1. Cold War Military Actions
State Standards: 77, 79, 80, 81

2. But You Said!
No, not military actions directly involving the United States and the USSR.
Military actions in an effort to either prevent or “contain” the spread of communism to other countries.
Or Military actions to install democratic governments in countries.

4. Korea Prior to WW2 the peninsula of Korea was controlled by Japan
Following WW2 soldiers north of 38th parallel surrendered to the Soviets.
Soldiers south of the 38th parallel surrendered to the United States
Soviet Union influence in the North aided in build up of support of Communist Government.

5. 38th Parallel
This latitudinal line became the dividing line or border between these two countries.
June 25, 1950 North Korean Forces attacked across the 38th Parallel.
90,000 North Korean Forces equipped with advanced Soviet Tanks and weapons.
Within days North Korea captures Seoul the capital of South Korea.

7. Truman Responds
Truman wanted to check the armed advance of the North Korean Army.
United States would aid South Korea
United Nations Security Council backs Truman and offers assistance to the South Koreans.
American Troops from Japan are sent to aid South Korean Army meet little success at retreat further south.

8. Inchon General Douglas MacArthur plans a decisive counter attack.
Rapid Advance of North Korean troops south left North Korea with limited supplies.
MacArthur surprise attacks the port city of Inchon
Well behind enemy lines
Plan pays off North Korean army flees north of the 38th parallel

9. Below: MacArthur lands on the beaches of Inchon.
Above: MacArthur’s plan surprises North Korean forces and forces them to pull back behind the 38th Parallel.

10. China Joins the Fight
American military advances north of the 38th parallel.
Chinese delegates warn Truman not to advance near its borders
MacArthur did not take this warning seriously and pushed to within miles of the Chinese border.
Chinese forces attack on November 25, 1950 with 300,000 soldiers and push back the American forces.

11. MacArthur Vs. Truman China’s entry into the war forces a stalemate
Favored the invasion of China
Wanted a total victory
Sent a letter to the House of Representatives attacking Truman’s policies.
Returns home a national hero
Did not want America involved in a major land war in Asia.
Could not be won without large number of troops or nuclear weapons
Fired MacArthur for insubordination

12. Korea stays divided… Allied forces hold positions near 38th parallel
Stalemate lasts for for 2 years
Remainder of war consisted of small bloody battles with no results
Eisenhower becomes President in 1952
Inspects situation and comes to terms that only strong action or nuclear weapons would break stalemate
Nuclear Threat and death of Stalin convince communists to call a cease fire.
Korea remains two separate countries divided at the 38th parallel to this day

13. Communism Close to Home
In 1959, Communist revolutionary Fidel Castro sets up a communist dictatorship in Cuba.
Radical reforms
Nationalizes lands held by U.S. citizens
Accepts economic and military aid from Soviet Union
United States breaks diplomatic ties with Cuba in 1961

14. Bay of Pigs Invasion CIA lead invasion into Cuba to overthrow Castro.
Cuban exiles trained in Guatemala
Kennedy authorizes plan on April 17, 1961
CIA and Cuban Exiles attack Cuba in the
BAY OF PIGS INVASION
Invasion was badly planned
Only 300 of the 1,400 invaders survived
Strengthened Castro’s position in Cuba

15. Brinkmanship at work Cuban Missile Crisis
CIA discovers that USSR was building nuclear missile sites in Cuba.
Protect Castro and Communism from another U.S. Invasion
Cuban Missile Crisis
Kennedy threatens to blockade Cuba with Navy to prevent completion of bases.
U.S. draws a “line in the sand”
Works behind the scenes diplomatically to come to a compromise
U.S. would remove Nuclear Missiles in Turkey and Italy if USSR would remove missiles from Cuba.

17. Vietnam War

18. Vietnam War Longest conflict in U.S. history 1959-1975
Cost the U.S. 200 Billion Dollars
More than 58,000 Killed, 300,000 wounded, 10,000 MIA/POW
America Tried to prevent a “domino effect”
If Vietnam falls to communism then next will be Japan, Philippines, and Australia
Vietnam to this day is still remains a unified nation under a communist government

19. Vietnam War
Soviet backs the Vietnamese in their struggle for independence from colonial rule.
America backed France’s colonial rule because we needed their support during Cold War.
France loses struggle against the Vietnamese
Vietnam is split along the 17th parallel into two countries.
North Vietnam- Communist
South Vietnam- Anti-Communist

20. Vietnam
In your textbooks research the following items concerning the Vietnam War: You need to know what they are and their relations to the Vietnam Conflict.
Geneva Accords
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
Tet Offensive
Presidents: Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon
Vietnamization
Ho Chi Minh
Bombing of Cambodia
Henry Kissinger
Napalm and Agent Orange
Chapter 17 Page 400

21. Geneva Accords A conference that took place in Geneva, Switzerland
Failed to resolve Vietnam issues
Vietnam was split in North Vietnam (Viet Minh) and South Vietnam (United States Side)

22. Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
North Vietnamese Naval Ships attacked the U.S.S. Maddox in the Gulf of Tonkin
Forced Congress to pass the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which states the President had the authority without approval from Congress to conventional military force in Southeast Asia.

23. Tet Offensive
One of the largest military campaigns of the Vietnam war.
It was a series of surprise attacks against military and civilian command and control centers throughout South Vietnam by the Vietcong.
It was launched on January 30, 1968

24. Vietnam and the Home Front
Americans initially supported the war however the length, tactics, and the distance from home split the country in half.

25. Anti-War Movement
The Draft is reinstated to fill the need for soldiers
Most soldiers came from poor, working class backgrounds
College students and certain designated occupations were exempt from combat.
% of African American Soldiers dying was considerably higher
College Campuses become centers of Antiwar sentiment
Mass Protests and opposition to the conflict

26. Left: Kent State Massacre
Above: African American Soldier in Vietnam

27. TV and Medias Impact The first “living room war”
Americans watched the progress of lack of it on their TVs.
TV made the war unavoidable
Visualized the brutality of war, the violence, and the hardships of not just the soldiers but also the Vietnamese.
Soldiers come home and are not welcomed as heroes
Rock & Roll becomes a source which leads the outcry against the war.

28. Above: Reporters document the war.
Right: Americans are able to watch the war from their livingrooms.