Wars in Korea
and Vietnam
Essential Idea
Cold War tensions escalate to
armed conflicts in Korea and
Vietnam.
Korea Divided
 38th Parallel
 North: Japanese troops
surrendered to Soviet
forces
 Supplied by Soviets
with goal to take over
peninsula
 South: Japanese
surrendered to American
forces
Conflict Begins
 How: North Korea launches a surprise attack
on South Korea (1950)
 UN Reaction: votes to support South Korea
 Soviet Union wasn’t there- protesting
Nationalist China (Taiwan) being admitted
to UN
 General Douglas Mac Arthur given
command
China Gets Involved
 The situation: UN/U.S. forces attack and push North
Korean troops almost to the Chinese border
 China’s concern: Does not want UN/U.S. presence
near it’s border
 China’s action: China sends reinforcements to help
North Korea
 Result: UN/US forces pushed back to Seoul in the
south
Difference of Opinion
 MacArthur: wants to
use nuclear weapons
against China
 “We face an entirely
new war”
 Truman: No.
 “We are trying to
prevent a world war,
not start one”
MacArthur: Went over Truman’s head- to Congress and
Press
Truman: Removes MacArthur from command
Cease Fire Agreement
 UN forces North Korea to sign a cease
fire agreement (1953)
 Outcome: Border between the 2 Koreas
set at the 38th Parallel
DMZ: Demilitarized Zone
What it does: separates the two countries
Outcome
North Korea
South Korea
 Remains communist
 Prospered
 Totalitarian dictator
 Massive aid from
 Serious economic
problems
 Nuclear weapons
U.S. and other
countries
 U.S. troop presence
remains
French Indochina (early 1900s):
Vietnam
Laos
Cambodia
Ho Chi Minh
 Leader of
nationalist
movement
 Turned to
communists for help
 Founded the
Vietminh
(Independence)
League
Vietminh vs. French
 Vietminh had widespread support in the
countryside
 Tactic: Hit-and-run to confine French to the
cities
 French losing support of the people
 Major French defeat: Dien Bien Phu (1954)
 Result- Surrendered to Ho
Domino Theory
 Who: Eisenhower
 What: Fall of one
South East Asian
country would lead
to the fall of the
other
 Why important:
Became a major
justification for U.S.
foreign policy
during the Cold
War Era
Unpopular Leadership in
the South
Diem ruled as a DICTATOR and
OPPOSITION to his government
grew.
Vietcong
 Who: Communist
Guerrillas
 Consisting of:
Some war-trained
soldiers from the
North, most were
South Vietnamese
who hated Diem
 Areas of control:
countryside
U.S. Involvement
Background: U.S. troops have been serving as advisors to the
South since the 1950s
The Event: Assassination of Diem (1963)
Fear: Takeover by communist Vietcong, backed by North
Vietnamese, seemed inevitable
Response: U.S. increases presence in the country
 More advisors
 More planes
 More military equipment
U.S. Involvement
Event: Gulf of Tonkin
Incident
What the U.S. was told:
North Vietnamese patrol
boats had attacked 2 U.S.
Destroyers in the Gulf of
Tonkin
Result: Congress authorized
troops
Controversy: The second
attack never occurred
Gulf of Tonkin
U.S. Problem #1: Fighting
a guerilla war in
unfamiliar jungle terrain
U.S. Problem #2: Support
for Vietcong grows while
support for South
Vietnamese government
weakens
New Strategy: Bombings
Result: Strengthened
peasants opposition to the
South Vietnamese
government
Event: U.S. withdrawal begins in 1969
Why: War increasingly unpopular in the U.S.
Nixon’s Plan: Vietnamization
What it is: Allowed for U.S. troops to pull out while South
Vietnamese continued their combat rule
Where U.S. bombed:
 North Vietnam
 Supply routes in
Laos and Cambodia
Last U.S. troops leave: 1973
Fall of Saigon: April 30, 1975
Post-war South East Asia
Where: Cambodia
Group: Khmer Rouge
(communist rebels)
Leader: Pol Pot
What happened: Slaughtered 2 million people (almost ¼ nation’s
population)
Response: Vietnamese overthrew Pol Pot, set up less restrictive
government, but fighting continued
Outcome: 1993- Under supervision of UN Peacekeepers adopted
a democratic constitution and held free elections