CIE IGCSE HISTORY CHAPTER 5 USA'S CONTAINMENT OF COMMUNISM

Korean War, Vietnam War, and Cuban Missile Crisis

How did the Korean War begin?

The Communist North Invaded Capitalist South

What are the core aspects of the Northern and Southern Korean Governments?

North

• Ran by Kim Il-Sung

• Communist

• Undemocratic

• Supported by USSR and China

South

• Ran by Syngman Rhee

• Capitalist

• Anti-communist

• Undemocratic

• USA and Western world supported it

What were Truman’s actions before US intervention in the Korean War?

-Sent Warships

-Sent Supplies

-Sent advisors

-Started to pressure the UN into Resolution 84

Why did Truman call for resolution 84 and why did it pass?

-It would look better if the USA’s invasion had the support of the UN

-USSR did not veto the resolution since they were boycotting the UN in support of China being denied a position

-USA pressured the UN to pass the resolution

EXPLAIN the development of the Korean War

-September 1950= UN troops stormed ashore at Inchon and Pusan and drove back the NK pass the 38th parallel

-OCTOBER 1950=UN forces reach the YALU river; even though the aim was achieved MacArthur thought they had an opportunity to crush North Korea despite warning from Mao Tse-Tung

-November 1950=200,000 Chinese Soldiers pushed the UN passed the 38th parallel. Because they were more familiarity with the terrain and weather, modern armor, and Soviet Supplies.

-April 1951=MacArthur sacked. He wanted to use Nukes to end the war and openly threatened China despite UN orders and Truman orders

-June 1951=peace talks begin but fighting continued until 1953

-July 1953=Stalin’s death made China and Korea unsure about the support they would receive. Eisenhour replaced Truman and worked to end the war. War ended at the 38th parallel

What were the consequences of the Korean War?

-1.4 million killed in total

-500,000 South Korean civilians

-mostly civilians

Was the Korean War a success for containment?

-Left North Korea a communist country that hated the USA

-Showed that the USA was willing to get its hands dirty to defeat communism

-Showed that the USA’s leadership was divided

-South Korea was not communist

What were the two core methods the USA used in containment?

-Anti-communist alliances

• CENTO

• NATO

• SEATO

• USSR FORMS THEIR OWN=WARSAW PACT

-Threat of Nuclear weapons

• Nuclear arms race starts

What were the main contributors to the Cuban Missile Crisis happening and why?

-The Nuclear Arms Race

• USA placed ICBMs in Turkey upsetting balance of power

• Mutually Assured Destruction made sure both nuclear powers would use Nukes as a deterrent

-The Cuban Revolution

• Fidel Castro overthrew Batista in 1959

• Batista was backed by the USA

• USA had many important businesses and a military base there

• Communists were now off the coast of the USA

• Castro took over US owned businesses and redistributed farms to peasants

• Castro exiled and killed political opponents

• Castro worked with the USSR bringing weapons and money

• Castro did not want to attack civilians or the US naval base

-USA’s response to the Cuban Revolution

• 1960 Cuban exiled were being armed by the CIA

• Attempted to disrupt Cuban sugar industries

• US companies refused to work with Castro’s oil companies

• Constant anti-Castro propaganda

• JFK Broke off relations with the Cubans

• Bay of Pigs: 1400 US armed exiles invaded Cuba and were crushed by 20,000 Cuban troops

• The Bay of Pigs was a half-hearted attempt which back-fired actually making Cuba closer to the USSR

Why did Khrushchev send missiles to Cuba

-To use the threat as a bargaining chip

-To test the limits of the USA

-Close the missile gap (Turkey missiles)

-Defend Cuba (A communist ally threatened by the USA)

-Strengthen its own position

Explain the events of the Cuban missile crisis?

-1962=Soviets sent 5000 technicians, boats, tanks, missiles, missile erecters, jet fighters, and bombers to Cuba even though JFK warned Khrushchev not to

-OCT 14th 1962= U2 Spy plane finds out about the missiles

-20 Blockade begins

-22 JFK addressed USA and USSR

-23 Letter from Khrushchev planning to disobey the blockade

-24 Soviet Ships turned around

-26 Letter from Khrushchev claiming the missiles were self-defense

-27 Second letter received detailing conditions for withdrawal; U2 plane shot down; cabinet plans attack

-28th Kennedy accepts conditions

What were the results of the Missile Crisis on the USA and JFK?

-Had to accept Cuba as an independent nation

-Improved Kennedy’s reputation

-NATO believed he was weak for caving in to Khrushchev’s demand

-Showed that JFK was sensible and unwilling to enact MAD

What were the effects of the Cuban Missile Crisis on Cuba?

-Upset by the USSR’s deal

-Remained an important communist base

-Kept control of resources and industries

What were the Cuban Missile Crisis’ impact on the Cold War

-Much more cautious

-Permanent hotline between the USSR and USA

-Nuclear limits treaty

-Made it clear that the USSR was a match for the USA in terms of power

What were the effects of the Cuban missile Crisis on the USSR?

-Khrushchev seemed like a sensible peacemaker

-Kept a valuable ally

-Got the USA to concede on the Turkey missile issue

-USA seemed weak to NATO

-Soviet military leaders felt that it was an embarrassment

-Khrushchev eventually expelled in 1964

Why was the USA involved in Vietnam?

-Domino Theory

-Truman Doctrine

-Military industrial complex

What were the origins of the Vietnam War?

-Ho Chi Minh’s resistance

• Japanese conquered Indochina in WW2 and were disguting to the Vietnamese

• Ho Chi Minh became a resistance leader and following the end of the War he declared Vietnam to be independent

• French wanted to recnqure Vietnam

• China supported the Viet Minh from 1949 to 1954

• USA supported France (500 million dollars)

• Vietnam divided

-USA’s support for Diem

• Elections to decide fate cancelled because Ho Chi Minh would’ve won

• 1955 USA installed dictator Ngo Dinh Diem

• Regime was unpopular because he was corrupt and Christian

• Diem was given 1.6 billion dollars and overthrown by his government in 1963

Why did the USA’s involvement in the Vietnam War escalate?

-New US President

• JFK assassinated

• LBJ was ready to commit to a war

-Tonkin Gulf Resolution

• US ships attacked in the Tonkin Gulf in 1964

• Allowed LBJ to go to war if he needed to “ensure peace and security”

• Operation rolling thunder-mass bombing of bases, the trail, and cities

• 1965 3500 US marines landed in Da Nang

What were the Origins of the Vietcong?

-They were a guerrilla group made up of Northern Communists and Anti-south Southerners

-Ho Chi Minh Created the Ho Chi Minh trail across Laos to supply them

-Strategic Hamlet Program (moving villagers to non-communist controlled areas) backfired due to corruption

What were Vietnam’s main tactical advantages?

-Guerilla warfare

-Support of civilians

-Resolve

-Supplies

What were USA’s main tactics during the Vietnam War

-Bombing

-Search and Destroy

-Conscription

Explain Vietnamese Guerilla warfare?

-Hit and Run ambush tactics

-Difficult to find amongst civilian populations

-Traps (sharpened stakes in pits) responsible 11% of total causalities

-Ambushed responsible for 51% of US casualties

-Hard to bomb due to the close quarter combat they engaged in

Explain the Civilian advantage for the Viet Minh?

-Ho Chi Minh how important it was to keep civilian on his side

-Soldiers plowed fields to assist the people

-Killed collaborators such as police, tax collectors, and teachers

Explain the advantage of resolve to Vietnam?

-Over a million Vietnamese Soldiers died

-They refused to give up no matter what due to nationalism and ideology

Explain the Supply advantage Vietnam?

-Given through the Ho Chi Minh trail

-US bombed it constantly but was unable to destroy it

-40,000 Vietnamese kept in running

Explain the Bombing tactic Vietnam War?

-The main US tactic for dealing with Vietcong and Viet Minh

-Attacked Laos and Cambodia

-Attacked civilian, military, industrial targets, and ho chi minh trail

-Bombing was quite effective

-Bombing turned the civilian against the USA

-Total Tonnage 3x WW2

Explain the search and destroy tactic?

-Developed by Westmoreland to combat Vietcong

-Troops would descend on villages searching for and killing all Vietcong they found

-Inexperienced soldiers were often killed by traps

-Civilians were massacred; for every one weapon 6 kills were reported

-Made USA hated

-Often had bad information

Explain the conscription tactic?

-USA needed more soldiers

-Drafted disproportionately young black men

-They often didn’t care about the war

-turned to drugs

-They were on average 19 years old

-To rectify the morale problem, they allowed them to leave after a year losing out on experience

What was the Tet Offensive?

-Vietcong troops launched giant offensive by suprise

-attacked over 100 cities

-Fought off and lost over 10,000 experienced soldiers

Why was the Tet Offensive important?

-Made US leaders and populous unwilling to continue fight the war

• lost over 20 billion a year and had committed 500,000 soldiers

• Many civilians were killed in the counterattack

• Media attacked the wasteful and destructive war harder than ever before

-important for the peace movement

Why did the peace movement grow?

-Used up 20 billion dollars a year

-inequality in drafting; 22% percent of casualties vs. 11% of casualties

-Pointless and destructive war

• My lai massacre

• Media attention

• Tet Offensive

What were the protests like during the Vietnam war?

-100 demonstrations in the first half of 1968

-700,000 gathered in DC to protest the war

Explain the events of the My Lai Massacre?

-Charlie company killed 300-400 women, children, and elderly and recovered 3 weapons in total

-Ronald Ridenhour informed politicians and officials

-Photos published in life magazine led to investigation

-Willaim Calley sentenced to 20 years hard labor but released in 3

-None others convicted

What was Vietnamization?

-A process where US troops withdrew from Vietnam

-Slowly gave responsibilities to the south'

-400,000 US soldiers left by 1971

-All left by 1973

-Vietnam war ended in 1975