1. Chapter 17 Section 3
Korea & Vietnam

2. Post War Asia Korea divided at the 38th Parallel The Set Up
North was communist, Soviet troops had driven the Japanese out of the North
South was democratic, American troops had driven the Japanese out of the South
The north was industrialized
The south was rural
North led by Kim II Sung
South led by Syngman Rhee
The Set Up
The Soviets sent tanks, planes, & money
They encouraged the North to take over all of Korea

3. War in Korea 6/25/50: N. Korea launched an attack into S. Korea
N.K. troops drove deep into the south
Truman’s policy of containment was being tested
S.K. ask the United Nations to intervene
The UN decided to send a international force to Korea to stop the invasion
The resolution passed because the Soviet Union was boycotting the UN
15 nations sent troops; most from the US & Britain
Douglas Mac Arthur was put in charge on the forces

4. War in Korea cont..
MacArthur made a daring decision to stop the North’s advance
A pincer action to land troops behind the N.K. troops and catch them between the troops from Pusan and Inchon
This caught the N.K. army off guard and ½ of the troops surrendered
The N.K. troops fled back to the north
MacArthur ordered the armies to drive them off the peninsula
When UN forces reached the Yalu River, things changed greatly
The Chinese attacked with 300,000 troops

5. The Chinese attack China greatly out numbered the UN forces
The Chinese pushed the UN back south of Seoul
MacArthur called for nuclear strikes against China
Truman thought MacArthur’s request was reckless
MacArthur tried to convince Congress and the press he was right
Truman fired MacArthur for insubordination
Over the next 2 years the fighting would move back and forth over the 38th Parallel
Finally a cease fire was signed in July of 1953
Korea was still divided near the 38th Parallel

6. After the war Korea remains divided at the 38th Parallel North,
Kim Il Sung established heavy industries, collective farms, and increased the size of the military
Kim Il Sung died in 1994
Kim Jong Il, his son, became the leader and developed nuclear weapons
Serious economic problems still exist
In the South,
A very prosperous economy was created with aid from the US and other nations
After a series of dictators, free elections were established in 1987
In the late 80s, and 90s, South Korea had one of the highest economic growth rates in the world

7. Vietnam Before WWI, France controlled much of Indochina After WWII
Ho Chi Minh created a nationalists movement for independence
In the 1930s, Ho Chi Minh founded the Indochinese Communist Party
The French began sending the Vietnamese protestors to jail & sentence Ho Chi Minh to death
Ho fled the country, he returned in 1941 to fight the Japanese as part of the Vietminh, an independence movement
After WWII
France wanted to maintain control over Indochina
Fighting broke out between the French and the Vietminh
The French held the cities, the Vietminh held the countryside

8. Fighting in Vietnam The Vietminh fought a guerilla war
Widespread support from the villages allowed them to use hit and run tactics and hide in plan sight
In France, the people began to doubt if the fighting was worth it
1954, the French were defeated at Dien Bien Phu, and surrendered to Ho Chi Minh
The US had supported France in their fight against the Vietminh
The US was afraid of the Domino Theory
the Domino theory became the new basis of the US containment policy

9. Peace in Vietnam Peace conference in Geneva
After the French surrendered, an international peace conference met to determine the future of Indochina
Vietnam would be divided at the 17th Parallel
North would be ruled by Ho Chi Minh’s communist government
South would be ruled by a non-communist government run by Ngo Dinh Diem
This government had been created by the US & France
This government was corrupt and treated the people of the south badly
An opposition group called the Vietcong developed in the south

10. Trouble in Vietnam
The Vietcong became more popular as Ngo’s government became more unpopular
1963, South Vietnamese generals with help from the CIA assassinate Ngo
No new good leaders emerged, and it appeared the Vietcong would take over the South

11. The United States in Vietnam
The US had been sending advisors and weapons to South Vietnam after the peace talks
By the end of 1963, it was clear the US would need to intervene to prevent Vietnam from falling to Communism
1964: Pres. Lyndon Johnson announced the North Vietnamese had fired on the USS Maddox
Congress authorized the President to send troops to Vietnam to protect American interests there
By the end of 1965, 185,000 US troops were in Vietnam
By 1968 a ½ million US troops were there

12. The US Struggles in Vietnam
The US was the most advanced army in the world
Two major problems in Vietnam
The guerilla style war on unfamiliar terrain
The South Vietnamese government was becoming more unpopular, and more people in the South were supporting the Vietcong: people in the South who supported Communism and fought to drive the US out of Vietnam
The Vietcong were well supplied with weapons from North Vietnam, the Soviet Union, and China
Very few head to head major battles were fought, so the US had no decisive victories against the VC
Air Power
Goal: to pound the VC into submission

13. The US struggles cont.. Air Power cont.. Search & Destroy Missions:
The massive bombings destroyed everything many of the peasants had
Search & Destroy Missions:
Designed to find the enemy and eliminate their hiding spots
Searching for tunnel entrances and underground hide outs
Destroyed farms, villages, and livestock
These tactics strengthened the dislike for the South Vietnamese government
The Tet Offensive

14. An Unpopular War
As the war dragged on, more and more young adults became upset with the US involvement in what they believe was a civil war between the North & South in Vietnam
Protests began to dominate the news
Violence in cities and on college campuses
Attacks on the Pentagon in Washington D.C.
Newly elected President Richard Nixon changed the plan in Vietnam
Vietnamization: turning the war over the army of South Vietnam
To complete this Nixon ordered massive bombings
Bombed the North, Cambodia, & Laos

15. American pulls out
Protests in America increased when Nixon “widened” the war to Laos & Cambodia
With the amount of political pressure and protesting Nixon is force to begin withdrawing US troops
1973: the last US combat troops left Vietnam
1975: the North Vietnamese overran the South Vietnamese army and united Vietnam under the communist flag

16. Postwar Southeast Asia
Even though the fighting had ended in Vietnam, war continued in Southeast Asia
A new conflict had started in Cambodia
The Khmer Rouge took power in Cambodia in 1975
They began a bloody slaughter on the Cambodian people who did not support the Communist rebellion
They were led by a man name Pol Pot
The Khmer Rouge killed 2 million people or a ¼ of the countries population
1978: Vietnam invaded Cambodia and overthrew Pol Pot
1989: the Vietnamese withdrew
1993: UN peace keepers helped supervise the creation of a democratic government in Cambodia

17. Postwar Southeast Asia cont..
Vietnam after the war
A very strict set of laws were enforced to control the people
Thousands were sent to reeducation camps
1.5 million fled to country, known as “boat people”
More than 200,000 died at sea
70,000 settled in the US or Canada
The US normalized relations with Vietnam in 1995
Vietnam still has a communist economy, but welcomes foreign investment to strengthen the economy