Korea became the scene of another war as United Nations forces fought to maintain the freedom of South Korea. In 1950 communist North Koreans invaded the South and rapidly pushed the defending forces back to a small area in the southeast of the peninsula. During the war that followed, the breakout from the Pusan perimeter, the landings at Inchon, the arrival of the Chinese in battle, and long negotiations for peace drew contingents from many nations into a protracted struggle. The United Nations Command in Korea was a revolutionary use of armed force, bringing free nations together to produce a navy, army, and air force to defend a small country invaded by an aggressively minded neighbor. The major ground element was the United States Eighth Army, although it included soldiers from many countries. It was formed to halt the spread of Communism in Far East Asia by force of arms, and although the war's outcome was more of a stand-off than a complete victory, the Republic of Korea still exists and was not swallowed up by its northern neighbor.