Containment Flashcards
The Korean War 1950-1953
Key events
Truman viewed it as a test of policy of containment
•JUNE 1950 North invaded South war began
•Truman sent help to South and pressured UN to condemn North- UN force provided
• North pushed back beyond 38th parallel
- but didn’t stop, Mao warned them- October 1950 reached border with China
- 200,000 chinese joined North
- January 1951 UN pushed back to 38th parallel
- fighting continued no progress
- Truman replaced by Eisenhower in 52 and stalin died March 53 conflict ending
- armistice singed July 1953
America reactions to Cuban Revolution 1959
Fidel Castro (socialist) overthrown dictator Batista in 1959- USA were suspicious
• Cuba 90 miles off coast of America didn’t want socialist country nearby
• USA refused to buy main export sugar- Castro deal with USSR- bought their sugar and receives arms
•Castro nationalised American companies and sold US owned property
Bay of Pigs incident
April 1961
American sent 1400 Cuban exiles to land at bay of pigs
Castro heard plot and had 20,000 Cubans with tanks and weapons
Failed and suggested USA working unfairly and unwilling to get directly involved
1961 Cuba proclaimed communist state and allies with USSR
CIA makes plans to assassinate Castro- op.Mongoose
Cuban missile crisis 1962
Soviet supplying arms to Cuba- had best equipped army in Latin America
14th October 1962: American U-2 spy photographed soviet missile sites on Cuba
20 more were being shipped in
The thirteen days:
•naval blockade and threatened retaliation if missile fired
•krushchev claims missiles for defence- admits them asks to lift blockade
•2nd letter says will remove if Kennedy removes his from Turkey
•Kennedy doesn’t accept- U2 plane shot down and US radar station mistook own satellite for USSR missile
28th October krushchev and Kennedy removes missiles
What were kennedy’s options for the missile crisis
- Do nothing- made Kennedy look weak and still threatened
- Military invasion- could lead to nuclear war
- Air strike against missile bases only- could lead to war, difficult to pin point small bases
- Ask Russians to remove missiles- denied existence at emergency UN meeting
- Blockade around island- no more ships can arrive whilst negotiation
China becomes communist
1949
After communist revolution in a large country gave evidence to USA that communism was a danger and it was spreading
Domino theory where one country after another would fall into communism
Outcomes of Cuban missile crisis
KENNEDY
•hero- made him back down
•changed anti communist opinion as their involvement almost led to a war
KRUSHCHEV
• Cuba stayed communist and highly armed
• Cuba useful ally
• seen as peacemaker- compromised
• missiles in Turkey removed
•did seem to fail as the public didn’t know about Turkey
BOTH
• phone link Moscow and Washington, White House and Kremlin
•nuclear test ban treaty signed in 1963
•improve relationship
Why did USSR put missiles in Cuba
- bargain with USA and offer to trade
- trap USA wanted them to be drawn into war
- defend Cuba
- test USA see if Kennedy can be bullied
- upper hand in arms race- less likely for USA to lunch 1st attack
Reasons for American involvement in the Vietnam war 1964-1975
- domino theory
- containment
- After death of Kennedy, Johnson didn’t want South Asia end up like China
1964: gulf of Tonkin incident
• American troops attacked by Vietnamese
• US ships claimed it was attacked by Vietnamese ship
• Johnson passed the gulf of Tonkin revolution where any actions can be taken to stop communist from taking over Vietnam
Causes of American failure
- tactics, inexperience soldiers
- attitude of guerrilla- determination, not afraid to lose men - cease fire, forced to sign
- media war, public opinion- Tet offensive and My lai massacre
- money
- distance
- morality- agent orange, killing innocent
Vietnam had support of peasants, China and Russia
Motivation to fight at home
Tactics
VIETCONG
•booby traps, land mines- markers to warn citizens, trap and deceive
•Hi Chi Minh trail- a jungle route through Laos and Cambodia to supply arms, constantly changed and U.S. couldn’t detect
•tunnel system- hiding spots
•’hanging onto belts’ staying close to Americans cannot get killed unless own men gets killed
AMERICAN
•operation rolling thunder- bombing campaign deaths of innocent and own men 500k
•search and destroy- burn whole village down if Vietcong suspected
My lai, deaths of innocent- hatred as Vietcong helped re build and bury
• agent orange- chemical sprayed to kill trees to find enemies. Birth defects, crops killed
• napalm- flammable fluid dropped on suspected base
Public opinion and questioning: Tet offensive
1968 launched by Vietcong
•struck Saigon during Tet
• North lost 45k men proved couldn’t win by direct attack
• but took Americans by surprise despite all spendings
•led to Americans destroying ancient town of hue and killed civilians
My lai massacre
End of war
1968
Us struck villages of my lai 109 civilians died
Johnson orders end to bombing and peace talks begin
1969 Nixon becomes president- Paris peace talks fail, persuasion for USSR and China failed
VIETNAMISATION: pulled US out
1973: Nixon bombed North until forced to sign the cease fire
1975: war ended Saigon captured
