Korean and Vietnam War

Korean War

• Korea divided at the end of WWII– North surrendered to Soviets– South Surrendered to the United States

• Most occupying troops are removed from the peninsula by 1949

• North Korea receiving military aid from the Soviets

Korean War

• June 25, 1950 North Korea invades South Korea

• Truman’s policy of containment tested – Convinced this was very similar to what had

happened with Hitler and the other axis powers during WWII

– Pledges the US to help South Korea • Initially just air and naval cover and then ground

troops after MacArthur assesses the situation

United Nations Intervention

• South Korea asks the United Nations for help – Taken to the Security Council– Why would you expect any action against

North Korea to be voted down in the Security Council?

– Soviets were absent from the meeting • Boycotting because of the Nationalists China being

given the Chinese seat in the United Nations

United Nations Intervention

• 15 nations pledge to send troops to help the South Koreans under the leadership of Douglas Macarthur

• Forces enter the conflict amidst continued North Korean success

The War

• Pusan the only South Korean area left

• MacArthur plans a surprise attack to try and defeat the North Koreans at Inchon

Inchon Landing

• Landing the forces at Inchon allowed MacArthur to pinch the North Koreans between the his two forces

• Forces about half of the North Korean Army to surrender and the rest to retreat

• With North Korean forces on retreat MacArthur gives chase preparing to deliver the final blow

Refusal of Surrender

• North Koreans refuse to surrender even after being pushed back past the 38th parallel

• Truman did not want this conflict to escalate into a larger war

• Chinese troops were building along the Manchurian border and there were threats of a Chinese invasion if MacArthur on the UN continued to push too far

Invasion of North Korea

• South Korean troops begin to push into North Korea

• MacArthur reorganizes the UN troops and prepares to completely destroy the N. Korean Army

• Plans begin to be drawn up in the UN for a N. Korean occupation and eventual unification plan under a democratic government

China Gets Involved

• October 1950 China enters the war on behalf of the N. Koreans

• Now a war between the US and China

• MacArthur’s forces are outnumbered and are pushed back into S. Korea and lose the capital of Seoul

• MacArthur begins to call for nuclear strikes against Chinese targets

MacArthur Dismissed

• Truman completely against escalation – Want to stay out of world wars, not start them

• MacArthur takes his case to Congress and the press trying to force Truman’s hand

• Truman relieves MacArthur of command

Peace Agreement

• Ceasefire signed after 2 more years of fighting

• UN troops are able to beat the N. Koreans back to near the 38th parallel

• Almost no change in the border but 5 million lives were lost during the war

Aftermath of the War

NORTH KOREA• Poor • Shortages of food and

energy • Communist Dictators • Kim Jung Il current

dictator • Heavily militarized

South Korea• Robust economic

growth thanks to US stimulus aid

• Democratic constitution with free elections now in place

• One of the fastest growing economies in the world

• Focuses on industry and exports

Vietnam

• France colonized most of Southeast Asia to control the resources

• Ho Chi Minh – Young Rebel in Vietnam looks for help from

the Communists to help against the French – Forms the Indochinese Communist Party

Conflict in Vietnam

• French jail the protesters Ho incites • Sentences Ho and other party leaders to death

but Ho escapes • Returns in 1941 after the Japanese invasion

– Form the Vietminh League to fight against the Japanese

– American Intelligent Agency (OSS) aligns with Ho to harass the Japanese

• In 1945 Japan admits defeat• France seeks to regain the colony

Vietnam War Begins

• France faces resistance as it tries to regain the colony– Communists and Nationalists join together to

fight against the French for independence – Hit and Run tactics (guerilla warfare) make

France wonder if the colony is worth the price in lives

– US supports the French as an extension of their containment policy

Dien Bien Phu

• Viet Minh surround Dien Bien Phu – French stronghold – Viet Minh have 50,000 troops surrounding the city

• Constant artillery fire shuts down the only runway causing French to rely on parachuting in supplies

• France calls on the USA for help as the Viet Minh dig tunnels closer and closer to their positions

USA Enters the War

• Domino Theory – If one country fell to communism those around

it would also fall – Communism would spread

• Potential Options for US involvement – Send combat troops – Conventional airstrike with B-29 Bombers– Tactical Nuclear Weapon

French Surrender

• The French admit defeat before the US commits

• Geneva Peace Conference determines the country will be split at the 17th parallel – Communist Ho Chi Minh to the North – US and France support Ngo Dinh Diem in the

South in an anti-communist government

Vietnam Divided

• Diem leads as dictator in the South – Unpopular – US supports Diem cancellation of the

elections – Fear an election would lead to a communist

victory

• Ho Chi Minh is a popular leader in the North with land redistribution programs

Vietcong Resistance

• Outrage at the corrupt leadership of Diem grows

• Vietcong guerillas begin to fight and eventually take over large areas in the South

• 1963 US attempts to back a coup to replace Diem with a more popular leader– Assassinate Diem and take control – No more popular

Americans Get Directly Involved

• US military had served as advisors to South Vietnamese

• US decides to send in troops to prevent the rise of Ho in the South

Americans In Vietnam

• 185,000 plus troops deployed to Vietnam • Best trained and equipped force in the

world – Guerilla warfare in unfamiliar terrain

• Problems Faced– South Vietnamese Government becoming

more unpopular– US support for the war is failing – Terrain unfamiliar

American Withdraw• Becomes clear that there is no decisive

victory in sight for the war • Richard Nixon begins the withdraw

– Plan of Vietnamization where the South Vietnamese slowly took over for the American soldiers who were leaving

– Hoped the South Vietnamese government would hold

– Authorized bombings of Laos and Cambodia to try and destroy Vietcong supply routes and hideouts