Korean War
Pusan Perimeter struggle
The Korean War was the 1950–1953 conflict between North Korea (backed by China and the Soviet Union) and South Korea (backed by the United States and United Nations forces).
It ended in armistice rather than peace treaty, leaving the peninsula divided at roughly the 38th parallel.
The war established the template for Cold War proxy conflicts.
Agreed halt to fighting
- truceAgreed halt to hostilities
- peace talksFormal conflict-resolution discussions
- negotiationsFormal discussion seeking agreement
- stalemateMutual obstruction preventing progress
prisoner exchange · armistice agreement · neutral nations · unresolved conflict
Korean division latitude
- demilitarized zoneArea barring armed forces
- DMZWeapon-free border zone
- partitionBarrier separating spaces
- separationState of being apart
ceasefire line · buffer zone · border · reunification · defectors · refugees · family separation · ideological divide
Scottish-origin military surname
- TrumanCold War-era president
- StalinSoviet autocrat, mid-century
- RidgwayAmerican general, Korea
- WalkerOccupational surname
Eisenhower · Kim Il-sung · Mao Zedong · Zhou Enlai · Kim Jong-il
Preventing hostile expansion
- domino theoryContagious political collapse belief
- Truman DoctrinePolicy opposing communist expansion
- communismCollective ownership system
- capitalismPrivate profit-based economy
superpowers · Soviet Union · propaganda · Iron Curtain · Red Scare · McCarthyism · NATO · arms race
Ground combat troops
- artilleryLarge-caliber battlefield weapons
- air raidsAttacks by military aircraft
- naval blockadeFleet sealing off ports
- amphibious assaultAttack launched from water
close air support · MiG-15 · T-34 · napalm · carpet bombing · trench warfare · winter warfare · MASH units
Former armed forces members
- POW/MIAPrisoners and missing soldiers
- PTSDChronic reaction to horrific events
- historical memoryShared recollection of past events
ceasefire
Agreed halt to fighting
- truceAgreed halt to hostilities
- peace talksFormal conflict-resolution discussions
- negotiationsFormal discussion seeking agreement
stalemate · prisoner exchange · armistice agreement · neutral nations · unresolved conflict
38th parallel
Korean division latitude
- demilitarized zoneArea barring armed forces
- DMZWeapon-free border zone
- partitionBarrier separating spaces
separation · ceasefire line · buffer zone · border · reunification · defectors · refugees · family separation · ideological divide · no man's land
MacArthur
Scottish-origin military surname
Eisenhower · Kim Il-sung · Mao Zedong · Walker · Zhou Enlai · Kim Jong-il
containment
Preventing hostile expansion
- domino theoryContagious political collapse belief
- Truman DoctrinePolicy opposing communist expansion
- communismCollective ownership system
capitalism · superpowers · Soviet Union · propaganda · Iron Curtain · Red Scare · McCarthyism · NATO · arms race · Eastern Bloc
infantry
Ground combat troops
- artilleryLarge-caliber battlefield weapons
- air raidsAttacks by military aircraft
- naval blockadeFleet sealing off ports
amphibious assault · close air support · MiG-15 · T-34 · napalm · carpet bombing · trench warfare · winter warfare · MASH units · combat medics
Heartbreak Ridge
Korean War battlefield elevation
veterans
Former armed forces members
- POW/MIAPrisoners and missing soldiers
- PTSDChronic reaction to horrific events
- historical memoryShared recollection of past events
- 20th CenturyCuban Missile Crisis, atomic bomb, New Deal, Nazi Germany, October Revolution
- KoreaSeoul, Busan, Incheon, DMZ, kimchi
- 1950sEisenhower, poodle skirt, Elvis Presley, Rosa Parks, baby boom
- American WarsWWI, WWII, Desert Storm, Indian Wars
- WarsWWI, Yugoslav Wars, Napoleonic Wars, civil wars, Punic Wars
- Australian HistoryCaptain Cook, Commonwealth, federation, explorers, Liberal Party
Korean WarVietnam War
Cold-era Indochina military engagement
World War II · Gulf War · Afghanistan War · Iraq War · World War I
Korean WarWorld War II
Second global military conflict
Vietnam War · D-Day · Pearl Harbor · VE Day · V-J Day
Korean Wararmistice
Agreement to cease hostilities
peace treaty · détente · diplomacy · peaceful coexistence · disarmament