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Cold War and Containment of Communism - Coggle Diagram
Cold War and Containment of Communism
Wars
Vietnam War
The Vietnam war was between the Vietcong and the Viet Minh the USA
The USA were not used to fighting on the Vietnamese terrain, and so were defeated by Guerilla Tactics and having their equipment stolen by the Vietcong
Korean War
Origins of the war
Origins of the War up to 1950
• Japan had ruled Korea for 35 years – at the end of WW2 the Northern half was liberated by the USSR and the Southern half by the US
• The North remained communist, with Kim Il Sung in power – trained by the USSR – with a one-party system
• The South was anti-communist but not very democratic, they still won the support of the US however
• There was hostility between Kim Il Sung and Syngman Rhee, the Southern leader
• Kim visited Stalin to seek permission to invade South Korea, Stalin rejected the idea as he was preoccupied with the crisis in Berlin.
• The Soviets had tested their first atom bomb and Mao Zedong was now in control of China with the communist party, forming the people’s republic of China.
• Stalin had now approved of the invasion of the South
• Reunification did not seem likely, and so by 1950 the hostility had led to a war.
US Response to the war
The US response to the northern invasion of Korea in September 1950 including UN Resolution 84
• Truman saw Korea as a clear example of how communism could sprea closer to the US if they were not careful
• The US would do anything to stop communism
• Truman immediately sent advisers, supplies and warships to Korea, but he realised if he wanted to go to war, it would look better if he had the support of the UN
• Truman put enormous pressure on the UN to condemn the actions of North Korea. The USA was the largest contributed to the UN but would most likely have not got their way if it wasn’t for other circumstances
• Normally, the USSR would have been able to veto the decision, but since they were boycotting the meetings – over whether China should be allowed to join the UN – allowing the UN-sponsored operation to pass
• The UN committed itself to using members’ army’s to drive North Korean troops out of the South. 18 states provided troops or support but the main force was American – and so was the commander
The 1950 UN counterattack. September and October 1950
• The UN force bombarded ashore at Inchon, close to Seoul, behind the enemy lines.
• Going across the 38th parallel showed that the US wanted to reunite Korea under capitalism, rather than to return to how things were.
• Despite warnings from Mao Tes-tung, the UN approved a plan to advance into North Korea.
• By October 5th the US forces had reached the Yalu River – the border of North Korea and China – and it was clear MacArthur and Truman wanted something beyond containment. They wanted to remove communism from Korea and Tes-tung’s warnings were not sufficient.
• 500,000 crossed the Yalu River into North Korea. The US troops stopped for Thanksgiving, and the next morning 300,000 Chinese attacked, as they couldn’t allow China to be invaded, as well as to help North Korea
The retreat of UN forces and the Chinese counterattack up to January 1951
• MacArthur had underestimated the strength of the Chinese troops – the ‘People’s Volunteers’. The troops joined the North Korean force and were extremely motivated to communism and to dislike America. The USSR had supplied them with tanks and planes.
• The UN force was pushed back into the South
• The UN forces were pushed back at extremely quick rates Southwards, towards the 38th Parallel. After withdrawing from each city, they retreated from they would destroy the city they had abandoned
• Conditions were very poor, with extreme cold and snowstorms, whereas the Chinese force were familiar with the mountainous terrain, forested areas, and swamps – similar to certain areas of China
• Truman ruled out using the atom bomb as he knew, if America used one of theirs and USSR would also use their atom bomb
Stalemate
The stalemate between 1951 and 1953 and the end of hostilities
• A stalemate was reached at the 38th Parallel
• Peace talks began in June 1951, but the US continued with relentless bombings of North Korean cities
• Truman did not run for the presidential election, and Eisenhower won a landslide victory
• In March 1953 Stalin died – this led to the end of the war - as many believed the war couldn’t be won and Stalin had kept the war going.
• An armistice was signed in July 1953, and the border between the two sides was identical to prior to 1950
The fall of General MacArthur
The fall of MacArthur
• Truman and MacArthur had now fallen out, MacArthur wanted to continue the war; push into China; and use the atom bomb if necessary. Truman felt that saving South Korea was good
enough.
• The risk of war with the USSR was too great, so war with China was ruled out
• In March 1951, MacArthur disobeyed UN instruction and threatened an attack on China – leading to his removal from commander, due to his overly-aggressive attitude
• Truman returned to the policy of containment, after accepting he couldn’t drive communism out of North Korea