Communist Invasion |
In 1945, Soviet and American troops invaded the 38th Parallel and drove the Japanese out of Korea. The Soviet Union and America divided the country in half and established governments in their respective areas, creating Communist North Korea and Capitalist South Korea. The Soviets trained the North's Korean People's Army into a formidable military, while the United States-led Republic of Korea in the south received no such training. This division would spark one of the most intense conflicts in history.
"Korea may appear to offer a tempting opportunity [for soviet premier Joseph Stalin]... to strengthen enormously the economic resources of the Soviet Far East, to acquire ice-free ports, and to occupy a dominating strategic position in relation both to China and to Japan... A Soviet occupation of Korea would create an entirely new strategic situation in the Far East, and its repercussions within China and Japan might be far reaching." - US Government Document, 1943:
Possible Soviet Attitudes toward Far Eastern Questions |
"In other words, the ultimate objective of the North Koreans and the Chinese were to push the United States out of Korea and reunite the peninsula under Communist control. The Americans were still confident that they could weaken worldwide Communism in Korea, the British equally convinced that an American defeat would empower it." - Victor Davis Hanson: Author of The Savior Generals
Surprise InvasionAt 4 A.M. on June 25th, 1950, the North Korean forces crossed the 38th Parallel, taking the ill-prepared South Korea by surprise. The better-trained North Koreans quickly forced their way down the peninsula, nearly winning the war in one strike. However, several brave South Korean units managed to prevent total annihilation, holding off the North Koreans for several days until the United Nations intervened.
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"[The Korean War] was quite possibly the most important event since World War II."
- John Mueller, Political Scientist