***Castle Learning Regents Review due Friday***

Soviet Union and United States avoided armed conflict with each other during Cold War – Nuclear weapons meant that both sides could destroy each other (MADD) – Fought indirectly by backing opposite sides in smaller conflicts around the world Surrogates Proxy wars

Communists defeated Nationalists in Chinese civil war (1949) – Communists led by Mao Zedong – Communists setup the People’s Republic of China

The U.S. supported Chiang Kai-shek. The communists win the war and mainland China becomes communist

Western democracies feared the spread of Communism in Asia – Attempts to contain communism got U.S. involved in Asian conflicts – The Domino Theory If one country fell to communism the surrounding countries would also fall

Korea had been divided at the end of WWII – Soviets occupied North Korea – United States occupied South Korea

North Korean forces invaded South Korea in 1950 – Wanted to unite Korea under communist rule United Nations forces led by U.S. pushed North Koreans out of the South – Pushed North to the Chinese border

China entered the war in Oct – helped North Koreans push UN forces back to the South Cease fire agreement signed in 1953

Korea divided at the 38 th parallel – Demilitarized zone separates North Korea and South Korea

Communist dictator Kim Il Sung established totalitarian state in North Korea – Focused on building strong military – Limited contact with outside world – has faced serious economic problems

Democratic South Korea prospered by developing industry and expanding foreign trade

What was the Domino Theory What happened to Korea at the end of the Korean War? What is a demilitarized zone?

Vietnam had been a colony of France – Known as French Indo- China Communists began to fight for independence from France after WWII – Led by Ho Chi Minh

Communist forces defeated French at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1953 – French forces surrender to Ho Chi Minh

1954 Peace conference in Geneva divides Vietnam into North Vietnam and South Vietnam

Communist North Vietnam led by Ho Chi Minh Supported by Soviets South Vietnam led by Ngo Dinh Diem Anti communist government Supported by United States and France Promised free elections

Communist Viet Cong in the South began attacking South Vietnamese government – Were supported by Ho Chi Minh and N. Vietnam – Used guerrilla tactics

United States began sending troops and money to help South Vietnam resist communist Viet Cong and North Vietnam – Domino theory and containment policy – 500,000 U.S. troops by 1968

American forces were unable to defeat communist forces in Vietnam – Communist use of guerrilla tactics to fight superior force – South Vietnamese government was unpopular – Lack of support for the war by American public – U.S. bombing of rural agricultural areas increased peasant support for communists

President Richard Nixon ordered cease fire and began pulling troops out of Vietnam in 1973 – Vietnamization policy turned fighting over to South Vietnamese troops

North Vietnamese captured South Vietnamese capital of Saigon in 1975 – Reunited Vietnam under communist rule

Who was led the communists in Vietnam against the French? How did the domino theory contribute to U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War?

Nation in Southeast Asia – West of Vietnam – Had been a colony of France Won independence from France in 1953

Cambodia was used as a supply route by the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong during Vietnam War – Ho Chi Minh Trail

American military bombed and invaded Cambodia to disrupt supply lines during war

The Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia in 1975 – Communist guerrilla force led by Pol Pot – Wanted to create a peasant society Tried to eliminate western influences Destroy urban and modern influences

Pol Pot and Khmer Rouge forced people to move out of cities and into countryside – Began killing educated Cambodians or people connected to former gov’t – Forced others to work in fields Many died from starvation or over work

Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge killed 1.5 million people in the Cambodian “Killing Fields” – Example of human rights violation