Download 15:5 The Vietnam War continued

UNIT 15 THE COLD WAR, THE KOREAN WAR, AND THE
VIETNAM WAR
15:1 The Origins of the Cold War:
● Many conflicts of the Cold War
began at the Yalta summit meeting in
February 1945.
● The “Big 5” (USA, Britain, France,
USSR, and China) had a veto in the
UN.
● The status of Poland and the rest of
Eastern Europe was a major factor in the
Cold War. Both sides wanted to control
the region for the following reasons:
√ Economics: both sides wanted access
to the markets and resources of Eastern
Europe.
15:1 The Origins of the Cold War continued:
√ Security: Neither side wanted the other’s armed forces
in Eastern Europe.
√ Ideology: The Soviets wanted to spread Communism
and the West wanted to establish democratic-capitalism
in Eastern Europe.
√ Domestic politics: Truman was
under tremendous political pressure
not to let Eastern Europe fall under
Soviet domination
15:2 The early Cold War:
● The West interpreted the Greek Civil War
as the first step in a world-wide Communist
conquest.
● In May 1947 President Truman said that it
would be the policy of the US to “support
free people who are resisting attempted
subjugation” and the policy of Containment
was born—the US would not allow
Communism to spread.
● Congress backed up the
Truman Doctrine by
appropriating $400 million and
the Greek Communists were
defeated.
15:2 The early Cold War:
● Beginning in 1948 the US implemented
the Marshall Plan and billions of dollars
were given to Europe to help it rebuild
from the devastation of World War II.
George Marshall
15:2 The Berlin Blockade and the
formation of NATO:
● From June 1948 to May 1949 the
Soviets blocked Western access to
West Berlin. The US and Britain
responded by airlifting in supplies.
15:2 The Berlin Blockade and the formation of NATO
continued:
● In April 1949 the US and 11 other nations formed the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) stating that “an attack on
one would be an attack on all.” The USSR responded by
forming the Warsaw Pact with its satellites.
● President Truman moved US forces to bases in Europe.
15:3 The Communist success in China:
● The Communists under the leadership of Mao
Zedong used the war with Japan to gain support
from the peasants.
Mao
● The Nationalist government under Chiang Kai-shek was
weakened by the Japanese invasion, disunity, and
corruption.
● After years of fighting the Communists won in December
1949. The Nationalists fled to Taiwan.
Marshall, Chaing’s wife, and
Chiang
15:3 The Korean War, 1950-1953:
● Korea was divided at the 38th parallel after World War II.
● In June 1950 Communist North Korea attacked South
Korea and President Truman sent in US forces under the
auspices of the UN to help the South.
1:3 The Korean War, 1950-1953 continued:
● The US responded to the North Korean attack
because:
√ It wanted to keep its influence in Asia by supporting
it allies.
√ The Democrats had to prove that they were “tough
on Communism.”
√ The war could be used as a justification to rearm the military.
√ Containment—The Communist victory in
China and the Berlin Blockade reinforced
the idea that the US had to respond
forcibly to Communist aggression. The US
mistakenly thought the Korean attack was
directed from Moscow.
15:3 The Korean War, 1950-1953 continued:
● When UN forces approached the Chinese
border in late 1950 Chinese troops entered
the war.
● President Truman relieved General Douglas
MacArthur of his command of the UN forces
when MacArthur argued that the war should
be expanded beyond Korea.
● After the election of
President Eisenhower an
armistice was signed in July
1953. The country
remained divided at the
38th parallel. Over 54,000
Americans died in Korea.
Douglas MacArthur
President-Elect Eisenhower
in Korea
Marines at Inchon
15:4 The Suez Crisis and the Hungarian uprising:
● Egypt nationalized the Suez
Canal in the summer of 1956.
● Israel, Britain and France
attacked Egypt in October 1956 at
the same time that the Soviets were
crushing an uprising in Hungary.
● The US and the USSR applied great pressure on Israel,
Britain and France and they withdrew from Egypt.
● The US did nothing to help the Hungarians and the Soviets
regained control of Hungary.
15:4 The U-2 Incident:
● A US U-2 spy plane was shot down over the USSR.
When President Eisenhower denied the flights were
taking place Premier Khrushchev produced the captured
pilot and a May 1960 summit meeting in Paris was ruined.
15:4 The Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis:
● In April 1961 Cuban exiles, trained and supported by the
US, invaded Cuba at the Bay of Pigs in an attempt to
overthrow Fidel Castro.
● The forces were defeated and President Kennedy had to
admit US involvement and pay Castro $60 million to get the
captured exiles freed.
15:4 The Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis continued:
● In October 1962 the US discovered that
the USSR was placing offensive nuclear
tipped missiles in Cuba.
● The US placed a naval blockade around
Cuba and prepared to invade Cuba unless
the missiles were removed.
● The USSR backed-down and the missiles
were removed. The US removed some missiles
from Turkey as a compromise, but the world
came very close to nuclear war.
● The crisis caused both sides to be more
careful in the future.
Castro and Khrushchev
15:4 The Cuban Missile Crisis continued
15:4 The Berlin Wall:
● In April 1961 the USSR solved the problem of
East Germans escaping to the West by building
a wall across Berlin.
15:5 The Vietnam War:
● The US became involved in Vietnam for the following
reasons:
√ Containment—the US thought that the USSR was
directing the Communist movement in Vietnam.
√ Ideology—support American values.
√ Economics—maintain the Open Door in Indochina.
√ Security—keep the balance of power in Asia intact.
√ Domestic politics—Politicians had to appear strong in
the fight against the “spread of Communism.”
Ho Chi Minh
15:5 The Vietnam War continued:
● During 1946-1954 the Communist Viet Minh, under the
leadership of Ho Chi Minh, fought the French. US leaders
supported the French because:
√ They wanted French support for Containment in Europe.
√ They wanted to counteract the Communist victory in China.
√ They saw a connection between “Communist aggression” in
French Indochina and Korea.
15:5 The Vietnam War continued:
● After the French defeat at Dien
Bien Phu Vietnam was divided at
the 17th parallel.
● The leader of South Vietnam,
Ngo Dinh Diem, refused to allow
unification elections and in 1957
the Vietcong began an uprising and
the US sent military advisors to
help the South.
Diem and Eisenhower
15:5 The Vietnam War continued:
● Buddhists began to
protest Diem’s policies.
● In November 1963 Diem
was assassinated and the
Communists appeared to
be winning the war.
15:5 The Vietnam War continued:
● The August 1964 Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
gave President Johnson a free hand in Vietnam
and the US began bombing the North.
● US combat troops were introduced into
Vietnam in March 1965.
● The February 1968 Tet Offensive caused US
public opinion to turn against the war.
● President Johnson did not run for reelection and
after his 1968 victory President Richard Nixon
“Vietnamized” the war.
● In April 1970 US and ARVN troops invaded
Cambodia.
15:5 The Vietnam War continued:
● In February 1971 the ARVN invaded Laos
and suffered a severe defeat.
● In March 1972 US airpower help defeat a
major NVA attack on the South.
● To reassure South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu,
and to pressure the Communists, President Nixon ordered
massive bombings of North Vietnam during December 1972.
15:5 The Vietnam War continued:
● In January 1973 a peace treaty was signed and US forces left
Vietnam.
● The Communists triumphed in Vietnam in 1975 and unified the
country.
● The war divided the US. It was relatively easy to avoid military
service if one wanted to do so.
15:5 Map of The Vietnam War
19
73
19
72
19
71
19
70
19
69
19
68
19
67
19
66
19
65
19
64
19
63
19
62
19
61
15:5 Troops in Vietnam:
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
15:5 Vietnam Combat Deaths:
16,000
14,000
10,000
8,000
6,000
4,000
2,000
19
72
19
71
19
70
19
69
19
68
19
67
19
66
0
19
61
-1
96
5
Combat Deaths
12,000