Introduction

On the 25th June 1950 South Korea was invaded by the communist north, in one of the bloodiest and devastating battles of the 20th century. This conflict between the UN backed South and the Chinese backed North can also be seen as the prelude to the Vietnam War. General MacArthur, a Second World War veteran of South East Asia and the Pacific plans for his own D-Day, for an amphibious landing at the port of Inchon.

Review

This offering from Pen and Sword Military is a soft back book consisting of 128 pages, with many black and white photographs and maps scattered throughout and a glossy section of colour photographs and maps. Written by Gerry Van Tonder and priced at £14.99 is the third of the authors series on battles of the Korean War.

The contents are as follows:

Glossary
Timeline
Introduction
1. Bluehearts and Chromite
2. D-Day Inchon
3. To the Han
4. Breakout from Pusan
5. Liberation of Seoul
Sources
Index

The Korean peninsula was partitioned by the American, Soviet and British governments. American president Harry S Truman was aware that Korea was of strategic interest to America in the Far East, and because of this he decided to leave a small US military presence in the South of the country. By the end of 1948 the power in the South of Korea was with an elected government, while in the North the Soviets had left a different legacy. Stalin had groomed Kim II-sung to become the absolute leader of the North (this family dynasty still holds power over every North Korean citizen to this day).

Conclusion

I have not read the first two books of this series, so I cannot submit a direct comparison. My father fought in the Korean War and I wished that I had listened to his story, but unfortunately he passed away before I grew up enough to find out more. This book is well written and has many photographs to help tell the story. Korea has an uneasy peace between the North and South.