ROK forces lost anywhere between 257,000 and 415,000 killed in action, along with another 430,000 wounded. The Americans lost 33,629 killed and 105,785 wounded, 45% of which occurred after the first armistice negotiations with the Communists began. Non-US UN forces lost 4,000 killed and 12,000 wounded, of which 40% were from the British Commonwealth. Total UN-ROK military casualties come to between 850,000 and 1,000,000 killed and wounded.
At a conservative estimate, the North Koreans and Chinese lost half a million casualties apiece, half of them killed. Of the 500,000 to 600,000 North Korean military casualties, 340,000 were lost before the Chinese intervention. Given the costly way the Chinese waged their war, plausible PLA casualty estimates go as high as 1,000,000 killed and wounded. Total Communist military casualties range between 1,000,000 and 1,600,000 killed and wounded.
Some 250,000 South Korean civilians died, of which 130,000 were killed by the North Koreans, and the remainder by Rhee’s purges and massacres. Over 1,000,000 North Korean civilians died, 300,000 to American bombing, and the rest to famine and disease.
>While they were not under direct fire, men plodded wearily beneath the ice-laden telegraph poles, their helmets and weapons and clothing decked in crusts of snow. It was better to feel the pain in their feet. The thousands of men who no longer possessed any sensation in their boots were suffering from various extremes of frostbite. Stragglers had to be kicked, pushed, cajoled. Those who stopped never started again.
>The Chinese were far less well equipped to face the conditions than their opponents, possessing only canvas shoes and lacking such indulgences as sleeping bags. And the Chinese could expect no ready evacuation or medical care. UN soldiers told terrible stories of taking prisoners with whole limbs blackened and dead in the cold. Chinese veterans later declared that 90 percent of the “volunteers” in Korea suffered from some degree of frostbite in the winter of 1950. “As a result, our soldiers frequently starved. They ate cold food, and some had only a few potatoes in two days. The wounded could not be evacuated.”
* Max Hastings, on the miserable conditions at the Chosin Reservoir
My grandpa fought over there as ground crew for the air force
Today, the US wouldn’t even send military aid to South Korea unless someone else paid for it, much less fight for them.
Watching the Seoul Olympics back in late 80’s with the old man (1st Cav (‘50-‘51)). Marathon is on, and after a bit of it, he starts smirking, points at tv, and says: “I’ve done more running in that city than all of those guys combined”
He was exaggerating a bit, sure, but he saw an awful lot of that place. Never had any desire to go back.
Check out Indy Neidell Korean War week by week and knowing there will be just 2 years of outpost war is fascinating
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ROK forces lost anywhere between 257,000 and 415,000 killed in action, along with another 430,000 wounded. The Americans lost 33,629 killed and 105,785 wounded, 45% of which occurred after the first armistice negotiations with the Communists began. Non-US UN forces lost 4,000 killed and 12,000 wounded, of which 40% were from the British Commonwealth. Total UN-ROK military casualties come to between 850,000 and 1,000,000 killed and wounded.
At a conservative estimate, the North Koreans and Chinese lost half a million casualties apiece, half of them killed. Of the 500,000 to 600,000 North Korean military casualties, 340,000 were lost before the Chinese intervention. Given the costly way the Chinese waged their war, plausible PLA casualty estimates go as high as 1,000,000 killed and wounded. Total Communist military casualties range between 1,000,000 and 1,600,000 killed and wounded.
Some 250,000 South Korean civilians died, of which 130,000 were killed by the North Koreans, and the remainder by Rhee’s purges and massacres. Over 1,000,000 North Korean civilians died, 300,000 to American bombing, and the rest to famine and disease.
>While they were not under direct fire, men plodded wearily beneath the ice-laden telegraph poles, their helmets and weapons and clothing decked in crusts of snow. It was better to feel the pain in their feet. The thousands of men who no longer possessed any sensation in their boots were suffering from various extremes of frostbite. Stragglers had to be kicked, pushed, cajoled. Those who stopped never started again.
>The Chinese were far less well equipped to face the conditions than their opponents, possessing only canvas shoes and lacking such indulgences as sleeping bags. And the Chinese could expect no ready evacuation or medical care. UN soldiers told terrible stories of taking prisoners with whole limbs blackened and dead in the cold. Chinese veterans later declared that 90 percent of the “volunteers” in Korea suffered from some degree of frostbite in the winter of 1950. “As a result, our soldiers frequently starved. They ate cold food, and some had only a few potatoes in two days. The wounded could not be evacuated.”
* Max Hastings, on the miserable conditions at the Chosin Reservoir
My grandpa fought over there as ground crew for the air force
Today, the US wouldn’t even send military aid to South Korea unless someone else paid for it, much less fight for them.
Watching the Seoul Olympics back in late 80’s with the old man (1st Cav (‘50-‘51)). Marathon is on, and after a bit of it, he starts smirking, points at tv, and says: “I’ve done more running in that city than all of those guys combined”
He was exaggerating a bit, sure, but he saw an awful lot of that place. Never had any desire to go back.
Check out Indy Neidell Korean War week by week and knowing there will be just 2 years of outpost war is fascinating
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