North Korea Invades the South: Across the 38th Parallel, June 1950 (Cold War 1945-1991) - Tapa blanda

When the world held its breath It is more than 25 years since the end of the Cold War. It began over 75 years ago, in 1944 long before the last shots of the Second World War had echoed across the wastelands of Eastern Europe with the brutal Greek Civil War. The battle lines are no longer drawn, but they linger on, unwittingly or not, in conflict zones such as Syria, Somalia and Ukraine. In an era of mass-produced AK-47s and ICBMs, one such flashpoint was Korea Without warning, at 4.00 a.m. on 25 June 1950, North Korean artillery laid down a heavy bombardment on the Ongjin Peninsula, followed four hours later by a massive armoured, air, amphibious and infantry breach of the ill-conceived post-war border that was the 38 north line of latitude. At 11.00 a.m., North Korea issued a declaration of war against the Republic of Korea. Three days later, the South Korean capital, Seoul, fell. The attack upon Korea makes it plain beyond all doubt that Communism has passed beyond the use of subversion to conquer independent nations and will now use armed invasion and war. A week after his reaction to the North Korean invasion, US President Harry S. Truman, in compliance with a UN Security Council resolution, appointed that iconic Second World War veteran, General Douglas MacArthur, commander-in-chief of forces in Korea. The first in a six-volume series on the Korean War, this publication considers those first few fateful days in June 1950 that would cement north south antagonism to this day, the pariah state that is communist North Korea a seemingly increasing threat to an already tenuous global peace.

Gerry van Tonder was born in Zimbabwe and came to Britain in 1999\. He is a full-time historian and author. Specializing in military history, Gerry has co-authored _Rhodesian Combined Forces Roll of Honour 1966 1981_, the _landmark Rhodesia Regiment 1899 1981_ a copy of this book was presented to the regiment s former colonel-in-chief, Her Majesty the Queen and _North of the Red Line: Recollections of the Border War_ by Members of the SADF and SWATF 1966 1989\. He is author of _Rhodesian Native Regiment/Rhodesian African Rifles Book of Remembrance_ and is working on a further Rhodesian title, _Operation Lighthouse_, an account of a paramilitary government ministry in the 1970s insurgency. Gerry has also written several local history books on the Midlands. This is his third Pen & Sword Cold War title following _Berlin Blockade: Soviet Chokehold and the_ _Great Allied Airlift 1948 1949_ and _Malayan Emergency: Triumph of the Running Dogs 1948 1960_. He runs his own website at www.rhodesiansoldier.com.