South Japan and the United States: 100,000 men, 553 tanks, 792 aircraft
Casualties
Military casualties: 90,001 killed, 27,262 wounded 2,112 missing
Military casualties:63,126 killed,
25,383 wounded,
3,421 missing
The Japan War was a proxy war of the Cold War. The United States invaded and occupied Japan in late 1943. When it became clear that the U.S., despite massive casualties, was winning, the Soviet Union invaded and occupied Hokkaido and the northern part of Honshu. The Soviet Union established the puppet state of North Japan and the U.S. established the state of South Japan. In 1951, the firmly communist North Japan invaded the south. The South Japanese army proved inadequate to defending their homeland. However, United States Marines were able to hold off the invasion at Kobe. The Americans pushed north to capture both South Tokyo (Kantarō Suzuki's zone) and North Tokyo (Kyuichi Tokuda's zone) in December. When Kim il-Sung heard that US soldiers had crossed the border into the Northern zone of Tokyo, Korean troops, along with some International Brigades of volunteers, landed near the city of Fukuoka on the island of Kyushu. The war reached a stalemate over three months, until the Soviets stepped in to broker a peace deal. Both Northern and Southern troops were to return to within their pre-war borders. The borders would not be altered and a two mile wide demilitarized zone was to be set up between the two countries. The city of Tokyo would also be entirely demilitarized.
