Korea : The limited war David Rees

This examination of the Korean War is set against the general background of the East-West conflict. There are two underlying themes: how best the current totalitarian challenge can be countered without precipitating nuclear can be countered without precipitating nuclear war; and secondly, the difficulties of waging limited war- and of practicing Realpolitik in a democracy which until the nuclear age has always demand a total, crusading response to its global enemies. Taking as his starting-point the partition of Korea by the victors in 1945, David Rees considers the containment policy of the Truman Administration, and shows how the decision to limit the war sprang inevitably from that policy. There is a detailed outline of the campaining in Korea, the North Korean invasion which almost drove an American army into the sea, of MacArthur's brilliant amphibious landing at Inchon followed by the attempt to unify Korea under UN auspices, and of the subsequent under UN auspices, and of the subsequent Chinese Communist intervention which almost brought about general war. The astonishing Chinese mass offensive of spring 1951 are also considered. The Truman-Man Arthur controversy and the Congressional inquiry following the Genrlal's dismissal are analysed-issued which are still extremely relevant to the conduct of the cold war. The role of the United Nations is considered throughout. Other chapters deal with theory of Maoist strategy, the attempt by the USAF to end the war by using air power alone, the communist indoctrination of United Nations POWs, the bacteriological warfare campaign, and the politico-military objectives of both sides in the Panmuniom armistice talks. There is a brief account of the Korean rearmament programme's effect on British domestic politic which resulted in the resignation of Aneurin Bevan. The book is extensively illustrated by maps and photographs, and appendices include the various contributions to the UN Command, casualties, the senior commanders in the war, and the full text for the armistice agreement.