4.2.2 Korea, Cuba, VietnamCauses, Events and Results

This section will illustrate the extent of the Cold War outside of Europe & its impact on international affairs

Our focus will be to analyze the causes and results of the following Cold War Hotspots

The Korean War (1950-53)

The Cuban Missile Crisis (October 1962)

The Vietnam War ( 1950s – 1975)

1945 ’48 ’49 ’50 ’55 ’61 ’62 ’64 ’65 ’75 ’79 ’83 ’85 ’89 ’90 1991

- UN

- NATO - Warsaw

Pact

- Truman Doctrine

- Marshall Plan

- Molotov Plan

- Berlin Blockade/

Airlift

- Korean

War

- Cuban Missile

Crisis

- Vietnam

War

The first major military conflict of the Cold War between the Western powers and the Communist nations in the years following World War Two.

The war lasted three years, cost millions of lives, devastated both North and South Korea, and actually continues to this day as the military conflict concluded with a truce, not an actual peace treaty.

The Korean War involved all of the major powers of the 1950s: The United States, United Kingdom, France, China, and Russia (the Soviet Union), as well as the relatively new United Nations.

It carried the potential for escalating into a Third World War.

Since the beginning of the 20th

century, Korea had been a partof the Japanese empire,

Following the surrender of the Japanese army in August 1945, American & Soviet troopsoccupied the area

The Russian and American troops had liberated Korea just as they had in Germany

As occupying powers, these two countries decided to temporarily divide Korea along the 38th Parallel

South of the divide, the Americans were in control while the Soviets occupied the northern section

As no permanent solution to this division could be found, by 1947 the United Nations (UN) stepped in to assume responsibility for the country

A UN commission was established to oversee a free election and create a unified & independent government in Korea

Because the Soviets refused to acknowledge its power in the North, the elections went ahead in the south alone resulting in a government recognized by the UN

By 1948, the emerging split in the country led both areas to adopt different forms of government with each claiming to speak for all of Korea

US southern section forming the Democratic Republic of South Korea Syngman Rhee was their leader (hardline anti

communist)

The Soviet north became the Democratic Republic of North Korea Kim Il Sung became the leader (dreamed of

uniting Korea under communism)

North Korea wished to unify Korea as communist, while South Korea wished to bring democracy to all of Korea.

When Russians withdrew in 1948 the left Kim Il Sung with a well trained force

When the Americans withdrew in 1949 they left behind 500 advisers to train the armies of South Korea

Border skirmishes were common & over 10,000 North & South Korean soldiers were killed even before the war began

This communist activity caused Truman to order a review & re-evaluation of American Cold War diplomacy strategy

The result was NSC-68, one of the most important Cold War documents as it would shape America foreign policy for next 20 years

contain Soviet expansion.

expand conventional military forces and the nuclear arsenal, including hydrogen bomb

massive increases in military aid to U.S. allies were necessary as well as more effective use of “covert” means to achieve U.S. goals.

Signed into policy once the Korean War began

Video Overviewhttp://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/president-truman-receives-nsc-68

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWoZSvthYaw

1949: the Chinese Civil War ends with Mao’s Communist government taking power

Communist China is known as the People’s Republic of China (PRC)

The Republic of China (ROC) is the island of Taiwan

After being expelled from the Chinese mainland by the communists, the R.O.C. government still considered itself to be the one true government of China

It was supported by the Western powers (USA) which allowed the R.O.C. to represent China at the UN

The wanted to prevent another communist government from gaining a place in the Security Council

It wasn’t until the1970s that Communist China replaced the ROC as China’s true representative government in the United Nation

https://history.state.gov/milestones/1969-1976

Since China had fallen to Communism, US feared a domino effect: if Korea became Communist, it would spread through the rest of Southeast Asia

On June 25, 1950, the Korean Warbegan when some 75,000 soldiers fromthe North Korean People’s Army poured across the 38th parallel

As the North Korean army pushed into South Korea, the United States readied its troops for a war against communism itself.

Truman hoped to build a broad coalition against the aggressors from the North by enlisting support from the United Nations.

Of course, the Soviet Union could veto any proposed action by the Security Council, but this time, the Americans were in luck.

The Soviets were boycotting the Security Council for refusing to admit RED CHINA into the United Nations.

As a result, the Council voted unanimously to "repel the armed attack" of North Korea.

Many countries sent troops to defend the South, but forces beyond those of the United States and South Korea were nominal.

For many in the USA, the fear was that this was the first step in a communist campaign to take over the world.

“If we let Korea down the Soviet[s] will keepright on going and swallow up one [place] afteranother.”

At first, the war was a defensive one – a war to get the communists out of South Korea – and it went badly for the Allies.

The North Korean army was well-disciplined, well-trained and well-equipped & quickly overran the entire peninsula with the exception of the small PUSAN PERIMETER in the South

By September, the commander of the UN forces, Douglas MacArthur, went on the offensive with an amphibious landing at Inchon

The communist-backed northern forces reeled in retreat. quickly pushed the northern troops to the 38th Parallel — and kept going.

The United States saw an opportunity to create a complete unified democratic Korea and pushed the northern army up to the Yalu River, which borders China.

Truman wanted to repel North Korean troops from South Korea and show the collective power of the UN

He ordered troops to stop at the Yalu River—the border between North Korea and China

He allowed MacArthur to bomb bridges on the river but only on the Korean side

MacArthur wanted to defeat Asian communism & thought Truman was soft on Communism

China had warned that if the UN invaded North Korea, they would get involved & on November 25th, 1950 over 400,000 Chinese soldiers attacked across the Yalu River

Within a month, the UN coalition retreated back beyond the 38th parallel

Stalemate: MacArthur suggested all out nuclear war

He was fired April 10, 1951

General MacArthur wanted to escalate the war by bombing the Chinese mainland and blockade their coast.

Truman disagreed fearing escalation of the conflict could lead to World War III, especially if the now nuclear-armed Soviet Union lent assistance to China.

After publically criticizing Truman's approach,

MacArthur was fired for insubordination.

American policy now was to secure an independent and unified Korea by “political, as distinguished from, military means.”

American and Soviet talks at the UN resulted in a cease-fire and peace talks began on July 10, 1951.

There were sporadic outbreaks of fighting but a truce was signed on July 27, 1953.

South Korea remained “free” (though there are still US troops there today) and containment had worked

BUT, Korea was badly damaged, the area is still two separate states, and there was a large human cost

Casualties in the Korean War

780,000500,000

70,000

30,000

4,500

NK & Chinese soldiers

and civilians

SK civilians

SK soldiers

USA soldiers

Other UN soldiers

There were some lessons learned:

This war showed the UN’s limitations as a peacemaking organization

They were there only because the US had decided it should be and that the Soviet Union had not been in a position to use its veto

The enduring legacy was the Uniting for Peace resolution, which gave the UN General Assembly the responsibility for dealing with international aggression if the Security Council was deadlocked

The Security Council passed it during the Soviet boycott as a means of countering future soviet vetoes.

Rare look inside Korea's demilitarized zone

http://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2015/05/04/korea-rare-look-inside-dmz.cnn/video/playlists/inside-north-korea/

One of the longstanding, debated questions from the Korean War is was it an example of UN peacemaking or an example of the American containment policy?

Peacemaking

UN resolution to restore independence of S.K.

Force used by UN to stop N.K. invasion (e.g. peacemaking)

Some member nations of UN participate in war

Containment

U.S. fear of ‘domino theory’

U.S. provided economic & military aid to S.K.

S.K. President & MacArthur want to widen war to include reunification of Korea under S.K. as one country & attack China to defeat communism