FULL TOPIC Cold War 1921 - 1975

Who is Mao Zedong?

Communist leader of China

In china since the 1920's who was there a civil war between?

Communist party (CCP) and Kuomintang (Nationalist party)

Who ran the Chinese communist party (CCP)?

Mao Zedong

Who ran the Kuomintang?

Chiang Kai - Shek

Who attacked first in the civil war between the CCP and Nationalist party in China?

The Nationalist party attacked the communists in 1927

What was the Long march (1934)?

When Mao Zedong found out that the Chinese army was coming to arrest the communists he led the communists on a march over 6000 miles across China to a new base

When did the communist party of China begin fighting with the nationalist party of China?

In the 1920's but paused conflict (1937) to fight against Japan in WW2 and started again in 1945

When did China become communist?

October 1949, People's Republic of China

When was the Treaty of Friendship, Alliance, and Mutual Assistance signed?

February 1950

Who were the two parties who signed the Treaty of Friendship, Alliance, and Mutual assistance?

USSR and People's republic of China

What was the Treaty of Friendship, Alliance, and Mutual Assistance?

Formalized the alliance between USSR and People's republic of China, providing for mutual defense and economic cooperation, aimed to strengthen their political, military, and economic ties, solidifying their relationship

What was the significance of the Treaty of Friendship, Alliance, and Mutual Assistance?

The alliance changed the balance of power between East and West and made the communist east stronger, scared USA containment had failed

Who had control over Vietnam before Ho Chi Minh?

France but was taken over by Japan in WW2

Who was Ho Chi Minh?

Communist leader of North Vietnam, set up Vietminh

When did Vietnam declare themselves independent?

When Japan had left at the end of the war 1945

Why did Vietnam need help from communist China against the French?

France got $500 million a year from USA to help them whilst Vietnam were on their own

How long were Vietnam fighting the French after WW2?

For 9 years, ending the war when the French suffered a big defeat at Dien Bien Phu in 1954

What was Dien Bien Phu?

The battle in which the Vietnamese communists got their independence from the French colonial forces with help from communist China

When was Dien Bien Phu?

1954

What did the USA think about China helping Vietnam against France?

The USA thought Vietnam would be a communist puppet of China

What happened at the Geneva conference?

Vietnam was split into two: Communist north and non - communist south

What was the Vietcong?

An army to fight South Vietnam and make it all communist

When did Ho Chi Minh create the Vietcong?

1960

How did the Vietcong fight?

They fought using guerrilla tactics: sneak attacks + booby traps + blend in with ordinary people so the enemy didn't know who to fight

What was the Ho Chi Minh trail?

A netowork of tunnels and pathways used to get supplies whilst they attacked South Vietnam

What did President Eisenhower of the USA believe in?

The domino theory

What was the domino theory?

If one country in Asia fell to communism then the ones next to it would become communist aswell

How did the USA originally get involved with Vietnam?

They sent money and 'advisers' to help South Vietnam

What happened at the Gulf of Tonkin in 1964?

Where Vietnamese ships attacked USA ships

What did the attack at the Gulf of Tonkin allow for the USA?

Gave an excuse for American soldiers to enter Vietnam and fight

When was operation rolling thunder?

February 1965

What was operation rolling thunder?

Used planes to bomb large parts of Vietnam and chemicals to destroy the forests the Vietcong would hide in

What chemicals did the Americans use in operation rolling thunder and how did they react?

Napalm which would stick to people's skin and burn through their flesh

What happened in the town of My Lai?

American soldiers murdered hundred of civilians

What were the consequences for the events at the town of My Lai?

American soldiers were attacked in the Tet Offensive in 1968

When did the Americans pull out of Vietnam?

1973

How and when did Vietnam become communist?

In 1975, North Vietnamese attacked the South again and Vietnam became communist

Why were the USA upset of the communisation of Vietnam?

Containment had failed once again in Asia (China + Vietnam)

What was the NSC 68?

They wouldn't just 'contain' communism, they would now roll it back = more aggressive

When did America release NSC 68?

April 1950

When was Korea freed from Japanese control?

1945

Why was Korea split along the 38th parallel?

There was supposed to be a vote but they couldn't agree

Who controlled North Korea after 1945?

USSR

Who controlled South Korea after 1945?

USA

Who ran the communist North Korea?

Kim Il Sung

Who ran the capitalist South Korea?

Syngman Rhee

What did Kim Il Sung and Syngman Rhee both claim?

They were the rightful ruler of the whole of Korea

How did Stalin encourage the North Koreans?

By giving them money and weapons and China might have encouraged them too

When did the North Koreans attack South Korea and triggered the war?

1950

Who was the UN ran by?

A security council of Britain, France, UK, USA, USSR

What did having the security council mean for the UN?

If any of the members said 'no' to something, the UN couldn't do it

Why didn't the USSR go to any UN meetings?

They were in protest as UN had not recognised communist China as an official country after their revolution

How did the UN help South Korea without the USSR blocking it?

When the UN voted on whether to help South Korea, the USSR wasn't there to block it due to their retaliation and the UN voted to in and help

Who led the UN army into Korea?

US General Douglas MacArthur

What was the UN army made up of?

Soldiers from 16 nations mostly led by American troops

What were the events of the war?

1) North Korea captured all of South Korea except for a small area called the Pusan Pocket
2) The UN army landed at Inchon and pushed the communists all the way back to the 38th parallel. General MacArthur convinced President Truman to keep going and the UN forces invaded North Korea. They reached the Yalu river which bordered China
3) China was now worried about and American invasion. They pushed the UN troops all the way back and captured the capital of South Korea, Seoul
4) MacArthur asked Truman to drop an atomic bomb on China, sacked him
5) UN pushed back to the 38th parallel. Peace talks began in 1951 and in 1953, the war would end and Korea remained split

What happened at the beginning of the Korean War?

North Korea captured all of South Korea except for the Pusan Pocket

Where did the UN army land when they went to help the Korean War?

Inchon

How did China help North Korea in the Korean War?

They sent 250,000 soldiers described as 'volunteers' into North Korea

Why did Truman say no to MacArthur's suggestion for the drop of the atomic bomb on China?

He didn't want to instigate a hot war with the USSR

What happened at the end of the Korean War?

UN forces pushed back and reached a stalemate at the 38th parallel. Peace talks began in 1951 and in 1953 it was decided the war would end and Korea would stay split along the 38th parallel

What was the significance of the Korean War?

• Could have caused a hot war
• Korea remains split even after the UN stepped in to maintain peace
• Shows the USA and USSR don't want a hot war
• Truman was loyal to his doctrine
• 4 million died including 54,000 Americans. Whole of Korea was destroyed

What did the Korean War nearly start a hot war?

USSR and American pilots fought each other but they wore different uniforms

How did the Korean War show that the USSR and the USA didn't want to start a hot war?

Truman sacked MacArthur instead of using the atomic bomb and Stalin sent Russian troops to fight in disguise

How did the Korean War show Truman staying loyal to his doctrine?

He fought to stop communism spreading

How did MacArthur overstep his mark whilst fighting the Koreans?

He sent a letter to the Chinese, threatening them with the atomic bomb if they did not back down even though he hadn't confirmed with Truman

What started the race in science and technology?

The use of the atomic bombs on Japan

When did the USSR test its first atomic bomb?

August 1949

How did the USA react to the USSR testing their first atomic bomb?

They panicked as get didn't think they'd be able to build one until 1953

When did the US Strategic Air Command put the USA in a state of constant readiness?

1951

How did the US Strategic Air Command put the USA in a state of constant readiness?

He drew up a list of 6,000 targets in the USSR to hit in a war

When did the USA detonate the first hydrogen bomb?

November 1952

How powerful is the hydrogen bomb?

1,000 times more powerful than the Atomic Bomb

When did the USSR detonate their own hydrogen bomb?

August 1953

When did the USA develop a hydrogen bomb small enough to be dropped from a bomber plane?

March 1954

When did the USSR drop a test hydrogen bomb from a bomber plane?

September 1954

Why did everyone build so many nuclear weapons?

They believed the more nuclear weapons you had, the stronger your country was

How much did the USA spend of the defence budget on aircraft and bomber planes?

40%

Why did the USA build new planes such as the Bison jet bomber and the TU-95?

They feared the 'bomber gap'

What was the 'bomber gap'?

The belief that the USA had less planes and couldn't keep up with the USSR

What was the space race? 1957 - 1969

A competition between USSR and USA to be the first in space and on the moon

When did the USSR launch Sputnik 1?

October 1957

What was Sputnik 1 and what did it do?

The first man - made satellite, it orbited the Earth

When did the USSR launch Sputnik 2?

November 1957

What was Sputnik 2?

The bigger satellite of Sputnik 1 and sent a dog called Laika into space

When did the USA launch the explorer (satellite)?

January 1958

When did the USA create the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)?

July 1958

Who is Yuri Gagarin?

Russian cosmonaut who was the first human in space, he did a lap of the Earth in 108 minutes

When was the Soviet Vostock rocket sent into space with Yuri Gagarin?

12th April 1961

When did JFK launch the Apollo programme?

1961 - 1975

What was the Apollo project?

A project to land a man on the moon

When did Apollo 11 land on the moon?

July 20, 1969

Who were the first humans on the moon?

Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin

What was the significance of the space race on the Cold War?

1) Big competition
2) Propaganda
3) Missiles

How was space race significant via competition in the Cold War?

The Cold War was a big competition to see who was best: the capitalists or the communists - racing to space

How was space race significant via propaganda in the Cold War?

The space race was watched around the world and posters and films were made about the successes to show how great they were

How was space race significant via missiles in the Cold War?

Nuclear weapons had to be sent by planes which could be easily shot down, the USA and USSR figured out how to take the space rocket technology and create nuclear missiles which could fly to their target

What were ICBMS?

Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles: Missiles that could be launched from a base in minutes, fly to the target and land accurately

When and where did the USSR make the first ICBM?

USSR made the first one at a top-secret base called Baykonyr on 15th May 1957

What were the Polaris?

The USA developed missiles which could be fired from submarines, the sub was hard to spot and could get very close to the enemy to make the missile more accurate