Unit 2: Korean War & The Thaw

When did the USSR successfully test their first atomic bomb?

September 1949

Who was the leader of the People’s Republic of China?

Mao Zedong

Who was the leader of the Republic of China?

Chiang Kai-Shek

What was NSC-68 and what did it state?

1950, US National Security Council report stating all global communism had links to Moscow

Where did the “Monolithic View of Communism” come from?

NSC-68

Occupation in Korea after Japanese army surrender (1945)

• USA troops in South, wanted to create a capitalist gov.

• USSR troops in North, wanted to create a communist gov.

What event triggered the Korean War and when did it occur?

North Korea invading South Korea (taking Seoul); June 25, 1950

What was Truman’s response to North Korea’s invasion?

Soviet expansionism & called for immediate military action

What was Stalin’s role in North Korea’s invasion?

Giving weapons & military advisors to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

What was the DPRK and who was the leader of it?

Democratic People’s Republic of Korea; North Korea, Kim Il-Sung

What was the ROK and who was the leader of it?

Republic of Korea; South Korea, Syngman Ree

What was the KPA?

Korean’s People Army; North Korean Army

What was the ROKA?

Republic of Korea Armed Forces; South Korean Army

Why did Truman approach the UN about the Korean War and what did he tell them?

Believed Communist expansion in Asia would create the Domino effect & claimed lack of UN intervention would cause UN to fail like the League of Nations

How did the USSR approach the UN meeting about the Korean War & what was agreed upon at the meeting?

USSR boycotted in protest of UN not giving PRC a seat; USA & UN would send military aid to South Korea (ROK), 27 June 1950

June 1950 (North Korean invasion)

KPA captured Seoul & pushed South Korean troops to Busan/Pusan, Americans protected Syngman Rhee from DPRK attempt to kill him

September 1950

MacArthur led UN forces from Inchon to take Seoul & push North Koreans to 38th parallel (amphibious landing)

What was the name of the American UN general who led UN & USA forces in the Korean war?

Douglas MacArthur

October 1950

UN created the rollback policy (replacing the policy of containment) & would attempt to liberate Korea under Syngman Rhee’s rule; KPA was pushed to Yalu River & Pyongyang was captured

What was the significance of Pyongyang’s capture?

Only Communist capital to be taken by the West in the Cold War, destroyed it while taking it

What was a major flaw in the West’s strategy to taking Korea?

Scorched Earth tactics, didn’t have cover when they were pushed back from the PVA & KPA

What was the PVA?

People’s Volunteer Army, People’s Republic of China

Why did Mao Zedong fear the West being at the Yalu River in 1950?

The West didn’t recognize the People’s Republic of China as a nation

November 1950

People’s Volunteer Army joined North Korean Army

December 1950

Pyongyang was recaptured by PVA & KPA, UN & ROKA pushed to 38th parallel

January 1951

PVA & KPA captured Seoul

February 1951

China is declared an aggressor in Korea by the UN & stalemate begins at 38th parallel

March 1951

Seoul is recaptured by UN & ROKA

April 1951

MacArthur started becoming aggressive before Chinese intervention & wanted to fight China with atomic weapons; MacArthur is dismissed at Wake Island; Battle of Kapyong

Battle of Kapyong

April 1951, PVA & KPA advance on Kapyong (trying to get closer to Seoul), Canadian & Australian regiments stop the advance

What was the name of the Canadian regiment at the Battle of Kapyong?

Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry Regiment

What was the name of the general who replaced MacArthur in April 1951?

General Matthew Ridgway

July 1951

Peace talks started, nothing is agreed upon

1952

Dwight D. Eisenhower was elected President, November 4

July 1953

Military armistice was signed at Panmunjom to end hostilities of Korean War (formal peace treaty was never signed)

Effect of the Korean War

Open conflict between USA & China; USA focuses on containing communism in Europe and Asia

When did Turkey & Greece join NATO?

February 1952

When did Joseph Stalin die?

March 1953, Hemorrhagic stroke

What was the USA’s Secretary of State under Eisenhower’s name?

John Foster Dulles

What policy did Dulles approve of and what was implemented instead?

Rollback policy (push Soviet Union back from countries); Eisenhower’s New Look policy (contain communism & let it collapse on its own)

What was SEATO and who was part of it?

South East Asian Treaty Organization, September 1954, use military & economic aid to stop communist spread in Asia; Australia, Britain, France, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Thailand

How did USA help Japan and Taiwan & why?

Helped economy & created military bases; China wanted to conquer Taiwan & remove ROC (Republic of China)

Where was the USA’s first hydrogen bomb tested and when?

Pacific Marshall Islands, November 1952

How was the CIA used during the Cold War and where?

Used in Soviet territory to undermine communism; overthrew Mohammed Mossadegh (Iran), 1953 & Jacob Arbenz Guzman (Guatemala), 1954

What was Brinksmanship and under what circumstances is it effective?

Taking conflict to the brink of warfare; effective when user has the upperhand (USA using Brinksmaship is only effective when they are the only ones with thermonuclear weapons)

What was the name of the Second Berlin Crisis movie?

Bridge of Spies

What was McCarthyism?

Practice of making accusations of treason, especially related to communism (no facts to support)

What was Joseph McCarthy’s role in the Red Scare in the US (1940s & 1950s)?

Many blame him for the Red Scare or the evolution of it due to McCarthyism (which was created in response to the Red Scare)

How did McCarthyism effect the US & what was Truman’s stance on it?

People (especially actors, filmmakers, & writers) were condemned for political beliefs or suspicions of being communist; Anti-communist

What was the state of gov. after Stalin’s death?

Collective gov. of top Soviet positions was formed

Who immediately replaced Stalin & what happened to him?

Beria; Nikita Khrushchev & Georgy Zhukov had Beria arrested, imprisoned, and killed for treason (Beria wanted to abandon East Germany)

What was the state of gov. after Beria?

Malenkov & Bulganin served as premiers before Khrushchev came to power

What is Peaceful Coexistence?

Belief that capitalism & communism should accept each other and live alongside each other peacefully

Why did Peaceful Coexistence work well for a while between USA & USSR?

Believed the other’s belief would fail (communism & capitalism)

What was the Austrian State Treaty and who created it?

USSR, April 1955; Austria would become an independent & neutral country instead of 4-power occupation

How did the West see the Austrian State Treaty?

Due to Salami tactics not being used & the USSR following through with the removal of the Red Army, thought it was end of Stalin’s era of communist expansion

What was the Geneva Summit & when did it take place?

First meeting since Potsdam, July 1955; started discussion of demilitarization in Germany & Europe

What were the names of the De-Stalinization Speech?

Secret Speech; On the Cult of Personality & its Consequences

When did Khrushchev give the De-Stalinization Speech and what did it outline?

February 1956, condemned Stalin & believed USSR was becoming more peaceful

Where was there a revolution against the Soviet Union’s control in October 1956?

Hungary; wanted free democratic elections, against Matyas Rakosi and Hungarian People’s Republic

What was Imre Nagy’s role in the Cold War?

Temporary Hungarian Prime Minister, removed Hungary from Warsaw Pact

How did Khrushchev react to Hungary leaving the Warsaw Pact?

Suppressed the revolution with the Red Army & allies in Hungary

What was the Suez Canal Crisis and when did it take place?

October 1956; Egypt wanted to nationalize the Suez Canal; Israeli, British, French forces attempted armed takeover; Khrushchev threatened Western powers & Eisenhower condemned this (supporting Western powers)

Who resolved the Suez Canal Crisis and how?

Lester B. Pearson, 1957; Pearson Peace Plan, won a Nobel Prize for it

What was the Pearson Peace Plan?

Canadian & UN troops would oversee the withdrawal of Israeli, British, French troops from Egypt; formal agreement between Egypt & West. powers would be made

Who was the Egyptian leader during the Suez Canal Crisis?

Gamal Abdel Nasser

What was discussed at the Geneva Summit?

US wanted open skies, USSR denied; USSR wanted US troops out of Europe & NATO & Warsaw Pact disbanded, USA denied

What was the Eisenhower Doctrine & what did it state?

1957, US would assist Middle East countries to fight communism, extension of Eisenhower’s New Look Policy; aggressive response would be used in Middle East against communism

What was Sputnik & what was its significance?

First satellite to orbit Earth, West feared “Missile Gap”; October 1957

What was NASA and when was it created?

National Aeronautics & Space Administration, 1958; response to USSR Space Race

What was the “Missile Gap”?

USA’s fear that USSR had greater missile technology; Khrushchev’s threats to USA with nuclear attacks & Sputnik caused it

What was the purpose of the Gaither Report & what did it outline?

Counter the “Missile Gap”; increase in offensive defense power (especially missiles), building forces able to fight a limited war, building programme of fallout shelters to protest US citizens from nukes

What is a limited war?

War fought with restrictions (ex. avoiding using nukes)

What was U-2 & why was it significant?

USA spy plane over USSR; revealed no missile gap, shot down over USSR May 1960, USA tried to deny it, USSR found spy equipment & pilot confessed

When did Khrushchev visit the US?

September 1959; Paris Summit was scheduled

What happened at the Paris Summit?

May 1960; Eisenhower refused to apologize for U-2 incident, Khrushchev cancelled Eisenhower’s visit to USSR

Who was the pilot of the U-2 spy plane that was shot down over USSR?

Gary Powers

What was banned in October 1958 by USA followed by USSR?

Atmospheric nuclear weapon testing; underground & underwater testing weren’t banned

What happened in Berlin in November 1958?

Khrushchev demanded the West leave Berlin within 6 months; Khrushchev wanted a united Germany under a formal treaty without the West; West refused to leave

When was the Second Berlin Crisis?

1961 the Berlin wall was reconstructed & tensions increased

When was the Cuban Missile Crisis?

1962

What was the worst crisis of the Cold War?

Cuban Missile Crisis

What was Beria’s full name?

Lavrenti Pavlovich Beria

What were the branches of Eisenhower’s New Look Policy?

SEATO, Brinksmanship, military usage in areas vulnerable to falling to communism, assisting fights against communism, CIA usage, increase in reliance on nukes