Cold War Crises

  1. Berlin Crisis – see Cold War Causes
  2. 1958 Taiwan Straits/ Chinese Offshore Island Crises

1. 1958 Taiwan Straits/ Chinese Offshore Island Crises

  • Not to be confused with the 1954 Taiwan Straits Crisis.

What happened? Why was it a crisis?

What was the reaction of the Soviet Union?

What was the reaction of the USA

What was the reaction of China?

2. Korean War, 1950-53

Timeline

1945 Japanese occupation of the Korean peninsula ends

1950 North Korea push into the South, almost taking the entire peninsula. US-led forces support the South and the North is pushed back. China then invades.

1951


  1. Why is the Korean peninsula divided in 1945? 0:45 – 0:60
  2. Who are the leaders of South and North Korea? 1:10 – 1:20
  3. Who are the two Korean armies? 1:47 – 1:55
  4. Why does the North have an advantage at the beginning of the war? 03:40 – 03:50 & 04:00 -04:50
  5. How does the US and the UN enter the war? 06:30 – 06:55
  6. The US support is limited as units are understrength and not always fully trained. How successful was the KPA by August 1950? 10:12 – 10:45
  7. Some Koreans in the South welcomed the invasion from the North as it may lead to unification. Why did this change? 10:45 – 11:21
  8. How did General MacArthur stop the KLA advance? 11:25 – 12:00
  9. MacArthur believed that initial Chinese attacks would not last but he was clearly wrong. How effective were the Chinese towards the end of 1950? 16:30 – 19:50
  10. Why were the Chinese Army effective? 21:20 – 22:30
  11. What does MacArthur want to do in early 1951? Why does this not happen? 25:00 – 26:05
  12. What does ‘a bit sticky’ mean? 26:36 – 27:00
  13. What happens for the rest of the war? 28:19 – 29:00
  14. Did the USSR and USA actually fight each other? 29:23 – 29:40
  15. What are the positions of the UN and China by the end of 1952? 35:11 – 36:00
  16. What were the influences on the negotiations to end the war? 38:19 – 38:35
  17. What is the agreement? 39:21 – 39:39
  18. How can the South and North claim victory? 41:00 – 42:15
  19. What was the impact on the Cold War? 42:15 – 44:50