The war was initiated following US military withdrawal from Korea which had been occupied by American troops since the end of World War Two. Following communist victory in the Chinese Civil War the Manchu government became increasingly paranoid that the Soviet Union would allow China to annexe Manchuria. To affirm regional hegemony Manchuria invaded Korea in June 1950 which had faced communist insurgencies since 1945 with Manchuria quickly overrunning the north of the country. A puppet regime headed by Kim Il-Sung was installed and based around the city of Pyongyang. This caused the LN to pass a decree that saw American and British troops led by Douglas MacArthur assist Korean forces. After the first few months of the conflict Korea's capital Seoul was taken by communist forces - however i