Proxy wars are wars fought between the USA and USSR, but not with their own armies. The USA and USSR would fund or support other armies that are fighting against each other, such as the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
Korean War
The Korean War was fought between the communist (and China- and Soviet-backed) North Korea, and the anti-communist (and United States-backed) South Korea. The [Trigger Event] occured on June 25, 1950, when North Korean forces waged a surprise attack on South Korea, using an alarming amount of Soviet equipment. The Korean War lasted until July 27, 1953.
The Korean War was the first armed conflict of the Cold War, according to Wikipedia.org, and it expanded the stage of the Cold War, which had so far restrained itself to Europe. It also established the practice of proxy wars.
Other information that should be noted about the Korean War: the famed 38th Parallel is where the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), which is still guarded today by both sides. No peacy treaty has yet been signed.
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a long conflict, lasting from 1957 until 1975, between the Republic of Vietnam (RVN) and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (or North Vietnam) and the National Liberation Front (NLF--a South Vietnamese opposition who used ruthless guerrilla warfare). The RNV was backed by the USA, Australia, New Zealand, and several other countries, excluding Great Britain and Canada, who usually sided with the USA. North Korea and the NLF were backed by the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China.
Although we now refer to it as the "Vietnam War," it was in its time referred to as the "Vietnam Conflict," because it was not declared as a war by Congress, and was instead a "police action under the auspices of the United Nations" (Wikipedia.org). The U.S., in lieu of a proper declaration of war, termed their involvment as an escalation, referring to and escalator, and the increasing pressure put on North Vietnam. However, this terminology only added to the ambiguity of the hotly contested (here at home) war.
The Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan
The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan is another long conflict, lasting from December 24, 1979 until either February 2, 1989 or February 15, 1989, when the Soviet Union officially declared that all of tis troops were removed from Afghanistan.
According to Wikipedia.org, "the war was regarded by many as an unprovoked invasion of a sovereign country by another."
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