United Nations Command
Quick Summary
The United Nations Command (UNC) was established in response to the invasion of South Korea by North Korea on June 25, 1950. The UN Security Council authorized member states to provide military assistance to South Korea to repel the invasion. The Soviet Union's boycott of the Security Council at the time prevented a veto of this resolution.12
Gen. Douglas MacArthur was appointed commander of the UNC, which comprised military contingents from sixteen UN member nations, though the United States provided the majority of the air and naval forces, supplies, and funding. The UNC successfully pushed North Korean forces back across the 38th parallel and advanced into North Korea. However, Chinese intervention in November 1950 forced a retreat, and the war eventually settled into a stalemate along the 38th parallel until an armistice was reached on July 27, 1953.13
Ask Britannica AI about this topic
Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.
Battle of the Chosin ReservoirCrossing into North Korea…Inch’ŏn in September 1950, the United Nations Command (UNC), under the direction of U.S. Pres. Harry S. Truman’s administration and the UN General Assembly, pursued the remnants of the communist Korean People’s Army into North Korea. On the orders of Gen. Douglas MacArthur, commander of all allied forces in the…
Read More…Inch’ŏn in September 1950, the United Nations Command (UNC), under the direction of U.S. Pres. Harry S. Truman’s administration and the UN General Assembly, pursued the remnants of the communist Korean People’s Army into North Korea. On the orders of Gen. Douglas MacArthur, commander of all allied forces in the…
Read More- Battle of the Chosin ReservoirCrossing into North Korea
… ready to move against the UNC ground forces. On October 18–19, Chinese leader Mao Zedong, after considerable debate, ordered the Chinese People’s Volunteers Force (CPVF), under the command of General Peng Dehuai, to move against the Eighth Army, whose lead elements had advanced beyond P’yŏngyang and were marching along two…
Read More… ready to move against the UNC ground forces. On October 18–19, Chinese leader Mao Zedong, after considerable debate, ordered the Chinese People’s Volunteers Force (CPVF), under the command of General Peng Dehuai, to move against the Eighth Army, whose lead elements had advanced beyond P’yŏngyang and were marching along two…
Read More - Battle of the Chosin ReservoirThe Chinese strike
…shells, and trucks and feared UNC air strikes on road-bound columns. Moreover, the army group had not prepared for winter war. Still, Mao found the X Corps too tempting a target to resist, and the Chinese believed they had found an effective formula for fighting the UNC: stealth, nighttime attacks,…
Read More…shells, and trucks and feared UNC air strikes on road-bound columns. Moreover, the army group had not prepared for winter war. Still, Mao found the X Corps too tempting a target to resist, and the Chinese believed they had found an effective formula for fighting the UNC: stealth, nighttime attacks,…
Read More - Battle of the Chosin ReservoirFighting back to the coast
Preserving the UNC for this mission (its original one) dictated that the X Corps escape the grasp of the CPVF Ninth Army Group. To achieve this aim, Almond took a worst-case position: the Yudam-ni and Hagaru-ri garrisons would rally at the latter perimeter and then fly out,…
Read MorePreserving the UNC for this mission (its original one) dictated that the X Corps escape the grasp of the CPVF Ninth Army Group. To achieve this aim, Almond took a worst-case position: the Yudam-ni and Hagaru-ri garrisons would rally at the latter perimeter and then fly out,…
Read More - Battle of the Chosin ReservoirFighting back to the coast
…1951, and it convinced the UNC that allied ground troops could defeat Chinese armies, however numerous. The Chinese have remained vague on their losses in the battle, but their own records and UNC estimates put the Ninth Army Group’s casualties in the range of 40,000 to 80,000, when one counts…
Read More…1951, and it convinced the UNC that allied ground troops could defeat Chinese armies, however numerous. The Chinese have remained vague on their losses in the battle, but their own records and UNC estimates put the Ninth Army Group’s casualties in the range of 40,000 to 80,000, when one counts…
Read More
