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KoreanWar recover Seoul

Fighting in Seoul, 1950

The Third World War was an armed conflict lasting from 1950 to 1951 between the Allied Powers and the Soviet Union and its allies over the control of the Korean Peninsula.

The War becomes Global[]

Immediately after the attack on Pusan, the United States under President Harry Truman called for a "unilateral declaration of war on the Soviet Union". In response, Soviet premier Joseph Stalin called for the Soviet bloc to declare war on the powers supporting the United Nations peacekeeping force in Korea.

In late September, forces from East Germany, Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, and the Soviet Union itself invaded West Germany, and overwhelmed West Berlin. West German President Konrad Adenauer pleaded to NATO to assist against the invaders. NATO agreed, and France, Britain, and other countries sent forces to aid West Germany.

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B-29 Superfortress on a bombing run over Vladivostok

Simultaneously, Soviet naval forces began bombardment of Japan, a major Allied naval base. In the naval battles between the Soviet Union and the Japanese navy, the Red Navy only lost one ship, the Vichrevoy. All lives on the Vichrevoy were lost, an event which would become a rallying cry for the Soviet war effort.

Under general Peng Dehuai, the Chinese navy began the invasion of the Philippines, landing on the northern island of Luzon, putting Manila under siege. Chinese ships also bombed Darwin, destroying the territorial assembly building.

From Japan American general Omar Bradley launched an invasion of the Kamchatka Peninsula, taking control of the port city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. The Red Army garrisons in the area then entered positions to defend the remainder of the peninsula. Other garrisons moved towards the Chutkotka Peninsula to board naval transports for one of the most notorious campaigns in the war: the Invasion of Alaska.

Two Fronts: Alaska and Germany[]

In March 1951, Soviet forces under Kliment Voroshilov landed at Nome and began to advance eastward, rampaging several towns and smaller settlements on the way. The American Army had few garrisons in Alaska, which had been deployed to Japan and the Philippines, and so could not prevent the Red Army from marching eastward towards Anchorage and looting the towns nearby. Soviet naval forces also raided Hawaii and the American trust territories in the Pacific.

HRS-1 HMR-161 CVE-118 1Sep1952

American Sikorsky Helicopter and the U.S.S. Sicily, in the defense of Hawaii

By March 15th, the Red Army had moved within twenty miles of Anchorage, and appeared to be planning an offensive. However, American scouts reported the Soviets had halted, and were making repairs and securing additional supplies, deeply to the suspicion of the U.S army. Within minutes, however, the agonizing truth was revealed: the USSR had just used its first nuclear weapon on Anchorage.

Simultaneously, in Asia, Chinese forces under Peng Dehuai had invaded the Philippines, occupying Manila. Chinese forces also invaded French Indochina. Soviet forces also overran parts of western Canada, also poorly defended.

In Germany, the Soviet Union and other communist countries were making great gains against the allies. In April, Eastern Bloc forces had succeeded in breaking through to West Germany proper, eventually overwhelming the Allied forces on the border. Red Army forces reached the West German capital at Bonn, forcing the surrender of the local garrison. East German President Wilhelm Pieck personally walked into the West German capital and proclaimed "Risen from ruins, and facing the future, Germany is now one united fatherland," paraphrasing the GDR's national anthem.

A Bitter Peace[]

In August 1951, the British, French, Australian, New Zealand, and South African governments sued for peace with the Soviet Union, to the opposition of Truman and Canadian Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent. To elaborate the possibility of a peace settlement, the Allied nations conducted the Montpelier Conference to decide on a course of action. Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Britain were frustrated at a war that they were not originally directly involved with, while France was afraid of an incursion into Alsace-Lorraine. Truman, St. Laurent, and the delegations of Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines were in favor of continuing the war, as they were under direct attack.

However, the voice of the pro-peace faction won out, and the Allies were subject to the São Paulo Peace Accords with the Soviet Bloc, chaired by Brazilian President Getúlio Vargas.

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