KQ5: The Korean War, The Cuban Missile Crisis, and The Vietnam War TIMELINE Flashcards

1
Q

What happened in June 1950? [2]

A
  • North Korea invaded South Korea, and the UN was asked to help
  • The UN organized troops from the USA and 15 other countries
  • General MacArthur led the 300,000 UN troops, 87% of them American
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2
Q

What happened in September 1950? [2]

A
  • NKPA easily defeated the Republic of Korea’s army and captured most of South Korea
  • The UN forces made an amphibious landing at Inchon and forced the NKPA to retreat, recapturing South Korea
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3
Q

What happened in October and November 1950? [2]

A
  • October: MacArthur invaded North Korea and pushed as far as the Chinese border, which alarmed the Chinese
  • China had modern weapons supplied by the Russians, and so a 500,000 troop advance pushed the Americans out of North Korea, advancing into South Korea.
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4
Q

What happened between March 1951 and July 1953? [5]

A
  • March/April1951 : MacArthur wanted to continue the war by invading China with nuclear weapons
  • Truman disagreed and felt saving NK was enough; MacArthur ignored this and threatened China with attack
  • MacArthur was fired and brought home, and his policy was rejected
  • June 1951: Peace talks began, but the fighting continued for 2 more years
  • July 1953: Truman replaced by Eisenhower who wanted to end the war, and Stalin died in 1953, with the armistice signed that month.
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5
Q

In what ways was containment successful in Korea? [3]

A
  • Showed that the US had the will and means to contain communism
  • Ensured South Korea remained non-communist
  • USA had used the UN to enforce its foreign policy
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6
Q

In what ways was containment unsuccessful in Korea?[4]

A
  • Highlighted tensions amongst Americans leaders; hardliners vs. containment
  • Truman had been criticised for being weak in not seeking outright victory
  • Unified Korea not achieved
  • High casualty rates on all sides
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7
Q

What happened in the Arms Race between 1949 and 1954? [4]

A
  • 1949: USSR developed Atom bomb
  • 1952: USA tested a hydrogen bomb, 2500x more powerful
  • 1954: USSR developed long range bomber plane
  • 1955: USSR develops the H-bomb
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8
Q

What happened in the Arms Race between 1957 and 1961?[4]

A
  • 1957: First space satellite, Sputnik I, launched by USSR, leading to the birth of the ICBM
  • 1958: USA launched Explorer I(satellite)
  • 1960: Polaris submarine by USA, capable of carrying 64 warheads and had second strike capability
  • 1961: Soviet submarine launched
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9
Q

When was the Bay of Pigs Invasion?

A

17th April 1961

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10
Q

When did Eisenhower approve the US National Security Council Plan to remove Castro?

A

17th March 1960

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11
Q

Why did the Bay of Pigs invasion fail? [3]

A
  • The New York Times published an article in April prior to the event, so Castro was prepared and knew what was coming
  • The first air strike did littlle damage and Kennedy called off the second round as he was afraid that the world would know it was US interference. However, they continued the invasion(now much weaker due to the lack of bombing) as they had spent so much money on it
  • There was far more support in Cuba for Castro’s regime, which meant that the invasion was a propaganda victory for Castro
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12
Q

With regards to the Cuban Missile Crisis,

What happened in 1960?

A

USSR tested the biggest nuclear weapon ever built; “Big Ivan”

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13
Q

With regards to the Cuban Missile Crisis,

What happened in May 1960?

A

The U2 crisis:
- Gary Powers was shot down and paraded on Soviet TV
- The US denied all involvement, saying it was a weather aircraft that went off course and were later exposed for it.

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14
Q

With regards to the Cuban Missile Crisis,

What happened in June 1961?

A

The Vienna Conference was held between Khrushchev and Kennedy, and Khrushchev thought Kennedy could be intimidated after the Bay of Pigs fiasco.

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15
Q

With regards to the Cuban Missile Crisis,

What happened in August 1961?

A

The Berlin Wall was built.

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16
Q

With regards to the Cuban Missile Crisis,

What happened in May 1962?

A

Operation Mongoose:
- The CIA tried to kill Castro
- Khrushchev armed Cuba with missiles, tanks, fighter jets, and technicians

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17
Q

With regards to the Cuban Missile Crisis,

What happened on the 15th October 1962?

A

Secret U2 spy planes got photos of missile launchers in Cuba

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18
Q

With regards to the Cuban Missile Crisis,

What happened in September 1962?

A

The first nuclear missiles arrived in Cuba, and reports of this appear in the US.

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19
Q

With regards to the Cuban Missile Crisis,

What happened in July 1962? [2]

A
  • America began military training exercises in the Caribbean, which was seen as preparation for an attempted invasion
  • Soviet advisors tell Castro that America is planning another invasion, so nuclear weapons are kept on the island just in case.
20
Q

With regards to the Cuban Missile Crisis,

What happened on the 20th October 1962?

A

Kennedy decided to blockade Cuba

21
Q

With regards to the Cuban Missile Crisis,

What happened on the 22nd October 1962?

A

Kennedy announced the discovery of Cuban missiles to the public, and any missile launched from Cuba was seen to be an act of war.

22
Q

With regards to the Cuban Missile Crisis,

What happened on the 23rd October 1962? [2]

A
  • Kennedy had the air force prepare for an attack and readied 125,000 soldiers to invade Cuba
  • Khrushchev announces that Soviet ships will not abide by the US blockade
23
Q

With regards to the Cuban Missile Crisis,

What happened on the 24th October 1962?

A

Missile carrying ship approached the blockade and suddenly stopped, while the nearest 20 Soviet ships to the blockade stopped or turned.

24
Q

With regards to the Cuban Missile Crisis,

What happened on the 25th October 1962? [2]

A
  • Kennedy raised military readiness to DEFCON 2, while aerial footage showed missile bases being worked on.
  • Soviet oil tanker was allowed through the blockade
25
Q

What happened on the 26th October 1962? [2]

A
  • Khrushchev sends a letter to Kennedy promising removal of soviet missiles and personal if the USA guaranteed to not invade Cuba.
  • Khrushchev therefore admits the presence of missiles.
26
Q

What happened on the 27th October 1962? [3]

A
  • U2 plane shot down over Cuba, killing a US soldier.
  • Soviet B-59 submarine almost launches nuclear missiles at America after experiencing US shockwaves, mistaking them for nuclear war.
  • Khrushchev sends a letter demanding the removal of US missiles in Turkey as part of the deal.
27
Q

What happened on the 28th October 1962? [2]

A
  • Khrushchev concedes and announces the return of Soviet missiles to the USSR.
  • USA agree to secretly remove missiles from Turkey.
28
Q

By what parallel was Vietnam split?

A

17th Parallel.

29
Q

When did the French lose the battle of Dien Bien Phu?

A

7th May 1954.

30
Q

How much money did Eisenhower send to Diem between 1955 and 1961?

A

$7 billion.

31
Q

What did Kennedy do in 1961 to increase the US involvement in the war? [3]

Bear in mind Eisenhower warned against actual involvement in the war.

A
  • Sent enough money to increase the South Vietnamese army from 150-170,000
  • Increased military advisors to 12,000
  • Supplied 300 helicopters.
32
Q

When did Kennedy introduce the Strategic Hamlets Programme? What response was this met by?

A

He introduced it in 1962. It was met by anger from the Vietnamese people as they didn’t want to travel long distances or leave burial sites.

33
Q

What happened in Vietnam in November 1963?

A

Ngo Dinh Diem was overthrown and assassinated in a military coup.

34
Q

What happened in August 1964 in Vietnam? [3]

A

The Gulf of Tonkin accident:
- US boat approached by Vietcong torpedo boats and attacked
- US boat joined by a destroyer and they opened fire, claiming that a Vietcong attack was imminent and that they were being attacked.
- In fact, there were no Vietcong boats in the area at that time.

This was Johnson’s excuse to enter full-scale war with Vietnam.

35
Q

What happened in Vietnam in February 1965? [2]

A

Johnson implemented Operation Rolling Thunder:
- Aimed to destroy transport systems, industrial bases and air defenses
- Sprayed agent orange to eliminate jungle cover

36
Q

What happened in Vietnam in March 1965?

A

3,500 US Marines landed at Da Nang.

37
Q

What were the devastating effects of US chemical weapons and bombing?

A
  • 400,000 people died during the war
  • 2 million suffered from illnesses during the war
  • 500,000 babies born with defects since
  • 388,000 tons of Napalm dropped on Vietnam
  • Rolling Thunder killed up to 182,000 civilians but just 20,000 soldiers
38
Q

How much was the Vietnam war costing the USA annually? How many US soldiers were there in Vietnam?

A

$20 billion. 500,000 soldiers.

39
Q

When was the Tet Offensive?

A

Between January and September 1968.

40
Q

What happened in the Tet Offensive? Why was it significant? [1 & 1]

A
  • One Vietcong commando unit tried to capture the US embassy in Saigon and held down the US force for 2 days despite being only 4,500 vietcong.
  • The American citizens were being told that the war was going well; footage of the Tet Offensive showed the opposite.
41
Q

What was the media like during the Vietnam war and how did it change? [2]

A
  • It was generally positive, but became much more negative following the Tet Offensive.
  • It questioned the purpose of the war and American involvement
  • Images of casual violence shocked the US population.
42
Q

How did anti-war protests grow stronger and reduce support for the war?

A
  • They reached their height in 1968-1970
  • In 1968, there were over 100 demonstrations with over 40,000 students
  • In November 1969, 700,000 protesters demonstrated in Washington; it was the largest US political protest in history.
43
Q

When was Nixon elected?

A

Nixon was elected in 1969.

44
Q

Why was Nixon elected? [2]

A
  • Johnson’s popularity had hugely diminished because of the war.
  • Nixon promised a peaceful end to the conflict to remove America from the war.
45
Q

What was Vietnamisation? How did it progress between 1970 and 1972? [2]

A
  • It was the idea of the South Vietnamese being supported by the US with materials and money, but the US would withdraw from the fighting.
  • 350,000 American troops in December 1970 dropping to 40,000 in 1972.
46
Q

How successful was Vietnamisation in achieving peace?

A
  • He tried to force peace by bombing Cambodia which looked like an escalation.
  • This led to 4 students dying in a demonstration at Kent state university.
  • Peace treay signed in Paris in 1973 which broke down quite quickly.

Overall stupendously unsuccessful

47
Q

When did North Vietnam conquer South Vietnam?

A

1975.