Korean War

Korean Civil War

Part of the Cold War

United States Marines storm ashore at Incheon

Date: full-scale fighting 1950–1953

Location: Korean peninsula

Result: United Nations tactical victory; strategic stalemate; continued partition of Korea; failure of North Korean goal to unify Korean peninsula.

Combatants

Western Allied/UN combatants:

South Korea,

United States,:

British Empire   Communist combatants:

North Korea,

People's Republic of China,

Soviet Union

Commanders

Douglas Macarthur - Park Chang-Ju Jang Tak-Sang

Kim Il Sung Oh Chol-Lyong Mun Dong-Gee Choi Un-Hyeok

Strength

Note: All figures may vary according to source.

    * United Nations Command:

          o South Korea 590,911

          o USA 302,483 to 480,000

          o United Kingdom 14,198

          o  The Philippines 7,000

          o Canada 6,146 to 26,791**

          o Turkey 5,190**

          o   The Netherlands 3,972

          o Australia 2,282

          o New Zealand 1,389

          o Thailand 1,294

          o Ethiopia 1,271

          o Greece 1,263

          o France 1,119

          o Colombia 1,068

          o Belgium 900

          o South Africa 826

          o Luxembourg 44

Total: 933,845 to 1,100,000

    * North Korea 260,000

    * People's Republic of China 780,000

    * Soviet Union Up to 26,000, mostly pilots and support staff

Total: ~1,060,000@

Casualties

1,271,244 to 1,818,410 - 1,858,000 to 3,822,000 Chinese and North Koreans,

315 Soviet KIA, died of wounds or disease (including 168 officers)

Korean War

Pusan Perimeter – Inchon – Chosin Reservoir – Imjin River – Gloster Hill– Kapyong – The Hook - Pork Chop Hill - Bloody Ridge - Heartbreak Ridge

History of Korea

Gojoseon, Jin

Proto-Three Kingdoms:

 Buyeo, Okjeo, Dongye

 Samhan

Gaya

Three Kingdoms:

Goguryeo

Baekje

Silla, Unified Silla

Unified Silla, Balhae

 Later Three Kingdoms

Goryeo

Khitan wars

Mongol invasions

Joseon

Seven Year War

Japanese rule

Provisional Gov't

Divided Korea

Korean War

North Korea , South Korea

Territory changed hands in the early part of the war until the front stabilised.

The Korean War, from June 25, 1950 to cease-fire on July 27, 1953 (the war has not officially ended), was a civil war between North Korea and South Korea. When conflicts began, North and South Korea existed as provisional governments competing for control over the Korean peninsula due to the Division of Korea. The Cold War-era conflict was a proxy war between the United States and its allies and the communist powers of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Soviet Union. The principal combatants were North Korea, supported by People's Volunteer Army (PVA) (Chinese:中国人民志愿军) of the People's Republic of China, and later Soviet combat advisors, aircraft pilots, and weapons; and South Korea, supported principally by the United States (U.S.), the United Kingdom (UK), Canada and the Philippines, although many other nations sent troops under the aegis of the United Nations (UN).

In South Korea, it is often called "6·25" (the date of the start of the conflict), or, more formally, Hanguk Jeonjaeng (한국전쟁). In North Korea it is formally called the "Fatherland Liberation War." In the United States, the conflict was termed a police action, as the Korean Conflict, under the aegis of the United Nations rather than a war, largely in order to remove the necessity of a Congressional declaration of war. The war is sometimes referred to in the West as "The Forgotten War," primarily because it is a major conflict in the 20th century that is rarely referred to in everyday life.

Contents

    * 1 Timeline

          o 1.1 Outbreak (June-September 1950)

          o 1.2 UN intervention (September-Nov.1950)

          o 1.3 Chinese intervention (Nov.1950-Jan.1951)

          o 1.4 Restoring the balance (Jan.-July 1951)

          o 1.5 Years of stalemate (July 1951-July 1953)