On 25 June 1950, the invation of South Korea by the communist north launched one of the bloodiest and most devastating conflicts of this century. The seemingly limitless power of the Chinese-backed North was thrown against the ferocious firepower of the UN-backed South in a war that can be seen today as the stark prelude to Vietnam. This study draws on first-hand accounts of those who fought on both sides to produce this reassessmnet of the Korean War.