Aim: How Did the Cold War Turn Hot in East Asia?

I Domino Theory

The Korean War 1950 - 1953 A) At the beginning of the 20th century, Korea had been a part of the Japanese empire. After WWII the world leaders at the Potsdam Conference agreed to temporarily divide Korea along the 38th parallel, with the Soviets in the North and the Americans in the South.

Korean War Continued… B) Instead of Korea reunifying, a civil war began. South Korea: Anti-communist dictator Syngman Rhee (1875 - 1965) was supported by the US. North Korea: Communist dictator Kim Il Sung (1912 - 1994) was supported by the USSR (Stalin) and China (Mao). C) The Korean War officially began June 25, 1950 when 75,000 soldiers from the North Korean People’s Army crossed south of the 38th parallel. By July, American troops arrived to help South Korea.

Korean War Continued… Syngman Rhee Kim Il Sung “I can handle the Communists. The Reds can bury their guns and burn their uniforms, but we know how to find them. With bulldozers we will dig huge excavations and trenches, and fill them with Communists. Then cover them over. And they will really be underground.” Kim Il Sung “The most important thing in our war preparations is to teach all our people to hate U.S. imperialism. Otherwise, we will not be able to defeat the U.S. imperialists who boast of their technological superiority.”

The Korean War Continued… D) An armistice was called on July 27, 1953. The agreement allowed the POWs (Prisoners of War) to stay where they liked, drew a new boundary near the 38th parallel that gave South Korea an extra 1,500 square miles; and created a 2-mile-wide “demilitarized zone” that still exists today. *There was never an “official” end of war treaty. Did You Know? North Korea calls it the Fatherland Liberation War. In South Korea, it's called Six-Two-Five, after the day it started. China's subtle name for the conflict is the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea.

The Korean War Continued… Korean refugees take a rest on April 04, 1951

II The Vietnam War 1965 - 1973 A) The French defeat of the Indochina War (1946 – 1954) resulted in the division of the former French colony of Indochina into 3 separate countries; Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. Vietnam was divided along the 17th Parallel into the Communist North Vietnam and the anti-Communist South Vietnam until a nationwide election would be held to unify the country.

Vietnam War Continued… B) In 1956 South Vietnam refused to hold the election. JFK sent 2,000 military to support the South, which was increased to 16,300 by 1963. By 1960, the National Liberation Front (Viet Cong) had begun to crush the South Vietnamese government. Guerrilla forces from North Vietnam's Vietcong movement cross a river in 1966

Vietnam War Continued… C) 1964, after an attack on two U.S. Navy vessels (Gulf of Tonkin Incident), the Gulf of Tokin Resolution was passed by Congress giving President Johnson authorization to use military forces in Southeast Asia.  Johnson and later Nixon increased American troops in Vietnam.

The Vietnam War Continued… C) January 31, 1968, 70,000 Viet Cong forces launched the Tet Offensive, a series of attacks on more than 100 cities in South Vietnam. General Vo Nguyen Giap, leader of the Communist People’s Army of Vietnam (PAVN), planned the offensive to spur rebellion among the South Vietnamese and encourage the US to reduce its support. The Tet Offensive increased American anti-war sentiment. Historians consider the Tet Offensive a turning point; a strategic victory for the North and the beginning of America’s withdrawal from Vietnam. “Any forces that would impose their will on other nations will certainly face defeat.” General Vo Nguyen Giap

The Vietnam War Continued… D) 1969, President Richard Nixon “Vietnamization” gave South Vietnamese forces greater responsibility in fighting the war while still receiving American aid. E) 1970, Nixon attempted to destroy Viet Cong supply bases to the south in Laos and Cambodia. This  anti-war protests in the U.S. F) In Jan 1973, the Paris Peace Accord was signed establishing a ceasefire and allowing a POW exchange following U.S. force withdrawal. The fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975 marked the end of the Vietnam War and Vietnam was reunified as a communist country.

A Cambodian girl salvages a board from her home in Neak Luong, southeast of Phnom Penh, which was hit by a misdirected U.S. bombing raid. (Tampa Bay Times files)

Life Magazine February 11, 1966 A woman mourns over the body of her husband after identifying him by his teeth and covering his head with her conical hat. The man’s body was found with 47 others in a mass grave near Hue on 11 April 1969. Life Magazine February 11, 1966

Murder of a Vietcong by Saigon Police Chief 1968 After Nguyen Ngoc Loan raised his sidearm and shot Vietcong operative Nguyen Van Lem in the head he told reporters “These guys kill a lot of our people, and I think Buddha will forgive me.” Captured on NBC TV cameras and by AP photographer Eddie Adams, the footage became a symbol of the Vietnam War’s brutality. What Adams’ photograph doesn’t reveal is that the man being shot (Nguyen Van Lem) was the captain of a Vietcong “revenge squad” that had executed dozens of unarmed civilians earlier the same day. The photo won a Pulitzer Prize. http://rarehistoricalphotos.com/saigon-execution-murder-vietcong-saigon-1968/

Vietnam War Protests

Summary Questions 1. What were the causes of the Korean War? 2. What were the goals of the US and its allies during the Korean War? What were the goals of the USSR during the Korean War? 3. What was the impact of the Korean War on the world? 4. What were the causes of the Vietnam War? 5. What were the goals of the US and its allies during the Vietnam War? What were the goals of the USSR during the Vietnam War? 6. Why did many protest the Vietnam War? 7. What was the impact of the Vietnam War on the world? 8. As a result of the Korean and Vietnam Wars, was communism expanded or contained?

Key Vocabulary 38th Parallel Gulf of Tokin Resolution Korean War Paris Peace Accord Tet Offensive Vietcong Vietnamization Vietnam War