Korea disregarded the demand, and pushed further into South Korea. With this, Truman ordered General MacArthur to send two American divisions to assist South Korea in repelling the invasion. As conflict infused, the UN. and South Korean forces were all put under command of Gen. MacArthur. The Unites States was aware that if North Korea succeeded, it would be a huge gain for communism and could possibly generate genocide of the South Koreans because of their democratic beliefs.9 The North Koreans achieved complete strategic surprise with the timing, as well as the scale, of their invasion. They raced across the thinly guarded 38th parallel, and simultaneously launched a series of amphibious attacks on the east coast. Panicking, the ROK began to blow-up most all the bridges leading into South Korea in order to slow down the North Korean advance. MacArthur, seeing his troops overwhelmed by the on rushing invasion, sent urgent messages to the White House demanding more troops and supplies. Unseasoned troops were sent from U.S. bases in Japan, and within a week, the allied forces were being mauled by a fierce North Korean invasion. As the allied situation became more dire, fifteen nations, mostly the Atlantic allies, sent armed forces to fight in Korea. The Korean police action had now become the Korean war.10 The U.S. and allied forces had been pushed back all the way to Taejon, where they held an indefinite position. The allies held Taejon for five days and allowed much needed troops and supplies to arrive at Pusan*. When the troops that arrived at Pusan, they created a defensive perimeter to hold back the North Koreans from capturing the entire country.11 The success of the North Koreans was an partly a cause of the allies underestimating their military ability. This was commonly known as "Gook Syndrome" where the Koreans were thought to be inferior, and as a result, the allies made many careless mistakes.12 MacArthur, realizing the sever...
