Here are two questions as food for thought:
1)In the Cold War, the US and USSR competed with each other through their involvement in proxy wars. People often discuss whether a certain side (e.g. the US, Western Europe, etc.) gained or lost advantages due to proxy wars.
Despite the obvious advnatages/disadvantages that proxy wars had on countries, did proxy wars do more harm than good to these countries ? Feel free to leave comments.
2)"The US and USSR must necessarily have participated in small regional conflicts during the Cold War era, or else they would have engaged in a mutual war and caused more devastating consequences." Do you agree? Why or why not? Explain.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Editor's Answers to Questions:
Q:Was the Western power right in condemning Soviet invasion of Afghanistan?
A:We think that Western nations had a valid basis for condemning the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Soviet actions could clearly be seen to be those of trying to conquer Afghanistan and wipe out internal resistance, so the Western nations' accusations were not groundless or entirely warped. When a nation takes part in armed intervention in a neighbouring country it is usually condemned. It is also accepted widely, even by the UN, that no nation should invade another or interfere with another, no matter what reason, because it impinges on that nation's sovereignty. Whatever political motivations Western nations had in condemning the USSR, they did have a duty to stop and chastise other nations for violating its neighbour's rights.
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Q:Had it not been for the Cold War bi-polarity, the two Koreas might have become one entity. Would you agree with this statement? What does your group think?
A:This is a hard question to answer, because no one actually knows what would have been. The term "Cold War bipolarity" also adds to the problem. The bi-polarity itself, or perhaps (in a clearer way) the ideological and political rift between the US and USSR, did not begin only when the Cold War began in 1949-50. Most historians agree that the US and USSR began to tread diverging paths after the end of WWII in 1945, when the US-USSR partnership became defunct and useless, and when the US and USSR became increasingly wary of each other.
If we take that this bipolarity, this rift between the US and the USSR, occurred right after WWII, then we can say that perhaps Korea might have remained intact and united. During the period from after WWII to the Korean War, the US and USSR first partitioned Korea, then set up administrations in their halves that were allied to them. This laid the path for a near-permanent split. Then, with unification elections postponed (cancelled, actually) due to the unwillingness of both Koreas and the US and the USSR to give way and give up Korea to "the other side", the split became more or less permanent.
If there had been no such rivalry or bipolarity, the Koreas might have been peacefully united. There would have been no conflicting US/USSR interests, no ideological split & no Yi Seung-man or Kim Il-Sung, no 38th parallel, and no Korean War. There would have been no bipolarity to promote US-USSR conflict and no escalation of tensions between two politically differentlyorientated Korean governments.
If there had been no Cold War bipolarity, actually, there would have been no split in Korea, or a split in Germany, or a split in Vietnam, or various acts of conscious "partitioning" of countries into several political blocs or factions.
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Q:Did Gorbachev do the right thing in withdrawing the Soviet troops from Afghan?
A:Yes. He began the withdrawal process early on in his years of office. With our knowledge of contextual sources, he probably did so because of: political opposition to the Kremlin and Moscow from the outside world and by citizens due to the war; exorbitant costs of the Afghan War that drained the economy and treasuries; and appalling human costs of the war. We note that Gorbachev took many populist measures during his reign, such us freeing up the media, promising less intervention in Soviet neighbours' affairs, and yet another of his populist moves would have been to pull out from a deeply unpopular war. He also abandoned Afghanistan as part of plans to cut military expenditures. He also wanted to decrease US-USSR friction and tension, and in his moves to reconcile differences between the rest of the world and the USSR, his withdrawal was a sign that the USSR would no longer fight the war in Afghanistan, much like a sign for peace.
Also, the war by his time was no longer of positive meaning to the Kremlin. The USSR has lost much in this war, and it did not want to be bogged down further in this unprofitable conflict. The political, economic, diplomatic repercussions were already too much for the USSR. To have stayed in Afghanistan might have led to the hastened collapse and death of the Soviet Union, its economy, its political standing, and its system itself, as the burdens of the war were simply too great for the USSR to bear. So we believe Gorbachev was very correct in pulling out of Afghanistan.
A:We think that Western nations had a valid basis for condemning the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Soviet actions could clearly be seen to be those of trying to conquer Afghanistan and wipe out internal resistance, so the Western nations' accusations were not groundless or entirely warped. When a nation takes part in armed intervention in a neighbouring country it is usually condemned. It is also accepted widely, even by the UN, that no nation should invade another or interfere with another, no matter what reason, because it impinges on that nation's sovereignty. Whatever political motivations Western nations had in condemning the USSR, they did have a duty to stop and chastise other nations for violating its neighbour's rights.
-
Q:Had it not been for the Cold War bi-polarity, the two Koreas might have become one entity. Would you agree with this statement? What does your group think?
A:This is a hard question to answer, because no one actually knows what would have been. The term "Cold War bipolarity" also adds to the problem. The bi-polarity itself, or perhaps (in a clearer way) the ideological and political rift between the US and USSR, did not begin only when the Cold War began in 1949-50. Most historians agree that the US and USSR began to tread diverging paths after the end of WWII in 1945, when the US-USSR partnership became defunct and useless, and when the US and USSR became increasingly wary of each other.
If we take that this bipolarity, this rift between the US and the USSR, occurred right after WWII, then we can say that perhaps Korea might have remained intact and united. During the period from after WWII to the Korean War, the US and USSR first partitioned Korea, then set up administrations in their halves that were allied to them. This laid the path for a near-permanent split. Then, with unification elections postponed (cancelled, actually) due to the unwillingness of both Koreas and the US and the USSR to give way and give up Korea to "the other side", the split became more or less permanent.
If there had been no such rivalry or bipolarity, the Koreas might have been peacefully united. There would have been no conflicting US/USSR interests, no ideological split & no Yi Seung-man or Kim Il-Sung, no 38th parallel, and no Korean War. There would have been no bipolarity to promote US-USSR conflict and no escalation of tensions between two politically differentlyorientated Korean governments.
If there had been no Cold War bipolarity, actually, there would have been no split in Korea, or a split in Germany, or a split in Vietnam, or various acts of conscious "partitioning" of countries into several political blocs or factions.
-
Q:Did Gorbachev do the right thing in withdrawing the Soviet troops from Afghan?
A:Yes. He began the withdrawal process early on in his years of office. With our knowledge of contextual sources, he probably did so because of: political opposition to the Kremlin and Moscow from the outside world and by citizens due to the war; exorbitant costs of the Afghan War that drained the economy and treasuries; and appalling human costs of the war. We note that Gorbachev took many populist measures during his reign, such us freeing up the media, promising less intervention in Soviet neighbours' affairs, and yet another of his populist moves would have been to pull out from a deeply unpopular war. He also abandoned Afghanistan as part of plans to cut military expenditures. He also wanted to decrease US-USSR friction and tension, and in his moves to reconcile differences between the rest of the world and the USSR, his withdrawal was a sign that the USSR would no longer fight the war in Afghanistan, much like a sign for peace.
Also, the war by his time was no longer of positive meaning to the Kremlin. The USSR has lost much in this war, and it did not want to be bogged down further in this unprofitable conflict. The political, economic, diplomatic repercussions were already too much for the USSR. To have stayed in Afghanistan might have led to the hastened collapse and death of the Soviet Union, its economy, its political standing, and its system itself, as the burdens of the war were simply too great for the USSR to bear. So we believe Gorbachev was very correct in pulling out of Afghanistan.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
The Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (2nd Indochina War)
(1959-1975)
Causes and Processes
After the First Indochina War ended with the defeat of the French Army by troops from North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) at Dien Bien Phu in 1954, the French relinquished Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.
The Geneva Accords of 1954, a political compromise brokered between the US and USSR blocs, split Vietnam at the 17th parallel, with the DRV, founded by Ho Chi Minh, ruling Vietnam north of the 17th parallel and Emperor Bao Dai ruling South Vietnam.
In 1955 Ngo Dinh Diem established the RVN with himself as Head of State and deposed Bao Dai. The Geneva Accords stated that elections for Vietnamese reunification were to be held by July 1956; these were never held during Diem’s rule. The DRV initiated massive land reforms, distributing lands to peasants for free. The South’s attractiveness dimmed in relation to the DRV, which was becoming increasingly popular with Southerners, as Diem’s regime was corrupt and favoured bourgeois landowners.
The US, fearing a spread of ‘the red plague’ from the DRV to the RVN, provided money and advisers to South Vietnam as early as 1950. This continued even after Diem took power. However they did not act willingly as Diem’s government was tainted by corruption and nepotism. It is of general consensus that the US, following its doctrines of containment and adhering to the “domino theory”, tried to back non-Communist states to counter Communist influence in the SE Asia region.
In response to Diem’s moves to eliminate Communists in the South, the North launched an insurgency in 1956. By 1959, hundreds of South Vietnamese local leaders and civil servants had been murdered. In January 1959 Hanoi authorized an escalation of the already violent situation to a full war, and sent large numbers of troops to RVN through Laos. The National Liberation Front (NLF), a pro-Communist fighting force, was formed by combining anti-Diem factions in the RVN, but was not largely influenced by the Central Committee in Hanoi, as the US believed.
Following the Vienna Conference in June 1961, where Nikita Khrushchev of the USSR had used aggressive tactics to make back down on issues including Berlin, Kennedy was convinced that he had to show American determination to counter Communism by participating in Vietnam's war.
Despite US backing, Diem’s corrupt regime had proved incapable of dealing with the insurgency, which grew worse, and the populace lost confidence in Diem. To further bolster Diem’s government, Kennedy sent armed forces to the RVN in May 1961, initiating a flow of massive numbers of American troops into South Vietnam in an effort to bring the US' full power to bear.
With the war intensifying, by August 1966 the US had over half a million US troops. It soon became clear that US tactics, such as attrition (slowly wearing down the enemy through protracted war), were failing. Communist forces were using guerrilla tactics successfully, and they used the terrains advantageously. They were also highly motivated, ready to make the biggest sacrifice and determined to drive the US army out of Vietnam.
In Jan 1968, the North launched the Tet Offensive in the South, with more than 80,000 troops striking nearly at all urban areas in the South. The South and the US were only able to recapture most urban areas after sacrificing many men and resources.
The Tet Offensive scored a political victory for the North in the US, where the US government and public were shocked and many called for the war’s end. Following the inauguration of a new President, R. M. Nixon, in 1969, the US began to “Vietnamise” the war, by transferring operations and war duties to South Vietnam’s armed forces, and slowly pulling US troops out of Vietnam.
After the US Army’s exit, Saigon was taken in 1975, and the RVN government collapsed. The Socialist Republic of Vietnam was founded thereafter.
A BRIEF REVIEW OF AMERICAN POLICIES IN THE WAR
Throughout the tenure of US involvement in Vietnam, it had largely acted without much knowledge and understanding about affairs and their dynamics in Vietnam. This would lead to eventual US failure.
Sources show that the US, over time, increasingly viewed the Vietnam War as an "American war" and an "American problem". To the US it was a diplomatic, geopolitical and military problem that was more than just a Vietnamese war, and therefore something that should be dealt with directly by the US, and not solely through a weak client state like the RVN.
The US mainly acted unilaterally, often sidestepping the RVN government and placing less importance on the RVN government, which by now was largely seen by the Vietnamese populace as “a puppet deprived of all national prestige, lacking in a national mandate and thus being untrustworthy”. Worse, the US occasionally intervened in RVN politics. A notable event demonstrating this would be the assassination of Diem during a coup. The US Department of State had prior knowledge of the coup, but had tacitly agreed to not intervene. The US CIA even funded the coup organisers. The US’ decision to allow the coup led to the death of Diem, which sparked off major problems with respect to future RVN leadership.
The US Presidents, being Commanders-in-Chief, held much influence over the war; Kennedy sent US troops into Vietnam, thus sparking the conflict; Lyndon B. Johnson escalated the war; and Nixon oversaw US withdrawal from the war. The Presidents' personal beliefs, considerations and individual actions thus had magnified effects on the overall war.
Effects of the War on individual nations
Effects of the War on individual nations
Vietnam paid for its unification with a heavy price. At war’s end, there were millions of displaced persons, orphans, widows, handicapped persons and prostitutes, as shown by various official and unofficial estimates; this highlights the massive social problems that must have hit Vietnam. The country’s infrastructure was also much ravaged by the war. Vietnam then sank into a war with Cambodia and later fought with China. The many years of continuous war, coupled with isolation from Western markets, caused massive inflation, still present now, and deterioration of the Vietnamese economy. 1.5 million refugees also left the country in multitudes during the Vietnam War. Besides, US used Agent Orange, a deforestation chemical, in the war, and destroyed much agricultural land. Thus it led to serious starvation in the post- war era. Also, chemicals used by the US in the war led to deformities and illnesses in many Vietnamese.
(bodies of Vietnamese soldiers)
United States
The war was America’s longest war ever. Despite not having experienced a military failure or defeat, the war was still a costly political error for the US. This defeat was caused by various reasons, including a failure to accurately comprehend the nature of events during the war, inaccurate assumptions about Communist policies, a rigid use of ‘containment’ and ‘domino theory’ and other theories, which were to some extent misguided and inaccurate, and led to inappropriate US actions.
The US lost its superior position over the USSR. The war damaged America’s society. Citizens’ confidence in the US army slumped and many veterans became ostracised. America became reluctant to participate directly in hot wars later on, as could be seen in the Soviet Afghan War (1979-89).
The Vietnam War had been one of America’s rare defeats. Another of its more serious consequences was the strain it put on America’s financial capability. The US spent 686 billion US dollars (in 2008 dollars) on the war. The Vietnam War ended the post-WWII economic boom that had persisted for 25 years, when America had provided other nations with the money and resources to rebuild their infrastructure and gotten rich by doing so. As the war escalated the US was forced to increase its military spending by leaps and bounds and to send more soldiers to the battlefield. The spending caused a downwards pull on the US economy and it nosedived from a ~6% growth rate in 1966 to 0% in 1970; a recession followed, which was only ended in the 1980s, which coincided with the next proxy war of the Cold War, the Soviet-Afghan War.
Other states:
Laos: Before the war in Vietnam began, Laos, and not Vietnam, was more of the centre of American attention. With the Communist Pathet Lao fighting against the weak Royal Lao coalition, the US feared that losing Laos would “make it impossible to prevent the rest of Southeast Asia from slipping behind the iron curtain.” Laos became dragged into the war with its involvement with North Vietnam. Laos was extensively bombed by the US during the earlier part of the war. Laos remains today the most bombed nation on earth. Pro-Communist factions overthrew the government in Laos during the war; Laos is now Communist.
Southeast Asia experienced a large flow of refugees from Vietnam and Laos, but mostly turned hem away as their numbers were too large to sustain.
Vietnam paid for its unification with a heavy price. At war’s end, there were millions of displaced persons, orphans, widows, handicapped persons and prostitutes, as shown by various official and unofficial estimates; this highlights the massive social problems that must have hit Vietnam. The country’s infrastructure was also much ravaged by the war. Vietnam then sank into a war with Cambodia and later fought with China. The many years of continuous war, coupled with isolation from Western markets, caused massive inflation, still present now, and deterioration of the Vietnamese economy. 1.5 million refugees also left the country in multitudes during the Vietnam War. Besides, US used Agent Orange, a deforestation chemical, in the war, and destroyed much agricultural land. Thus it led to serious starvation in the post- war era. Also, chemicals used by the US in the war led to deformities and illnesses in many Vietnamese.
(bodies of Vietnamese soldiers)
United States
The war was America’s longest war ever. Despite not having experienced a military failure or defeat, the war was still a costly political error for the US. This defeat was caused by various reasons, including a failure to accurately comprehend the nature of events during the war, inaccurate assumptions about Communist policies, a rigid use of ‘containment’ and ‘domino theory’ and other theories, which were to some extent misguided and inaccurate, and led to inappropriate US actions.
The US lost its superior position over the USSR. The war damaged America’s society. Citizens’ confidence in the US army slumped and many veterans became ostracised. America became reluctant to participate directly in hot wars later on, as could be seen in the Soviet Afghan War (1979-89).
The Vietnam War had been one of America’s rare defeats. Another of its more serious consequences was the strain it put on America’s financial capability. The US spent 686 billion US dollars (in 2008 dollars) on the war. The Vietnam War ended the post-WWII economic boom that had persisted for 25 years, when America had provided other nations with the money and resources to rebuild their infrastructure and gotten rich by doing so. As the war escalated the US was forced to increase its military spending by leaps and bounds and to send more soldiers to the battlefield. The spending caused a downwards pull on the US economy and it nosedived from a ~6% growth rate in 1966 to 0% in 1970; a recession followed, which was only ended in the 1980s, which coincided with the next proxy war of the Cold War, the Soviet-Afghan War.
Other states:
Laos: Before the war in Vietnam began, Laos, and not Vietnam, was more of the centre of American attention. With the Communist Pathet Lao fighting against the weak Royal Lao coalition, the US feared that losing Laos would “make it impossible to prevent the rest of Southeast Asia from slipping behind the iron curtain.” Laos became dragged into the war with its involvement with North Vietnam. Laos was extensively bombed by the US during the earlier part of the war. Laos remains today the most bombed nation on earth. Pro-Communist factions overthrew the government in Laos during the war; Laos is now Communist.
Southeast Asia experienced a large flow of refugees from Vietnam and Laos, but mostly turned hem away as their numbers were too large to sustain.
Effects of Vietnam War on Cold War
Effects of the Vietnam War on the Cold War
The USSR and PRC had mostly not intervened on a large scale to aid the DRV in the war. Indeed, Khrushchev had been greatly fearful that escalating the war in a relatively unimportant region of the world (SE Asia) could wreck his attempts to achieve détente with the US, and could drag the Soviet Union into an undesirable war. China was also involved with a diplomatic struggle against the Soviet Union, as both the USSR and the PRC wrestled to gain control over Hanoi; this stopped both from participating greatly in the Vietnam War. As well as that, China and the US were beginning to show signs of more cooperation in the late stages of the war, especially marked by President Nixon’s visit to China in 1972, the first visit made to China by a US President.
The US had suffered a politically induced defeat inflicted on it by the DRV general Vo Nguyen Giap, who had variously used guerrilla tactics, underground warfare and military offensives aimed at upsetting the mood of the American populace and whiling away time as the US Army lost resources and morale. The US had spent much wealth on the war only to purchase a humiliating defeat. This greatly upset the Cold War balance. The US lost its superior position over the USSR by choosing to wage this unwise war, and sources show that the USSR reaped the profits without participating significantly in the fighting. Another sign of the changing situations was that the Soviet Union by now was spending a huge amount of its country’s resources to build weapons on a larger scale than the US, which showed the USSR’s dominance.
After their defeat, the US government received a serious blow and was blamed by people from both within and outside the country, thus the image of US was tarnished and its international prestige fell. A new communist country, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam was created; Communism’s reach was further extended, and we feel containment had failed, at least in this region. The US later became less participatory in Cold War activities such as the Soviet-Afghan War, and we observe that the US depended more on diplomacy, as well as its foreign allies’ resources to counter the Soviet Union later on in the Soviet Afghan War.
The USSR and PRC had mostly not intervened on a large scale to aid the DRV in the war. Indeed, Khrushchev had been greatly fearful that escalating the war in a relatively unimportant region of the world (SE Asia) could wreck his attempts to achieve détente with the US, and could drag the Soviet Union into an undesirable war. China was also involved with a diplomatic struggle against the Soviet Union, as both the USSR and the PRC wrestled to gain control over Hanoi; this stopped both from participating greatly in the Vietnam War. As well as that, China and the US were beginning to show signs of more cooperation in the late stages of the war, especially marked by President Nixon’s visit to China in 1972, the first visit made to China by a US President.
The US had suffered a politically induced defeat inflicted on it by the DRV general Vo Nguyen Giap, who had variously used guerrilla tactics, underground warfare and military offensives aimed at upsetting the mood of the American populace and whiling away time as the US Army lost resources and morale. The US had spent much wealth on the war only to purchase a humiliating defeat. This greatly upset the Cold War balance. The US lost its superior position over the USSR by choosing to wage this unwise war, and sources show that the USSR reaped the profits without participating significantly in the fighting. Another sign of the changing situations was that the Soviet Union by now was spending a huge amount of its country’s resources to build weapons on a larger scale than the US, which showed the USSR’s dominance.
After their defeat, the US government received a serious blow and was blamed by people from both within and outside the country, thus the image of US was tarnished and its international prestige fell. A new communist country, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam was created; Communism’s reach was further extended, and we feel containment had failed, at least in this region. The US later became less participatory in Cold War activities such as the Soviet-Afghan War, and we observe that the US depended more on diplomacy, as well as its foreign allies’ resources to counter the Soviet Union later on in the Soviet Afghan War.
References for Vietnam War writeup
Sources and References:
Main Reference: Making Sense of the Vietnam Wars: Local, National and Transnational Perspectives, edited by Mark P. Bradley and Marilyn B. Young, Oxford University Press, 2008
Article by Professor Robert K. Brigham, Vassar College (http://www.pbs.org/battlefieldvietnam/history/index.html, accessed 6th April)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ngo_Diem accessed March 20
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_War accessed March 20
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geneva_Agreements accessed March 20
http://history1900s.about.com/od/vietnamwar/a/vietnamwar.htm accessed Apr 4
Joseph A. Mendenhall for the United States Department of State (25 October 1963), "Check-List of Possible U.S. Actions in Case of Coup", JFK and the Diem Coup, National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book 101
Main Reference: Making Sense of the Vietnam Wars: Local, National and Transnational Perspectives, edited by Mark P. Bradley and Marilyn B. Young, Oxford University Press, 2008
Article by Professor Robert K. Brigham, Vassar College (http://www.pbs.org/battlefieldvietnam/history/index.html, accessed 6th April)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ngo_Diem accessed March 20
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_War accessed March 20
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geneva_Agreements accessed March 20
http://history1900s.about.com/od/vietnamwar/a/vietnamwar.htm accessed Apr 4
Joseph A. Mendenhall for the United States Department of State (25 October 1963), "Check-List of Possible U.S. Actions in Case of Coup", JFK and the Diem Coup, National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book 101
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Causes and Processes of the Soviet-Afghan War
The First Afghan War
Causes and Processes
The object of failed Russian and British conquests during the 19th century, Afghanistan was a largely mountainous, arid and landlocked tribal region. During the 20th century the USSR repeatedly tried to interfere in Afghan politics in an attempt to subjugate Afghanistan.
The USSR saw that Mohammed Daoud Khan, who overthrew the monarchy in 1976 with Soviet aid, was attempting to break free from the Soviet yoke, so the USSR backed Nur Muhammad Taraki, leader of the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan, in his coup against Daoud. This was in April 1978.
Taraki carried out drastic reforms and launched pro-Soviet policies. In 1978 Taraki signed an agreement with the USSR, which permitted the USSR to send troops into Afghanistan if requested. The following year Hafizullah Amin was appointed as Premier, but the USSR did not approve of him. The USSR attempted to join forces with Taraki to remove him, but Amin killed Taraki first and became President. Amin also tried to get close to the US.
Moscow feared that it was losing control over Afghanistan. The government had attempted modernizing reforms that caused many armed revolts and government purges. The Afghan government met with increasing resistance, and asked for USSR assistance. The USSR sent troops into Afghanistan.
Invasion
From December 1979 – January 1980, troops and jets were sent into Afghanistan in large numbers from the USSR’s Central Asian republics. The Soviet plans were to capture Afghan urban centres and Afghan government strongholds and thus cause armed resistance to collapse. Important border crossings with other nations were also captured.
On December 27 1979, USSR agents assassinated Amin.
The invasion caused the Afghans to rise up in revolt against the Soviet invaders, and nationalistic feelings climaxed. Many regional mujahideen (religious fighter groups) in Afghanistan received sponsorship from the US, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and other US allies. The invasion was widely condemned by other nations and the UN, and the USSR was asked to withdraw its troops.
(Mujahedin in 1984)
As the war escalated there were up to 120,000 Soviet troops and 70,000 government troops, and there were up to 100,000 mujahideen. The Soviets planned major operations to wipe out the mujahideen in Afghanistan, but they failed. The mujahideen, with foreign sponsorship, were able to use the harsh but familiar terrain to their advantage. Coupled with advanced weapons from its donors, the mujahideen were able to engage in guerrilla warfare. The Soviet Army discovered it to be fighting a losing war, and resorted to negotiations.
As Gorbachev came to power in 1985 he gradually scaled down the warfare, transferred more operations to the Kabul government’s army, and began pulling Soviet troops back into the USSR. By 1989 the USSR had fully pulled out of Afghanistan, and the war ended.
Consequences of the Soviet-Afghan War
Consequences of the Soviet-Afghan War on various nations
USSR (and the US):
It is our opinion that the USSR doomed itself by invading Afghanistan. The Afghan War was a big loss for the USSR, though this was by no means a victory that was achieved through American efforts.
Having no legitimate moral basis for its invasion, we believe this was what made it harder for Moscow to find support from other governments, including its allies. The Soviet Union lost many Arab allies, who had previously been on the USSR’s side when the Soviet Union helped them fight Israel in the past, as the Muslim world saw the war as a war on Islam. The USSR was lambasted by governments from all over the world, and even by some of its own citizens. We infer from this that the USSR regime had lost its influence over its “unequal” allies and credibility through this war. The US deftly exploited the USSR’s strategic error and funded the mujahideen to trap the USSR in a disastrous war in Afghanistan, even mustering support from Pakistan and Middle Eastern countries like Saudi Arabia.
Soviet coffers had been severely bled over the Cold War as the USSR distributed funds to its allies and satellite states and built up its arsenals. The USSR spent billions of roubles on the war (official and unofficial estimates vary, but most figures given were in the tens of billions of Soviet roubles) only to purchase a defeat, and this further impoverished the USSR. The already imbalanced and ill Soviet command economy (up to 27% of GDP was occupied with making war goods, while consumer products were sidelined) was pushed to the brink by being overexerted to supply war materiel for the invasion. We believe this economic breakdown caused by the war was one factor for the dissolution of the Soviet bloc.
The USSR also had around fifty thousand casualties, a point that would embitter many Soviets against the Moscow regime.
The war wrecked US-USSR relations. After the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, US President Jimmy Carter imposed an embargo prohibiting trade and shipments to the USSR. It also made those who were pro-democracy (especially US politicians) worry as the USSR controlled many oil-rich regions and was able to reap huge benefits and grow in power. All these caused tension between the Soviet and American blocs and led to the end of détente, which began during the Khrushchev era.
Finally, the Afghan war resulted in the formation of many extreme Islamic groups like the Taliban. Because of the war, the region had become a safe house for terrorists, which still threaten global security today.
(a USSR propaganda poster during the era)
Afghanistan
Afghanistan was plunged into chaos during the invasion. Around 1 million Afghans died in the war, and 6 million Afghans fled their homeland, contributing to half of the world’s refugees at that time. Some regions experienced heavy fighting, whereas some areas were completely cut off from Kabul and existed independently. During that period, grain production and trade fell drastically, and Afghanistan’s economy was on the verge of collapse.
(a Afghan refugee after the war)
Following the war the US and USSR ditched Afghanistan. The Kabul administration was left to fight the mujahideen alone until the Kabul government collapsed in 1996. The unrest during the civil war also led to the formation of extreme religious militant organizations like the Taliban. The Taliban imposed Islamic rule over Afghanistan, until shortly after 9/11, when Bush once again drew the US into what it called formerly “the Soviets’ Vietnam” in its war against the Taliban and al-Qaeda.
Also, the Soviet Red Army planted landmines in Afghanistan during the war and left them in Afghan territory after the war. Thus over the next few decades, even till now, thousands of civilians, including many children have been killed or injured by these landmines.
Effects of the Afghan War on the Cold War balance
As discussed earlier, the USSR overspent its resources and wealth, overworked its economy to the brink of destruction, ruined Soviet standing in the world and caused Soviets to go against the government. So the USSR’s position was greatly weakened as a result of this war.
The US, however, had mostly recovered from its Vietnam War economic injuries, and was able to cause further trouble to the Soviet Union, launching political attacks on the USSR in various arenas, including UN conferences and through the media. The US had not achieved a victory unilaterally, however. The American position became relatively superior to the Soviet position as a result of this war. Shortly after a total Soviet exit from the Afghan War, the Soviet Union collapsed; even many American politicians and experts had not foreseen this. The Afghan War definitely exacerbated some causes and contributed to the demise of the USSR.
Therefore, the Afghan War tilted the Cold War balance in favour of the US, mainly because the Soviets had weakened their own position by starting the war, and set the stage for an American victory in the Cold War after the Soviet Union had crashed out of the Cold War theatre in an inferior position to the US; in a sense, the war slowed down the USSR in its “race to the finish line” of the Cold War, and allowed the US to finish the “Cold War race” and become the sole survivor – and winner - after the USSR had already “collapsed” midway.
USSR (and the US):
It is our opinion that the USSR doomed itself by invading Afghanistan. The Afghan War was a big loss for the USSR, though this was by no means a victory that was achieved through American efforts.
Having no legitimate moral basis for its invasion, we believe this was what made it harder for Moscow to find support from other governments, including its allies. The Soviet Union lost many Arab allies, who had previously been on the USSR’s side when the Soviet Union helped them fight Israel in the past, as the Muslim world saw the war as a war on Islam. The USSR was lambasted by governments from all over the world, and even by some of its own citizens. We infer from this that the USSR regime had lost its influence over its “unequal” allies and credibility through this war. The US deftly exploited the USSR’s strategic error and funded the mujahideen to trap the USSR in a disastrous war in Afghanistan, even mustering support from Pakistan and Middle Eastern countries like Saudi Arabia.
Soviet coffers had been severely bled over the Cold War as the USSR distributed funds to its allies and satellite states and built up its arsenals. The USSR spent billions of roubles on the war (official and unofficial estimates vary, but most figures given were in the tens of billions of Soviet roubles) only to purchase a defeat, and this further impoverished the USSR. The already imbalanced and ill Soviet command economy (up to 27% of GDP was occupied with making war goods, while consumer products were sidelined) was pushed to the brink by being overexerted to supply war materiel for the invasion. We believe this economic breakdown caused by the war was one factor for the dissolution of the Soviet bloc.
The USSR also had around fifty thousand casualties, a point that would embitter many Soviets against the Moscow regime.
The war wrecked US-USSR relations. After the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, US President Jimmy Carter imposed an embargo prohibiting trade and shipments to the USSR. It also made those who were pro-democracy (especially US politicians) worry as the USSR controlled many oil-rich regions and was able to reap huge benefits and grow in power. All these caused tension between the Soviet and American blocs and led to the end of détente, which began during the Khrushchev era.
Finally, the Afghan war resulted in the formation of many extreme Islamic groups like the Taliban. Because of the war, the region had become a safe house for terrorists, which still threaten global security today.
(a USSR propaganda poster during the era)
Afghanistan
Afghanistan was plunged into chaos during the invasion. Around 1 million Afghans died in the war, and 6 million Afghans fled their homeland, contributing to half of the world’s refugees at that time. Some regions experienced heavy fighting, whereas some areas were completely cut off from Kabul and existed independently. During that period, grain production and trade fell drastically, and Afghanistan’s economy was on the verge of collapse.
(a Afghan refugee after the war)
Following the war the US and USSR ditched Afghanistan. The Kabul administration was left to fight the mujahideen alone until the Kabul government collapsed in 1996. The unrest during the civil war also led to the formation of extreme religious militant organizations like the Taliban. The Taliban imposed Islamic rule over Afghanistan, until shortly after 9/11, when Bush once again drew the US into what it called formerly “the Soviets’ Vietnam” in its war against the Taliban and al-Qaeda.
Also, the Soviet Red Army planted landmines in Afghanistan during the war and left them in Afghan territory after the war. Thus over the next few decades, even till now, thousands of civilians, including many children have been killed or injured by these landmines.
Effects of the Afghan War on the Cold War balance
As discussed earlier, the USSR overspent its resources and wealth, overworked its economy to the brink of destruction, ruined Soviet standing in the world and caused Soviets to go against the government. So the USSR’s position was greatly weakened as a result of this war.
The US, however, had mostly recovered from its Vietnam War economic injuries, and was able to cause further trouble to the Soviet Union, launching political attacks on the USSR in various arenas, including UN conferences and through the media. The US had not achieved a victory unilaterally, however. The American position became relatively superior to the Soviet position as a result of this war. Shortly after a total Soviet exit from the Afghan War, the Soviet Union collapsed; even many American politicians and experts had not foreseen this. The Afghan War definitely exacerbated some causes and contributed to the demise of the USSR.
Therefore, the Afghan War tilted the Cold War balance in favour of the US, mainly because the Soviets had weakened their own position by starting the war, and set the stage for an American victory in the Cold War after the Soviet Union had crashed out of the Cold War theatre in an inferior position to the US; in a sense, the war slowed down the USSR in its “race to the finish line” of the Cold War, and allowed the US to finish the “Cold War race” and become the sole survivor – and winner - after the USSR had already “collapsed” midway.
Soviet-Afghan War references
Sources and references:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_afghan_war accessed 26 Feb 2010
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7883532.stm accessed 23 March 2010
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/af.html
(CIA World Factbook) accessed 24 March
http://baike.baidu.com/view/603772.htm?fr=ala0_1_1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collapse_of_the_Soviet_Union
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_afghan_war accessed 26 Feb 2010
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7883532.stm accessed 23 March 2010
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/af.html
(CIA World Factbook) accessed 24 March
http://baike.baidu.com/view/603772.htm?fr=ala0_1_1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collapse_of_the_Soviet_Union
Acronyms
Acronyms used:
DPRK –Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea)
ROK – Republic of Korea (South Korea)
USSR – Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
PRC – People’s Republic of China
US – United States (of America)
UN – United Nations
KPA – Korean People’s Army (North Korean)
PVA – People’s Volunteer Army (Chinese)
DPRK –Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea)
ROK – Republic of Korea (South Korea)
USSR – Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
PRC – People’s Republic of China
US – United States (of America)
UN – United Nations
KPA – Korean People’s Army (North Korean)
PVA – People’s Volunteer Army (Chinese)
Friday, March 19, 2010
Sources and References
1.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_War
2."The Korean War, The US and Soviet Union in Korea". MacroHistory. http://www.fsmitha.com/h2/ch24kor.html. Retrieved 1 March 2010
3.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syngman_Rhee
4.CIA World Factbook @ www.cia.gov
5.http://baike.baidu.com/view/14827.htm?fr=ala0_1_1 Accessed 1 March 2010
6.http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_were_the_effects_of_the_Korean_War
2."The Korean War, The US and Soviet Union in Korea". MacroHistory. http://www.fsmitha.com/h2/ch24kor.html. Retrieved 1 March 2010
3.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syngman_Rhee
4.CIA World Factbook @ www.cia.gov
5.http://baike.baidu.com/view/14827.htm?fr=ala0_1_1 Accessed 1 March 2010
6.http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_were_the_effects_of_the_Korean_War
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Korean War - Effects
Effects of the Korean War on nations:
United States and the Soviet Union:
The US lost approximately 36,516 men, and had over 15,000 men missing in action or taken as POWs, a small yet significant number. The US nearly risked drawing the USSR and PRC into a total war, but UN and US efforts prevented this. Following the Vietnam War, the American public forgot about the war. It is our opinion that the war, as the US’ first post-WWII conflict, alerted the US to the presence of military threats overseas. There was also a sharp spike in American military expenditure and conscription thereafter. The US also set up a chain of military bases worldwide, including in Asia, as part of its containment strategy. Thus in our view the US became more militarised as a direct result of this war.
(painting by an American artist)
We believe the war had mixed consequences for the USSR. As to its benefits, the USSR had sacrificed nearly nothing in the war. However it failed to expand Communism’s reach to cover all of Korea. It had brought the PRC and the US to a clash without its direct involvement. The war diverted US attention from post-war Europe to Asia, relieving American pressure on the USSR in Europe. The war gave the USSR time to develop cutting-edge weaponry to catch up with the US. Soviet jet pilots were also some of the aid that the USSR sent to aid China in Korea – this allowed the USSR to train its pilots in war. The US staunchly believed that it was the USSR that had masterminded the war – in secret. The US tripled its military budget following the war, mainly to defend against the USSR, and we think this was bad for the USSR as the US concentrated more on acting against the USSR and the Communist bloc after the war. The USSR was forced to expend even more resources to counter US threats thereafter.
North Korea and South Korea:
Having been extensively bombarded during the war, North Korea’s economy was affected adversely; it remains moribund today. South Korea’s economy was also heavily battered, which razed across most of the ROK; however, their economy has improved vastly since the 1960s.
North Korea’s gross domestic product (purchasing power parity) and gross domestic product per capita as compared to South Korea’s, are: $40 billion to $1.354 trillion, and $1800 to $28,000 (2008 figures, US dollars).
Syngman Rhee, whose authoritarian style and various actions earned him a poor reputation amongst many in the ROK, continued to pursue national unification and ignored economic development in his quest to rearm ROK for another war with the DPRK. He also rejected attempts to have peace with the DPRK and to allow a North-South split of Korea, as he held hopes of ruling the entire Korean peninsula. After his forced resignation over rigged elections in April 26, 1960, inter-Korean relations continued to be tense, and especially so during the Blue House Raid and Silmido incidents. South Korea’s politics reflect anti-Communism, and to our contextual knowledge South Korean administrations have mostly held the DPRK at arm’s length. South Korea has also had extensive military and economic ties with the US since the war.
( sentry on the 38 parallel on the north Korea's side)
China’s extensive trading and political relationship with North Korea ever since the war may have been caused partly by China’s aid to the North in the Korean War, which established good mutual relations.
China and others:
The war caused PRC involvement in the Korean peninsula, which continues today; it also proved China to be a military power that the US and the world could not afford to ignore. However, it worsened China’s relations with the outside world, especially with the Soviet Union, which it argued with during the war.
Other nations such as Turkey, Australia and New Zealand cooperated extensively with the UN Command and the US, which gained them more recognition as allies. The US was also more eager to include them in its treaties and alliances thereafter.
The Korean War also made the UN more active and authoritative in participating in future global issues.
Effect on the overall balance of the Cold War:
Our stand is that the Korean War ended well, as no side had achieved any significant military victory over the other, and the Cold War balance was largely unshaken: the DPRK-ROK borders had barely changed. Communism’s borders had not expanded into Asia, and the ‘status quo’ was kept. The war was a necessary show of strength by the US, and a good opportunity for the US and USSR to ‘compete’. However the war also caused the Cold War to escalate, with both America and the Soviet Union spending more on their armies and arsenals. Our observation is that the world’s polarization was visible back then. As states gathered to lend their support to either North or South Korea, they aligned themselves with their allies. The USSR and PRC supported the North, whereas the UK and other UN member nations, both large and small, backed the US and the ROK. Nations were thus aligning themselves with either the US or the USSR.
The Korean War largely turned the US from using nuclear weapons. In its subsequent “limited wars” the US was careful to use only conventional weapons and not to allow the use of nuclear weapons – although it did make many of these as a deterrent. It learnt in the Korean War, where it had avoided using the atom bomb on the PRC, that conflicts could be resolved without nuclear weapons.
United States and the Soviet Union:
The US lost approximately 36,516 men, and had over 15,000 men missing in action or taken as POWs, a small yet significant number. The US nearly risked drawing the USSR and PRC into a total war, but UN and US efforts prevented this. Following the Vietnam War, the American public forgot about the war. It is our opinion that the war, as the US’ first post-WWII conflict, alerted the US to the presence of military threats overseas. There was also a sharp spike in American military expenditure and conscription thereafter. The US also set up a chain of military bases worldwide, including in Asia, as part of its containment strategy. Thus in our view the US became more militarised as a direct result of this war.
(painting by an American artist)
We believe the war had mixed consequences for the USSR. As to its benefits, the USSR had sacrificed nearly nothing in the war. However it failed to expand Communism’s reach to cover all of Korea. It had brought the PRC and the US to a clash without its direct involvement. The war diverted US attention from post-war Europe to Asia, relieving American pressure on the USSR in Europe. The war gave the USSR time to develop cutting-edge weaponry to catch up with the US. Soviet jet pilots were also some of the aid that the USSR sent to aid China in Korea – this allowed the USSR to train its pilots in war. The US staunchly believed that it was the USSR that had masterminded the war – in secret. The US tripled its military budget following the war, mainly to defend against the USSR, and we think this was bad for the USSR as the US concentrated more on acting against the USSR and the Communist bloc after the war. The USSR was forced to expend even more resources to counter US threats thereafter.
North Korea and South Korea:
Having been extensively bombarded during the war, North Korea’s economy was affected adversely; it remains moribund today. South Korea’s economy was also heavily battered, which razed across most of the ROK; however, their economy has improved vastly since the 1960s.
North Korea’s gross domestic product (purchasing power parity) and gross domestic product per capita as compared to South Korea’s, are: $40 billion to $1.354 trillion, and $1800 to $28,000 (2008 figures, US dollars).
Syngman Rhee, whose authoritarian style and various actions earned him a poor reputation amongst many in the ROK, continued to pursue national unification and ignored economic development in his quest to rearm ROK for another war with the DPRK. He also rejected attempts to have peace with the DPRK and to allow a North-South split of Korea, as he held hopes of ruling the entire Korean peninsula. After his forced resignation over rigged elections in April 26, 1960, inter-Korean relations continued to be tense, and especially so during the Blue House Raid and Silmido incidents. South Korea’s politics reflect anti-Communism, and to our contextual knowledge South Korean administrations have mostly held the DPRK at arm’s length. South Korea has also had extensive military and economic ties with the US since the war.
( sentry on the 38 parallel on the north Korea's side)
China’s extensive trading and political relationship with North Korea ever since the war may have been caused partly by China’s aid to the North in the Korean War, which established good mutual relations.
China and others:
The war caused PRC involvement in the Korean peninsula, which continues today; it also proved China to be a military power that the US and the world could not afford to ignore. However, it worsened China’s relations with the outside world, especially with the Soviet Union, which it argued with during the war.
Other nations such as Turkey, Australia and New Zealand cooperated extensively with the UN Command and the US, which gained them more recognition as allies. The US was also more eager to include them in its treaties and alliances thereafter.
The Korean War also made the UN more active and authoritative in participating in future global issues.
Effect on the overall balance of the Cold War:
Our stand is that the Korean War ended well, as no side had achieved any significant military victory over the other, and the Cold War balance was largely unshaken: the DPRK-ROK borders had barely changed. Communism’s borders had not expanded into Asia, and the ‘status quo’ was kept. The war was a necessary show of strength by the US, and a good opportunity for the US and USSR to ‘compete’. However the war also caused the Cold War to escalate, with both America and the Soviet Union spending more on their armies and arsenals. Our observation is that the world’s polarization was visible back then. As states gathered to lend their support to either North or South Korea, they aligned themselves with their allies. The USSR and PRC supported the North, whereas the UK and other UN member nations, both large and small, backed the US and the ROK. Nations were thus aligning themselves with either the US or the USSR.
The Korean War largely turned the US from using nuclear weapons. In its subsequent “limited wars” the US was careful to use only conventional weapons and not to allow the use of nuclear weapons – although it did make many of these as a deterrent. It learnt in the Korean War, where it had avoided using the atom bomb on the PRC, that conflicts could be resolved without nuclear weapons.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Korean War - Causes
Causes and Process of the War:
By 1950, two rival nations and governments existed on the Korean peninsula. One was the DPRK, north of the 38th parallel and ruled by a nationalist-Communist puppet put into place by the USSR; the other was the ROK, south of the 38th parallel and ruled by an anti-Communist authoritarian with US backing. Both administrations were adamant on unifying Korea under their own rule; this was clearly embodied within their Constitutions.
The US, fearing that supplying a warlike Syngman Rhee with aid and weapons could encourage him to invade North Korea, deprived him of military aid, which left the ROK poorly armed against the better-equipped North Korean Army.
On 25th June 1950, with the prior knowledge of the USSR and China, Kim Il-Sung launched his planned invasion of the ROK at daybreak. It was not the first cross-border attack, but it was the largest and most devastating yet.
The strength of the KPA was approximately 230,000. He had several hundred Soviet T-34 tanks and Yakovlev fighter planes, as well as artillery pieces. Conversely, the ROK Army was much ill prepared – the majority of its strength, up to two-thirds, was not mobilised. It had less than 100,000 men ready, no tanks, and no foreign troops ready to help them in Korea.
Within three days of the land-and-air invasion, Hanseong (Seoul), the ROK’s capital, had fallen to the KPA. As the ROK government hastily retreated across the Han River (on which Hanseong was built), bridges were demolished. Many civilians and troops who had not yet crossed the Han were trapped north of the Han. ROK troops of questionable loyalty to Syngman Rhee’s administration also began retreating further south; many defected in whole masses to the North.
As major ROK cities fell to the KPA, the UN Security Council condemned the invasion. Various UN nations, including Turkey, and the UK and its overseas Dominions, contributed men and arms to the UN Command, a fighting force dedicated to the Korean War. The US Army would lead the UN Command, and Douglas MacArthur was placed at the helm. They would assist the ROK army in fighting the KPA invaders. The US President, Harry Truman, allowed US assistance to the ROK. President Truman would not tolerate Communist actions in Korea, but nonetheless was careful not to give the USSR or the PRC a cause to get directly involved in Korea; he termed US involvement a “police action”. He also did not want to escalate the war.
On 5th July 1950, the US first clashed with the KPA at the Battle of Osan, where they experienced a defeat. At the height of the KPA invasion, the KPA had seized 90% of ROK land and 92% of the ROK population. Following a successful month-long holdout in Pusan against KPA attacks, and the Incheon landing, the UN Command, the US Army and the ROK were able to drive the KPA north of the 38th Parallel. Their numbers and arms had been greatly augmented with supplies to Pusan. The US had initial reservations about advancing north of the 38th parallel; Truman permitted MacArthur to cross the 38th parallel only in the absence of USSR or PRC troops. With the tide of war turning in the US’ favour, MacArthur was permitted to bring his troops across. Weak KPA resistance meant that the UN Command and the US Army were drawn northwards, to the Yalu River, where the PRC had several divisions of troops and arms prepared.
(Chinese voluntary army crossing the Yalu River)
Some American politicians were calling for attacks on the Chinese to prevent them from making war in Korea; the PRC’s Premier Zhou Enlai warned the US that the Chinese might resort to armed conflict to protect their interests if the war against North Korea continued. President Truman ignored China’s warnings. Kim Il-sung had also telegrammed for Chinese troops to aid him early in October 1950. However, China’s troops were not going to be prepared soon, so China delayed the sending of troops until late in October 1950. After some minor confrontations with the enemy, Chinese forces, named the People’s Volunteer Army, launched a major offensive exploiting its skill in night-time warfare and advantage of having a large numerical superiority, pushing ROK and US troops out of North Korea and inflicting heavy casualties on the UN troops.
During the war, the Chinese initially were able to push south of the 38th parallel, even to Hanseong, but later, they were halted by aerial bombardment and heavy artillery fire from enemy troops. General MacArthur even advocated for the atomic bomb to be used on China, as he felt that China could be stopped in no other way; President Truman used similar threats against China, but he later fired MacArthur for “insubordination”, as he felt that MacArthur was becoming a threat to him by refusing to cooperate and to obey his commands. The war became a stalemate due to trench warfare, as each side dug trenches to prevent any further losses to their territory. As a result, there were limited territorial changes in the late part of the war, from July 1951 to July 1953. Lengthy negotiation processes were held during the war, while each side attempted to achieve victories on the battlefield which would give them more advantages in the negotiations. Hostilities were ended and an armistice was signed in late July 1953. Syngman Rhee of the ROK refused to add his signature to the armistice – therefore, even now, the DPRK and the ROK are still technically at war.
By 1950, two rival nations and governments existed on the Korean peninsula. One was the DPRK, north of the 38th parallel and ruled by a nationalist-Communist puppet put into place by the USSR; the other was the ROK, south of the 38th parallel and ruled by an anti-Communist authoritarian with US backing. Both administrations were adamant on unifying Korea under their own rule; this was clearly embodied within their Constitutions.
The US, fearing that supplying a warlike Syngman Rhee with aid and weapons could encourage him to invade North Korea, deprived him of military aid, which left the ROK poorly armed against the better-equipped North Korean Army.
On 25th June 1950, with the prior knowledge of the USSR and China, Kim Il-Sung launched his planned invasion of the ROK at daybreak. It was not the first cross-border attack, but it was the largest and most devastating yet.
The strength of the KPA was approximately 230,000. He had several hundred Soviet T-34 tanks and Yakovlev fighter planes, as well as artillery pieces. Conversely, the ROK Army was much ill prepared – the majority of its strength, up to two-thirds, was not mobilised. It had less than 100,000 men ready, no tanks, and no foreign troops ready to help them in Korea.
Within three days of the land-and-air invasion, Hanseong (Seoul), the ROK’s capital, had fallen to the KPA. As the ROK government hastily retreated across the Han River (on which Hanseong was built), bridges were demolished. Many civilians and troops who had not yet crossed the Han were trapped north of the Han. ROK troops of questionable loyalty to Syngman Rhee’s administration also began retreating further south; many defected in whole masses to the North.
As major ROK cities fell to the KPA, the UN Security Council condemned the invasion. Various UN nations, including Turkey, and the UK and its overseas Dominions, contributed men and arms to the UN Command, a fighting force dedicated to the Korean War. The US Army would lead the UN Command, and Douglas MacArthur was placed at the helm. They would assist the ROK army in fighting the KPA invaders. The US President, Harry Truman, allowed US assistance to the ROK. President Truman would not tolerate Communist actions in Korea, but nonetheless was careful not to give the USSR or the PRC a cause to get directly involved in Korea; he termed US involvement a “police action”. He also did not want to escalate the war.
On 5th July 1950, the US first clashed with the KPA at the Battle of Osan, where they experienced a defeat. At the height of the KPA invasion, the KPA had seized 90% of ROK land and 92% of the ROK population. Following a successful month-long holdout in Pusan against KPA attacks, and the Incheon landing, the UN Command, the US Army and the ROK were able to drive the KPA north of the 38th Parallel. Their numbers and arms had been greatly augmented with supplies to Pusan. The US had initial reservations about advancing north of the 38th parallel; Truman permitted MacArthur to cross the 38th parallel only in the absence of USSR or PRC troops. With the tide of war turning in the US’ favour, MacArthur was permitted to bring his troops across. Weak KPA resistance meant that the UN Command and the US Army were drawn northwards, to the Yalu River, where the PRC had several divisions of troops and arms prepared.
(Chinese voluntary army crossing the Yalu River)
Some American politicians were calling for attacks on the Chinese to prevent them from making war in Korea; the PRC’s Premier Zhou Enlai warned the US that the Chinese might resort to armed conflict to protect their interests if the war against North Korea continued. President Truman ignored China’s warnings. Kim Il-sung had also telegrammed for Chinese troops to aid him early in October 1950. However, China’s troops were not going to be prepared soon, so China delayed the sending of troops until late in October 1950. After some minor confrontations with the enemy, Chinese forces, named the People’s Volunteer Army, launched a major offensive exploiting its skill in night-time warfare and advantage of having a large numerical superiority, pushing ROK and US troops out of North Korea and inflicting heavy casualties on the UN troops.
During the war, the Chinese initially were able to push south of the 38th parallel, even to Hanseong, but later, they were halted by aerial bombardment and heavy artillery fire from enemy troops. General MacArthur even advocated for the atomic bomb to be used on China, as he felt that China could be stopped in no other way; President Truman used similar threats against China, but he later fired MacArthur for “insubordination”, as he felt that MacArthur was becoming a threat to him by refusing to cooperate and to obey his commands. The war became a stalemate due to trench warfare, as each side dug trenches to prevent any further losses to their territory. As a result, there were limited territorial changes in the late part of the war, from July 1951 to July 1953. Lengthy negotiation processes were held during the war, while each side attempted to achieve victories on the battlefield which would give them more advantages in the negotiations. Hostilities were ended and an armistice was signed in late July 1953. Syngman Rhee of the ROK refused to add his signature to the armistice – therefore, even now, the DPRK and the ROK are still technically at war.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Introduction to Research Objective
During the Cold War period, many 'hot wars' were fought. Although the Soviet Union never really fought directly with the USA, its main enemy in the Cold War, both the USSR and the USA frequently sought to challenge each other through 'proxy wars'. In these 'proxy wars', allied nations (with less influence than the USA or the USSR) would clash with each other, and represent their side (USA/USSR) in the war.
Our project's purpose is to investigate:
1) the causes and processes,
2) the effects on individual nations, and
3) the effects on the overall Cold War balance,
that some of these proxy wars had.
We shall be working on the Korean War, the Vietnam (2nd Indochina) War, and the Soviet Afghan War. These wars lasted for a clearly definable and limited timeline (unlike the more complex Arab-Israeli conflict, for example, which spanned the whole Cold War) , occurred in a definable region, and have made a significant impact on the course of the Cold War and the Cold War participants.
Our project's purpose is to investigate:
1) the causes and processes,
2) the effects on individual nations, and
3) the effects on the overall Cold War balance,
that some of these proxy wars had.
We shall be working on the Korean War, the Vietnam (2nd Indochina) War, and the Soviet Afghan War. These wars lasted for a clearly definable and limited timeline (unlike the more complex Arab-Israeli conflict, for example, which spanned the whole Cold War) , occurred in a definable region, and have made a significant impact on the course of the Cold War and the Cold War participants.
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