Korean War Flashcards
soviet advantage
USSR has succesffully denotated atomic bomb; US loses ‘ace’ card
China + communists
Chinese Civil War; Mao Ze Dong wings against Chiang Kai Shek
-china becomes communist; US refuses to recognize legitimacy
Red scare
- anti-communist feeling strong in US
- McCarthyism; accusations of communist sympathtizes; leds to purges and show trials of ‘un-AMerican behaiour”
- a lot of suspicion in the US
NSC-68
- report of US national security council 1950; LaFeber sees it as ‘key document of cold war’
- warns that communist activity weverywhere can be traced to moscow
- advices US to increase military strength and spending
- encourages military and economic aid to be given to any country percieved by the US to be resisting communism
theories involved
- containment
- confrontation
- roll back
- domino effect
- truman doctrine
- eisenhower doctrine
immediate cause
- NK invasion of SK 1950 at 38th prallel
- seen by US a example of Soviet Expansionism; domino effect and containment policies inforced
how did the US get involved?
- fear of Soviet Expansionision
-through UN sponser resolution to have military action against NK
-as USSR is boycotting security council in protest of US refusal to recognize PRC; resolution passed
= results on july 1 1950; US and UN troops arrivein Korea under control of UN commander; General Douglas MacArthur
initial war development
- Initial push by NK took them deep into SK; SK/US/UN troops pushed back into small area
- General MacArthur leads UN forces to bypass Korean Troop and cut them off; retakes Seoul and drives NK back to 38th parallel
Result of initial US success…
- US redefines war aims; goes from containment to rollback policy; want to liberate NK from communist rule and reunite Korea using UN forces
= results in UN forces crossing 38th prallel into NK terriroty
chinese invovelment
Chinese concerend about US/UN forces pushing past Yalu River (Close to border)
November; 200,000 Chinese join NK and cause UN troops to retreat; recapture Pyongyan and NK + Allies retake 38th parallel
= many american casualties
= stalemate develops around 38th parallel
results of US failure + macarthur issues
- Truman realizes US needs to return to containment policy on 38th parallel
- MacArthur disagrress; wants to fight and use military power; is relieved of command
- TRUMAn replaced by Eisenhower; wnats peace
= Stalin replaced by Kruschnev; also wnats peace
-Peace talks start in 1951; reptariation of prisoners of war focus - war continues for 2 more years with many casulaties; US puts pressure on china by threatenting use of atomic bomb
= military armistic signed in 1953
significance?
first hot war of cold war
revisionist historian views
- think tha STalin had no role in invasion, and that north was possibly responding to attacks by south
bruce communigs
states tha tsoviet control over NK was flimsy and that kim uu sung acted independently
role of Kimg II Sung
- wanted to reunify country under communist country
- wants to persuade Stalin to help and wants his approval