Korean & Vietnam War Flashcards
(20 cards)
After WWII Korea was divided by North and South
-USA occupied the South and introduced Democracy
-The Soviet Union occupied the north and forced communism on the people
-Divided along the 38th parallel DMZ (demilitarized zone)
Korean War
1950 US pulled troops out of South Korea
-North Koreans invaded South Korea capture most of south
-South Korea asked the United Nations for help
*The UN forces (16 nations) led by US Gen. Douglas McArthur sent to stop the invasion - drove the communist out of the south - invaded the north
In 1951 The Chinese join the North Korean forces
-Greatly outnumbered McArthur asked President Harry Truman to authorize the use of an atomic weapon (nuclear attack)
-Truman said no
-War ended in a draw/stalemate in 1953
-4 million dead. Korea still divided
Vietnam
-During imperialism France controlled all of Indochina (Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia)
-In the 1930s led by Ho Chi Minh, the communist revolted against the French (French - Indochina war)
-The revolt was crushed and he had to flee into exile
In 1941
Japan seized and took over Vietnam
-During the war Ho Chi Minh fought to drive out the Japanese
-After the war he formed the Vietminh Independence league (goal was to get independence from France)
Vietminh tactics
During the war for independence the Vietminh used guerrilla warfare tactics (hit & run) against the French
Outside support in the war
The USA supported France (democracy) while the Soviet Union supported the communist
Results of the War (French Indochina war)
The communists won the war in 1954. France left
-USA was greatly concerned - Why? President Dwight Eisenhower had the domino theory: they feared the rest of Southeast Asia would fall like dominoes to the communist
-US convinced the UN to divide Vietnam into 2 parts (17 degrees north latitude) (north and south) - had free elections
South Vietnam
with the help of the USA set up a democratic government led by Ngo Dinh Diem
-Problem - He ruled as a brutal dictator. People hated him
-Vietcong (communist guerrillas) led opposition to Diem - backed by the peasants they attempted to take over South Vietnam
1963 & 1964
1963 - President Kennedy sends in military advisors to help the south
1964 - Gulf of Tonkin incident
*Congress authorizes President Lyndon B Johnson to send in troops
-Vietnam war starts
US military in Vietnam
By 1968 over half a million U.s. troops fighting in Vietnam
US Army faced 2 problems
- Fighting a guerrilla war in unfamiliar territory
- The South Vietnamese government was very unpopular
Search and Destroy
U.S. Tactics to win war (helicopters)
Problem: Could not find the enemy because of underground tunnels
Stymied on the ground the US turned to air power (bombing campaign)
Operation Rolling Thunder
Result: Created more peasant opposition. Why? Huge peasant causalities
First war televised in the USA
War became unpopular in the USA
-Youth driven counterculture sprang up (Hippies-Flower children) - Opposed the war
Make Love not War
-They led anti-war and anti-government movement
-Led mostly by college students
-Kent State University - 4 students killed
-Draft dodgers - went to Canada
-Doves (anti-war) young people vs the
-Hawks (pro war) - adults
1969
President Richard Nixon pressured into a new plan called Vietnamization (gradual pull out of US troops - replaced by South Vietnamese troops)
1973 Paris accords
All US troops pulled out - Communists promised to give south free elections - did not keep promise
1975
South Vietnam fell to the communists
Vietnam is a communist country today
Results of the Vietnam war
-58,000 US troops died
-2 million Vietnamese dead
-Only was in US history that we lost
