Wars: Korea and Vietnam
The Korean War:
1950-1953
38th Parallel
 After WWII – Korea
is a divided nation
 38th Parallel divides
North: the
Japanese
surrendered to the
Soviets (Communist)
 South: surrendered
to the U.S.
Standoff
 1949 Most troops
from U.S. and
Soviet R. were
withdrawn
 Gamble: Soviets
did not think U.S.
would defend S.
Korea – so they
armed the North to
take over.
Surprise Attack
 1950 N. Korea crossed the 38th
Parallel and attacked S. Korea
 Pres. Truman was determined to keep
S. Korea non-communist
 S. Korea sought help from the UN
 Soviets were absent in protest –
could not veto any votes
 15 nations (incl. U.S. and Britain)
participated in helping S. Korea
Douglas MacArthur
 Was in charge
 1950 – launched a
surprise attack
 “Pincer Action” –
troops moving north
from Pusan (noncommunist) met
amphibian landing at
Inchon.
 Half of the North
Koreans surrendered –
the rest retreated.
The Fighting Continues
 The UN troops (mainly U.S.) pursued the
retreating N. Koreans back to N. Korea to
the Chinese border
 1950 – the Chinese felt threatened and
sent 300,000 troops into N. Korea
 They outnumbered the UN troops and
drove the U.N. and S. Korean troops out of
N. Korea.
 Then, they captured the S. Korean capital
of Seoul.
“We face an entirely new war.” D. MacArthur
 MacArthur wanted
a nuclear attack
against China.
 Truman thought
this reckless – said
no.
 MacArthur went to
Congress and the
press.
 Truman removed
him.
Next Two Years……
 UN forces fought to drive the Chinese
and N. Koreans back.
 1952 – UN troops regain control of S.
Korea
 1953 – UN forces and N. Korea
signed a cease-fire agreement
 The border was set again near the
38th parallel.
 4 million soldiers and civilians had
died.
Aftermath
 Korea remained
divided; a demilitarized (no military
activity) zone; it still
exists
 North Korea – Kim Il
Sung – communist and
established collective
farms
 He developed heavy
industry and built up
the military.
 Died - 1994
Next North Korean Leader
 Sung’s son, Kim
Jong Il, took
over.
 Developed
nuclear weapons
– had serious
economic
problems
South Korea
 Prospered because of massive aid
from U.S. and other countries who
were anti-communist
 1960s – concentrated on developing
industry and foreign trade
 1987 – free elections
 1980s – 90s: S. Korea had one of the
highest econ. growth rates in the
world.
Today….
 North and South Korea still divided
over political differences
 N. Korea’s possession of nuclear
weapons is a major obstacle.
 The U.S. still keeps troops in S. Korea
*** You Tube Video
28:24
The Korean War 1950-53
The Vietnam War
1957 - 1973
Vietnam
 Stemmed from
Cold War
‘Containment’
policy
 After WW2,
stopping
communism was
the goal of U.S.
foreign policy
Ho Chi Minh
 Early 1900s – France
controlled most of
Southeast Asia aka
Indochina (now
Vietnam, Laos, and
Cambodia)
 Vietnam= resourcerich
 Nationalist independence Movement
began
 Ho Chi Minh = leader
-He turned to Communists for help
-1930s: his Indochinese Communist
Party led revolts against the French
-The French jailed protesters; also
sentenced Ho Chi Minh to death
-He fled into exile; returned to
Vietnam in 1941
-Japanese had control of during WW2
-Ho and other nationalists founded the Vietminh
(Independence) League
-1945 – Defeated, the Japanese were forced
out of Vietnam,
-Ho Chi Minh thought they would have
independence
-The French wanted to regain Vietnam as its
colony
The Fighting Begins
 Vietnamese Nationalists and Communists
joined to fight the French
 French held most major cities
 Vietminh had widespread countryside
support
 Vietminh used hit-and-run tactics to confine
the French to the cities
 1954 – major French defeat at Dien Bien
Phu
 French surrendered to Ho
Domino Theory
 Because of the French
defeat, U.S. saw a
threat to the rest of
Asia
 President Eisenhower:
the SE Asian nations
were like a row of
dominoes
 The fall of one to
communism, would
lead to the fall of its
neighbors
This was the major
justification for
U.S. foreign policy
during the Cold
War
A Divided Country
 After Fr. Defeat –
international peace
conference in
Geneva
 To discuss the
future of Indochina
 Vietnam was
divided at
17degree north
latitude
Leaders
 North: Ho Chi Minh
and Communist
forces
 South: the U.S.
and France set up
an anti-Communist
govt. under…
 Ngo Dinh Diem he became a
dictator
Vietcong
 Opposition to
Diem’s govt. grew
 Vietcong: were
Communist
guerrillas - trained
soldiers from N.
Vietnam
 Most were S.
Vietnamese who
hated Diem
 Gradually the Vietcong won control of
the large areas of the countryside
 1963 – a group of S. Vietnamese
generals had Diem assassinated.
 New leaders were just as bad as Diem
 A takeover by the Communist
Vietcong, backed by N. Vietnam was
inevitable
The U.S. Gets Involved
 1964 – Pres. Lyndon
Johnson told Congress
that two U.S.
destroyers were
attacked by the N.
Vietnamese – Gulf of
Tonkin
 Congress gave the
okay to have U.S.
troops go into Vietnam
 1965 – 185,000
U.S. soldiers were
in Vietnam
 U.S. planes had
begun to bomb N.
Vietnam
 1968 – more than
half a million U.S.
soldiers were in
combat there.
Two Major Problems for the U.S.
 U.S. troops were
the best equipped
and most advanced, but…
 1. Guerrilla warfare
was new to them
 Unfamiliar country
 2. S. Vietnam
(U.S. was fighting
for them) was
unpopular
U.S. Air Power
 Unable to win a victory
on ground – U.S. used
air power
 Bombed millions of
acres of farmland and
forests – to destroy
enemy hideouts
 This made peasants
hate S. Vietnam even
more and opposed
their government
The United States Withdraws
 Late 1960s – U.S.
citizens protested
war – too much
loss of life
 1969 - Pres.
Richard Nixon
starts withdrawing
U.S. troops from
Vietnam in 1969
Vietnamization
 U.S. troops would gradually pull out
giving South Vietnam an increased
combat role
 Nixon authorized a massive bombing
campaign against N. Vietnam bases
and supply routes
 Also authorized bombing of Laos and
Cambodia to destroy Vietcong
hideouts
 Because of U.S.
protesting, Nixon kept
withdrawing U.S.
troops
 1973 – the last U.S.
troops left
 Two years later – N.
Vietnam overran S.
Vietnam
 1.5 million Vietnamese
died
 58,000 Americans died
Draft Protests

18-26 years of age
 366 blue plastic capsules
contained the birthdays
that would be chosen in
the first Vietnam draft
lottery drawing on
December 1, 1969. The
first birth date drawn
that night, assigned the
lowest number, "001,"
was September 14.
(Selective Service Archive)
How to avoid being drafted:
 Student or medical
deferments
 Other reasons
(hardship)
 Volunteered
 Fled to Canada
Kent State – May 4, 1970
 When Pres. Nixon
okayed the invasion of Cambodian
to destroy Vietnamese Communist bases
 U.S. nationwide
protest on college
campuses
 Military was sent
to Kent State
 4 students died
 9 wounded
 U.S. was shocked
**** You Tube
Kent State Shooting: 40 years later
3:59
Vietnam Memorial – Wash. DC
*** L360 U.S.
Vietnam War 28:27
Wars:
Assignment:
Draw a Venn diagram and compare
and contrast the Korean and
Vietnam Wars.