1. 33-3 Wars in Korea and Vietnam
In Asia, the Cold War flares into actual wars supported mainly by the superpowers.

2. War in Korea A Divided Land
38th parallel—line dividing Korea into North Korea and South Korea

4. Korean War [ ]

5. Korean War [ ]
Kim Il-Sung
Syngman Rhee
“Domino Theory”

6. The Shifting Map of Korea [1950-1953]

7. War in Korea Standoff at the 38th Parallel
In 1950, North Koreans invade South Korea with Soviet support
South Korea requests UN assistance; 15 nations send troops
Douglas MacArthur—leads UN forces against North Koreans
North Koreans controls most of the peninsula when MacArthur attacks
Half of North Korea’s army surrenders, the rest retreat

8. War in Korea The Fighting Continues
UN troops push North Koreans almost to Chinese border
Chinese send 300,000 troops against UN forces and capture Seoul
MacArthur calls for nuclear attack and is removed from command
In 1953, cease fire signed and border established at 38th parallel

9. War in Korea Aftermath of the War
North Korea builds collective farms, heavy industry, nuclear weapons
South Korea establishes democracy, growing economy with U.S. aid

10. War Breaks Out in Vietnam
The Road to War
Ho Chi Minh— Vietnamese nationalist, later Communist leader
The Fighting Begins
In 1954, French surrender to Vietnamese after major defeat
Domino theory—U.S. theory of Communist expansion in Southeast Asia
Ho Chi Minh

11. Background to the War
France controlled “Indochina” since the late 19th century
Japan took control during World War II
With U.S. aid, France attempted re-colonization in the postwar period
Ho Chi Minh had been fighting for Vietnamese independence since World War I.
The U.S. gave France aid to win its support in American anticommunist efforts in Western Europe. 11

12. Background to the War
The French lost control to Ho Chi Minh’s Viet Minh forces in 1954 at Dien Bien Phu
President Eisenhower declined to intervene on behalf of France.
Ho Chi Minh had been fighting for Vietnamese independence since World War I.
The U.S. gave France aid to win its support in American anticommunist efforts in Western Europe. 12

13. Background to the War Vietnam was divided at 17th parallel
International Conference at Geneva
Vietnam was divided at 17th parallel
Ho Chi Minh’s nationalist forces controlled the North
Ngo Dinh Diem, a French-educated, Roman Catholic claimed control of the South
Realizing he would Diem backs out of elections. 13

14. Background to the War
A date was set for democratic elections to reunify Vietnam
Diem backed out of the elections, leading to military conflict between North and South
Realizing he would lose, Diem backed out of elections. 14

15. The War in Vietnam,
Note the Ho Chi Minh Trail through Laos and Cambodia

16. War Breaks Out in Vietnam
Vietnam—A Divided Country
International peace conference agrees on a divided Vietnam
Ngo Dinh Diem—leads anti-Communist government in South Vietnam
Vietcong—South Vietnamese Communist guerillas fighting against Diem
Ngo Dinh Diem

17. Ngo Dinh Diem ( ), President of South Vietnam , with U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower at National Airport, Washington, Direct U.S. involvement in the Vietnam war began in the mid-1950s, when the U.S. took over the struggle from the French. The Eisenhower administration began by supporting the Diem regime, and then providing military advisors and increased support. However, by the end of the Eisenhower term, the U.S. had fewer than 2000 troops in Vietnam. Diem was murdered in a military coup in 1963.

18. Lyndon B. Johnson, the President of the United States from 1963 to 1970, makes a public statement on the Tonkin Gulf incident, August 4, When North Vietnam was said to have attacked two U.S. destroyers, Congress hastily passed the Tonkin Gulf Resolution, giving the president blanket authority to take necessary actions to protect U.S. forces.
Subsequently, there have been serious questions as to what actually occurred in the Tonkin Gulf, but with vastly increased U.S. expenditures, the war quickly escalated; by 1969 the U.S. forces totaled almost 550,000 individuals. There was much opposition to the war in the Congress and among the U.S. people, and Johnson's very considerable domestic policy achievements were overshadowed by the criticism of his war policy.

19. General William C. Westmoreland, McGeorge Bundy and General Kanh of South Vietnam, photographed at Camp Holloway, South Vietnam, in February Gen. Westmoreland commanded the U.S. troops in Vietnam ; Bundy was special assistant for national security to President Johnson from 1961 to 1966, and a key supporter of the Vietnam war.

20. The United States Gets Involved
U.S. Troops Enter the Fight
In 1964, U.S. sends troops to fight Viet Cong and North Vietnamese
U.S. fights guerilla war defending increasingly unpopular government
Vietcong gains support from Ho Chi Minh, China, and Soviet Union

22. The United States Gets Involved
The United States Withdraws
War grows unpopular in the U.S.; in 1969, Nixon starts withdrawing troops
Vietnamization—Nixon’s plan to withdraw U.S. from war gradually
Last U.S. troops leave in 1973; South Vietnam overrun in 1975

24. Nixon appeared on television January 23, 1973, to announce the ceasefire. The agreement ended nearly 12 years of warfare in which 58,000 Americans had lost their lives. It did not contain an enforceable plan for the peaceable settlement of Vietnam's internal problems; within a year, fighting there had resumed. Eventually, the South Vietnamese government of Thieu was defeated by the Provisional Revolutionary Government (PRG) of South Vietnamese communist rebels and North Vietnamese troops. Even had Nixon wished to intervene, Congress passed, over his veto, a ''War Powers Act'' that gave Congress the power to prevent him from acting without its consent - a consent that Congress would have been unwilling to extend in 1974 or 1975.

25. The Ceasefire, 1973 U.S. to remove all troops
Conditions:
U.S. to remove all troops
North Vietnam could leave troops already in S.V.
North Vietnam would resume war
No provision for POWs or MIAs
Last American troops left South Vietnam on March 29, 1973
1975: North Vietnam defeats South Vietnam
Saigon renamed Ho Chi Minh City
Many U.S.-loyal South Vietnamese attempt to flee for fear of execution by the North. 25

26. Postwar Southeast Asia
Cambodia in Turmoil
Khmer Rouge— Communist rebels who take control of Cambodia in 1975
They slaughter 2 million people; overthrown by Vietnamese invaders
In 1993, Cambodia adopts democracy, holds elections with UN help
Pol Pot, leader of the Khmer Rouge (Cambodian Communist Party, literally “Red Khmers”) in 1977 at the height of his power

27. Postwar Southeast Asia
The Killing Fields were a number of sites in Cambodia where large numbers of people were killed and buried by the Khmer Rouge regime, during its rule of the country from 1975 to 1979, immediately after the end of the Vietnam War.

28. Postwar Southeast Asia
At least 200,000 people were executed by the Khmer Rouge (while estimates of the total number of deaths resulting from Khmer Rouge policies, including disease and starvation, range from 1.4 to 2.2 million out of a population of around 7 million).
A commemorative stupa filled with the skulls of the victims.

29. Choung Ek Killing Field: The bones of young children who were killed by Khmer Rouge soldiers.

30. Mass grave in Choeung Ek.

31. History in Film: The Killing Fields (1984)
The Killing Fields is a 1984 British drama film about the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia, which is based on the experiences of three journalists:
Cambodian Dith Pran
American Sydney Schanberg
British Jon Swain.
The film won three Academy Awards, including
Best Supporting Actor for Haing S. Ngor as Dith Pran.
Sam Waterston from Law and Order stars in the film as Sydney Schanberg

32. Postwar Southeast Asia
Vietnam after the War
Saigon renamed Ho Chi Minh City; Vietnam united as Communist nation
About 1.5 million people flee Vietnam, some settling in the U.S. and Canada
In 1995, United States normalizes relations with Vietnam

33. South Vietnamese Attempt to Flee the Country
The Fall of Saigon
South Vietnamese Attempt to Flee the Country

34. America Abandons Its Embassy
The Fall of Saigon
April 30, 1975
America Abandons Its Embassy

35. North Vietnamese at the Presidential Palace
The Fall of Saigon
North Vietnamese at the Presidential Palace

36. A United Vietnam
Formerly Saigon