cold war beginings

• In 1945, Korea was freed from the Japanese.
• The country was split in half at the 38th parallel: North Korea – Communist – led by Kim Il Sung, South Korea – Capitalist (pro-USA) – led by Syngman Rhee.
• China became Communist in 1949.
• The USA feared that Communist might spread in Asia.
• Domino theory: Truman believed that, if one country fell to Communism, then others would follow, like a line of dominoes.
• Undermine Communism: Some Americans wanted to abandon 'containment' and start 'rolling back' Communism.
• Cold War: By supporting South Korea, America was able to fight Communism without directly attacking Russia.
• Kim Il Sung (the Communist leader of North Korea) visited Stalin and Mao (leader of China) both the USSR and China offered their support to him.
• Syngman Rhee (the Capitalist leader of South Korea) boasted that he was going to attack North Korea.
• In revenge, the North Koreans invaded South Korea.
• The Vietcong were supplied with weapons by China and Russia.
• The Vietcong were fanatically determined to drive out the Americans, whatever the cost.
• The South Vietnamese peasants supported and sheltered the Vietcong, who had also resisted the Japanese during the Second World War.
• American troops did help prevent the Vietcong and the North Vietnamese Army taking over Vietnam for many years.
• The North Vietnamese were motivated, fighting at home to unite their country.
• The Vietcong's tactics, which included guerilla war, ambushing US patrols, setting booby traps and landmines, and planting bombs in towns, were appropriate to the nature of the conflict.
• Containment in Vietnam was achieved by the US, as evidenced by the fact that communism did not spread to Burma, India etc.
• The US was trying to supply a war 8,000 miles from America.
• The war became very unpopular in the US, and lost public support.
• American soldiers had a short (one-year) tour of service, which meant they were always inexperienced.
• The US was unsuccessful in Vietnam, as evidenced by the fall of the whole of Vietnam to communism.
• The South Vietnamese regime was weak, brutal and corrupt.
• America’s reaction: after the North invaded the South (June 1950) Truman (USA president): sent advisers, supplies and warships to Korea, put pressure on the UN (United Nations) to get North Korea to withdraw from (leave) South Korea.
• The UN agreed because China and the USSR were not at the UN at the time (the USSR was boycotting the UN for refusing to allow Mao’s China to join)
• This meant that the UN could get involved without the USSR vetoing the decision.
• The USA did push the North Koreans out of South Korea… but then they continued.
• USA army leader: General MacArthur.
• The USA/UN troops pushed all the way into North Korea – right up to the Chinese border.
• China – with USSR support – fought back.
• They fought the Americans back to the original North/South border (the 38th parallel).
• General MacArthur and President Truman disagreed; MacArthur wanted to fight back and even invade China.
• Truman was happy to keep the Communists out of South Korea only.
• Armistice (end of fighting) was signed, July 1953.
• The Cuban Revolution: The USA had been an old ally of Cuba. Until the Cuban Revolution, Cuba had been ruled by Batista (who was pro-American).
• Kennedy was seen as the man who faced down the Russians.
• Secretly, the Americans suggested a trade-off of missile bases - US bases in Turkey for Russian bases in Cuba.
• With his advisers, Khrushchev decided on a naval blockade to prevent Russian ships delivering the missiles for the Cuban sites.
• In October 1962, a US spy plane discovered a nuclear weapons base being built on Cuba.
• Nuclear weapons on Cuba could have destroyed American cities.
• Kennedy ignored the U2 attack and agreed publicly to the first letter, and secretly to the second.