The Korean War - Hardcover

Brian Catchpole

3.34

41 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0094802300 ISBN 13: 9780094802308

Publisher: Constable, 2000

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In June 1950 the North Koreans invade South Korea. Truman is reluctant to intervene, but two weeks later a UN resolution is passed setting up a unified command. The South Korean Army and the hastily-assembled and ill-equipped American reinforcements from Japan are driven back. The war is transformed by General MacArthur's amphibious assault. The momentous decision is made to strike north across the 38th Parallel towards the border with Manchuria. Quite unexpectedly, a 'new kind of war' erupts as 1.3 million Chinese troops pour over the border swamping UN positions. Thus began the struggle which did not end until the armistice in 1953 and which saw the world teeter on the brink of a Third World War. To mark the 50th anniversary of the outbreak of the first and only war fought by the United Nations against a communist aggressor nation, this book provides a gripping account of a conflict in a faraway peninsula where young men battled and often died for principles they barely understood.

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About the Author:

Brian Catchpole is a Korean War veteran and the author of many books including Twentieth Century Germany, The Modern World and Britain; Clash of Cultures and Balloons to Buccaneers. He lives in Yorkshire.

From Publishers Weekly:

A 34-year veteran of the British Continental Army who retired a lt. colonel in 1987, Catchpole has published map histories of the U.S., China and Russia, as well as the sweeping study Clash of Cultures. This single-volume account covers the conflict from North Korea's early victories and attempts to penetrate the Pusan defense line and MacArthur's amphibious assault at Inchon, which reversed the tide of the war, drawing in the Chinese People's Liberation Army, all the way up to the 10-minute Battle in the Yellow Sea just two years ago. Writing from the British perspective, Catchpole naturally highlights British involvement in this unpopular war, which was the first to take place under United Nations auspices. That perspective makes for a fresh take on events like MacArthur's decision to move to the Chinese border in late 1950. Under Americans commanders throughout the war, British troops suffered the second highest number of casualties of the UN nations. Chapters encompass naval and air warfare, and contributions of Canadian, New Zealand and Australian troops, and examine the effect of the war on the home fronts. Scrutiny of UN covert operations, prisoner of war problems, the positive effects of the war on Japan and consequences for the rest of the Far East round things out. The British amateur historian's-eye view of things is likely to appeal only to those who have exhausted U.S.
focused accounts. Maps not seen by PW. (Oct. 30)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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