th Fighter Corps.

The air group was commanded by Three Times Hero of the Soviet Union Ivan Kozhedub. On November 8, the pilots for the first time “tested their teeth” with American pilots, who proudly called themselves “knights of the sky.” The meeting ended with the Yankees losing one F-80 fighter. The peacekeepers' air force began to suffer serious losses. To establish parity, the United States sent the latest F-86 Saber fighters to Korea.

US Air Force Black Thursday

But the real test of who was worth what was the battle of April 12, 1951, which went down in the history of the US Air Force as “Black Thursday.” On this day, 48 B-29 bombers, accompanied by 80 F-86 fighters, flew to bomb the railway bridge over the Yalu River, through which the entire flow of military supplies flowed from China to Korea. 44 Soviet MIG-15s flew to intercept. The fighters were met by a dense fire curtain from B-29s and F-86s. Soviet pilots, many of whom had also shot down Luftwaffe pilots, went straight into the fire. Subsequently, up to several dozen holes were counted on each of these fighters. Breaking through the wall of fire, the MIGs attacked the B-29s. In less than 20 minutes, the US Air Force lost 10 bombers and 4 fighters. The 64th Fighter Wing returned to the airfield that day without losses. The US Air Force declared a week of mourning for the victims. For three months, the bombers of the “UN peacekeepers” did not take to the skies. All subsequent time, the fearless Yankees preferred to fly out for bombing missions at night. After April 12, Soviet pilots christened “flying fortresses” into “flying barns.”

The American Truth

In an effort to “save face,” the American press wrote about the “superior forces of the enemy,” increasing the number of MIGs participating in the battles by 2-3 times, and cited exorbitantly inflated data on losses among Soviet pilots. Even then, this caused violent indignation among Soviet pilots, direct participants in the battles. So, if you want to know the truth about those events, you should not look for it based on American sources - it is not there.

Results

Over almost three years, pilots of the 64th Fighter Wing shot down 1,525 aircraft, 170 of them B-29s. 52 Soviet pilots returned from Korea as aces. E. Pepelyaev, who shot down 23 aircraft in the skies of Korea, is considered ace No. 1, followed by N. Sutyagin, who has 21 victories. Many returned home with orders and medals, and the chest of 35 pilots was decorated with the Golden Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union. In total, about 1,200 pilots passed the test of the Korean War.

As in any war, there were losses. American pilots were by no means cowards, and were not afraid to engage in battle. The air corps lost 319 aircraft over three years of fighting, and 120 pilots died in battle. Almost all of them are buried in the Chinese city of Dalian (formerly Dalny), in the Russian cemetery, next to the defenders of Port Arthur.
Eternal memory to them!

Today, Koreans celebrate the end of the war that divided the people into two unequal halves 60 years ago. I would like to recall the main lines of that half-forgotten war in which our compatriots fought...

This war is called "forgotten". In our country, before the collapse of the USSR, nothing was written or spoken about it at all. Our compatriots who happened to participate in this war (pilots, anti-aircraft gunners, searchlight operators, military advisers and other specialists) gave a subscription obliging them to remain silent. In the West, many documents are also still classified, there is clearly not enough information, historians are constantly arguing about the events of that war.

“The myth is broken. Our country was not as strong as others thought,” admitted Marshall, the American Secretary of Defense at the time. In the Korean War, the myth of American power was shattered to smithereens.

There are several reasons for this silence. The most important thing is that the war is still not over. Formally, it continues, only a truce has been concluded, but even this is periodically violated. The peace treaty has not yet been signed; the border between the two Korean states is one of the most fortified, most tense places on our planet. And until the war is over, censorship cannot be completely absent, which means that, alas, there is no need to talk about the objectivity and completeness of the presentation of information. The second reason is the ratio of the number of human lives lost and the political and military results achieved - this war is probably the most cruel and senseless that has ever taken place on Earth. A real carnage. The number of victims of the war is still not known exactly; the range is gigantic: you can find data from 1 to 10 million people. Most sources agree on the figures - 3-4 million dead, and the result is the return of the opposing forces to their original positions. That is, millions of people were completely senselessly killed, almost the entire Korean Peninsula was turned into ruins, but no one suffered any punishment for this. Agree, in such a situation it’s somehow awkward to talk about your victories and defeats, it’s better to just try to forget about everything. There is also a third reason - the war was extremely cruel on both sides. Massive use of napalm, burning people alive, torture and cruel treatment of prisoners of war, a large number of casualties among the civilian population. In general, many war crimes were committed, but nothing like the Nuremberg trials happened, politicians remained in power, generals remained in office. And no one wants to stir up the past.

Key dates and events of the Korean War.

North Korean troops began a military operation against South Korea, developed jointly with Soviet specialists and approved by the Soviet leadership. From the published documents it is clear that Stalin did not give consent for a long time, paying attention to the insufficient training and weapons of the North Korean army and fearing a direct conflict between the USSR and America. But, in the end, he still gave the go-ahead. According to US Assistant Secretary of State D. Webb, President Truman's first reaction was the words: "In the name of the Lord God, I am going to teach them a lesson."

June 27, 1950 - The UN Security Council passes a resolution approving the use of American UN forces in Korea, and also recommends the voluntary support of these actions by UN member states in accordance with Article 106 of the UN Charter.

The Soviet Union could not veto the resolution because it had been absent from the Security Council since January 1950 to protest China's representation at the UN by the Kuomintang regime. What was it? Was it a diplomatic miscalculation or simply that the left hand of the Soviet government did not know what the right hand was doing? The resolution was adopted unanimously, with only Yugoslavia abstaining. The entire operation to capture South Korea was designed to be lightning fast, so that the Americans would not have time to enter before it was all over. Therefore, stalling for time and vetoing the resolution could have contributed to the success of the campaign. But the Americans also understood this, everything was done in two days, their participation in military operations became completely legitimate. The joint participation of the armed forces of many states in this war gave it some diversity, mixing the military traditions of different armies. Here is a list of participants from the UN troops (by the end of 1951):

USA - 302.5 thousand; South Korea - 590.9 thousand; Great Britain - 14.2 thousand; Australia - 2.3 thousand; Canada - 6.1 thousand; New Zealand - 1.4 thousand; Türkiye - 5.4 thousand; Belgium - 1 thousand, France - 1.1 thousand; Greece - 1.2 thousand; Netherlands - 0.8 thousand; Colombia - about 1 thousand, Ethiopia - 1.2 thousand, Thailand - 1.3 thousand, Philippines - 7 thousand; South Africa - 0.8 thousand

June 28 - Seoul is captured by North Korean troops.

The long-suffering city changed hands four times during the three years of war. You can imagine what was left of it at the end of the war. The northerners hoped that the fall of Seoul would be tantamount to the surrender of the South Korean army. However, the leadership of the Republic of Korea managed to evacuate, encirclement and the end of the war did not work out.

September 15th. UN forces landing at Inchon, beginning of the counter-offensive.

By this time, the South Korean army and UN forces controlled only a small area of ​​the country around the city of Busan, the so-called Busan Bridgehead. However, they managed to hold the bridgehead and accumulate forces for a counteroffensive, timed to coincide with the landing at Inchon. By this time, the North Korean army was greatly exhausted by the continuous raids of American aviation, the Americans completely dominated the air, and there was nothing to repel air attacks.

October 2, 1950 - Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai warned that if Allied forces (except South Korean) crossed the 38th parallel, Chinese volunteers would enter the war.

October 7, 1950 - American and British divisions began to advance to the north of Korea.

October 16, 1950 - the first Chinese units (the so-called “volunteers”) entered Korean territory.

The first blow was delivered on October 25, but then the Chinese went into the mountains, and there was a month-long lull at the front. By this time, almost the entire territory of the country was controlled by the army of South Korea and its allies.

The DPRK troops have only a small bridgehead left near the border with China.

The pendulum of war has swung in the other direction. The Allied retreat in some places resembled a flight.

December 17, 1950 - the first meeting of Soviet MIGs and American Sabers in the skies of Korea.

January 4, 1951 - recapture of Seoul by North Korean troops and Chinese "volunteers".

April 10, 1951 - General MacArthur resigned, Lieutenant General Matthew Ridgway was appointed commander of the troops.

An important event of this war, since MacArthur pursued a pronounced “hawkish” line, insisting on expanding the war into Chinese territory and even on the use of nuclear weapons. At the same time, he spoke with these ideas in the media without notifying the president. For which he was rightly removed.

During the negotiations, hostilities continued, the parties suffered heavy losses.

This event was decisive for the completion of hostilities. Published documents allow us to conclude that Stalin deliberately delayed the war in the last months of his life. The reasons for this can now only be guessed at.

The exchange began with sick and crippled prisoners. Military operations continued.

India made a ceasefire proposal, which was accepted by the UN. General Clark represented the Southern Coalition because South Korean representatives refused to sign the document. The front line remained in the area of ​​the 38th parallel, and the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) was proclaimed around it. The DMZ runs slightly north of the 38th parallel in the east and slightly south in the west. Kaesong, the city where the negotiations took place, was part of South Korea before the war, but is now a city in the DPRK with special status. A peace treaty ending the war has not yet been signed.

Here's the story. Let's add small, not very well-known touches to it.

The threat of using atomic weapons in the Korean War.

This was the first war on the planet that began when the warring parties had nuclear weapons. We are talking, of course, not about Korea, but about the USA and the USSR - active participants in the campaign. And, paradoxical as it may be at first glance, what was especially dangerous was that by the time the war began, the two great powers possessed these weapons far from parity: the USA had already produced about 300 atomic bombs, and the USSR had only about 10 . Successful tests of the first atomic bomb in the USSR - an exact copy of the first American one - took place quite recently, at the end of August 1949. This inequality of nuclear forces created a real danger that in a critical situation the American side could use this last decisive argument in a military conflict. Documents have been published from which it is clear that some American generals (including the commander, General MacArthur) persuaded the country's leadership not only to use nuclear weapons in Korea and China, but also against the USSR. If we add to this that President Truman did not have a psychological barrier of novelty in this matter (it was he who gave the order to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki), then it should be clear on what terrible brink the world was balancing in these years.

How, given this balance of power, did Stalin still agree (albeit after much hesitation) to develop and launch a military operation against South Korea? This is one of the mysteries of the 20th century; maybe the leader really was not completely mentally healthy in the last years of his life? Or is it all because of the words of US Secretary of State Dean Acheson, spoken in January 1950? Acheson then said that the American defense perimeter in the Pacific included the Aleutian Islands, the Japanese Ryukyu Islands and the Philippines. From this statement one could conclude that South Korea is not within the zone of US strategic interests, and the Americans will not interfere in the conflict between the North and the South.

One way or another, the possibility of using nuclear weapons was considered quite seriously by the American side. In October 1951, the Americans carried out a simulated atomic bombing approved by President Truman, a “practice atomic strike” on North Korean positions. Dummies of real atomic bombs were dropped on North Korean sites in several cities. “Port Hudson” was the name of this intimidation operation. Fortunately, the American leadership still had enough wisdom and restraint not to start a third, nuclear world war, in comparison with which the terrible second would seem like something like a military exercise.

The hunt for "live" fighters during the Korean War.

By the beginning of hostilities, both the USA and the USSR had first-generation jet fighters, slightly different in design, but quite comparable in their flight and combat characteristics. The Soviet MIG-15 is a famous aircraft; it holds the record for the number of aircraft produced (more than 15 thousand) - it is the most massive jet combat aircraft in the history of aviation, which was in service with many countries. And in terms of service life, it probably also has no equal - the last such vehicles were withdrawn from service with the Albanian Air Force in 2005! The American F-86 Saber is the first swept-wing jet fighter adopted by the US Air Force.

It must be said that in the USSR, the leadership often preferred not to design a new one, but to copy already developed military equipment, so as not to waste time and money on creating a new path to the same goal. Thus, the Soviet bomber of that time TU-4 was an exact copy of the American Boeing - the “flying fortress” (B-29 “Superfortress”), the same one that bombed Hiroshima. But it didn’t work out that way with the fighters. They were completely different machines, each had its own advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, both warring sides were very interested in obtaining and studying a “living”, not destroyed enemy vehicle. The Americans were interested in the MIGA armament, technical solutions that allowed it to have a take-off weight significantly lower than that of the Saber. The American MiG engine, according to Apparently, he was not very interested, since it was a copy of English jet engines, which the USSR managed to purchase before the start of the Cold War.

Our military designers were interested in engines, electronic flight and navigation equipment, as well as an active anti-g suit. The latter was of particular interest, since pilots flying MIGs in combat experienced overloads of up to 8g, this could not but affect the results of aerial duels. If the F-86 managed to be shot down, the pilot ejected into a special plane. suit, but the most complex part of the structure - the apparatus that was connected to it and regulated the pressure - remained on board the falling plane.

In April 1951, the “group of Comrade Dzyubenko” arrived at the Andong airfield in Manchuria - a group of 13 pilots with a secret mission to capture a “live” Saber. However, it was technically impossible to force a serviceable Saber to land using MIGs: it had a higher maximum speed than the MIG. The group was unable to complete the task, but chance helped. On October 6, 1951, the best ace of the Korean War, commander of the 196th Fighter Aviation Regiment, Colonel Pepelyaev, damaged a Saber, whose pilot was unable to eject, apparently due to a broken ejection seat. As a result, the plane made an emergency landing on the low tide strip of the Korean Gulf. The operation of pulling the plane ashore, loading its parts onto vehicles and delivering it to Moscow was very difficult, since the Americans at some stage spotted the work. But everything ended well, the “live” Saber was delivered for study by Soviet military specialists. In May 1952, the second F-86 was received, shot down by anti-aircraft artillery fire.

In the summer of 1951, American attempts to take possession of the Soviet MIG-15 also ended in success. The scenario was similar: the plane also fell into the shallow waters of the Korean Gulf and was raised by American and British military specialists. True, the specimen was badly damaged and was not suitable for flight research. A year later, another car was found in the mountains of North Korea and taken out, cut into pieces. Well, a completely intact, “living” plane came to the Americans after the end of hostilities, on September 21, 1953, when one of the DPRK Air Force pilots, Lieutenant No Geum Sok, flew to the South on it. Perhaps this was facilitated by the $100 thousand reward promised by the Americans for such a flight, although the pilot himself claimed that the motive for his action was not money. Later, No Geum Seok emigrated to the United States, taking the surname Kenneth Rowe, graduated from the University of Delaware, married and became a US citizen. He worked for a long time as an aeronautical engineer for various American companies, and for 17 years as a professor of aeronautical engineering at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. wrote a memoir, “On the MiG-15 to Freedom.” The hijacked MIG was used for training air combat, which helped American pilots improve combat tactics in future wars involving Soviet-made aircraft.

KOREAN WAR 1950-1953

Korea on the eve of the war

One of the bloodiest conflicts of the 1950s. Korean War 1950-1953 turned out to be one of the bloodiest armed conflicts of the second half of the 20th century. It began as a civil war, but quickly grew into an international confrontation between the “camp of socialism” and the “camp of imperialism.” The world watched with bated breath to see whether the conflict would escalate beyond the borders of the Korean Peninsula, and whether it would result in the Third World War with the use of nuclear weapons by both the United States and the USSR.

There are still no exact figures about the human losses suffered by the warring parties in this war. North Korea's total losses amounted to approximately 1 million 131 thousand people killed and wounded. South Korean losses: 147 thousand dead soldiers, 839 thousand wounded and missing, and 245 thousand civilian deaths. There is no exact data on losses among Chinese volunteers who participated in the Korean War. According to rough estimates, their number was about 1 million people. UN peacekeeping troops lost 142 thousand people killed and wounded in Korea. In particular, the losses of American troops, who made up up to 90% of the “blue helmets,” amounted to 33,629 people killed and 103,284 wounded.

Background to the conflict. Korea, which lost its independence as a result of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905. and became a protectorate of Japan, retaining this status until the end of World War II. Let us remember that for Japan it ended in defeat. The question of the future fate of post-war Korea was raised at the Yalta Conference of the Big Three (USSR, America, England) in February 1945. Then US President F.D. Roosevelt proposed to I.V. Stalin to take Korea under joint guardianship until democratic authorities are formed there.

Subsequently, plans for the peaceful development of Korea were reflected in the decisions of the Potsdam Conference (July-August 1945). There the question arose about who would liberate Korea. The Soviet delegation proposed the following plan: the peninsula would be liberated by units of the Soviet Army, and naval and air operations would be carried out by American troops.

However, on August 14, 1945, American President G. Truman proposed a different option: Soviet troops liberate the peninsula from the north to the 38th parallel, and the American army approaches this line from the south. The American proposal was accepted by the Soviet side. This is how the notorious “38th parallel” arose, which essentially became the border between the North and South of the country.

According to the agreements, units of the Soviet army liberated the northern part of the peninsula from the Japanese and reached the 38th parallel on August 16, 1945; American units approached it from the south only on September 7.

Moscow conference. The liberation of Korea from Japanese occupation led to the emergence of different points of view regarding its future development.

In December 1945, at the next, now Moscow, conference of foreign ministers of the allied countries, it was decided to form the Provisional Democratic Government of Korea. It was supposed to help the Soviet-American commission develop measures to establish quadripartite trusteeship (USSR, USA, China and Great Britain) over Korea for a period of five years. However, this decision by the great powers led to violent and indignant reactions from various Korean political groups. Only the Communists supported the decisions of this conference, declaring that the Korean issue should be resolved “in the spirit of strengthening international cooperation and democracy.”

The resonance caused by the decisions of the Moscow Conference allowed the Soviet delegation at the beginning of 1946 to declare the need to negotiate the creation of a Provisional Government only with those who supported the agreements reached. This, in turn, caused disagreement among the Americans, who were afraid of the establishment of a communist regime in Korea.

Moscow, the UN and elections in Korea. In February 1946, Moscow unilaterally began to create Soviet authorities in North Korea. On November 14, 1947, despite protests from the USSR, the UN General Assembly formed the UN Commission on Korea, which was supposed to oversee free elections. Since the USSR did not allow UN observers into the northern zone, elections in May 1948 were held only in the South. Former University of Washington professor Syngman Lee was elected to the post of head of state. The government of South Korea proclaimed the formation of the Republic of Korea (ROK) on August 15, 1948, consisting of both the South and the North.

However, neither Moscow nor Pyongyang recognized these elections as legal. Here, in the summer of 1948, elections were held to the Supreme People's Assembly of Korea, which on September 9 of the same year proclaimed the formation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). Moscow's protégé, former Soviet army officer Kim Il Sung, became the Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers and the head of state. Thus, Korea split into two states, with each government considering itself legitimate throughout Korea, accusing the other side of seizing power.

Two regimes in one Korea.

In December 1948, USSR troops were withdrawn from the DPRK; in the summer of the following year, the American head of the Korean People's Army also left the South Democratic Republic

Korea. Two regimes based on different principles and

ideas were left alone on the 38th parallel. Both Korean leaders, interested in preserving their regimes, did everything in their power to maintain the presence of the countries that patronize them. At their request, a large corps of advisers remained in both states.

Both Kim Il Sung and Syngman Rhee were interested in escalating tension along the 38th parallel, intimidating each other with facts of preparing aggression. Belligerent statements were heard from both sides. Syngman Rhee in October 1949, in his speech at a rally in Seoul, said: “We have the opportunity to return the territory of North Korea. I am very worried that if such an event is not carried out on time, then it will be very difficult to implement it later. Delaying the resolution of any issues benefits the communists.” He went on to directly state that ROK troops are “ready to invade North Korea” and that “a plan has already been drawn up to strike the communists in Phepyang.”

Kim Il Sung also did not remain in debt, masking plans for an attack on the South with various proposals for the “peaceful unification of the country,” which were obviously impracticable. Thus, in August 1949, he stated that “if the imperialists and the puppet clique of Syngman Rhee are against the peaceful unification of the motherland and, in the end, take the path of civil strife, we must deal a decisive blow to the enemies, destroy them to the last and unite our homeland."

The only thing that restrained the parties from attacking each other was the lack of a combat-ready army and a sufficient amount of modern weapons. To some extent, the presence of military advisers compensated for the lack of professional personnel in army training. But the reluctance of the USSR and the USA to supply heavy and offensive weapons to Korea kept the parties from direct hostilities, although small border skirmishes constantly occurred along the 38th parallel.

Directive NSB-68. Only changes in the international situation led to a revision of the situation around Korea. The fact is that in China the Communist Party won the war with the Kuomintang. In October 1949, the People's Republic of China was proclaimed. It was viewed in Washington as a growing threat to US national interests in this region, and in the world as a whole. In March 1950, the US National Security Council issued NSC 68, which recommended that the government strictly contain communism throughout the world. Those areas of the world where there was a direct threat of “Soviet expansion” were identified: South Korea, Japan and the Middle East.

The position of the Soviet side also changed radically. The formation of the NATO military bloc and the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) in 1949 forced Stalin to reconsider his point of view regarding military assistance to the North Korean regime. Kim Il Sung asked for it several times. As a result of negotiations in April-May 1950, Moscow supplied Pyongyang with weapons and military equipment to create a mechanized tank brigade (66 T-34 and IS tanks), as well as an artillery regiment of 24 guns and an aviation division of 86 aircraft.

The beginning of the war and the successes of North Korea

Negotiations between Kim Il Sung in Beijing. In May 1950, the Korean delegation led by Kim Il Sung at negotiations in Beijing secured support from Mao Zedong. Kim Il Sung informed Mao that the DPRK 1 had developed a three-stage plan for the invasion of the South: the first was to concentrate troops for a surprise attack on the South; on the second - to put forward a proposal for the peaceful reunification of the country; and on the third - after the proposal is rejected, begin military action. The plan was to capture South Korea within 25-27 days. Moreover, both sides were confident that the Americans would not intervene in the conflict if the USSR did not intervene.

Plan of operation against the South. By the end of May, the development of a plan for an offensive operation against the South Koreans was completed in Pyongyang, taking into account the recommendations of Lieutenant General Vasiliev, an adviser to the DPRK Minister of War, sent from Moscow. The approved plan called for a surprise attack on South Korea by two task forces of nine infantry divisions in the direction of Seoul and Chuncheon. The operation to capture Seoul, the capital of South Korea, was planned to last three days. It was believed that after the capture of Seoul, Syngman Rhee would capitulate. Therefore, in the hope of a quick and quick victory, the creation of reserves was not given much importance.

Armies of two states. By the beginning of hostilities, the strength of the Korean People's Army (KPA) was 175 thousand people or 10 infantry divisions. It was armed with the 105th Tank Brigade, which was later expanded into a division (132 T-34 and IS tanks). The DPRK Air Force consisted of 239 aircraft, of which: 93 Il-10 attack aircraft and 79 Yak-9 fighters. Most of the rifle units were fully equipped with personnel and small arms, but there was a lack of artillery, transport and communications equipment.

Today, North Korea, which has nuclear weapons and means of delivering them, is, according to Washington, an “evil empire.” The Americans are deploying missile defense systems on the Pacific coast and sending B-2 bombers to South Korea. And against this informational background, there is an excellent reason to remember the war that 60 years ago was already raging on the Korean Peninsula. This article provides facts thatVYou may not have known about the Korean War.

A Korean girl with her brother on her back wearily walks past an American M-26 tank
June 9, 1951.

1. Origin of the 38th parallel

In 1896, the governments of Japan and the Russian Empire signed an agreement on Korea, according to which the zone of influence of each side was limited to the 38th parallel. True, after the Russo-Japanese War in 1910, the Japanese captured the entire Korean Peninsula. After the end of World War II, the American State Department, when dividing spheres of influence with Moscow, without further ado, again returned to the 38th parallel. It was the crossing of this conventional line by North Korean troops in 1950 that led to the war. Today, the 38th parallel is the border between the two Korean states.

2. For Americans, this is not a war.

Officially, the Korean War was little more than a police operation, as President Harry Truman did not even bother asking Congress for permission to formally declare war.

3. The threat of using nuclear weapons

By 1950, the history of nuclear weapons was only five years old. And the parties that had it had plans to use it in future local conflicts - such as, for example, the Korean War. Thus, in the United States, the Joint Chiefs of Staff developed a plan for launching nuclear strikes against China in the event of a full-scale intervention of this country in the Korean conflict. There was also a plan to attack the Soviet Union, but it was rejected due to the opposition of the European allies, who feared an escalation of the situation in Europe. In any case, American plans envisaged the use of nuclear weapons only in the event of “final military defeat.”

4. North Koreans captured an American general

A month after the start of the fighting, on August 25, 1950, during a skirmish in the Tajon area, while assisting wounded soldiers, Major General William Dehn, commander of the 24th Infantry Division, was shell-shocked. The general was sent to the mountains, where he spent 36 days. Here he was given all possible medical assistance, since he was wounded. During the offensive, it was repulsed by South Korean soldiers, but during the evacuation to the rear it was again captured by the enemy. He remained in captivity until the end of the war.

5. Women's participation

About 86,300 Korean War veterans are women. This is approximately 7% of all veterans of this conflict.

6. There were partisan units in the American army during the war.

With the outbreak of the Korean War, the American command had the idea of ​​organizing a partisan movement behind enemy lines. Unofficially, a secret army unit No. 8240 was formed from the Rangers and other special forces. All instructors had experience in guerrilla warfare during the Second World War and were transferred behind the front line to organize resistance units. At the same time, they were without documents and were formally dismissed from the ranks of the armed forces. It was not until 1952 that soldiers and officers officially became part of the American Army Psychological Warfare Center. By that time they had managed to train approximately 38 thousand partisans.

7. Use of dogs

During the Korean War, the US Army used about 1,500 specially trained dogs.

8. Drugs in war

In the Western press of that period there are references that the first venous injections of amphetamine date back to the Korean War. Some soldiers took a mixture of amphetamine and heroin before the injection. A large number of participants in the military conflict returned home as drug addicts.

In the skies over Korea

It is well known that Soviet pilots took part in combat operations in Korea as part of air regiments that were based in China. What is less known is that Soviet pilots directly clashed with the Americans on several occasions. Thus, 13 naval aviation pilots were killed in battles in the skies of Korea, as well as over the waters of the Yellow and Sea of ​​Japan. The first such case was noted on November 18, 1952, when four MiG-15s flew from Vladivostok into the Sea of ​​Japan. The task of the group was to monitor the strike force of the aircraft carriers Oriskany and Princeton. In the area where American ships were maneuvering, Soviet aircraft were suddenly attacked by four carrier-based Panther fighters from the aircraft carrier Oriskany. The plane of Senior Lieutenant Vladimir Ivanovich Pakhomkin was the first to be shot down. The pilot tried to reach the airfield, but the plane fell into the sea and the pilot died. By this time, the Americans had brought 8 more vehicles to the battle area: 4 Panthers and 4 Benshees. As a result of a fierce battle in conditions of numerical superiority of the enemy, two more MiG-15 pilots, captain Nikolai Mikhailovich Belyakov and senior lieutenant Alexander Ivanovich Vandaev, were shot down, since Soviet pilots were forbidden to open fire outside the combat zone, the pilots – died. Only senior lieutenant Pushkarev returned to the airfield. On the American side, one Panther fighter was damaged. Immediately after the battle, the commander of the fighter corps, General Mironenko, sent a fighter regiment to the battle area. But the aircraft carrier, without waiting for an answer, gave full speed and disappeared.

And on July 27, 1953, a transport Il-14 of the Pacific Fleet Air Force was shot down in the sky over the Yellow Sea in the territorial waters of China. The crew and all passengers died, a total of 25 people, whose remains were buried in the capital of Primorye – Vladivostok.

However, Soviet pilots also had successes, which, unfortunately, have not yet been declassified to this day. The most famous incident was that of July 29, 1953, formally after the end of the Korean War. On that day, an American RB-50 reconnaissance aircraft from the 55th reconnaissance wing of the US Air Force in the Vladivostok area was intercepted by a pair of MiG-17 fighters from 88 IAP. As a result of an attack by the Rybakov-Yablonovsky pair, the plane was shot down. From the Japanese Misawa airfield, on alert, 4 aircraft of the American rescue squadron took off towards the scene of the incident. Towards evening, American planes sent to search for the downed reconnaissance aircraft noticed two groups of three or four people in the water. The presence of 12 fishing vessels nearby was also recorded.

Throughout the day, American ships searched for the pilots, covering an area of ​​3,300 square miles. But, despite all efforts, of the 11 crew members and 6 electronic intelligence specialists, only one was found - co-pilot John Roche.

10. The Korean War is still not over

On July 27, 1953, American Lieutenant General William Harrison and North Korean General Nam Il signed an armistice agreement in Panmunjong. It was then signed by Commander-in-Chief of the People's Army of North Korea Kim Il Sung, Commander-in-Chief of the Chinese Army Peng Dehuai and UN Commander-in-Chief Clark.

The document stated that the truce was valid until the “signing of the final peace treaty.” Thus, the conflict has not been formally ended for more than sixty years.

Ridgway M. Soldier. M., 1958
Lototsky S. Korean War 19501953(Review of military operations). Military-historical magazine. 1959, No. 10
History of Korea, vol. 2. M., 1974
Tarasov V.A. Soviet diplomacy during the Korean War(19501953) In the collection: Diplomats remember: The world through the eyes of veterans of the diplomatic service. M., 1997
Volokhova A.A. Some archival materials about the Korean War(19501953) In: Problems of the Far East. 1999, no. 4
Utash B.O. Soviet aviation in the Korean War 1950-1953. Author's abstract. dis. Ph.D. ist. Sci. Volgograd, 1999
Torkunov A.V. The Mysterious War: The Korean Conflict 1950-1953. M., 2000
Korean Peninsula: myths, expectations and reality: Materials IV scientific. Conf., 1516.03. 2000 Part 12. M., 2000
Gavrilov V.A. G. Kissinger:« The Korean War was not a Kremlin conspiracy at all.." Military History Magazine, 2001, No. 2
The Korean War, 1950-1953: a look after 50 years: Materials of the international theoretical conf. (Moscow, June 23, 2000). M., 2001
Ignatiev G.A., Balyaeva E.N. Korean War: old and new approaches. Bulletin of Novgorod State University. Ser.: Humanities, vol. 21, 2002
Orlov A.S., Gavrilov V.A. Secrets of the Korean War. M., 2003

Find "KOREAN WAR" on