History Y10 revision

Reasons for distrust between USSR and USA

• 1945: Post-WW2 disagreements on future began

• USSR claimed Finland, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia + land from Czechoslovakia and Romania

• Stalin helps to make Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland communist

• Churchill makes statement of an ‘iron curtain’ dividing Europe’s capitalist west and communist east

• March 1947: US willing to pay huge amounts of money to Europe’s devastated countries through Marshall Plan

• Truman makes speech, US would help any country threatened by communism to ‘contain’ communism

• September 1947: Stalin confirms communist leaders are coordinated in work + policies

• 1949: USSR conducts first successful nuclear bomb test to make them the 2nd nation to detonate nuclear weapon

• USA, Britain, France, Belgium, Canada + other European countries form NATO

• Communists form Warsaw Pact as a response with Albania, Bulgaria, Romania, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Poland

• Cold War starts with proxy wars and words, bluffs, threats and propaganda and carries on this way

Background to Korea

• Occupied by Japan in early 1900s

• In 1945 when Japan defeated in WW2, it had to give up Korea

• Soldiers in north surrendered to USSR forces, north surrendered to US forces. Divided into 2 separate zones, intended to be temporary with plans for elections for a united, independent country

• 1948: pre-elections, Soviets allowed Kim-il-Sung to take power so there were no elections

• In the southern Us part, Syngman Rhee elected who had strong ties to the USA

• North’s capital Pyongyang and Soviet-backed leader, South’s capital Seoul and US-backed leader.

• Both leaders wanted unified Korea but they had contrasting plans and ideas

Start of the war + things that triggered it

• Stalin gave permission to invade in April, but invasion started on June 25 1950

• They took control of everything except Pusan in less than 2 months

• Triggered international response

• US vetoed decision to let communist china back in to UN

• US sent troops to defend SK

• US antagonism like Marshall plan and Truman doctrine angered USSR

• USSR forced KIS into power and they were father country of NK

• Provided military support in weapons, equipment and training

• USSR boycotted UN due to China being rejected, so it meant they couldn’t prevent counter-attack

• China’s communist revolution led by Mao Tse-tung creates fear in US

• China sent troops to help NK which escalated the war

• The division of Korea meant SK reliant on US support and the growth of nationalism

• UN sent 16 states’ troops to fight which expanded a localised invasion to an international war

Truman, General MacArthur + stages of the war

• Truman came from a poor farming family and became vice president in 1944 and president from 1945-53

• Supported Marshall plan and hated communism

• MacArthur was son of a US army general and was strong-willed, arrogant and stubborn, even described as a bully

• Appointed chief of UN forces in Korea

• He decided to stop collapse of SK forces and land at Pusan and Inchon to push back NK forces

• By early October 1950, all NK troops had been driven out from the south

• There were 590,911 SK troops, 302,483 US troops and 14,198 UK troops in Korea

• Un decided to cross border into NK and hoped to unify Korea

• MacArthur believed China would not get involved

• China warned on 19 October 1950 if UN forces continued to move north towards china, China would support and join NK in the war

• UN ignored the warning and 200,000 Chinese troops fought back

• Chinese pushed and re-took Seoul

• Un then took back Seoul and two sides were roughly back where they started by March 1951

• Truman wanted to stop the conflict as he feared it might end in nuclear war

• MacArthur wanted to unify Korea and was prepared to use nuclear weapons

• MacArthur sacked as he refused to follow orders

• US public hated this as he was a ‘war hero’

Gains and losses of Korean war

• NK:600,000 civilians killed, ~406,000 military killed, 1.5m military wounded

• SK: 1m civilians killed, 217,000 military killed, 429,000 military wounded

• US: $60bn cost, 36,568 military killed, 103,284 military wounded, failed to achieve a unified Korea but ‘saved’ SK from communism, containment policy worked

• USSR: closer relationship with china but increased tensions with US and also cost them a lot economically

• UN: stopped aggression and gained respect but Norwegian Secretary General resigned, 3,063 military killed, 11,817 military wounded

• China: 600,000 military killed, 716,000 military wounded, was a poor country and war was costly, US cut ties with them for 25 years, but gained a closer relationship with USSR

• Overall impacts on Korea: Civilian and military casualties, 80% industrial and government buildings destroyed, ~50% housing and most of transportation services, no gains as it is technically still in a state of war

Background on Vietnam

• 1945: Ho Chi Minh declares Vietnam independent after Japanese withdrawal

• 1946-54: First Indochina War as France tries to reclaim and keep control of Vietnam

• 1947: Truman promises to fight communism

• 1954: France withdraws from Vietnam and it is partitioned into 2

• 1957: Civil war breaks out in Vietnam

• 1964: USA begin fighting directly in Vietnam

• 1969: Peace talks begin

• 1973: Paris Peace Agreement signed and USA withdraw from Vietnam

• 1975: Communist North Vietnam invades south and unifies the country

French defeat in Vietnam

Vietminh

• Wanted Vietnam to be independent and comunist\

• Wanted French to stop ruling them

• Guerrilla warfare, surprise attacks + interfering with communication, strategic approach

• 12,000 wounded, 8,000 killed

French

• Wanted to reclaim Vietnam as part of its empire

• Controlled towns, cities and ports

• Counter attacking with brute force, not much tactics

• 190,000 severely injured, 80,000 killed

Ngo Dinh Diem

• Was a Catholic who worked for the French for a while

• In 1945, captured by Ho Chi Minh but refused to join their government

• Went to US and JFK saw him as a good president for Vietnam

• In 1954, he became president of SV, used violence and nepotism to keep control

• Americans had issues with him like him acting independently and refusing to take their guidance, Americans didn’t like his decisions, he held early elections, ignored their advice to announce a more believable 70% majority rather than his claim of 98.2%, where he supposedly beat former emperor Bo Dai

• Americans put Diem’s name in red for the election, a sign of good luck in Vietnam. Diem ordered supporters to intimidate people who looked like they weren't voting for him

• Killed in a coup on 2 November 1963

• Buddhists opposed him as he gave preferential treatment to Catholics and put in anti-Buddhist policies

• His downfall started when his brutal regime reached the US press and due to the backlash, US stopped supporting him

• The people revolted against him on 1 November 1963 and him and his brother were surrounded by troops and they surrendered the next day- while they were being taken away, they were shot dead on 2 November 1963

Opposition to Diem

• The NLF (national liberation front) were a group of nationalists who wanted land to be given back to peasants, and to unite Vietnam. They wanted to overthrow Diem and get rid of him regime of Catholic dominance, and create a government that supported all social classes and religions. Targeted officials in Diem’s government and many hundreds of government workers were murdered.

• Buddhists were organised and used hunger strikes, mass rallies and invited foreign press to cover events

• Most famous protest was self-immolation of a monk, Thich Quang Duc, while people handed out leaflets calling for Diem to show compassion to other religious groups

Civil war

Many of Diem’s opponents believed only armed rebellion could stop him and lot joined NLF. US supported Diem and sent around $1.6 in the 1950s and military advisors. Civil war broke out in 1957

Vietcong (NLF) tactics against Diem

• Travelled very light with an accurate and reliable AK-47, ration of rice and punji sticks to make traps with

• Reliant on peasants and workers help

• Key aims:

• 1.Replacement of Diem with a government representative of all social classes and religions

• 2.Unification of Vietnam free from foreign influence

• 3.Promotion of peasants’ rights and to stop poverty

Eisenhower’s Involvement in Vietnam

• Propaganda against Ho Chi Minh and NV

• Supplied Diem with money, weapons and military equipment and advisors to help fight Vietcong (NLF)

• Invited SV to join SEATO (Southeast Asia Treaty Organisation) including Australia, Britain, Pakistan, New Zealand and France who aimed to work together to stop communism in SE Asia

• Sent military advisors to SV

• Sent CIA intelligence to SV’s largest city, Saigon, to gather info for US government

• Key facts: Served in US army, 1920s-30s

• Became supreme commander of NATO forces in Europe, Dec 1950

• Agreed to ceasefire in Korea, July 1953

• President from 1953-61, lived from 1890-1969

Kennedy’s Involvement in Vietnam

• Born into wealthy and political Irish-American family

• Assassinated in 1963 in Dallas, Texas

• Kept US involvement secret as he worried about public opinion, approved a coup in SV to remove Diem

• Increased financial aid to Vietnam

• Strategic hamlets forced peasants to leave Vietcong-controlled areas and move to small villages loyal to Diem

• Increased military experts to 16,000 who trained SV army

• Sent 300 US helicopter pilots to SV to transport ARVN soldiers, strictly told not to fight

Gulf of Tonkin

• 3rd August: American USS Maddox followed by torpedo boats, they both retaliated and US shot down all 3 boats, US were in enemy waters

• 7th August 1964: G.o.T resolution led to escalation in US involvement and direct US soldiers, had no limit to amount of spending in Vietnam

• Operation Rolling Thunder, 13th Feb 1965: US aircraft bomb oil storage and 2 other areas along with government building, lasted 3 years

• US sent in 200,000 soldiers to directly fight in Vietnam

US tactics in Vietnam

• Lots of young and inexperienced soldiers, soon average age was 19 and most had never been abroad

• 1966: Racial inequality as 41% were black while only making up 11% of US population

• 1968: Black people made up 12% of army but 50% were frontline

• 1970: made up 11% of army but were 22% of casualties#

• Lots of soldiers weren’t used to other different environments and cultures

• US dropped more bombs in Vietnam than have ever been dropped in whole of human history

• Used superior firepower and technology to use search and destroy tactics where they would search villages for Vietcong soldiers, if any were found, they would destroy village as a warning

• Used lots of chemical warfare like agent orange used to destroy the jungle and napalm, which would burn through anything, even muscle and bone

• Disrupted Ho Chi Minh trail(supply routes for NV)

• MI6 rifle unreliable and got jammed, especially when coming into contact with water

Tet Offensive

• All out assault on 100 cities in the South by Vietcong

• April 1967: commander of US forces in Vietnam (Westmoreland) told US public war was nearing the end

• Vietcong carried out some major attacks in early 1968 (Tet Offensive)

• Around 84,000 VC troops simultaneously attacks >100 cities, towns and US military bases

• US responded by regaining control of all places , some took hours while others took weeks

• Devastation seen on Tv severely damaged national confidence in president Johnson’s war policies

Turning points of Tet

• Post-Tet, US public increasingly disillusioned with the war and realised it wasn’t over

• President Johnson didn’t re-run for election in Nov 1968

• Although US regained control, it cost them lots of artillery and airpower - by now war was costing $30bn/year and 300 US soldiers killed every week, number of deaths surpassed Korean war

• Lots of Vietnamese civilians killed and ancient monuments and cities destroyed, made US citizens question US involvement

Impacts of Tet on US

• A military victory as they regained control of major cities, but war was costing a lot

• Number of US and ARVN troops were less than 10,000

• A political defeat as American opinion turned against involvement in the war

• Credibility gap grew between what government was saying and what public believed and saw on TV

• President Johnson chose not to re-run shortly after

Impacts of Tet on Vietcong

• A major military defeat as 50,000 NV army and 10,000 VC killed

• Political victory

• Changed ‘hearts and mind‘ in US against the war

• Number of anti-war demonstrations increased

My Lai massacre

• Charlie Company suffered a few casualties despite never directly fighting Vietcong which lowered morale and made them feel vengeful

• A search and destroy mission was planned to kill expected VC soldiers and destroy food and water sources

• Began immediately firing at buildings and throwing grenades into houses

• Unsuccessful as no VC soldiers were found

• Investigation by Us army and government revealed 347-504 unarmed civilians had been massacred and event was deliberately covered up by Charlie Company

• Lt. William Calley only one charged which was controversial as 100s of others took part doing worse things, army recommended 25 others should be prosecuted

Nixon’s plans to stop the war: Bombing campaigns

• More bombs dropped under Johnson

• Cambodia secretly bombed to avoid public outcry

• Bombing on Laos partially worked as an attack but ARVN troops soon beaten back

• 1969-72, lots of bombing raids concentrated in SV and Cambodia, also in Laos and NV