Conflict And Tension In Asia, 1950–1975

Front 1

Part one: Conflict in Korea

Back 1

• The causes of the Korean War: nationalism in Korea; US relations with China; the division of Korea; Kim Il Sung and Syngman Rhee; reasons why the North invaded the South in June 1950; US and the UN responses; USSR's absence from the UN. • The development of the Korean War: the UN campaign in South and North Korea; Inchon landings and recapture of South Korea; UN forces advance into North Korea; reaction of China and intervention of Chinese troops October 1950; the sacking of MacArthur. • The end of the Korean War: military stalemate around the 38th Parallel; peace talks and the armistice; impact of the Korean War for Korea, the UN and Sino-American relations

Front 2

Part two: Escalation of conflict in Vietnam

Back 2

• The end of French colonial rule: Dien Bien Phu and its consequences; Geneva Agreement, 1954; civil war in South Vietnam; opposition to Diem; the Vietcong – aims, support, leadership and guerrilla tactics and Ho Chi Minh. • The US involvement: the Domino Theory; intervention under Eisenhower and Kennedy; Strategic Hamlets programme. • Johnson’s War: the Gulf of Tonkin; the US response to Vietcong tactics; the mass bombing campaign; demands for peace and growing student protests in the USA; My Lai and its public impact; Search and Destroy tactics and impact; the Tet Offensive and its consequences for the war.

Front 3

Part three: The ending of conflict in Vietnam

Back 3

• Nixon’s War: Vietnamisation; chemical warfare; bombing campaign of 1970–1972; relations with China; widening of the war into Laos and Cambodia. • Opposition to war: Kent State University; the importance of the media and TV in influencing public opinion; the context of the Watergate affair. • The end of the war: the Paris Peace talks; the role of Kissinger; the US withdrawal; fall of Saigon; the price of conflict; problems of Vietnam in 1975.