Zeciciskey, Chester, SSgt

The Korean War was a war between North and South Korea, in which a United Nations force led by the United States of America fought for the South and China fought for the North, which was also assisted by the Soviet Union. The war arose from the division of Korea at the end of World War II and from the global tensions of the Cold War that developed. The conflict escalated into open warfare when North Korean forces supported by the Soviet Union and China invaded South Korea on 25 June 1950. After the first two months of the conflict, South Korean forces were on the point of defeat, forced back to the Pusan perimeter. In September 1950, an amphibious UN counter-offensive was launched at Inchon, and cut off many of the North Korean attackers. Those that escaped envelopment and capture were rapidly forced back north all the way to the border with China at the Yalu River or into the mountainous interior. At this point, in October 1950, Chinese forces crossed the Yalu and entered the war. Chinese intervention triggered a retreat of UN forces which continued until mid-1951. After these dramatic reversals of fortune, which saw Seoul change hands four times, the last two years of conflict became a war of attrition, with the front line close to the 38th parallel. The war in the air, however, was never a stalemate. North Korea was subject to a massive bombing campaign. Jet aircraft were used in air-to-air combat for the first time in history, and Soviet pilots covertly flew in defense of their Communist allies. The fighting ended on 27 July 1953, when the armistice was signed. The agreement created the Korean Demilitarized Zone to separate North and South Korea and allowed the return of prisoners. Clashes have continued to the present. The United States suffered 33,686 battle deaths, along with 2,830 non-battle deaths, during the Korean War. South Korea reported some 373,599 civilian and 137,899 military deaths. Western sources estimate the Chinese suffered about 400,000 killed and 486,000 wounded, while the North Korea suffered 215,000 killed and 303,000 wounded.