The Korean War (1950-1953)

On June 25, 1950, North Korea, hoping to unify the country under a communist government, invaded South Korea. The United Nations Security Council, in the absent of the sovient union, immediately voted to condemn the invasion and organize an army to oppose it. Whioe 16 countries contributed troops to the UN force, more than 90% of the soldiers came from the United Nations.

                   In the first months of the war, the North Koreans swept southward, conquering almost all of South Korea. However on September 15, 1950, the UN troops counterattacked, led by General Douglas MacArthur of the United States. MacArthur launched a surprise invasion at Incheon, along Korea's west coast and far behind the North Korean front lines. The daring move gave the UN forces the offensive they needed. Within Six weeks, Mac Arthur's troops had retaken all of South Korea and had conquered most of North Korea.

                  The Chinese then came to an aid of their ally, North Korea. Chinese troops forced the UN army to retreat southward. By the middle of 1951, after one year of fighting, each army dug in along a line not far from from the 28th parallel. There the fighting reached a stalemate, a situation in which two opponents are unable to move significantly or make further gains. Truce talks began on July 10, 1951. The armies continued to attack one another but neither side advanced very far.

                 On July 27, 1953, the two sides agreed to stop fighting and accept a temporary armistice line that divided Korea along the existing battlefront. After the deaths of nearly 5 million people and the devastation of much of Korea, the war ended with Korea still divided not far from where it had been divided three years earlier.