The Korean and Vietnam Wars

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Both wars were Cold War conflicts in which communist and non-communist forces fought in divided countries. Korea was split at the 38th parallel after World War II; in June 1950 communist North Korea invaded South Korea. A UN force led by the US, under General MacArthur, landed at Inchon and pushed north, until China entered and drove them back. After a stalemate, an armistice in 1953 left Korea divided at roughly the same line, with a demilitarized zone, and the war is technically unended.

In Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh's communists defeated France in 1954 at Dien Bien Phu, and the country was divided into North and South. The US, fearing the domino theory that one country falling to communism would topple neighbours, sent growing forces after the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin incident. Fighting was guerrilla warfare by the Viet Cong in jungles and villages, against American airpower, napalm and Agent Orange; the 1968 Tet Offensive shook American confidence.

At home, televised images and the draft fuelled huge protests. US troops withdrew in 1973, and Saigon fell to the North in 1975, reunifying Vietnam under communism. About 58,000 Americans and perhaps 2 million Vietnamese died. Lessons include the limits of military power and the importance of understanding local nationalism. Misconception: Vietnam was not simply a civil war; both superpowers were involved.