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Korean Conflict
Korean ConflictJapan conquered Korea at the beginning of the twentieth century while it was still an independent kingdom. When World War II came to its end, American and Soviet forces decided to temporarily split Korea on the 38th parallel of latitude. The leader of North Korea, Kim Il Sung, decided to become an ally of the Soviets while South Korea’s dictatorial leader, Syngman Rhee, sided with the US . North Korea called for the reunification of Korea (“heroic struggle”) and invaded South Kor -
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Korean Conflict cont. 2
to push South Korea back to the 38th parallel. this then turned into a stalemate where neither side can push forward.Both sides signed a armistice to end the fighting. almost 2 million troops stayed on either side of the demilitarized zone, an area with no military forces on it, and remained their till this very day. -
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Korean Conflict cont.
invaded South Korea. They overran most of the south when the United Nations decided to act.
UN troops arrive to help South Korea. They were not able to push back the North Koreans, though, until they stopped the advance in August on what is known as the Pusan Perimeter.UN troops were able to land behind enemy lines and cut off supplies for the North Koreans. They surrendered soon afterwards. Pushed them back up to the Yalu river.China sends troops to help out the North Korean troops and manages -
NATO and Warsaw Pact
After WWII the Soviet Union and the US had their difference on how they thought things should be after the war. The Cold War was a state of tension and hostility between nations, the Soviet Union and the United States. In 1949, the United States, Canada, and ten other countries got together to form the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. NATO was countries that pledged to help each other if one was attacked. Then in 1955, to get back the Soviet Union formed their own alliance with seven fellow -
NATO and Warsaw Pact cont.
communist countries in Eastern Europe called the Warsaw Pact. But unlike NATO, the Soviet Union was clearly in charge and the leader over the other countries. The Warsaw Pact divided Europe into “eastern” and “western” blocs. The east was Soviet-dominated countries that were basically dictated by the Soviet Union. The west was led by the United States. -
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Chinese Civil War cont.
to increase productivity, later Mao Zedong led a program known as The Great Lead Forward. He wanted people to put superhuman effort on increasing farm and industrial out put. However, The Great Leap Forward failed and China took a long time to recover. Then Mao launched The Cultural Revolution, its goal was to purge China of bourgeois tendencies. Red Guards attacked all those who they considers bourgeois, the accused where publicly humiliated or beaten sometime they where even killed. -
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Nuclear Arms Race and Detente
Nuclear Arms Race and DetenteThe Nuclear Arms Race was during The Cold War, right at the end of World War II. It was a race between the United States and the Soviet Union, it was a race to have better weapons than each other. The United States started out on top being the only one with nuclear power but in 1949 the Soviet Union also got nuclear weapons. Four years later both sides had the more powerful, hydrogen bomb. However, if either side used their threats both sides would have complete destruction so the “balance of -
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Nuclear Arms Race and Detente cont.
terror" would take place where neither side would use them. In 1969, the United States and the Soviet Union began Strategic Arms Limitation Talks to limit the amount of nuclear bombs held by each side. More agreements had yet to come to only led an era in detente. This was some relaxation of tension in the 1970's. The era of detente ended in 1979 because the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. -
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Chinese Civil War
Chinese Civil WarMao Zedong led communist forces in a civil war against nationalists ending in a victory for Zedong. Mao set up The Peoples Republic of China, China was finally under communist control. People hoped that communism would build a new China and would end foreign domination and supported Mao. One after another nationalist held cities fell, Mao’s People’s Liberation Army was victorious. Mao Zedong built a one party totalitarian state. To boost agriculture Mao called for collectivization in an effort -
Berlin Wall cont.
stayed up until 1989. -
Berlin Wall
After WWI Berlin was divided into two pieces, democratic West Berlin and communist East Berlin. Low-paid people in East Berlin became unhappy with communism and in a massive exodus fled to West Berlin. However, to stop the exodus East Germany built a wall that sealed off West Berlin from the fleeing people wishing to live better. The massive barrier topped with barbed wire was patrolled by guards and was strong enough to stop a tank. The Berlin Wall went through four generations of changes and -
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Vietnam Conflict
Vietnam conflictIn 1954 after Vietnam won the bloody battle of Dienbienphu the French left Vietnam. Western and communist powers then agreed to temporarly divide Vietnam. The North was communist ruled by Ho Chi Minh, and the South (supported by the US) was ran by Ngo Dinh Diem in a non-communist matter. The US supported the south in fear that the domino effect of communist would happen. The south attacked on August 1, 1964 on North Vietnamese islands. The north attacked the US Maddox the next day which they had -
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Vietnam Conflict cont.
mistakenly thought had aided the south in the raids. The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was passed by congress on August 7th, authorizing the president to take all necessary measures to prevent further aggression. On the Vietnamese New Year, the Tet North Vietnam guerrilla armies surprised the south. This being the turning point in the United States. In January 1973 President Nixon negotiated the Paris Peace Accord. In 1975 the North conquered the South taking over their capital city Saigon. -
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European Independence cont.
president. In East Germany, the Berlin Wall was finally opened to West Germany which will lead to the reunification of Germany. Since the beginning of World War II, Eastern European countries were finally free. They dissolved the Warsaw Pact in 1991 and requested that the Russian troops leave. 1992
When Nazi Germany lost World War II, Czechoslovakia was reunited by communist control. When the Communists began losing power in 1989, many Slovaks demanded for independence. When 1992 came, -
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European Independence cont. 2
Slovaks and the Czechs agreed to divide Czechoslovakia peacefully and formed the new nations of Slovakia and the Czech Republic. -
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European Independence
1968
While the Soviets dealt with Czechoslovakia defiance, Hungary quietly introduced economic reforms. Since Hungary remained loyal to communism and the Warsaw pact, they were allowed to go ahead with the reforms. These new reforms helped expand its market economy throughout the 1970’s. 1988-1989
Throughout the 1980’s, Hungarians began to criticize the communist government more openly than before. Then, under the pressure of the public, the government granted greater freedoms and new -
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Soviets in Afghanistan
Soviets went to war with Afghanistan that lasted for almost ten years. The Soviets have tried to modernize Afghanistan and turn it completely communist but warlords took up arms against this new government. . When the Soviets saw this, their troops moved in for an attack. Fighting the mujahedin, though, proved to be just as hard as the Americans fighting the Vietnamese. Later on in the war, the American government began smuggling modern weapons to Afghanistan for the mujahedin. Even before the -
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Soviets in Afghanistan
Soviets in AfghanistanAmericans smuggled weapons for the mujahedin, the Soviets suffered many casualties and, just like the Vietnam War, many Soviets were opposed to this war. They eventually retreated from Afghanistan in 1989. -
Soviet Union Falls
After Mikhail Gorbachev came to power the Soviet Union brought about two reforms. He signed an arms control treaty with the US and tooks troops out of Afghanistan. With the reform of glasnost he ended cenorship, providing freedom of speech. In the other reform he gave factories responisble for decisions, and allowed farmers to sell on the free market. This brought about economic turmoil. Soon the Soviet Republic had broken into 12 independent states; after 69 years the Soviet Union didn't exist
