The Korean and Vietnam wars

Question 1

When was the Korean War?

Answer 1

1950-1953

Question 2

When was the Vietnam War?

Answer 2

1955-1975

Question 3

Which war was the only time the US directly engaged with a communist power (China)?

Answer 3

The Korean War

Question 4

Who was North Korea supported by?

Answer 4

China and the USSR

Question 5

Who was South Korea supported by?

Answer 5

The US and allied countries.

Question 6

Who was the president of South Korea?

Answer 6

Syngman Rhee

Question 7

Who was the Prime Minister of North Korea?

Answer 7

Kim-Il Sung

Question 8

What was and still is the border between North and South Korea?

Answer 8

The 38th parallel

Question 9

When did the US remove their troops from Korea?

Answer 9

1949

Question 10

What event triggered the start of the war?

Answer 10

North Korean forces crossed the 38th parallel.

Question 11

How did Truman involve the US in the war? Why?

Answer 11

He believed the Soviets were supporting the invasion and called it a ‘challenge to the free world’.
He went to the UN and got authorisation, so he called it a ‘UN Police action’ but it was the US.

Question 12

Who led the US effort in the Korean War?

Answer 12

General McArthur.

Question 13

How did the Korean War end?

Answer 13

It didn’t. There was an armistice signed but no peace treaty was ever signed.

Question 14

When did the North Korean forces capture Seoul?

Answer 14

Early 1951.

Question 15

When was the Korean armistice agreement signed?

Answer 15

July 27, 1953.

Question 16

Who was supporting South Vietnam?

Answer 16

The US and the Allies.

Question 17

Who supported North Vietnam?

Answer 17

The USSR and China.

Question 18

Where did conflict happen aside from Vietnam?

Answer 18

Laos and Cambodia. By 1976 all 3 states were communist.

Question 19

What was the border between North and South Vietnam?

Answer 19

The 17th parallel.

Question 20

When were US troops sent to fight in Vietnam?

Answer 20

1961 under JFK.

Question 21

Explain the Domino theory.

Answer 21

The notion was that if one country, in this case, Vietnam, became communist, the whole region would follow.

Question 22

When was the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution passed? What did it do?

Answer 22

In 1964, after two alleged North Vietnamese attacks on US naval vessels. Those attacks never happened.
It granted the US broad latitude in fighting communism in Southeast Asia.

Question 23

What was Operation Rolling Thunder?

Answer 23

An aerial bombardment campaign conducted by the US and the South Vietnamese Air Force.

Question 24

What were the goals of Operation Rolling Thunder?

Answer 24

Reducing NV support of communist operations in Laos and South Vietnam.
Limiting NV’s capabilities to take direct action against Laos and SV.
Impairing NV’s capacity to continue as an industrially viable state.

Question 25

Why was Operation Rolling Thunder unsuccessful?

Answer 25

Because the North Vietnamese developed radar-controlled anti-aircraft weapons and shot down hundreds of American planes.

Question 26

When did Operation Rolling Thunder begin? How long did it last?

Answer 26

March 2, 1965. It lasted 3 years.

Question 27

When did the last US military units leave Vietnam?

Answer 27

March 29, 1973.

Question 28

When and where was it agreed to end the war?

Answer 28

January 1973 in Paris.

Question 29

When did the South Vietnamese government surrender unconditionally? Why?

Answer 29

April 29, 1975, because North Vietnamese troops entered Saigon.