Korean War (1950–53)
The Korean War was a conflict between the United States and its
United Nations allies and the
communist powers under influence of the Soviet Union (also a UN member nation) and the People's Republic of China (which later also gained UN membership).
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| Beachhead at Inchon Credit: wikipedia |
The principal combatants were North and South Korea. Principal allies of South Korea included the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, although many other nations sent troops under the aegis of the
United Nations. Allies of North Korea included the People's Republic of China, which supplied military forces, and the Soviet Union, which supplied
combat advisors and aircraft pilots, as well as arms, for the Chinese and North Korean troops.
The war started badly for the US and UN. North Korean forces struck massively in the summer of 1950 and nearly drove the outnumbered US and ROK defenders into the sea. However the United Nations intervened, naming
Douglas MacArthur commander of its forces, and UN-US-ROK forces held a perimeter around
Pusan, gaining time for reinforcement. MacArthur, in a bold but risky move, ordered an amphibious invasion well behind the front lines at
Inchon, cutting off and routing the North Koreans and quickly crossing the 38th Parallel into North Korea. As UN forces continued to advance toward the
Yalu River on the border with Communist China, the Chinese crossed the Yalu River in October and launched a series of surprise attacks that sent the UN forces reeling back across the 38th Parallel.
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| The Korean War and Yalu River Credit: History 12 |
Truman originally wanted a
Rollback strategy to unify Korea; after the Chinese successes he settled for a Containment policy to split the country. MacArthur argued for rollback but was fired by President
Harry Truman after disputes over the conduct of the war. Peace negotiations dragged on for two years until President
Dwight D. Eisenhower threatened China with nuclear weapons; an armistice was quickly reached with the two Koreas remaining divided at the
38th parallel. North and South Korea are still today in a state of war, having never signed a peace treaty, and American forces remain stationed in South Korea as part of American foreign policy.
Lebanon crisis of 1958
Dominican Intervention
On April 28, 1965, 400 Marines were landed in Santo Domingo to evacuate the American Embassy and foreign nationals after dissident Dominican armed forces attempted to overthrow the ruling civilian junta. By mid-May, peak strength of 23,850 U.S. soldiers, Marines, and Airmen were in the Dominican Republic and some 38 naval ships were positioned offshore. They evacuated nearly 6,500 men, women, and children of 46 nations, and distributed more than 8 million tons of food.
World War II (1941–45)
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| The explosion aboard the USS Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor Credit: wikipedia |
The loss of eight battleships and 2,403 Americans at Pearl Harbor forced the U.S. to rely on its remaining
aircraft carriers, which won a major victory over Japan at Midway just six months into the war, and on its growing submarine fleet. The Navy and Marine Corps followed this up with an
island hopping campaign across the central and south Pacific in 1943–45, reaching the outskirts of Japan in the
Battle of Okinawa. During 1942 and 1943, the U.S. deployed millions of men and thousands of planes and tanks to the UK, beginning with the
strategic bombing of
Nazi Germany and occupied Europe and leading up to the Allied invasions of occupied
North Africa in November 1942, Sicily and Italy in 1943, France in 1944, and the invasion of Germany in 1945, parallel with the Soviet invasion from the east.
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| General of the Army MacArthur signs on behalf of the Allies Credit: wikipedia |
That led to the
surrender of Nazi Germany in May 1945. In the Pacific, the U.S. experienced much success in naval campaigns during 1944, but bloody battles at
Iwo Jima and
Okinawa in 1945 led the U.S. to look for a way to end the war with minimal loss of American lives.
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| Battle of Iwo Jima Credit: Nations Wiki - Wikia |
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| Battle of Okinawa Credit: Nations Wiki - Wikia |
The United States was able to mobilize quickly, eventually becoming the dominant military power in most theaters of the war (excepting only eastern Europe), and the industrial might of the U.S. economy became a major factor in the Allies' mobilization of resources. Strategic and tactical lessons learned by the U.S., such as the importance of air superiority and the dominance of the aircraft carrier in naval actions, continue to guide U.S. military doctrine into the 21st century.
World War II holds a special place in the American psyche as the country's greatest triumph, and the U.S. military personnel of World War II are frequently referred to as "the
Greatest Generation." Over 16 million served (about 11% of the population), and over 400,000 died during the war. The U.S. emerged as one of the two undisputed superpowers along with the Soviet Union, and unlike the Soviet Union, the U.S. homeland was virtually untouched by the ravages of war. During and following World War II, the United States and Britain developed
an increasingly strong defense and intelligence relationship. Manifestations of this include extensive basing of U.S. forces in the UK, shared intelligence, shared military technology (e.g. nuclear technology), and shared procurement.
World War I (1914–18)
The United States originally wished to remain neutral when
World War I broke out in August 1914. However, it insisted on its right as a neutral party to immunity from German submarine attack, even though its ships carried food and raw materials to Britain. In 1917 the
Germans resumed submarine attacks, knowing that it would lead to American entry. When the United States declared war in early April 1917, the United States Army was still small by European standards (most of which had conscription) and mobilization would take at least a year.
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| Credit: Lettuce Debate |
Meanwhile, the United States continued to provide supplies and money to Britain and France, and initiated the first peacetime draft. Industrial mobilization took longer than expected, so divisions were sent to Europe without equipment, relying instead on the British and French to supply them.
By summer 1918, a million American soldiers, or "
doughboys" as they were often called, of the
American Expeditionary Force (AEF) were in Europe, serving on the
Western Front under the command of General John Pershing, with 25,000 more arriving every week. The failure of the
German Army's
Spring Offensive exhausted its manpower reserves and they were unable to launch new offensives. The
Imperial German Navy and home front then revolted and a
new German government signed a conditional surrender, the Armistice, ending the war on the Western Front on November 11, 1918.
Russian Revolution (1918–19)
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| Polar Bear Expedition forces, 1918. Image Source: Wikimedia Commons |
The so-called
Polar Bear Expedition was the involvement of 5,000 U.S. troops, during the
Russian Revolution, in blocking the Bolsheviks in Arkhangelsk, Russia as part of the greater
Allied military expedition in the Russian Civil War.
1920s: Naval disarmament
The U.S. sponsored a major world conference to limit the naval armaments of world powers, including the U.S., Britain, Japan, and France, plus smaller nations. Secretary of State
Charles Evans Hughes made the key proposal of each country to reduce its number of warships by a formula that was accepted. The conference enabled the great powers to reduce their navies and avoid conflict in the Pacific. The treaties remained in effect for ten years, but were not renewed as tensions escalated.
1930s: Neutrality Acts
After the costly U.S. involvement in World War I,
isolationism grew within the nation. Congress refused membership in the
League of Nations, and in response to the growing turmoil in Europe and Asia, the gradually more restrictive Neutrality Acts were passed, which were intended to prevent the U.S. from supporting either side in a war. President
Franklin D. Roosevelt sought to support Britain, however, and in 1940 signed the
Lend-Lease Act, which permitted an expansion of the "
cash and carry" arms trade to develop with Britain, which controlled the Atlantic sea lanes.
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| Franklin D. Roosevelt Credit: pinterest |
Roosevelt favored the Navy (he was in effective charge in World War I), and used relief programs such as the
PWA to support Navy yards and build warships. For example, in 1933 he authorized $238 million in PWA funds for thirty-two new ships. The Army Air Corps received only $11 million, which barely covered replacements and allowed no expansion.
Mexico (1910–19)
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| Credit: Poemas del río Wang |
The
Mexican Revolution involved a civil war with hundreds of thousands of deaths and large numbers fleeing combat zones. Tens of thousands fled to the
U.S. President Wilson sent U.S. forces to
occupy the Mexican city of
Veracruz for six months in 1914. It was designed to show the U.S. was keenly interested in the civil war and would not tolerate attacks on Americans, especially the April 9, 1914, "
Tampico Affair", which involved the arrest of American sailors by soldiers of the regime of Mexican President
Victoriano Huerta.
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| Victoriano Huerta Credit: Biografias y Vidas |
In early 1916
Pancho Villa a Mexican general ordered 500 soldiers on a murderous raid on the American city of Columbus New Mexico, with the goal of robbing banks to fund his army. The German Secret Service encouraged Pancho Villa in his attacks to involve the United States in an intervention in Mexico which would distract the United States from its growing involvement in the war and divert aid from Europe to support the intervention.
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| Pancho Villa Credit: Popolis |
Wilson called up the state militias (National Guard) and sent them and the U.S. Army under General
John J. Pershing to punish Villa in the
Pancho Villa Expedition. Villa fled, with the Americans in pursuit deep into Mexico, thereby arousing Mexican nationalism. By early 1917 President
Venustiano Carranza had contained Villa and secured the border, so Wilson ordered Pershing to withdraw.
Philippine–American War (1899–1902)
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| The philippine american war Credit: SlideShare |
The
Philippine–American War (1899–1902) was an armed conflict between a group of
Filipino revolutionaries and the American forces following the ceding of the Philippines to the United States after the defeat of Spanish forces in the
Battle of Manila. The Army sent in 100,000 soldiers (mostly from the National Guard) under General
Elwell Otis.
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| Elwell Stephen Otis Credit: SlideShare |
Defeated in the field and losing its capital in March 1899, the poorly armed and poorly led rebels broke into armed bands. The insurgency collapsed in March 1901 when the leader
Emilio Aguinaldo was captured by General
Frederick Funston and his
Macabebe allies. Casualties included 1,037 Americans killed in action and 3,340 who died from disease; 20,000 rebels were killed.
Modernization
The Navy was modernized in the 1880s, and by the 1890s had adopted the naval power strategy of Captain
Alfred Thayer Mahan—as indeed did every major navy. The old sailing ships were replaced by modern steel battleships, bringing them in line with the navies of Britain and Germany. In 1907, most of the Navy's battleships, with several support vessels, dubbed the
Great White Fleet, were featured in a 14-month circumnavigation of the world. Ordered by
President Theodore Roosevelt, it was a mission designed to demonstrate the Navy's capability to extend to the global theater.
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| The Great White Fleet Credit: Daily Breeze |
Secretary of War
Elihu Root (1899–1904) led the modernization of the Army. His goal of a uniformed chief of staff as general manager and a European-type general staff for planning was stymied by General
Nelson A. Miles but did succeed in enlarging West Point and establishing the
U.S. Army War College as well as the
General Staff. Root changed the procedures for promotions and organized schools for the special branches of the service. He also devised the principle of rotating officers from staff to line. Root was concerned about the Army's role in governing the new territories acquired in 1898 and worked out the procedures for turning Cuba over to the Cubans, and wrote the charter of government for the Philippines.
Rear
Admiral Bradley A. Fiske was at the vanguard of new technology in naval guns and gunnery, thanks to his innovations in fire control 1890–1910. He immediately grasped the potential for air power, and called for the development of a torpedo plane. Fiske, as aide for operations in 1913–15 to Assistant Secretary
Franklin D. Roosevelt, proposed a radical reorganization of the Navy to make it a war-fighting instrument.
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| Bradley A. Fiske Credit: wikipedia |
Fiske wanted to centralize authority in a chief of naval operations and an expert staff that would develop new strategies, oversee the construction of a larger fleet, coordinate war planning including force structure, mobilization plans, and industrial base, and ensure that the US Navy possessed the best possible war machines. Eventually, the Navy adopted his reforms and by 1915 started to reorganize for possible involvement in the World War then underway.
Banana Wars (1898–1935)
"Banana Wars" is an informal term for the minor intervention in Latin America from 1898 until 1934. These include military presence in
Cuba,
Panama with the
Panama Canal Zone, Haiti (1915–1935),
Dominican Republic (1916–1924) and
Nicaragua (1912–1925) & (1926–1933).
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| Banana Wars - Pinterest |
The U.S. Marine Corps began to specialize in long-term military occupation of these countries, primarily to safeguard customs revenues which were the cause of local civil wars.
Moro Rebellion (1899–1913)
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| Moro Rebellion - Wikipedia |
The Moro Rebellion was an armed insurgency between
Muslim Filipino tribes in the southern
Philippines between 1899 and 1913. Pacification was never complete as sporadic antigovernment insurgency continues into the 21st century, with American advisors helping the Philippine government forces.
Post-Civil War era (1865–1917)
Indian Wars (1865–91)
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| William Tecumseh Sherman Credit: wikipedia |
After the Civil War, population expansion, railroad construction, and the disappearance of the buffalo herds heightened military tensions on the Great Plains. Several tribes, especially the Sioux and Comanche, fiercely resisted confinement to reservations. The main role of the Army was to keep indigenous peoples on reservations and to end their wars against settlers and each other,
William Tecumseh Sherman and
Philip Sheridan were in charge.
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| Philip Sheridan - Wikipedia |
A famous victory for the Plains Nations was the
Battle of the Little Big Horn in 1876, when Col.
George Armstrong Custer and two hundred plus members of the
7th Cavalry were killed by a force consisting of Native Americans from the
Lakota,
Northern Cheyenne, and
Arapaho nations. The last significant conflict came in 1891.
Spanish–American War (1898)
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| Spanish-american War Credit: Fine Art America |
The
Spanish–American War was a short decisive war marked by quick, overwhelming American victories at sea and on land against Spain. The Navy was well-prepared and won laurels, even as politicians tried (and failed) to have it redeployed to defend East Coast cities against potential threats from the feeble Spanish fleet. The Army performed well in combat in Cuba. However, it was too oriented to small posts in the West and not as well-prepared for an overseas conflict. It relied on volunteers and state militia units, which faced logistical, training and food problems in the staging areas in Florida. The United States freed Cuba (after an occupation by the U.S. Army). By the peace treaty Spain ceded to the United States its colonies of
Puerto Rico,
Guam, and the
Philippines. The Navy set up coaling stations there and in Hawaii (which voluntarily joined the U.S. in 1898).
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| The Guantánamo Bay Naval Base credit: Repeating Islands |
The U.S. Navy now had a major forward presence across the Pacific and (with the lease of
Guantánamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba) a major base in the Caribbean guarding the approaches to the Gulf Coast and the Panama Canal.
American Civil War (1861–65)
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| Mason-Dixon Line Western Crossings credit: exploretheline |
Sectional tensions had long existed between the states located north of the
Mason–Dixon line and those south of it, primarily centered on the "peculiar institution" of
slavery and the ability of states to overrule the decisions of the national government. During the 1840s and 1850s, conflicts between the two sides became progressively more violent.
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| Dead soldiers lie where they fell at Antietam, the bloodiest day in American history. Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation after this battle. credit: wikipedia |
After the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 (who southerners thought would work to end slavery) states in the South seceded from the United States, beginning with South Carolina in late 1860. On April 12, 1861, forces of the South (known as the
Confederate States of America or simply the Confederacy) opened fire on
Fort Sumter, whose garrison was loyal to the Union.
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| Fort Sumter Battle credit: wikipedia |
The
American Civil War caught both sides unprepared. The Confederacy hoped to win by getting Britain and France to intervene, or else by wearing down the North's willingness to fight. The U.S. sought a quick victory focused on capturing the Confederate capital at
Richmond, Virginia. The Confederates under
Robert E. Lee tenaciously defended their capital until the very end. The war spilled across the continent, and even to the high seas. Most of the material and personnel of the South were used up, while the North prospered.
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| Robert E. Lee credit: The Imaginative Conservative |
The American Civil War is sometimes called the "first modern war" due to the mobilization (and destruction) of the civilian base. It also is characterized by many technical innovations involving railroads, telegraphs, rifles, trench warfare, and ironclad warships with turret guns.
War with Mexico (1846–48)
With the rapid expansion of the farming population,
Democrats looked to the west for new lands, an idea which became known as "
Manifest Destiny." In the
Texas Revolution (1835–36), the settlers declared independence and defeated the Mexican army, but Mexico was determined to reconquer the lost province and threatened war with the U.S. if it annexed Texas. The U.S., much larger and more powerful, did annex Texas in 1845 and war broke out in 1846 over boundary issues.
In the
Mexican–American War 1846–48, the U.S. Army under Generals
Zachary Taylor and
Winfield Scott and others, invaded and after a series of victorious battles (and no major defeats) seized New Mexico and California, and also blockaded the coast, invaded northern Mexico, and invaded central Mexico, capturing the national capital. The peace terms involved American purchase of the area from California to New Mexico for $10 million.
War of 1812
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| "We have met the enemy and they are ours." Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry's victory on Lake Erie in 1813 was an important turning point in the War of 1812. (Painting by William H. Powell, 1865) credit: wikipedia |
By far the largest military action in which the United States engaged during this era was the
War of 1812. With Britain locked in a
major war with Napoleon's France, its policy was to block American shipments to France. The United States sought to remain neutral while pursuing overseas trade. Britain cut the trade and impressed seamen on American ships into the
Royal Navy, despite intense protests. Britain supported an Indian insurrection in the American Midwest, with the goal of creating an Indian state there that would block American expansion.
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| The War of 1812 credit: PBS |
The United States finally declared war on the United Kingdom in 1812, the first time the U.S. had officially declared war. Not hopeful of defeating the Royal Navy, the U.S. attacked the
British Empire by invading British Canada, hoping to use captured territory as a bargaining chip. The invasion of Canada was a debacle, though concurrent wars with Native Americans on the western front (
Tecumseh's War and the
Creek War) were more successful.
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| Tecumseh's War credit: Wikimedia Commons |
After defeating
Napoleon in 1814, Britain sent large veteran armies to invade New York, raid Washington and capture the key control of the Mississippi River at New Orleans. The New York invasion was a fiasco after the much larger British army retreated to Canada. The raiders succeeded in the
burning of Washington on 25 August 1814, but were repulsed in their
Chesapeake Bay Campaign at the
Battle of Baltimore and the British commander killed.
The major invasion in Louisiana was stopped by a
one-sided military battle that killed the top three British generals and thousands of soldiers. The winners were the commanding general of the Battle of New Orleans, Major General
Andrew Jackson, who became president and the Americans who basked in a victory over a much more powerful nation.
The peace treaty proved successful, and the U.S. and Britain never again went to war. The losers were the Indians, who never gained the independent territory in the Midwest promised by Britain.
Early national period (1783–1812)
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| American Revolutionary War Credit: LiveBinders |
Following the
American Revolutionary War, the United States faced potential military conflict on the high seas as well as on the western frontier. The United States was a minor military power during this time, having only a modest army, Marine corps, and navy. A traditional distrust of standing armies, combined with faith in the abilities of local militia, precluded the development of well-trained units and a professional officer corps.
Jeffersonian leaders preferred a small army and navy, fearing that a large military establishment would involve the United States in excessive foreign wars, and potentially allow a domestic tyrant to seize power.
In the
Treaty of Paris after the Revolution, the British had ceded the lands between the
Appalachian Mountains and the
Mississippi River to the United States, without consulting the
Shawnee,
Cherokee,
Choctaw and other smaller tribes who lived there. Because many of the tribes had fought as allies of the British, the United States compelled tribal leaders to sign away lands in postwar treaties, and began dividing these lands for settlement. This provoked a war in the
Northwest Territory in which the U.S. forces performed poorly; the
Battle of the Wabash in 1791 was the most severe defeat ever suffered by the United States at the hands of American Indians. President Washington dispatched a newly trained army to the region led by General
Anthony Wayne, which decisively defeated the Indian confederacy at the
Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794.
When revolutionary France declared
war on Great Britain in 1793, the United States sought to remain neutral, but the
Jay Treaty, which was favorable to Great Britain, angered the French government, which viewed it as a violation of the 1778
Treaty of Alliance. French privateers began to seize U.S. vessels, which led to an undeclared "
Quasi-War" between the two nations. Fought at sea from 1798 to 1800, the United States won a string of victories in the Caribbean.
George Washington was called out of retirement to head a "provisional army" in case of invasion by France, but President
John Adams managed to negotiate a truce, in which France agreed to terminate the prior alliance and cease its attacks.
Barbary Wars
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| Stephen Decatur boarding the Tripolitan gunboat, 3 August 1804, the First Barbary War Credit: wikipedia |
Barbary Wars,
First Barbary War, and
Second Barbary War
The Berbers along the Barbary Coast (modern day Libya) sent pirates to capture merchant ships and hold the crews for ransom. The U.S. paid protection money until 1801, when President
Thomas Jefferson refused to pay and sent in the Navy to challenge the
Barbary States, the
First Barbary War followed.
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| Commodore Stephen Decatur Credit: wikipedia |
After the
U.S.S. Philadelphia was captured in 1803, Lieutenant
Stephen Decatur led a raid which successfully burned the captured ship, preventing Tripoli from using or selling it. In 1805, after
William Eaton captured the city of
Derna, Tripoli agreed to a peace treaty. The other Barbary states continued to raid U.S. shipping, until the Second Barbary War in 1815 ended the practice.
War of Independence (1775–83)
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| Washington's surprise crossing of the Delaware River in December 1776 was a major comeback after the loss of New York City; his army defeated the British in two battles and recaptured New Jersey. Credit: wikipedia |
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| Detail from Washington and his Generals at Yorktown (c. 1781) by Charles Willson Peale. Lafayette (far left) is at Washington's right, the Comte de Rochambeau to his immediate left. Credit: wikipedia |
The
Continental Congress appointed
George Washington as commander-in-chief of the newly created
Continental Army, which was augmented throughout the war by colonial
militia. He drove the British out of Boston but in late summer 1776 they returned to New York and nearly captured Washington's army. Meanwhile, the revolutionaries expelled British officials from the 13 states, and declared themselves an independent nation on July 4, 1776.
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| Continental Army Credit: Shutterstock |
The British, for their part, lacked both a unified command and a clear strategy for winning. With the use of the
Royal Navy, the British were able to capture coastal cities, but control of the countryside eluded them. A British
sortie from Canada in 1777 ended with the disastrous surrender of a British army at
Saratoga. With the coming in 1777 of
General von Steuben, the training and discipline along Prussian lines began, and the Continental Army began to evolve into a modern force. France and Spain then entered the war against Great Britain as Allies of the US, ending its naval advantage and escalating the conflict into a world war. The Netherlands later joined France, and the British were outnumbered on land and sea in a world war, as they had no major allies apart from Indian tribes.
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| Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben Credit: wikipedia |
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| Nathanael Greene Credit: wikipedia |
The main British army was surrounded by Washington's American and French forces at
Yorktown in 1781, as the French fleet blocked a rescue by the Royal Navy. The British then sued for peace.
George Washington
General
George Washington (1732–99) proved an excellent organizer and administrator, who worked successfully with Congress and the state governors, selecting and mentoring his senior officers, supporting and training his troops, and maintaining an idealistic Republican Army.
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| George Washington Credit: wikipedia |
His biggest challenge was logistics, since neither Congress nor the states had the funding to provide adequately for the equipment, munitions, clothing, paychecks, or even the food supply of the soldiers. As a battlefield tactician Washington was often outmaneuvered by his British counterparts. As a strategist, however, he had a better idea of how to win the war than they did. The British sent four invasion armies. Washington's strategy forced the first army out of Boston in 1776, and was responsible for the surrender of the second and third armies at Saratoga (1777) and Yorktown (1781).
He limited the British control to New York and a few places while keeping Patriot control of the great majority of the population. The Loyalists, on whom the British had relied too heavily, comprised about 20% of the population but were never well organized. As the war ended, Washington watched proudly as the final British army quietly sailed out of New York City in November 1783, taking the Loyalist leadership with them. Washington astonished the world when, instead of seizing power, he retired quietly to his farm in Virginia.
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| George Washington Credit: wikipedia |
Patriots had a strong distrust of a permanent "
standing army", so the Continental Army was quickly demobilized, with land grants to veterans. General Washington, who throughout the war deferred to elected officials, averted a potential coup d'état and resigned as commander-in-chief after the war, establishing a tradition of civil control of the U.S. military.
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| North American Indians. Credit: Ancient-Wisdom |
The beginning of the United States military lies in civilian frontier settlers, armed for hunting and basic survival in the wilderness. These were organized into local militias for small military operations, mostly against
Native American tribes but also to resist possible raids by the small military forces of neighboring European colonies. They relied on the British regular Army and Navy for any serious military operation.
In major operations outside the locality involved, the militia was not employed as a fighting force. Instead the colony asked for (and paid) volunteers, many of whom were also militia members.
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| British Colonization in North America Credit: Family History |
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