Australia in the Korean War Australia in the Korean War The military history of Australia during the Korean War was very eventful. Japan's defeat in World War II heralded the end to 35 years of Japanese occupation of the Korean Peninsula. The surrender of Japan to the Allied forces on 2 September 1945 led to the peninsula being subsequently divided into North and South Koreas, with the North being occupied by troops from the Soviet Union, and the South, below the 38th parallel, being occupied by troops from the United States. The Soviet forces entered the Korean peninsula on 10 August 1945, followed a few
Korean War conflicts played more of a role in not deploying them than the threat of a possible nuclear exchange. When Eisenhower succeeded Truman in early 1953 he was similarly cautious about using nuclear weapons in Korea, including for diplomatic purposes to encourage progress in ongoing truce discussions. The administration prepared contingency plans to use them against China, but like Truman, the new president feared doing so would result in Soviet attacks on Japan. The war ended as it began, without U.S. nuclear weapons deployed near battle. There were numerous atrocities and massacres of civilians throughout the Korean war committed by both