In the first of a number of book selections made to help those of you who wish to read more about the Korean War.

South to the Naktong, North to the Yalu by Roy Appleman.

This is the best book in dealing with the battles fought by the American Army in Korea between July and November 1950.  Written in the years after the Korean War he was able to speak to many involved in fighting and planning those battle.  It is available free on online.  If wish to buy the book then it is published by the Centre of Military History, United States Army.  The ISBN 0-16-035958-9.

Invasion plans

Russian involvement in the invasion planning.  The superiority of the North Korean Armed Forces.  The failure of the South Korean Army high command to realise the signs of the coming invasion.  A biography of Kang Kon, the North Korean Army chief of staff.

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The Korean War Podcast is now available on ITunes and Stitcher Radio.  It will continue to be free to air for all episodes and published weekly, to be released on Saturday at least for the next six months.  As I have already written the scripts for the first 29 episodes and recorded 13 of them.  I would like to thank the growing number of listeners for their support.  The link to the RSS feed is at the bottom of this page marked Download.

The War before the War

The South Korean Government and Army from 1948 to 1950.  The withdraw of American and Soviet troops from Korea.  The border battles between North and South Korean troops.  The international background of the Cold War.  A biography of Pak Hon Yong, the South Korean Communist leader.

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American occupation

The American occupation of South Korea from 1945 to 1948.  The troublesome nature of politics in South Korea.  The difficult working relationship between the Americans and the Soviets.  The formation of the South Korean Constabulary.  A biography of General Douglas Mac Arthur, the commander of American forces in the Far East.
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North Korea 1945 to 1950

A History of the Korean Communist Party.  The Soviet occuaption of North Korea.  The Communist takeover of North Korea.  The creation of the North Korean State.  The foundation of the North Korean Army.  A biography of Kim Il Sung.

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Welcome to the Korean War podcast series, a weekly podcast telling the story of the Korean War from 1950 to 1953.  The podcast series will began from September.

Episode 1

Introduction

There is an introduction to the Korean War.  A brief description of the geography of Korea.  The history of the Japanese occupation of Korea between 1904 and 1945.  A biography of Syngman Rhee, the first president of South Korea.

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