Korean War

Korean War, conflict between Communist and non-Communist forces in Korea

from June 25, 1950, to July 27, 1953. This War was a war between South Korea
and North Korea, in which a United Nations force led by the United States of
America fought for the South, and China fought for the North, also assisted by the
Soviet Union. The war arose from the division of Korea at the end of World War II
and from the global tensions of the Cold War that developed immediately
afterwards.
Korea was ruled by Japan from 1910 until the closing days of the war. In August
1945 the Soviet Union declared war on Japan . During World War II, the Allies
discussed the future of Korea in the postwar period and agreed that after its
defeat, Japan would be stripped of all of its colonies, including Korea.By 1948 two
separate governments had been set up. Both governments claimed to be the
legitimate government of Korea and neither side accepted the border as
permanent.
On June 25, 1950, the Korean War began when some 75,000 soldiers from the
North Korean Peoples Army poured across the 38th parallel, the boundary
between the Soviet-backed Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea to the north
and the pro-Western Republic of Korea to the south. This invasion was the first
military action of the Cold War. By July, American troops had entered the war on
South Koreas behalf. As far as American officials were concerned, it was a war
against the forces of international communism itself.
At first, the war was a defensive onea war to get the communists out of South
Koreaand it went badly for the Allies. The North Korean army was well-
disciplined, well-trained and well-equipped; Rhees forces, by contrast, were
frightened, confused, and seemed inclined to flee the battlefield at any
time.Finally, in July 1953, the Korean War came to an end. The Korean War was
relatively short but exceptionally bloody.In all, some 5 million soldiers and
civilians lost their lives during the war. Almost 40,000 Americans died in action in
Korea, and more than 100,000 were wounded.
The war has been seen both as a civil war and as a proxy conflict in the Cold War
between the United States and the Soviet Union. While not directly committing
forces to the conflict, the Soviet Union provided strategic planning, weapons and
material aid to both the North Korean and Chinese armies. The war also saw the
first combat between jet aircraft, such as the F-86 Sabre used by the UN and the
MiG-15 used by the Chinese, in warfare.