Cold War and late 20th Century Conflicts

The Korean War started on 25 June 1950 and ended on 27 July 1953, after the signing of an armistice agreeing that the country would remain divided. At the end of the Second World War, Korea – which had formerly been occupied by the Japanese – was divided along the 38th Parallel. This was an internal border between North and South Korea based on a circle of latitude. 

The Berlin Wall came to represent the ideological divisions of the Cold War. At the end of the Second World War, Germany was divided into four zones of occupation under the control of the United States, Britain, France and the Soviet Union. Berlin, although located within the Soviet zone, was also split amongst the four powers.

The Cold War period was full of military exercises on both sides. It was a key way that the armed forces prepared for war. In 1983, the Cold War threatened to turn hot when NATO ran a war game simulation that the Soviet Union began to suspect was the real thing.

The Kenya Emergency (1952 to 1960) saw Mau Mau fighting to end British colonial rule.

The Malayan 'Emergency' (1948 to 1960) was a conflict between the British colonial authorities and the Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA), the armed wing of the Malayan Communist Party (MCP), which sought the establishment of an independent communist republic. 

In 1839 Britain captured the town of Aden (now part of Yemen) in the south of the Arabian Peninsula. Here we explore a short history of the Aden Emergency. 

The Falklands Conflict was a short undeclared war between Argentina and Britain over the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands (known as Islas Malvinas in Argentina), South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. 

The Gulf War (1990–1991) was a conflict triggered when Iraq's President, Saddam Hussein, invaded Kuwait. On 2 August 1990 Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, a small oil-rich state in the Persian Gulf. The response of the international community was swift. The United Nations demanded Iraqi withdrawal and imposed a trade embargo.

The Troubles was a period of conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted from the late 1960s until the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. Find out more about key moments in this conflict - a conflict with repercussions that are still being felt today.