Author Description

The war between communist and nationalist forces in Korea was the first "hot war" of the Cold War era and the first major conflict of the nuclear age. This book provides the most comprehensive, integrated account of the Korean War ever published in a single English-language volume. Based on author Allan R. Millet's thirty years of research in American, British, Chinese, Korean, and Soviet archives, The Korean War: 1945-1954 details the causes, conduct, and consequences of the war across every dimension of conflict: political, strategic, operational, and tactical. Millett outlines the international nature of the Korean conflict--which pitted UN ground, naval, and air forces against the North Korean army and a large Chinese expeditionary force--and lays out the international air war. While U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy and Marine Corps aviation provided roughly 90 percent of the aircraft and air crews on the UN side, the enemy in the skies was largely Soviet. These Cold War opponents engaged in numerous dogfights in the airspace above northwestern North Korea, which became known as MiG Alley--a reference to the MiG-15 jet fighter flown by the communist pilots. Chinese and North Korean pilots also fought in the air war, mainly flying Soviet MiG-15s. Emphasizing Korean participation in the war, this deeply researched work uses primary sources from numerous countries, including material provided by the People's Liberation Army. The book provides an understanding of everything from U.S. military leaders and the South Korean army to the Chinese troops that crossed the Yalu River to save North Korea. It includes new coverage of the factors that ended the war, such as an explanation of Syngman Rhee's opposition to the Armistice and his conditions, which the United States accepted. The Korean War is a crucial book for understanding a conflict that has never really ended.