korean war Flashcards
conflict in Asia: Korea
where is Korea split
38th parallel
which side is communist
north
which side is capitalist
south
which side do the USSR support and why?
north, as they are communist
which side do the US support and why?
south, as they are capitalist
what is a Cold War?
a war in which no physical fighting takes place, instead its fought politically and through proxy wars
what is the domino theory?
the idea that if one country becomes communist, its neighbouring countries will follow
what is mutually assured destruction (MAD)?
if a nuclear war were to start, neither countries would be able to win, both would be destroyed
what is NATO?
an alliance of western countries opposed to the USSR
what is a proxy war?
a war supported by major powers that don’t engage themselves in combat
what is the Truman doctrine?
US president Truman promised that the USA would defend any country threatened by communism
what is the capital of North Korea?
pyongyang
what is the capital of South Korea?
Seoul
who ruled North Korea?
Kim Il Sung
why did Stalin say no to invasion in 1949?
- too many US troops in south Korea
- USSR had no nuclear weapons
- due to the civil war in China they would have no support
why did Stalin say yes to invasion in 1950?
- USA was supposedly withdrawing from Korea to focus on Japan
- USSR created their own bombs
- communist victory in China means USSR would have support
what is the United Nations?
leaders of all countries, created after WW2 to keep peace.
who are the members of the UN Security Council?
GB, USA, France, Russia, China
what does it mean to ‘veto’ a decision?
each member of the security council can veto a decision, meaning to completely undermine it
who was put in charge of all UN military troops?
General Douglas MacArthur
what happened on the 25th of june 1950?
north korea invades south korea
what happened on the 27th of June 1950?
a UN Security Council meeting is called to discuss the invasion
why was China banned from attending meetings?
as they’re communist
what country didn’t show to the security council meeting and why?
Russia, because China wasn’t invited
what event convinced Truman the domino effect was really happening?
Chinas fall to communism
how were the members of the UN Security Council decided?
The countries in which had the most power at the end of WW2
how did the Korean War reach a stalemate?
Both sides realised that they could not unify Korea by force, if one side pushed the other side would push back. If this continued it would end in mutually assured destruction.
what was the secret security meeting called that suggested that the USA needed to be more aggressive?
NSC-068
Why did china join the war?
The UN troops were pushing to close to the Chinese border.
How many troops did China send in?
250,000
How did MacArthur want to retaliate to China sending troops?
Wanted to use a nuclear weapon on Beijing.
Why was MacArthur sacked?
Truman and the UN were worried he was going to start a potential WW3
when and where were peace talks held?
July 1951, Panmunjom
How was the stalemate finally broken?
The UN gave the US permission to mass bomb North Korea
what was operation Moolah?
a US airforce effort to try and obtain a soviet MiG-15 jet fighter. US bribed soviet fighters to defect to South Korea.
why did peace talks take so long?
prisoners of war did not want to return to North Korea.
ordnance (weapons) dropped on NK = the amount dropped on Germany in WW2
2 million North Koreans killed
what position did the countries end in by the end of the war?
The same as when it first began (38th parallel)
why did North Korea lose superpower support?
Stalin died
what year did Stalin die?
1953
who took over the role as US president in 1953?
Eisenhower
did Eisenhower want to continue or end the war?
end.
why did the US withdraw from the Korean War?
Eisenhower wanted to end the war.
concerned with escalation of communism in Vietnam.
what was the purpose of the Inchon landings?
to push North Korean troops back to the 38th parallel.
where did UN land troops during the Inchon landings?
Inchon - UN troops
Pusan - South Korean troops
name as many studied individuals involved in the Korean War.
Syngman Rhee
Kim Il sung
stalin
truman
eisenhower
Douglas MacArthur
the Korean War was a war of firsts.
Name the factors.
first real conflict between capitalism and communism in Asia
first test of the UN
first jet plane war
name the impacts the war had on China.
conflict with USA meant cutting of trading links for 25 years
very expensive for an already poor country
+ closer friendship with USSR
name the impacts the war had on the USA.
saved South Korea from communism
didn’t manage to remove communism from the north
higher Cold War tensions with the USSR, starting an arms race.
name the impacts the war has on the UN.
gained respect by taking quick action
USSR joined back
seen as the USAs puppet
name the impact the war had on Korea.
border remained along 38th parallel
1.3 million casualties
1 in 10 civillians have died
millions of refugees
infrastructure and housing destroyed
