In this Book

buy this book Buy This Book in Print
summary
Choice Outstanding Title

When the major powers sent troops to the Korean peninsula in June of 1950, it supposedly marked the start of one of the last century's bloodiest conflicts. Allan Millett, however, reveals that the Korean War actually began with partisan clashes two years earlier and had roots in the political history of Korea under Japanese rule, 1910–1945.

The first in a new two-volume history of the Korean War, Millett's study offers the most comprehensive account of its causes and early military operations. Millett traces the war's origins to the post-liberation conflict between two revolutionary movements, the Marxist-Leninists and the Nationalist-capitalists. With the U.S.-Soviet partition of Korea following World War II, each movement, now with foreign patrons, asserted its right to govern the peninsula, leading directly to the guerrilla warfare and terrorism in which more than 30,000 Koreans died. Millett argues that this civil strife, fought mostly in the South, was not so much the cause of the Korean War as its actual beginning.

Millett describes two revolutions locked in irreconcilable conflict, offering an even-handed treatment of both Communists and capitalists-nationalists. Neither movement was a model of democracy. He includes Korean, Chinese, and Russian perspectives on this era, provides the most complete account of the formation of the South Korean army, and offers new interpretations of the U.S. occupation of Korea, 1945–1948.

Millett's history redefines the initial phase of the war in Asian terms. His book shows how both internal forces and international pressures converged to create the Korean War, a conflict that still shapes the politics of Asia.

Table of Contents

restricted access Download Full Book
  1. Cover
  2. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Series Page, Title Page, Copyright Page, Dedication, Quote
  2. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Table of Contents
  2. pp. vii-viii
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Acknowledgments
  2. pp. ix-xvi
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. List of Abbreviations
  2. pp. xvii-xviii
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Introduction
  2. pp. 1-15
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. 1. The Years of Division, 1919–1945
  2. pp. 16-42
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. 2. Defeat and Division: Korea on the Brink, 1945–1946
  2. pp. 43-71
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. 3. Putting Korea Together Again: The Rise and Fall of the US-USSR Joint Commission, 1946–1947
  2. pp. 72-91
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. 4. The Moscow Agreement Is Abandoned, 1947
  2. pp. 92-121
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. 5. The United Nations Enters the Struggle, 1947–1948
  2. pp. 122-158
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. 6. The Republic of Korea Enters the World and Almost Dies Stillborn, 1948–1949
  2. pp. 159-185
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. 7. "We Are Fighting for Our Lives!" 1949–1950
  2. pp. 186-228
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. 8. The Once and Future Invasion, 1949–1950
  2. pp. 229-253
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Epilogue and Prologue, June 1950
  2. pp. 254-258
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Appendix: The Romanization of Korean and Chinese
  2. pp. 259-264
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Notes
  2. pp. 265-310
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Bibliographical Essay
  2. pp. 311-324
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Index
  2. pp. 325-348
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Image Plates
  2. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
Back To Top

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Without cookies your experience may not be seamless.