To many and certainly to the citizens and soldiers who lived it, the Korean Conflict could be seen as total war yet to some historians, the United States, and the USSR the war was seen merely as “limited”. It was this concept of “limited” war that prevented the conflict from escalating further and progressing into the boundaries of a wider war. This essay will explore both sides of the limited vs total war argument and also how the conflict was prevented from escalating further. With over 30 countries involved in some way or the other and over 4 million casualties, many may ask the question as to how the Korean War could be considered a “limited” conflict. The fact is that the Korean War was “limited” to the two major world powers fighting indirectly with each other, the Soviets and Americans. From the point of view of these countries especially the United States it can be easy to see how this war could be considered limited.
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Although this quote is about how the war did not expand it relates perfectly to how the conflict was limited. Truman and his administration all throughout the war were not seeking goals of complete and total defeat of their enemy(as it is in total war) rather the act of protecting the South Koreans and containing the North Koreans above the 38th parallel(a more limited
Although this quote is about how the war did not expand it relates perfectly to how the conflict was limited. Truman and his administration all throughout the war were not seeking goals of complete and total defeat of their enemy(as it is in total war) rather the act of protecting the South Koreans and containing the North Koreans above the 38th parallel(a more limited