American containment of communism

Question 1

(c) How successful was the UN in Korea? Explain your answer. [10]

Answer 1

1. Successful -> UN get involved quickly
   – North Korea invaded the South on 25th June 1950, hoping to reunify the country by force
   – Security Council met on the same day and decided that the North Koreans had broken world peace -> North Koreans were guilty of planned aggression and therefore their attack needed to be repelled
   – Security Council backed Truman’s call for an armed response and called on members to supply troops -> sixteen member states supplied troops including Britain, Canada, New Zealand and Australia
2. Successful -> Communism contained
   – Despite the South Korean troops being pushed down into the small area in the South called Pusan by September 1950, UN troops arrived and managed to reach beyond the 38th Parallel by October 1950
   – Summer 1951 -> stalemate had been reached around the 38th Parallel
   – 27th July 1953 -> ceasefire signed, 38th Parallel became approximate border -> Communism had been contained
3. Unsuccessful -> allowed US to dominate
   – General MacArthur, the leader of the US troops in Korea, never consulted the UN Security council for advice
   – From Jan 1951 onwards, France and Britain tried to get the US to negotiate with China but they refused -> Atlee even flew to Washington to speak with Truman but the US still ignored them and continued invading
   – 90% of UN army personnel was American
4. Unsuccessful -> huge loss of life as Americans went too far
   – 54,000 American troops died
   – 3,000 UN troops
   – 250,000 Chinese died
   – Millions of Koreans died
   – The Americans would not stop invading once they had reached the 38th Parallel and continued towards the Yalu River despite China’s warnings
   – November 1950 -> Chinese troops joined the North Koreans making this war much more bloody and widespread
   – They did not gain anything by invading further as 38th Parallel remained the border in the end anyway

Question 2

(c) ‘Khrushchev gained a victory in the Cuban Missile Crisis.’ How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer. [10]

Answer 2

1. Khrushchev -> successfully used the missiles to bargain with the USA
   – 26th October 1962 -> Kennedy received a letter from Khrushchev stating that should the Americans promise not to invade Cuba, the Russians would remove their missiles from Cuba
   – 27th October 1962 -> Khrushchev sent Kennedy a second letter saying that the USA would have to remove their nuclear missiles from Turkey for the Russians to take their nuclear weapons off Cuba
   – Kennedy agreed to these terms -> the USSR no longer had the American nuclear threat from Turkey
2. Khrushchev -> demonstrated USSR’s strength
   – 1961 -> Americans had nearly 20 times more nuclear missiles than the USSR and the US also had long range B52 bombers
   – Photographs taken by America spy planes showed that the weapons were pointed at large American cities -> 80 million Americans could be killed within minutes
   – Helped to assert the USSR’s power in the arms race
   – Cuba remained Communist and America had to accept Castro’s communist government -> bad for USA as Cuba would be a strategic ally for USSR in future
3. Kennedy -> made Khrushchev remove the missiles
   – The American cities were now no longer under nuclear threat from Russia who, at this point in time, still did not have as much nuclear force as the USA
   – USSR had no means to send their nuclear weapons -> no inter-continental ballistic missiles or long range bombers
   – Greatly increased US safety
4. Kennedy -> reputation improved, as Turkey deal was kept secret
   – Politically Kennedy looked strong and Khrushchev looked like he had given in (fall from power in 1964)
   – Bay of Pigs = utter disaster so this boosted Kennedy’s reputation as publically he appeared to have won
   – Popularity and prestige Kennedy gained allowed him to regain the favour of the American people who felt he would be able to negotiate effectively with Khrushchev in future crises

Question 3

(c) How successful was American foreign policy towards Cuba and Vietnam? Explain your answer. [10]

Answer 3

1. Successful in Cuba
   – Khrushchev removed missiles from Cuba, decreasing threat of nuclear attack
   – USSR still did not have long range strategic bombers with which to bomb the USA
   – Turkey deal kept secret, Kennedy’s reputation improved and he regained the people’s favour after Bay of Pigs disaster
2. Successful in Vietnam
   – Weakened the Communists even though unsuccessful in the end
   – Showed willingness to fight against Communism
   – Arguably Nixon made “peace with honour” through Vietnamisation
   – April 1969 – 543,000 troops compared to 1971 – 157,000 troops
3. Unsuccessful in Cuba
   – Kennedy had to remove missiles from Turkey, arguably losing a future bargaining chip
   – Cuba remained communist and Castro remained allied with USSR
   – Did not consult his European Allies or NATO during the crisis, so they became more wary of the USA -> France, under de Gaulle, even went so far as to withdraw from NATO in 1966
4. Unsuccessful in Vietnam
   – Ultimately they totally failed to contain Communism
   – Vietcong took Vietnam, Khmer Rouge took Cambodia and Pathet Lao took LAOS
   – Massive loss of life, money and huge civilian opposition

Question 4

(c) How successful was American foreign policy towards Vietnam? Explain your answer. [10]

Answer 4

1. Success -> showed a willingness to fight against Communism, weakened Communists
2. Success -> gained “peace with honour”
3. Not a success -> huge loss of life, huge cost and intense American opposition
4. Not a success -> failed to contain Communism

Question 5

The USA lost the Vietnam War because its military strategy and tactics were wrong.’
How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer. [10]

Answer 5

1. US tactics -> inadequate to destroy Vietcong
   – Operation Rolling Thunder (began Feb 1965) -> unsuccessful in killing Vietcong due to dense forests
   – 55,000 American troops were killed by Vietcong
   – Average age of troops in Vietnam was 19 years old and troops were only in Vietnam for a year so not long enough to become experienced at fighting the Vietcong
2. US tactics -> brutal and counterproductive, killing civilians rather than Vietcong
   – Controversial Chemical Weapons
   – Agent Orange -> chemical defoliant
   – Napalm -> sticky chemical which burns anything it touches
   – Hurt the ordinary Vietnamese -> made them turn to the Communists
   – Search and Destroy -> Used helicopters to drop soldiers to location where they thought the Vietcong soldiers were hiding -> this style of fighting meant that many civilians were killed accidently (eg. My Lai Massacre)
3. Vietcong tactics -> military tactics
   – Guerrilla warfare -> Hid in civilians villages wearing civilians clothing so they were basically indistinguishable from the American perspective -> lots of civilians were killed by accident
   – They forced the Americans to fight in such a way that would give them an advantage – hand to hand in the forests, ambushes etc.
   – Ambushed American patrols, camps and supply lines (used sabotage)
4. Vietcong tactics -> non-offensive tactics
   – Tunnels and trails -> used Ho Chi Minh trail to move supplies from North to South Vietnam (40,000 Vietcong guarding it)
   – Gained the favour of the Vietnamese people through intimidation and by helping them with farming (apparent generosity)
   – The Viet Cong had a fanatical determination that the Americans did not possess
5. American opposition -> within army
   – Morale was steadily decreasing as the soldiers questioned their presence in Vietnam and the actions of their superiors => the cover up of the My Lai Massacre led people to question what other hideous events the American Army leaders were hiding
   – In 1971 -> over one third of US troops in Vietnam were addicted to some form of narcotics
   – Over 80 army officers were killed by their soldiers who disagreed with the objectives and directives they had been given
6. American opposition -> among American civilians
   – However by 15th November 1969 the largest demonstration ever in American history (approx 2 million people) called the US Vietnam Moratorium (means suspension of activity) marched on Washington DC
   – The war was also becoming increasingly expensive - in 1968, the Vietnam War was costing the Americans 66 million dollars a day, with every dollar of damage caused, costing the US 10 dollars
7. Role of the media
   – The Vietnam War was the first ever televised war and the knowledge it gave the American population fed the growing Anti-War movement
   – The television showed the brutality of the Vietnam War through video clips and photos which brought the war closer to the American people and made them sympathise with the Vietnamese civilians
   – Made people campaign harder for withdrawal
8. Tet offensive -> made people question the possibility of US success
   – 1968 -> war was coating 66 million dollars a day with every 1 dollar of damage caused, costing the US 10 dollars
   – This huge offensive, although unsuccessful for the Communists showed their strength and made people think that the US could not win -> their much smaller force should not have been able to do so much damage, attacked over 100 cities
9. Tet offensive -> increased role of the media
   – Images of dead soldiers in the grounds of the US embassy, which was technically American land, showed people how close the Vietcong had got
   – Fuelled the anti-war movement and the government began to think they could not win the war
   – Cronkite, an American reporter said on camera “What the hell is going on?” during a broadcast on the situation on in Vietnam following Tet -> made people further oppose the war