Cold War – Heating Up

The Cold War & China At the end of WWII, the Chinese Civil War started anew Jiang Jieshi’s(Chiang Kai-shek) and his Nationalists forced off mainland & onto island of Taiwan in 1949 US had spent millions on Jiang with nothing to show for it The communists had won the Civil War

The Cold War & China Once Mao & the communists had won, the Soviets offered their support The Soviets wanted to lead the international communist movement In 1950, the People’s Republic of China & the USSR signed a friendship agreement

Mao & The Cold War Mao began a land redistribution program in the 1950s Those who resisted were dealt with About 1 million were “dealt with” Created small collective farms to increase agricultural productivity

Mao & The Cold War Mao created new program to advance China many years in a short time Program called Great Leap Forward

Mao & The Cold War Crop failures and the failures of the Great Leap Forward resulted in the deaths of more than 20 million Tension grew between the USSR & the PRC in the 1950s & 1960s As a result of all of this, Mao reduced his role in government

Mao & The Cold War With Mao on the outside, changes were made in China Communes were abolished Some private property could be owned Some competition was allowed Some profit could be kept by farmers

Mao & The Cold War Mao was a strict communist & hated the changes In the mid 1960s Mao called for a new revolution Wanted the youth to lead the revolution Students formed military units called the Red Guards

China & The Cold War The Red Guards led the Cultural Revolution (1966-76) Goal was to create perfect socialist state No one was safe; millions were arrested, tortured and/or killed Civil War was a real possibility

The Cold War Turns Hot Japan had annexed Korea in 1910 & held it until 1945 Because of Potsdam, Soviets entered the war in August 1945 USSR had attacked Japan from the north Soviets occupied N. Korea until 1949

The Cold War Turns Hot The US had occupied S. Korea & influenced the government there Korea was effectively split between the two superpowers In January 1950, the US made it clear that the Korean peninsula would be outside the range of its protection This is the first of many proxy wars between US and USSR

The Cold War & Korea The USSR encouraged the N. Koreans to attack the south 25 June 1950: N. Korea attacked south across the 38th Parallel N. Korean attack tested US policy of containment

The Cold War & Korea S. Korea asked the UN for help Security Council voted to help Soviets did not vote b/c they wanted to test the Security Council Multi-national force sent to Korea in August 1950 US forces took heavy losses at first

The Cold War & Korea UN forces pushed to Pusan Perimeter in SE Korea September 1950: daring landing made at Inchon behind enemy lines Communists driven back UN/US forces on Chinese border by October 1950

The Cold War & Vietnam General MacArthur made threats about bombing China China invaded Korea in October 1950 Chinese forces drove UN/US forces back across the 38th parallel War stalemates for next 2 years War ends in June 1953

The Cold War & Vietnam A state of war still technically exists between N & S Korea Border is still the 38th parallel North Korea is still a communist nation

The Cold War & Vietnam Indochina was a French colony since the mid-19th century Indochina had been taken by the Japanese in 1940 In 1945, France wanted its colony back September 1945: Ho Chi Minh asked the US for help against the French

The Cold War & Vietnam President Truman was unwilling to help the communist Ho Chi Minh Ho Chi Minh was just like the communists in Yugoslavia who the US were to help in 1947 Assisting Yugoslavia would not hurt France

The Cold War & Vietnam The US decided to support France and sent money and surplus equipment to the French The Indochina War began in 1945 By 1954, the French had moved into northern Vietnam (Indochina) near a place called Dien Bien Phu

The Cold War & Vietnam Battle of Dien Bien Phu (May 1954) French took the low ground in a valley Viet Minh put artillery on the high ground French defenses decimated

The Cold War & Vietnam French forced to abandon Vietnam in 1954 Geneva Accords determined Vietnam to be divided at 17th parallel Elections to be held in late 1954 were cancelled by the South US supported decision to cancel elections

The Cold War & Vietnam The US feared the “loss” of another Asian nation to the communists US supported Ngo Dihn Diem as leader of S. Vietnam Diem was corrupt and more French than Vietnamese in perspective US knew Diem’s weaknesses, but needed him

The Cold War & Vietnam The North sent guerrillas south to de-stabilize the gov’t in the South Guerrillas were known as Viet Cong US sent advisors to Vietnam in 1956 and by 1963 were engaged in fighting the VC By 1965 the US was engaged in a war with the NVA

The Cold War & Vietnam By 1968, the US had more than 500,000 troops in Vietnam By 1973, US had pulled out its ground troops & in April 1975, the capital of the South, Saigon, had fallen to the communists The US had lost more than 60,000 men in Vietnam

The Cold War & Vietnam Why did the US get involved in Korea & in Vietnam? The Domino Theory The belief that nations are like dominoes If one nation or domino falls, the next, & the next & so on….

The Cold War Turns Hot The whole point of the strategy of containment was to resist communist advances at every step Korea & Vietnam are two extreme examples of this principle