June 25, 1950 · Asia Theater
June 25, 1950
North Korea's surprise invasion of South Korea on June 25, 1950 drew a UN coalition — overwhelmingly American — into three years of savage combat. The war swung wildly: UN forces were nearly pushed into the sea at Pusan, then MacArthur's brilliant Inchon landing drove the North Koreans back, then Chinese intervention in October 1950 shattered the advance. By 1951 the front had stabilized near the 38th parallel where it began, and two more years of grinding trench warfare produced the armistice of July 27, 1953.
Commanders