International relations in 1919: How effectively did the US contain the spread of Communism? Flashcards
(26 cards)
Why did the Korean War occur?
- Korea was ruled by Japan until 1945
- After WW2, the Northern half was liberated by the USSR and the Southern half by the USA
- Therefore, half Communist controlled, half anti communist
- Bitter hostility between the two leaders
- Open warfare occurred in 1950; by September, all except a small corner of SK was under communist control
What was the USA’s response to the takeover of Korea by the communists?
Truman immediately sent advisers, supplies and warships to the seas around Korea, but he was aware that in order to take action, he would need the support of other countries, particularly the UN
What was the United Nations Resolution 84?
- USA pressured the UN to condemn NK’s actions and call on them to withdraw troops
- The USA were a massive contributor, had the power to influence decisions, but didn’t always get what they wanted
- USSR would normally have vetoed, but they were boycotting for another issue, so they weren’t present
- When the Resolution was passed, Truman could claim it was a UN-sponsored operation, though Soviet newspapers and media said it wasn’t valid
- The UN used its members’ armies to drive North Koreans out of SK
- Mainly allies of the USA, including Britain and mostly the USA
What did the UN force do in Korea?
- September 1950, they advanced in NK and drove the North Koreans out behind the original border within weeks
- MacArthur (American UN commander) wanted more than originally. China’s leader warned they would take action if pressed
- The UN ignored this and approved a plan to advance anyway in October 1950
- November 1950, the UN forces were driven back as they had underestimated the Chinese. They were devoted and used to the jagged mountains, forested ravines and treacherous swamps, as they were similar to the landscape in China
- Truman and MacArthur fell out as MA wanted to continue, but Truman didn’t want to risk a war that drew in the USSR
- In March 1951, MA directly ignored the instructions of the UN and openly threatened China
- He was sacked in April 1951
- Stalemate in fighting around the middle of 1951, peace talks began, although fighting continued for 2 more years
- Truman was replaced by Eisenhower in 1952, who was eager to end the war
- Stalin’s death in March 1953 made Chinese/NKeans less confident
- Armistice signed in July 1953, border pretty much the same as before
What were the consequences of the Korean War?
- high costs/casualties
- showed USA had the will/means to contain Communism
- NK remained Communist
- Tensions between American leaders; some wanted to go beyond containment, some thought it was too risky
- NK developed into a hardline communist country with the help of China, and continued to trouble the USA well after the Cold War ended
- Showed that fighting a war was an expensive and ineffective way of containing Communism
What other methods of containment were used?
- Allying with anti-communist countries
- Building nuclear weapons, led to the Arms Race against the USSR
What was the Arms Race and nuclear deterrence?
- The USA and USSR both developed deadlier, bigger, more flexible weapons
- Both stole technological secrets, the USSR used spies, andthe USA used U2 planes to take photos from high enough that they couldn’t get shot
- The USA placed short-range nuclear weapons in Turkey
- Since both countries had enough nuclear weapons to destroy the other, ‘nuclear deterrence’ was the theory that the enemy would not dare attack first because they knew the other would strike before their bombs could even land
- Came to be known as MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction)
What was the Cuban Revolution?
- Cuba was an American ally, because General Batista was an unpopular but anti-communist dictator
- Fidel Castro overthrew Batista in 1959 after a 3-year campaign. He killed, arrested or exiled many political opponents
- The USA was surprised but accepted the new leader at first
- Pressure groups of Cuban exiles living in the USA demanded that action be taken against Castro. Castro took over American-owned businesses, particularly agricultural, and gave their land to Cuban peasant farmers
- Caused relations to worsen between the two countries
- CIA investigated ways to overthrow Cuba, damaged the Cuban economy by destroying sugar plantations, and provided support and funds to Cuban exiles, and American media broadcast criticisms of Castro and his regime
- Castro claimed he simply wanted to run Cuba without interference, and assured Americans in Cuba they were safe
- Cuba allied with the USSR by summer 1960, Khrushchev had signed a trade agreement giving Cuba $100 million in economic aid, and sending arms
- Kennedy broke off diplomatic relations with Cuba in January 1961
- Led Castro to believe the USA was planning to invade Cuba; he was correct
- Kennedy didn’t want a Soviet satellite in the USA’s sphere of influence, but didn’t want to outright invade
- Supplied arms, equipment and transport to 1400 Cuban exiles to invade Cuba and overthrow Castro
- The Bay of Pigs invasion in April 1961 failed disastrously; Cuban exiles were met by 20,000 Cuban troops armed to the teeth, and they were killed or captured by Castro within days
- Suggested that the USA was unwilling to get directly involved, and that Kennedy was weak
- From May to September 1962, the USSR supplied Cuba with arms, missiles, tanks, etc.
- Americans watched with alarm, didn’t mind conventional arms, but wondered if the USSR would place missiles in Cuba
- 14 October 1962, a U2 spy plane took pictures of missile sites in Cuba that the USSR was building
- 16th, Kennedy was informed of the missile buildup
- 20th, he decided on a blockade of Cuba, a ban on the USSR bringing military supplies to Cuba
- 22nd, he announced a Blockade and called on the USSR to remove missiles
- 23rd, he received a letter from Khrushchev saying Soviet ships would disregard the Blockade, and did not admit the presence of missiles
- 24th, the Blockade began
- 25th, despite the Blockade, work on the missile bases was proceeding rapidly
- 26th Kennedy received a long personal letter from Khrushchev claiming the missiles were defensive, and they would remove them if the USA said they wouldn’t attack Cuba and lifted the Blockade
- 27th Khrushchev sent another letter asking them to remove missiles from Turkey, later a U2 plane was shot down, and Kennedy was advised to attack
- Kennedy delayed an attack and accepted the terms of the first letter and ignored the second, saying that if they didn’t withdraw, an attack would follow
- 28th, Khrushchev removed the missiles
Why did Khruschev place missiles in Cuba?
- To test if the Americans would back off or face up
- To bargain
- To trap the USA into a nuclear war
- To close the missile gap, make it less likely that the USA would strike against the USSR
- To defend Cuba, good propaganda as they set up a socialist revolution ‘in their backyard’
- To strengthen his own position in the USSR, as he was the one who encouraged reliance on missiles, the USA’s nuclear superiority undermined his credibility
What were the outcomes for Kennedy and the USA?
- Kennedy had greatly improved his reputation in the USA and the West, he had made Khrushchev back down
- K had resisted those in his Government wanting to invade Cuba, the crisis showed it was not worth the risk
- Privately agreed to remove missiles from Turkey without telling NATO allies, they were unhappy, but accepted
- Had to accept that Castro’s Cuba would remain a communist state in America’s backyard
What were the outcomes for Khrushchev and the USSR?
- Publicly highlighted his role as a responsible peacemaker, willing to make the first move for compromise
- Cuba was a valuable ally and a useful communist base; keeping them safe was a major achievement
- Got USA to remove missiles from Turkey, but couldn’t useit as propaganda because he promised to keep it secret
- The USA was criticised by some allies for its hypocrisy about having missiles in Turkey
- Khrushchev was forced to back down and remove missiles, and felt this was a humiliation
- USSR was behind the USA in the arms race
- Khrushchev was forced from power by enemies in the USSR, contributed to by the Cuban Missile Crisis
What were the outcomes for the Cold War?
- Took steps to reduce the risk of nuclear war
- Permanent ‘hot line’ phone link set up from the White House to the Kremlin
- The Nuclear Test Ban Treaty was signed in 1963, didn’t stop the development of weapons, but limited tests
- The amount of nuclear weapons meant superpowers fought through allies as much as possible
What were the outcomes for Castro’s Cuba?
- Castro was upset by Khrushchev’s deal with America, but accepted it; he needed the USSR’s support
- Cuba stayed Communist and highly armed, remaining an important Communist base
- Castro kept control of American companies and economic resources
Why did the Vietnam War occur?
- Before WW2, Vietnam had been ruled by France, and it was ruled by the Japanese during the war
- The Japanese savage treatment of the Vietnamese people led to a strong anti-Japanese resistance movement (the Viet Minh) to emerge under the leadership of communist Ho Chi Minh
- After WW2 ended, the Viet Minh entered the northern city of Hanoi in 1945 and declared Vietnam independent
- The French returned in 1945, wanting to rule Vietnam again
- 9 years of war ensued between the Viet Minh, who controlled the north, and the French, who controlled the south
- Ho was supported by China, a communist state, from 1949
- The USA poured $500 million a year into the French war effort, but the French pulled out in 1954
- Vietnam was divided into North/South until elections could be held to reunite the country
- The USA prevented the elections from taking place, as they didn’t want Vietnam to fall to communism and cause Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Burma, and even India to fall, according to the ‘domino theory’
- In 1955, the Americans helped Ngo Dinh Diem, who was bitterly anticommunist, set up the Republic of South Vietnam
- Diem’s regime was very unpopular with the Vietnamese because he was part of the landlord class, which treated Vietnamese peasants with contempt, he was Christian and showed little respect for most Vietnamese peasants’ Buddhist religion, and his regime was extremely corrupt
- Americans were concerned and frustrated with his actions, but there was no one better, and they supported his regime and the equally corrupt governments that came after he was overthrown by his own army in November 1963
- The anticommunist governments’ actions increased support among ordinary peasants for the communist-led National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam, set up in December 1960, usually called the Viet Cong
- The Viet Cong included South Vietnamese opponents of the Government and large numbers of Communist North Vietnamese taking orders from Ho Chi Minh
- The Viet Cong started a guerrilla war against the South Vietnamese Government, sent reinforcements and ferried supplies to guerrilla fighters through the Ho Chi Minh Trail
- Guerrilla fighters attacked South Vietnamese Government forces, officials, and buildings, and the American air force and supply bases
- The South Vietnamese Government launched the ‘strategic hamlet’ programme, which involved moving peasant villages from Viet Cong-controlled areas to areas controlled by the South Vietnamese Government. Americans helped by supplying building materials, money, food, and equipment for the villagers to build improved farms and houses
- Peasants resented the policy, and corrupt officials pocketed money meant for supplies for the villagers
- By 1962, Kennedy was sending military personnel to help the South Vietnamese army fight the Viet Cong
- He was determined that the USA would not ‘blunder into war’, he knew what could and could not be achieved by military intervention
- Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, his successor, Lyndon Johnson, was prepared to commit the USA to a full-scale conflict in Vietnam to prevent the spread of Communism
- In August 1964, North Vietnamese patrol boats opened fire on US ships in the Gulf of Tonkin, and the US Congress passed the Tonkin Gulf Resolution, which gave the President the power to ‘take all necessary means to prevent further aggression and achieve peace and security’
- In February 1965, the US started Operation Rolling Thunder, a gigantic bombing campaign against North Vietnamese cities, factories, army bases, and the Ho Chi Minh Trail, which continued for 3 years
- 8 March 1965, 3500 US Marines, combat troops, came ashore at Da Nang
- The USA was officially at war in Vietnam
Why did the USA send troops to Vietnam?
- Policy of containment and the domino theory
- Theory that some powerful groups within the USA wanted a war
- In 1961, President Eisenhower warned America had developed a powerful ‘military-industrial complex’
- The Government gave huge budgets to the military commanders, which were spent on weapons made by some of America’s biggest companies
- Therefore, both the armed forces and business actually gained from the conflict
- Eisenhower didn’t directly accuse anyone of anything, but warned not to let these groups become too influential
What were the Viet Cong’s tactics and troops like? (4)
- Guerrilla warfare: Ho used guerrilla warfare, which included avoiding big battles and using hit-and-run raids. Guerrillas did not wear uniform, making them hard to tell apart from the peasants in the village, they had no known base camp or headquarters, they worked in small groups, they attacked then disappeared into the jungle, into the villages, or into tunnels. It aimed to wear down enemy soldiers and wreck their morale
- Civilians: Viet Cong fighters were courteous and respectful to the Vietnamese peasants to keep the population on Ho’s side. They helped them in the fields during busy periods, but were quite prepared to kill peasants who opposed them or cooperated with their enemies. They conducted a campaign of terror against the police, tax collectors, teachers, and other employees of the South Vietnamese Government
- Supplies: troops depended on supplies from North Vietnam that came along the Ho Chi Minh Trail; it was bombed constantly by US and South Vietnamese planes, but 40,000 Vietnamese worked to keep it open at all costs
- Commitment: those who died in the war has been estimated at 1 million, far higher than US losses, however there were always replacement troops available no matter the casualties. Their greatest strength was that they refused to give in
What were the US tactics and troops like?
- Bombing: bombed military, industrial, and civilian targets in North Vietnam from 1965-1972; the Ho Chi Minh Trail; Vietnam’s neighbours Laos and Cambodia (who were sympathetic to the Viet Cong). Damaged North Vietnam’s war effort and disrupted supply routes, intense bombing from 1970-1972 forced it to negotiate for peace, however even after major air raids in 1972, the communists were still able to launch a major assault in the South, and civilian casualties turned the Vietnamese people against the Americans
- Search and destroy: US commander General Westmoreland set up heavily defended US bases in South Vietnam near the coasts, send helicopters full of troops to descend on a village and search out and destroy any Viet Cong forces, and they had to send back reports of body counts, in order to combat guerrilla warfare. Did kill Viet Cong soldiers, however raids were often based on inadequate information, inexperienced US troops often walked into traps, innocent villages were mistaken for Viet Cong strongholds, and many innocent civilians were killed, making the US and South Vietnamese forces very unpopular with the peasants
- Chemical weapons: Agent Orange was a highly toxic ‘weedkiller’ sprayed from planes to destroy the jungle where Viet Cong hid. Napalm destroyed jungles where guerrillas might hide, and burned through skin to the bone. Many civilians and soldiers were killed or harmed by the chemical weapons
- Conscription and morale: most US troops were professional soldiers in the beginning, and morale was high and they performed well. As the war intensified, the US needed more soldiers, and they drafted young men who had just left school or college into the US army. From 1967, many soldiers were young men who had never been in the army before, conscripts knew and cared very little about Vietnam, democracy, and communism, only wanting to get home alive, in comparison to the Viet Cong fighting for their own country and a cause many believed in. Morale among US conscripts was often very low; to tackle this, the generals introduced a policy of giving troops just a one-year term of service, however as soon as the soldiers gained experience, they were sent home
What was the Tet Offensive?
The official American view of the war from 1965-1967 was that it was going well, up until 1968. During the New Year holiday, Viet Cong fighters attacked over 100 cities and other military targets. Around 4500 Viet Cong fighters tied down a much larger US and South Vietnamese forces in Saigon for 2 days. This was a disaster for the communists in some ways, as they had hoped that the people of South Vietnam would rise up and join them, but they didn’t. The Viet Cong lost around 10,000 experienced fighters and were badly weakened by it. However, the Tet Offensive proved to be a turning point because it raised hard questions about the USA: why had the communists been able to launch a major offensive that took US forces, with nearly 50,000 troops and $20 billion a year, by complete surprise? And after the US and South Vietnamese forces retook the towns captured, using enormous amounts of artillery and air power in the force, killing many civilians and destroying the ancient city of Hue, was this right?
What was the media’s reaction to the Tet Offensive?
Media coverage was generally positive until this point, but during the Tet Offensive, journalists started to ask hard questions and talk negatively about the war
What was the peace movement in the USA?
After the Tet Offensive, budding antiwar feelings became a flood, surrounding issues such as:
- Costs: The war was draining money that could be used for better purposes, yet the USA still did not seem to be winning the war
- Inequality: The draft exposed racial inequality; 30% of African Americans were drafted compared to only 19% of white Americans. World champion boxer Muhammad Ali refused to be join the army on the grounds of his Muslim faith, and was stripped of his world title and his passport was removed
- Purpose: An increasing number of Americans felt deeply uncomfortable about what was going on Vietnam
Thousands of television, radio and newspaper reporters, and photographers sent reports and pictures of the fighting to the US and Europe. Antiwar protests, led by students and civil rights campaigners, reached their height during 1968-1970. In the first half of 1968, there were over 100 demonstrations against the Vietnam War by over 40,000 students, involving burning the American flag and chants that taunted the American President. In November 1969, almost 700,000 antiwar protestors demonstrated in Washington DC, the largest political protest in American history
What was the My Lai massacre?
In March 1968, a unit of young American soldiers called Charlie Company started a search-and-destroy mission, having been told that there was a Viet Cong headquarters and 200 guerrillas in My Lai. They were told that there would be no villagers as they would have left for market as it was a Sunday, and most of them were under the impression that they had been ordered to kill everyone they found. In 4 hours of the early morning of the 16th, between 300 and 400 civilians were killed, mostly women, children, and old men. No Viet Cong were found and only 3 weapons were recovered. The army originally treated the operation as a success, however 12 months later, a letter written by Ronald Ridenhour, an American soldier who personally knew many of the soldiers who took part in the massacre, said he had evidence of ‘something dark and bloody’ that had occurred in My Lai. Life magazine published photographs of the massacre, which triggered an investigation that ended in the trial for mass murder of Lieutenant William Calley, who had personally shot many of the people in the irrigation ditch at My Lai. The revelations were deeply shocking, and the charger were too much for the army, who placed responsibility on Calley, denying that he was acting under orders.Calley was found guilty of the murder of 22 civilians. In August 1971 he was sentenced to twenty years’ hard labour, and in November 1974 he was released.
Why did the USA withdraw from Vietnam?
After the Tet Offensive, President Johnson concluded that the war couldn’t be won militarily; he reduced the bombing campaign against North Vietnam and instructed his officials to begin negotiating for peace with the communists. He also announced he would not be seeking re-election as president; an admission of failure. In November 1968, Richard Nixon was elected president. From 1969-1973, he and his National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger worked to end US involvement in Vietnam, which was not easy bigger the problem of containment was still present, and they didn’t want to appear as if they’d simply handed Vietnam to the communists.
What were the strategies used by Nixon and Kissinger to end US involvement in Vietnam?
- Improved relations with China and the USSR: fell out in 1969, seemed as if there may be a war, as a result both China and the USSR tried to improve relations with the US
- ‘Vietnamisation’ of the war effort: Nixon began handing responsibility for the war to South Vietnamese forces and withdrawing US troops, between April 1969 and the end of 1971 almost 400,000 troops left Vietnam
- Peace negotiations with North Vietnam: From early 1969, Kissinger had regular meeting with the chief Vietnamese peace negotiator, Le Duc Tho
- Increased bombing: At the same time Nixon increased bombing campaigns to prove he wasn’t weak, US and South Vietnamese troops also invaded Viet Cong bases in Cambodia, causing outrage all across the world
When did peace return to Vietnam?
In Paris in January 1973 all parties signed a peace agreement, Nixon described it as ‘peace with honour’, while others disagreed, however the door was now open for Nixon to pull out all US troops, and they were all gone by March 1973. Within 2 years, without the support of the USA, South Vietnam had fallen to the communists.
