Asia

• Korea is divided into two countries

  1945
• US President Truman vows to fight communism


  1947
• Communist North Korea invades South Korea

  1950
• General Douglas MacArthur leads the UN invasion into South Korea at Inchon


  1950
• China joins the war on the side of North Korea

  1950
• Dwight D. Eisenhower is elected US President and vows to end the war in Korea

  1952
• North Korea and South Korea sign a ceasefire

  1953
• Vietnam is split in two- communist North Vietnam and US-backed South Vietnam


  1954
• The National Liberation Front (NLF) is formed in Hanoi (North Vietnam)-known as the Vietcong in South Vietnam


  1960
• The number of US military advisers in South Vietnam increases from 700 to 12000


  1962
• South Vietnam's President Diem is killed


  1963
• 16,000 US military advisers in South Vietnam


  1963
• The Gulf of Tonkin incident


  1964
• Operation Rolling Thunder starts


  1965
• 200,000 US troops are now in Vietnam

  1965
• Tet Offensive

  1968
• My Lai massacre


  1968
• 540,000 US troops are now in Vietnam


  1968
• US troop withdrawals start

  1969
• Vietnamisation' begins


  1969
• Nixon orders the secret bombing of Cambodia


  1970
• Vietnam War peace talks begin in Paris

  1973
• The Paris Peace Accord is signed


  1973
• Last US troops leave Vietnam

  1975
• North Vietnamese army captures Saigon-Vietnam becomes a united communist nation

  1975
• After the Second World War, a Cold War existed between the USA (and its allies) and the USSR (and its allies)
• The USA was determined to 'contain' the spread of communism
• At the end of the Second World War, Korea was divided into two separate zones; the division was meant to be temporary and elections were planned
• Before elections could take place, Soviets in the northern zone allowed a Korean communist (Kim Il-sung) to take power
• In the south, the USA backed a Korean capitalist named Syngman Rhee: the country became divided
• In an attempt to unite Korea, communist forces from the north invaded the south in June 1950
• The UN assembled an army to help South Korea
• events leading to the first Indochina war: 1946 - 54


  1. Japan invaded Vietnam during WWII
  2. Vietnam declared itself an independent country in 1945 - Ho Chi Minh as president
  3. French reinvaded in 1946 - backing a non-communist government in the southern part of Vietnam.
  4. French were supported by the USA
  5. the veitmihn fought back
  6. when communists took over in china 1949 they helped the northern Vietnamese with training and supplies
• dein Bein phu

  • 1954 - small French air force in dean been phu was surrounded by 50000 soldiers
  • Vietnam bombed the runway + trapped the French troops
  • French surrendered on 7th may 1954
  • the new French prime minister withdrew France from Vietnam - war was over.
• Geneva agreement - 1954


  after the first Indochina - leaders representing all sides of the Vietnam conflict + Britain china the USSR + USA met in Geneva, Switzerland in 1954. - they all agreed to the following:

  • veitnam will be divided at the 17th parallel
  • ho chi mihn - rules north Vietnam
  • Ngo dinh diem - rules south veitnam
  • French would leave veitnam
  • the veitninh would leave South Vietnam
  • Vietnamese citizens could live where they want
  • a general election would be held before July 1956
  • laos and Cambodia would be independent countries.
• why was diem chosen as south vietnams leader

  he was a non communist
• how did diem intend to run Vietnam

  • pushing peasants of the land
  • giving key jobs to family and friends
  • punishing anyone who opposed him
  • calling an election in south Vietnam in October 1955 - year earlier than agreed.
• how did the Americans get involved in the votes with diem and Bo Dai


  suggested that the voting paper should have two coloured halves - red and green

  • diems name would be on the red side - since red is seen as lucky
  • diem won with 98.2%
  • Americans believed that diem rigged the elections
• oppositions to diem - national liberation front 


  1. political organisation in SV led by ho chi min - nFL wanted to get rid of catholic power + influence in Vietnam but it was quickly dominated by communists.
  2. wanted land to give back to peasants - wanted a united Vietnam
  3. the targeted officials in demise govt - mudering hundreds. later they fought the south Vietnamese army
• buddhists

  • members of the bhuddist religion that spread to veitnam in the second century
  • bhuddists felt victimised by dim - who was catholic - diem introduced anti bhuddist policies eg bhuddists needed permission to worship.
  • buddhists went on hunger strikes and he'd mass rallies - some set fire to themselves.