Korea: War Without End

(Hardback)

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Korea - War Without End will appraise the full sweep of the strategic and geo-political story of the standoff between East and West in Korea, as well as evaluating the course of the war in military terms. It will consider the lack of preparation by the West for war; the results of the North Korean invasion in June 1950; the counter-stroke by MacArthur in September and then the strategic overreach which led to the direct involvement of communist China on the side of North Korea, and the rapid escalation to consideration of the use of nuclear weapons which followed.
It will consider the chaos of political decision-making in both East and West at the outset of the war and as it progressed, demonstrating from our knowledge of post-Cold War scholarship that the West got the East wrong, and vice versa. The Korean War was not planned by Stalin or Mao as a Communist offensive against the West, as the West almost universally believed. In turn the East simply did not understand the principle which framed the basis for the Western response to Kim Il-sungs aggression, namely a refusal to appease an aggressor, the mistake the West considered to be at the heart of the rise of Nazi Germany and militaristic Japan in the 1930s, thus a direct cause of the Second World War.
Importantly, it will detail the military superiority of the US-led United Nations coalition which, in a year of fighting (to July 1951) largely defeated vastly superior numbers of North Korean and Chinese (Peoples Liberation Army) forces. The final two years of the war (to the signing of the Armistice in July 1953) was a period in which United Nations forces remained on the defensive along the rough line of the 38th Parallel, effectively containing their enemy.
In addition to the telling the story of the conflict, it will also evaluate the political and grand strategic manoeuvring in London and Washington in which the option of nuclear war versus military stalemate were conceived.
Korea - War Without End will also consider the effect of the fighting on the country and people of North and South Korea. While the war was a proxy one between East and West, its civilian population suffered immensely, with approximately 3 million war fatalities and a larger proportional civilian death toll than the Second World War or the Vietnam War. It resulted in the destruction of virtually all of Korea's major cities. North Korea became among the most heavily bombed countries in history, and precipitated enormous refugee flows, some 4.5 million North Koreans fleeing to the south.
This was an American-dominated war, in which Britain was a willing though numerically much smaller participant. Nevertheless, we will consider America, British and British Commonwealth voices in equal measure.

Reviews

Compelling, highly thought-provoking and timely. * James Holland *
By turns insightful and exciting, profoundly researched and well written, this book forces us to rethink the Korean War completely With the challenges posed by modern China and the choices faced by Ukraine today, this book has a pressing modern relevance. * Andrew Roberts, author of 'Churchill: Walking with Destiny' *
A compelling new history of the Korean War... provides superb new insights, reflections, and lessons of enormous relevance to the contemporary situation in east Asia. Korea: War Without End is aptly titled and a must read for all who are focused on the Asia Pacific, the most important theatre in todays world. * General David Petraeus, co-author of 'Conflict: The Evolution of Warfare from 1945 to Gaza' *
An important book. * Professor Jeremy Black *
Dannatt and Lyman have produced a brilliant military history which does justice to this complex and misunderstood war. * History of War *
A fascinating take on the Korean War. -- Taylor Downing * The Past *

Author Bio

General The Lord Dannatt GCB CBE MC DL is one of the UKs most respected military commentators, frequently appearing on television and radio and in newsprint, most recently on the Russian invasion of Ukraine and its implications for the West. As Chief of the General Staff he was given overall command of the British Army at a time when fighting was fiercest in Afghanistan. From his first day in the job, he proved himself a courageous leader and a forceful advocate for his men, never shying from controversy to tell the truth as he found it. More than any military leader of recent times, Richard Dannatt used his position to get a better deal for the British soldier the right equipment, the right conditions, the right reward to do the job the country asks of them. His leadership and example were critical in shaping the debate about the role of the professional army in modern warfare. He entered the House of Lords as a Crossbencher in 2011. He lives in in Norfolk. Robert Lyman MBE FRHistS is regarded as one of Britains most talented military historians, with over 20 best-selling works of history published and numerous television appearances including on the BBCs Who Do You Think You Are and on two episodes of the Great Escapes documentary series, on Tobruk (1941) and Kohima (1944). He spent 20 years in the British Army and is an elected Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. A frequent traveller to the US, Asia and Australasia, he lives in England.