1. War in Korea and Vietnam
Chapter 17, Section 3

2. War in Korea
By 1949 both the USA and USSR withdrew their troops from Korea
The Soviets gambled that the USA would not support South Korea
They supplied the North Koreans with tanks, airplanes, and money

3. Standoff at the 38th Parallel
June 25, 1950 the North Koreans poured across the 38th Parallel into South Korea
Truman was convinced this was another War that echoed WWII
Containment was being put to the test
South Korea asked the UN for help
The Soviets were not there because they boycotted the organization after Nationalist China (Taiwan) was entered thus losing their veto power

5. Standoff at the 38th Parallel
The plan was to send an international army to stop the invasion
15 nations sent troops
Douglas MacArthur was the supreme commander
By September of 1950 the North Koreans controlled the whole peninsula except for a small area around Pusan
UN forces landed around the 38th Parallel trapping the North Koreans, almost half surrender

7. The Fighting Continues
The UN forces pursued the retreating N Koreans past the 38th Parallel
By November the UN forces had almost pushed the N Koreans out of Korea
China felt threatened by the USA so they sent 300,000 troops to help the N Koreans
The war shifted from a war between the North and South Koreans to a war between the USA and China

9. The Fighting Continues
The Chinese overwhelmed the UN forces and pushed them south of the 38 Parallel and capture the South Korean capital of Seoul
MacArthur wanted to drop an Atomic Bomb on North Korea, Truman said “no”
MacArthur was upset and tried to go over Truman’s head to congress
Truman fired MacArthur

11. The Fighting Continues
Over the next two years the UN forces fought to drive the North Koreans out of the South
1952 they recapture Seoul
1953 everyone is back to where they started
They signed a cease-fire and the boarder was set at the 38th Parallel
5 million soldier and civilians died in the war

12. Aftermath and Legacy of the War
Korea remains divided
Kim Il Sung was the leader of the North and created collective farms, heavy industry, and a large military state
He dies in 1994 and his son Kim Jong Il takes over the country
He creates a nuclear weapon
2011 Kim Jong Un takes power (son of Jong Il)
North Korea is in a bad state: Shortages of food and energy, heavy police state, many prisoner camps and other civil rights violations plaque the country

13. Aftermath and Legacy of the War
South Korea has fair much better
1987 S Korea creates a constitution
Their economic growth today is fueled by technology (ever hear of Kia, LG, Samsung?)
Korea looks like it will be divided into the near future

14. War in Vietnam This war all stems from the policy of containment
By 1950’s the American had sent advisers, financial aid, and finally half a million soldiers to the former French colony

15. The Road to War France controlled most of resource-rich Southeast Asia
Nationalist independence movement started to force them out
Ho Chi Minh – a nationalist leader in Vietnam turned to the communists for help
He and his followers started to fight the French

16. The Road to War The French fought back
Ho Chi Minh was forced into exile but continued his fight
He returned in 1941, the year after the Japanese took control of Vietnam
After the Japanese defeat in WWII Ho was convinced that independence would happen
The French did not

17. War Breaks Out The country united to fight the French
The French controlled the major cities but lost control of the countryside
The Vietminh (soldiers) used guerrilla tactics
The French did not think it was worth the effort so the surrender to Ho in 1954
The Americans thought this was a sign of things to come

18. War Breaks Out Eisenhower called this the domino theory
Southeast Asian countries were a row of dominos, when one fell they all would
This became a major justification in Cold War policy
At an international peace conference Vietnam was to split along the 17° north latitude
North – communist South – anti-communist

19. Vietnam the Divided Country
Ngo Dinh Diem became the leader of the south and was unpopular
Ho Chi Minh was extremely popular in the north
Vietnamese opposition to Diem’s corrupt gov. grew
Communist guerrillas, known as Vietcong or VC, gained strength in the south

20. Vietnam the Divided Country
Many in the south that turned to the VC did so because of their hatred for Diem
The VC started to control the southern countryside
In 1963 the US backed a coup in South Vietnam
The coup was designed to overthrow Diem, it succeed and they captured and assassinated him
Diem’s processors however fared no better
It looked like the North Vietnamese would take over the South and the whole country would turn communist

21. The United States Gets Involved
The USA now escalates their involvement
They started out as advisers (’50s) but now they increase military personnel
August of 1964 Lyndon B Johnson told congress that the VC attacked two American destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin
This has been debated for years, did it really happen

22. The United States Gets Involved
Congress authorized LBJ to send troops to Vietnam
By ,000 troops are in country
The US also starts bombing North Vietnam
By 1968 half a million troops are in Vietnam
The USA had the best military in the world but faced two major problems
Guerrilla warfare
The South Vietnamese gov. they were supporting became increasingly unpopular

23. The United States Gets Involved
The North Vietnamese continued to grow in strength
Supported by the USSR and Chinese, plus the Americans unwillingness to send troops into the north and Laos and Cambodia allowed the VC to gain momentum in Vietnam

24. The Dark Side The US used tactics like: Other problems for the USA
Search and Destroy
Napalm
Agent Orange
Other problems for the USA
Drug use
The draft
Growing discontent at home

25. The United States Withdraws
During the 1960s the war becomes very unpopular
Typically younger generations protested the war
Nixon bowed to the growing pressure and started withdrawing troops
His plan was Vietnamization
US would gradually pullout and leave the fighting to the South Vietnamese

26. The United States Withdraws
While the US withdraw they increased their bombing campaign hoping to give the South Vietnamese a chance
By 1973 the last of the US troops left Vietnam and shortly after the country fell to the communist
1.5 million Vietnamese died
58,000 Americans

27. Ongoing Turmoil in Cambodia
Cambodia is the neighboring country of Vietnam and they had a deadly “war” in the 1970s
Communist rebels known as the Khmer Rouge setup a brutal gov. under Pol Pot
Trying to reform the country they slaughtered over 2 million people, that is ¼ of the entire population

28. Ongoing Turmoil in Cambodia
The Vietnamese invaded in 1978 and overthrew the Khmer Rouge
They withdrew from the country in 1989
In 1993 under the supervision of the UN Cambodia adopted a constitution
In 1997 Pol Pot was arrested for his war crimes
In 1998 he died before he could go on trial for his crimes

29. Postwar Vietnam The North imposed strict control over the South
They sent many people to “reeducation camps” to be trained in communist thought
Many people fled to other countries
Communist still govern Vietnam today but they welcome foreign investment