Conflict and Tension in Asia, 1950–1975

What Conflict and Tension in Asia, 1950–1975 covers

Conflict and Tension in Asia, 1950–1975 is examined in Paper 1, Understanding the modern world. It covers the causes of the Korean War, the development of the Korean War, the end of the Korean War, the end of French colonial rule, US involvement in Vietnam under Eisenhower and Kennedy, Johnson’s War, Nixon’s War, opposition to the Vietnam War and the end of the war.

The 9 subtopics

Each one has its own page.

• The causes of the Korean WarJapan's rule, the division at the 38th Parallel, Kim Il Sung and Syngman Rhee, the communist victory in China, why the North attacked in 1950, containment, and the Security Council vote.Open →
• The development of the Korean WarThe Pusan Perimeter, the Inchon landings and what they achieved, the decision to cross the 38th Parallel, the advance to the Yalu, Chinese intervention, and why Truman sacked MacArthur.Open →
• The end of the Korean WarThe stalemate of 1951, the talks at Kaesong and Panmunjom, the prisoner of war dispute, the armistice of July 1953 and the demilitarised zone, the cost to Korea, and the United Nations' record.Open →
• The end of French colonial ruleThe Vietminh and Ho Chi Minh, the defeat at Dien Bien Phu, the Geneva division at the 17th Parallel, the elections never held, Diem's unpopular rule and its end, and the Vietcong's tactics.Open →
• US involvement in Vietnam under Eisenhower and KennedyThe Domino Theory, Eisenhower's money, weapons and advisers, how Kennedy widened the commitment while refusing combat troops, the Strategic Hamlets programme and why it failed, Ap Bac, and the deaths of November 1963.Open →
• Johnson’s WarThe Gulf of Tonkin and the power Congress gave Johnson, the first combat troops and Operation Rolling Thunder, Search and Destroy and the body count, the My Lai massacre and its exposure, the Tet Offensive and its consequences at home, and the student protests.Open →
• Nixon’s WarVietnamisation and peace with honour, Agent Orange and napalm, the heavier bombing of 1970 to 1972 and the Christmas bombing, the widening into Cambodia and Laos, and Nixon's visit to Beijing.Open →
• Opposition to the Vietnam WarThe Kent State shootings of May 1970 and the reaction to them, the television war and the images that turned opinion, the credibility gap and Cronkite's verdict, the Pentagon Papers, opposition from veterans, Martin Luther King and Muhammad Ali, and how Watergate affected the end of the war.Open →
• The end of the warThe Paris talks and why they dragged on, Kissinger and Le Duc Tho, the agreement of January 1973, the fall of Saigon in April 1975, and what the war cost the USA and Vietnam.Open →

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Take Conflict and Tension in Asia, 1950–1975 further

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Commonly confused

Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.

• Vietminh vs Vietcong

  Vietminh: nationalist and communist alliance led by Ho Chi Minh that fought French rule. Vietcong: communist-led guerrilla movement founded in the south in 1960 to bring down the Saigon government.

• Kim Il Sung vs Syngman Rhee

  Kim Il Sung: former guerrilla fighter backed by Stalin who led communist North Korea. Syngman Rhee: authoritarian nationalist supported by the USA who led South Korea.

• Operation Rolling Thunder vs Search and Destroy

  Operation Rolling Thunder: bombing of the north from 1965 to wreck its industry and break its will. Search and Destroy: helicopter patrols hunting guerrillas in the countryside and then pulling out.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   Which country had ruled Korea as a colony from 1910 until 1945?

   Model answer

   Japan, and its defeat in 1945 left Korean nationalists determined to govern a single independent country of their own.

2. 2

   How was Korea split when Japanese forces surrendered in 1945?

   Model answer

   Soviet troops took the surrender north of the 38th Parallel and American troops south of it, and that temporary line hardened into a border.

3. 3

   Who became leader of communist North Korea in 1948?

   Model answer

   Kim Il Sung, a former guerrilla fighter against the Japanese, backed by Stalin.

4. 4

   Who led the anti-communist government of South Korea from 1948?

   Model answer

   Syngman Rhee, an authoritarian nationalist supported by the USA.

5. 5

   What did Kim Il Sung and Syngman Rhee both claim, despite being bitter enemies?

   Model answer

   Each claimed the right to rule the whole peninsula and wanted the country reunited on his own terms.

6. 6

   What happened in China in 1949 that alarmed American opinion?

   Model answer

   Mao Zedong's communists won the civil war and founded the People's Republic, so the largest country in Asia was now communist.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

Conflict and Tension in Asia, 1950–1975 revision questions

What does Conflict and Tension in Asia, 1950–1975 cover in AQA GCSE History?

9 subtopics: the causes of the korean war, the development of the korean war, the end of the korean war, the end of french colonial rule, us involvement in vietnam under eisenhower and kennedy, johnson’s war, nixon’s war, opposition to the vietnam war and the end of the war. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.

How is Conflict and Tension in Asia, 1950–1975 organised?

By the AQA 8145 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.