Asia history

• What were some reasons for the Korean war?

  - The USA was worried about the spread of communism in Europe and in Asia and was prepared to defend any country from communist takeover, US became more determined to stop asian countries being taking over by communism after China fell to communism in October 1, 1949. Critics said America had lost china to communism because it wasn't tough enough making the government inclined to reinstate America's status as a global power. America feared that if Korea fell to communism then communism would spread to neighbouring nations ( the domino theory)

  
  

  - USSR liberated northern Korea, USA liberated southern Korea leading to a division in north and south korea, this lead to ideological differences between north and south korea.
• When does the korean war begin?

  June 1950
• When does the korean war end?

  July 1953
• What was the red Scare?

  Fear of spread of communism, instilled by US senator McCarthy, who blamed Communists in the US for weakening America. Americans became fearful for communist takeover.
• When was Korea liberated from Japanese by USSR?


  August 1945
• What is the parralel that divides Korea?

  38th Parralel
• Why was Korea divided?

  The USSR occupied the North (communism) and the US occupied the south (democracy), the USA worried about the USSR moving south into the area they had occupied, taking control of the whole of Korea for communism.
• When did North Korea invade South Korea?

  June 25, 1950
• Why was there no invasion before 1950?

  - There were US forces in south korea, an invasion would pull in the US which the USSR did not want

  
  

  - The USSR had no atomic weapons until August 1949, making US much stronger

  
  

  - China was fighting civil war so could not help the invasion
• How did China support the North Koreans?


  - sent 70,000 Korean fighters back to North Korea with weapons.

  
  

  - China promised to support North Koreans invasion with reinforcements if needed

  
  

  - China moved large numbers of its own troops near the border with North Korea.
• When did North Korea capture Seoul?

  28th June 1950
• What was the US response to Invasion of South Korea

  Truman ordered US Navy forces to Korea and ordered General McArthur to organise troops and supplies to send to south korea. The US also put pressure on the UN to take military action against the North Korea.
• What were the reasons for the US response?

  - South Korean forces could not stop the North Koreans on their own

  
  

  - President Truman needed to show tough commitment to containing the spread of communism after the fall of china

  
  

  - US suspected that USSR was using Korea as a diversion, involving UN forces meant that USA was free to act against USSR in europe.
• In 1950 how many troops did the South Koreans have?

  92,000
• in 1950 how many troops did the North Koreans have?

  135,000
• What were the Inchon landings?

  15 September 1950 - amphibious assault ( which general McArthur had perfected in ww2) attack on the port city of Inchon near Seoul

  
  

  - 300 ships, 70,000 UN troops quickly captured Inchon and an important nearby airfield

  
  

  - From this base the UN launched its attack on Seoul. Ten days later Seoul was freed.

  
  

  - UN led a 'breakout' at the same time from Pusan. North Koreans were trapped between two forces and around 40,000 were killed or captured. South Korea was recaptured
• When did the UN forces first arrive

  UN Australian and US forces arrived september 1950
• were the UN forces well equipped


  No they had old second world war weapons and equipment and many were new recruits without fighting experience
• Were the North Korean troops well equipped?

  Yes they were equipped with modern soviet weapons, most had fought with the Red Army in China's civil war
• What were the Reasons for UN advance in North Korea?

  - Around 35,000 North Korean troops had escaped back to North Korea and might attack the South Again in the future if they were not chased down and defeated

  
  

  - Truman hoped to win an impressive win against communism and unite a korea under a US friendly government

  
  

  - Truman's military advisers were certain the USSR and China wouldn't join the war
• When did UN troops advance into North Korea?

  1st October 1950
• When did republic of korea and US troops take Pyongyang?

  19th October 1950
• Why was the US confident China wouldn't join the war in October 1950

  -The US aeroplanes had total control of the skies above north Korea, because North Korea had few air defences

  
  

  - Any movement of troops over the Chinese border would therefore face devastating US bombing attacks
• How did China prepare for war in mid-October 1950?

  in mid-October 1950, 300 thousand soliders from the Chinese Communist Party Volunteers army Corps (CPV) moved secretley into the mountains of North Korea and camoflauged their positions so they were hard to spot from the air. Then they waited for the right time to attack.
• How did china intervene on October 25th

  on October 25th they attacked and cut off UN forces, By November 28th UN troops were fleeing from the attacking Chinese.

  
  

  - Chinese and North Korean troops swept southwards, pushing the UN troops back into South Korea, Seoul was captured

  
  

  - By spring 1951, UN forces had recaptured Seoul but were stuck in a stalemate along the 38th Parallel.
• What were the consequences of China's intervention?

  - US troops suffered heavy casualties and were defeated in battle for the first time which affected US public support for the war

  
  

  - China succeeded in defending North Korea, Truman accepted containment instead of pushing communism back

  
  

  - 11th April 1951, General McArthur was sacked because he refused to obey Truman's orders not to send troops back into North Korea, McArthur also argued for attacking China and using nuclear bombs

  
  

  - Soviet MiG-15 fighter pilots, who pretended to be Chinese or North Korean, countered US air superiority over Korea.
• What were the difficulties in ending the conflict in 1951?

  - Agreeing where the boarder would be

  
  

  - Agreeing how the return of prisoners of war would be handled (16,000 chinese prisoners didnt want to go back to communist china)

  
  

  - Deciding what would happen to chinese forces and UN forces
• What were the reasons for the end of the war?

  - China and North Korea were unsure if they would still recieve backing from the USSR after the death of Stalin on the 5th march 1953

  
  

  - The intensification of US bombing on North Korea in 1953 meant that the country struggled to feed its people

  
  

  - China was beginning its first Five-year plan to industrialise the country, it needed to reduce military spending to do this
• When was the armistice in korea?

  27th July 1953
• What did the armistice in korea say?

  -Ceasfire was signed by North Korea, China and the UN

  
  

  - North and South Korea remained divided at the 38th parallel

  
  

  - 3km demilitarised zone was set up between the two countries
• What was the impact of the Korean war on Korea

  - Korea remained divided, which was distressing for the Koreans, especially for those whos families were split up by the divide

  
  

  - Both North and South Korea were left in ruins by the War

  
  

  - Massive losses (200,000 soldier and 1 million civilians lost in south), (400,000 soldier and 600,000 civilians North) this was over 10% of Korea's population
• What was the impact of the Korean war on UN?

  - Korea showed that the UN was a powerful organisation for tackling world peace

  
  

  - UN suceeded in defending South Korea which cost nearly 40,000 UN lives

  
  

  - UN was criticised by USSR fopr doing what the US told it to, But USSR did rejoin the UN
• What was the impact of the Korean war on Sino-American relations?

  - Relations between China and US got worse, US organised a ban on trade with China in 1950 that was tightened in 1952

  
  

  - USA continued to support a rival chinese government in Taiwan, US military defence stopped communist China from attacking Taiwan

  
  

  - The Korean War made the USA very cautious about China's reaction in the Vietnam War
• What was the impact of the Korean war on the Cold war?

  - 36,500 US troops died in Korea, this had a negative impact on public opinion and made the US cautious about sending troops into other foreign conflicts

  
  

  - It showed both the US and USSR that they could fight in a limited way (not involving nuclear weapons) through conflicts between other countries

  
  

  - The US was convinced that the USSR was spreading communism in Asia , Eisenhower started funding France's war in indochina because of the high risk of further countries falling to communism
• What happened at Kent State University?
• What was Kent State Massacre?

  • May 1970, At Kent State University in Ohio, US National Guard opened fire on citizen protestors at the university, killing 4 people and wounding 9 others, similar events happened at Jackson State University
• What was the My Lai Massacre?

  • Massacre by American soldiers in which 300 Vietnamese civilians were shot and killed, many of which being women and children, women and children were also sexually assaulted.
  • The US government attempted to cover the massacre up, but the story was released in the New York times in September 1969, US public were shocked and Lt. Calley was convicted but lightly punished
• What was the opposition to the Vietnam war?

  • Student opposition, 8.5 million students involved in protests by 1970, many young people rejected their parents views, they burned draft cards, held boycotts and marches
  • The draft, People saw the lottery system as unfair as wealthier people were more often exempt or were able to avoid the draft by paying for medical exemptions (trump), there was also racial disparity in the draft, 30% of black Americans being drafted compared to the 19% of white Americans being drafted, draft cards were burned and there were protests against the draft
• Operation Rolling Thunder


  1. Ran between 1965-68

  2. US bombers flew missions from bases in Thailand and from air craft carriers in the Golf of Tonkin

  3. Bombers hit strategic targets in Vietnam (factories, bridges, etc.)