Part 1: When North Korea surged across the border of its southern neighbor on June 25, 1950, South Korea and its Western allies were caught off guard. The UN acted swiftly, but the contingent, unprepared for North Korea's fanatical determination and fighting skill, soon found itself thrown back into disarray; and the allies faced a humiliating evacuation. Part 2: With the UN forces on the verge of being pushed into the sea, the stage was set for one of the most dramatic reversals of the war. UN supreme Commander Douglas MacArthur executed an amphibious landing. Within months, UN troops would drive the North Koreans almost to the Chinese border. But the victory would turn to devistating defeat, at the unexpected onslaught of Chinese troops. Part 3: Nearly overrun by the Chinese, American forces were soon engaged in the longest retreat in US history. By December of 1950, the Communists had recaptured the North Korean capitol. A month later, the southern capitol fell. Part 4: As American casualties mounted, U.S. President Harry Truman came under increasing military and political pressure finally resulting in MacArthur's dismissal and the arrival of General Matthew Ridgway. After retaking Seoul the U.N. forces confronted the re-grouped enemy in the biggest battle of the war. But by now, U.S. policy had shifted from liberation to containing the communists at the 38th parallel. The war raged on until the armistice of July, 1953, a tenuous unstable cease-fire that continues to flare into violence even today.
A new perspective on the Korean War, which lasted only three years, but taking the lives of more than 2 million soldiers and civilians. Uses historians, veterans, and archival footage to tell the story of the first conflict in the Cold War.