Transcript Korea and Vietnam Conflicts PPT

Korean and Vietnam Wars
Korean
Since the early 1900s, Korea was a Japanese colony
•After
WWII, Korea was divided at the 38th parallel
Japanese troops surrendered to Soviets in the north
and to the U.S. in the south
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On June 25, 1950, the North Koreans launched a
surprise attack on South Korea
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They managed to conquer much of the Korean
peninsula within weeks
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President Truman wanted to help South Korea
resist Communist influence (containment)
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South Korea asked the United Nations to
intervene, which they did under the command
of General Douglass MacArthur
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Meanwhile, the North Koreans continued to
advance
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September, 1950: MacArthur launched a
surprise attack and the North Koreans retreated
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UN troops pushed the North Koreans almost to
the Chinese border in the north (Yalu River)
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October, 1950: China sent 300,000 troops to
aid North Korea
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Now, the fight in Korea is between U.S. and
China
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Chinese outnumbered UN forces and drove them
southward
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General MacArthur calls for nuclear attack on
Chinese cities
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Truman refuses out of fear of starting WWIII
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Over the next 2yrs, UN forces clashed with the
North Koreans
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Cease fire agreement signed in July, 1953
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5 million soldiers and civilians had died in 3yrs
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After the War, Korea remained divided into two
countries
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North Korea led by Communist dictator Kim Il
Sung.
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- established collective farms
- developed heavy industry
- built up countries military power
His son, Kim Jong Il, was the leader of North
Korea until 2011. Under him, North Korea
developed nuclear weapons
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Today, although North Korea is well-armed, it
struggles economically and often faces
shortages of energy and food
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South Korea prospered due to massive aid
from the U.S. and other countries.
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South Korea was ruled by dictatorships until
1987, when they adopted a democratic
constitution and free elections
Vietnam
War in Vietnam
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After WWII, Americans had one foreign policy
goal: halting the spread of communism
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Vietnam was a former French colony
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Ho Chi Minh, a young Vietnamese nationalist,
turned to the Communists for help
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With their aid, he attacked the French
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The U.S. sent aid, advisors, and soldiers there to
keep Vietnam from embracing communism
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The French were defeated
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President Eisenhower described this threat in
terms of the domino theory:
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Southeast Asian nations were like a row of
dominos: The fall of one to communism would
lead to the fall of its neighbors.
Geneva Conference (1954)
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After France was defeated, Vietnam was
divided into North and South
In the North, Ho Chi Minh’s Communist
forces governed
In the South, the U.S. and France set up an
anti-Communist govt. under Ngo Dinh
Diem
Vietnam would be reunited and have a
democratic election in 2 years
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Ngo Dinh Diem was unpopular and ruled the
south as a corrupt dictator
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Ho Chi Minh began a popular program of land
redistribution in the north
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The U.S. believed that free elections in the south
might lead to victory for the Communists, so they
supported their cancellation
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Communist guerillas, called Vietcong, gained
strength in the south
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Most were South Vietnamese who hated Diem
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They gradually won control of large areas of
countryside
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1963, South Vietnamese generals assassinate
Diem
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August, 1964, Lyndon Johnson told Congress
that North Vietnamese had attacked two
American destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin
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Congress authorized the president to send
American troops to Vietnam
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War was not officially declared
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U.S. had advanced, well-equipped army, but
faced two disadvantages
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- guerilla warfare in unfamiliar territory
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- South Vietnamese govt. they were
defending was becoming increasingly unpopular
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Plus, Vietcong was aided by Soviet Union and
China
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During the 1960s, the war became increasingly
unpopular in the U.S.
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President Nixon exercised a plan called
Vietnamization: U.S. troops would gradually
pull out while the South Vietnamese increased
their combat role
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U.S. out in 1973, 2 yrs later North Vietnamese
overran South Vietnam
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Neighboring Cambodia had suffered U.S.
bombing during the war and remained unstable
for years
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In 1975, Communist rebels known as the
Khmer Rouge set up a brutal Communist govt.
under the leadership of Pol Pot
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He slaughtered 2 million people in an attempt
to turn Cambodia into a rural society, ¼ of
nation’s population
Pol Pot
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After 1975, North Vietnamese imposed strict
controls on the South
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Tens of thousands sent to “reeducation camps”
for training in Communist thought
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1.5 million fled Communist oppression. About
70,000 settle in United States and Canada
Vietnam War Casualties
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3-4 Million Vietnamese on both sides
 1-2 Million Laotians and Cambodians
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Over 57,000 American Soldiers killed
My Lai Massacre