1952 Pacific Stars and Stripes Map of the Korean War

Height of the Korean War.

This is a 1952 Pacific Stars and Stripes map of the Korean War. It traces events from the North Korean invasion of South Korea on June 25, 1950, through Operation Strangle, a sustained attack on North Korean communication and supply lines in late August 1951.

A Closer Look

Coverage embraces Korea from Manchuria to Japan and from the Yellow Sea to the Sea of Japan (Korea). Twenty-five locations are numerically identified; these include U.N. attacks, North Korean or Chinese counterattacks, air strikes, 'Heartbreak Ridge', U.N. and Communist POW camps, and the site of the first ceasefire talks at Kaesong. Each action or location corresponds with an index along the left border. Major cities throughout both North and South Korea are labeled, as is the Yalu River (the border between North Korea and China). The 38th parallel, the border the North Koreans crossed to start the war, is highlighted by a solid black line.

The Korean War

With the support of Communist allies in China and Russia, North Korea invaded South Korea on June 25, 1950. The United Nations, particularly the United States, immediately denounced the action and sent forces to assist South Korea. Nonetheless, within the first two months of the conflict, North Korean forces pushed south, seizing control over most of the peninsula. A series of counter-offenses reversed the war and pushed the North Koreans north. Things changed again when China sent in troops. Control of the Korean peninsula continued to seesaw throughout the war, with Seoul captured and liberated four times. Ultimately, on July 27, 1953, the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed, creating the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). Technically, the two Koreas are still at war, as no peace treaty was ever signed.

Publication History and Census

This map was prepared by the Geographic Branch of the Intelligence Section of the General Headquarters of the Far Eastern Commission as map no. 1129 in March 1952. Three examples are cataloged in the OCLC as being part of the collections at the Pritzker Military Museum and Library in Chicago, Illinois; the Wisconsin Veterans Museum Research Center in Madison, Wisconsin; and the University of Alabama.

Cartographer

Stars and Stripes, Pacific Editions (1945-1963) began publishing the week of VE Day in May, 1945 in Honolulu, Hawaii. Later that year editions were published in China and Japan as well. When the war ended, the newspaper’s readership and staff both fell, although it was still published for occupational forces and other armed forces still employed. In 1951, during the Korean War, a Korean edition was published.   Further Details...

Condition

Good. Wear along original fold lines. Slight loss along fold lines and at fold intersections. Verso repairs to fold separations and at fold intersections. Closed edge tears professionally repaired on verso.

References

OCLC 944959232.