Download The Cold War

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The Cold War refers to the period between
the end of the Second World War and the
collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, during
which the world was largely divided into two
ideological camps
 the United States-led capitalist “West”
 and the Soviet-dominated communist “East.
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The Cold War was rooted in the collapse of the
American-British-Soviet alliance that defeated
the Germans and Japanese during the Second
World War.
The two sides were divided on ideologies
(Communism vs. Capitalism), and worried about
the other side’s world plans
American and British diplomatic relations with
Joseph Stalin’s Soviet Union severely cooled after
the war
 No longer united against a common enemy, tensions
grew between both sides
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The Soviets placed and kept local communist
parties in power as puppet governments in
once-independent countries across Eastern
Europe, without due democratic process.
This situation led former British Prime
Minister Sir Winston Churchill to state in 1946
that an “iron curtain” had descended across
the European continent.
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Refers to the invisible barrier that divided Europe
physically and ideologically between the United
States-led capitalist “West” and the Soviet-led
Communist “East”
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The period 1947-1953 became the Cold War’s
“deep freeze” as East-West negotiations on
the future of Europe broke down and
stopped.
The international climate worsened with
several high-profile events.
Canada was involved in some of these events,
including the Korean War
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After the death of Stalin in 1953, diplomatic
discussions between the East and the West resumed
 International tensions remained high for the next several
decades
On a global scale, Canada contributed armed forces to
peacekeeping operations throughout the world,
including in areas divided between communist and
anti-communist factions.
 Canadian political and military leaders, who at times
critiqued American actions against communism in the
Middle East, Latin America, and Asia, still prepared for
possible war against the Soviets in Europe.
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The Canadian NATO commitment on the
continent included
 an army brigade group in West Germany
 air force fighter jets capable of carrying nuclear
weapons.
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For both Canada’s government and its
people, the fear of nuclear war between the
US and the Soviet Union remained everpresent throughout the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s,
and 1980s.
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The Korean War began 25 June 1950, when
North Korean armed forces invaded South
Korea.
The war’s combat phase lasted until an
armistice was signed 27 July 1953.
However, the two Koreas remain technically
at war today.
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Late in the Second World War, the Japaneseheld Korean peninsula was liberated by both
Soviet and American armed forces.
Soviet troops occupied the country north of
the 38th parallel, with the Americans to the
south.
June 25, 1950: 75,000 soldiers from the North
Korean People’s Army poured across the 38th
parallel, This invasion marked the first
military action of the Cold War.
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In late 1949, the Chinese Civil War ended with
the establishment of the communist People’s
Republic of China.
Communist Chinese and Soviet leaders
believed that North Korea could unify Korea
by force, without Western interference.
In late June 1950, with Chinese and Sovietsupplied weapons and equipment, the North
Korean Army invaded the South.
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The United States led the decision to help the
Republic of Korea through the UN.
The UN General Assembly was dominated by
Western countries.
The Security Council thus condemned North
Korean aggression and called on UN
members "to render every assistance" to the
Republic of Korea.
At first, the war was a defensive one. The aim was to drive
the communists out of South Korea. This did NOT go well
for the Allies of the West
 The North Korean army was well-disciplined, well-trained
and well-equipped
 American forces were frightened, confused, and seemed
inclined to flee the battlefield at any provocation.
 This was also one of the hottest and driest summers on
record
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 desperately thirsty American soldiers were often forced to
drink water from rice paddies that had been fertilized with
human waste.
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As a result, dangerous intestinal diseases and other
illnesses were a constant threat.
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President Truman and General Douglas MacArthur
had decided on a new set of war aims.
 Now, for the Allies, the Korean War was an offensive one:
It was a war to “liberate” the North from the communists.
UN forces drove the North Koreans back, first to the
38th parallel, then to Korea’s border with China.
 However, by the end of October 1950 thousands of
Chinese army "volunteers" crossed the Yalu River
into North Korea, driving the UN forces back south.
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Led the United States military in the Korean
War
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As far as American officials were concerned,
it was a war against the forces of
international communism itself
After some early back-and-forth across the
38th parallel, the fighting stalled and
casualties mounted with nothing to show for
them.
Meanwhile, American officials worked
anxiously to fashion some sort of armistice
with the North Koreans.
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The Americans tried to get the North Koreans
to agree to an armistice
they feared a wider war with Russia and China
 Some even warned of the possibility of WWIII.
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Finally, in July 1953, the Korean War came to
an end.
 About 5 million soldiers and civilians lost their
lives during the war.
 The Korean peninsula is still divided today.
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On 28 June 1950 Lester B. Pearson, Canada's
Secretary of State for External Affairs,
encouraged a Canadian response through the
UN, and under US military leadership.
In the government's view, Canada would fight
for the UN and the principle of collective
security.
For the United States, this was a war against
communism itself
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As part of a United Nations force consisting of
16 countries, 26,791 Canadian military personnel
served in the Korean War, during both the
combat phase and as peacekeepers afterward.
The last Canadian soldiers left Korea in 1957.
After the two world wars, Korea remains
Canada’s third-bloodiest overseas conflict,
taking the lives of 516 Canadians and wounding
more than 1,200.
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Initially, Canada contributed
 three Royal Canadian Navy destroyers
(HMCS Athabaskan, HMCS Cayuga, and HMCS Sioux)
 and a Royal Canadian Air Force transport squadron,
No. 426 “Thunderbird” Squadron.
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American, UN, and domestic pressure then led
to Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent’s
announcement on 7 August 1950 of a Canadian
Army Special Force (CASF)
 later named the 25th Canadian Infantry Brigade
Group — to expand the country’s UN contributions to
Korea.
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In November 1950, the Canadian Army Brigade’s 2nd
Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry
Regiment, was sent overseas and landed in Korea in
December.
 In May 1951, the rest of the Canadian brigade arrived.
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For the army, the Korean War became largely a “war
of patrols” in rough, mountainous terrain, but
infantry, tank, and artillery units were also involved in
heavy fighting
 at the battles of Kapyong (22-25 April 1951)
 Hill 355, also known as Kowang-San, (22-25 November
1951 and 22-24 October 1952)
 Hill 187 (2-3 May 1953), among many other actions.
The Battle of Kapyong is one of Canada's greatest, yet
least-known, military achievements.
 For two days in April, 1951, a battalion of roughly 700
Canadian troops helped defend a crucial hill in the
front lines of the Korean War against a force of about
5,000 Chinese soldiers.
 Besieged by waves of attackers, the Canadians held
their position amid the horror of close-combat until
the assaulting force had been halted and the
Canadians could be relieved.
 Their determined stand contributed significantly to
the defeat of the Communist offensive in South Korea
that year.
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Eight Canadian warships took turns in Korean
waters protecting UN aircraft carriers,
attacking enemy trains along the coasts, and
helping other onshore operations.
The air force’s transport planes ferried people
and materials across the Pacific Ocean
22 Canadian pilots flew jet aircraft with the
United States Air Force
Until the war ended the fighting took place
along the 38th parallel, mostly consisting of
patrols and raids against hilltop trench positions
across the area in-between UN and enemy lines,
known as “No Man’s Land.”
 During the two years that followed the 1953
armistice, Canadians continued to serve in Korea
 many were troops who guarded and patrolled
the South side of the Demilitarized Zone which
continues to separate the two Koreas.
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The Soviets, Americans, and
their Korean supporters could not agree on the
country’s government.
The United Nations Temporary Commission on
Korea, which included Canadian members,
oversaw elections in May 1948, but the Soviets
forbid these elections in the north.
The pro-West Republic of Korea was then
founded in the south and not long after, the
communist Democratic People’s Republic of
Korea was declared in the north.
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Why was the Korean war important to the
Cold War?
Why did the Americans work so hard to bring
the Korean war to a swift conclusion?
If you were a major decision-maker in the
United Nations, what would you do with the
Korea in 1950?