Vietnam: The Outbreak

Vietnam: The Outbreak

WARNING: GRAPHIC

The picture above shows a napalm bomb hitting civilians. Napalm bombs were used by the U.S. to clear forests and attack
Viet Kong forces. When napalm came in contact with clothes or skin, it would burn the victim and not come out. 

The picture above shows the bodies form the My Lai Massacre. The My Lai Massacre was an even in which U.S. soldiers
snapped and attacked a village, burning down homes and slaughtering everyone. Of the thirteen solders, only one person was
sentenced to prison, and was there for only two days. 

The picture above is the map of Vietnam before
the war. Vietnam was split at the 37th parallel.
The Viet Kong used Laos and Cambodia to filter
goods into Sough Vietnam for rebels.

The Outbreak

Vietnam was split into two parts after the Geneva Accord, similar to Korea in WWII. The northern half was given to the Soviet Union, while the southern half was given to the U.S. While the U.S.S.R. gave their power to Ho Chi Minh, while the southern election gave Diem a chance to rise to power. Diem and his brother, who ran the secret service, ran the southern half with an iron fist. The U.S. disagreed with his type of rule, and let an assassination plot usurp Diem. With Diem's regime terrorized Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh invaded south Vietnam, planning to unite Vietnam once again.

U.S. Involvement in the War

this is a propaganda poster from North Vietnam.
It states that "The Vietnamese people must resist the
American aggressor".Many North Vietnamese saw the U.S.
as an oppressor of South Vietnam.

The U.S. was occupying South Vietnam with thousands of 'military advisers' 'advising' Diem and his regime. The North Vietnamese army began to try and invade South Vietnam, trying to reunite Vietnam once again. After an 'incident' in the Gulf on Tongkin, Lyndon B Johnson had full power to use U.S. troops in Vietnam. With these troops, Lyndon fought the Viet Kong  with the might of the U.S. military. Because of the high temperatures and humidity, all soldiers were required to take salt tablets, otherwise they could not sweat. President Johnson allowed an experiment take place with the soldiers, giving many of them heroin to see the stages of addiction. However, after returning from the war most of the soldiers went drug free for the rest of their lives. 

Setting

The picture above shows the mountainous terrain the  U.S.
soldiers had to deal with. Many soldiers had to deal with always
being in contact with water. This would lead to 'jungle rot'.

Vietnam is not a place U.S. soldiers had ever experienced before. The land was very mountainous, making it hard to use transportation to move soldiers quickly. The monsoon season took up half of the year, flooding most of Vietnam. The hot temperatures and high humidity combined made the region quite inhospitable for people wearing full armor, requiring many soldiers to take salt tablets to keep sweating. The entirety of Vietnam was covered in rain forest, raining as many as 5 times a day. the forestry was so awful that it was near impossible to see the ground, 10 feet in front of you, or sometimes even the sky. 

The picture above shows the valley-like terrain of Vietnam. Most of the conflicts happened on similar terrain,
causing a hard time to tell where you are being shot from. The constant downpour also made it easy to slip and fall down
the valley. 

On the Home-front

The college student above are protesting the war in Vietnam.
The students are liking arms, probably facing U.S. MP's in front
of them. They are chanting something together. 

Many college student disagreed with the war. Plenty of protests took place in college, protesting the war and U.S. involvement. Many protesters were shot after assaulting the police trying to withhold the mob. Most of the mobs were college students- people with nothing to lose. While many dodged the draft, others looked at other ways to avoid going to Vietnam. Some of the examples were temporarily immigrating to Canada, creating a community away from society, and moving away from the U.S. Even if the soldiers were drafted,many people hated them. When soldiers returned, they returned to hordes calling them awful people and spitting on them. 

The end of the War

Ho Chi Minh, on the left, plans an attack strategy with his general
Vo Nguyen Giap, who is on the right. Many conferences like this
combined the forces of the Viet Kong for the Tet Offensive. The Tet
Offensive was an invasion of Vietnam during an agreed peace time.

With the mass unpopularity of the Vietnam war,
many posters similar to this one were posted in colleges.
While many just said to stay out, some called for violent action
against soldiers from the war. The one above says that Vietnam
will be the death of America.

With the mass civil upset across the United States, The U.S. joined with Ho Chi Minh to discuss U.S. withdrawal. An agreement was reached: The U.S. would begin to withdraw troops if the Viet kong would restrict their invading forces to 70,000 troops. When the U.S. began to pull troops, South Vietnamese people were not happy. Many tried to get their children sent to the U.S., believing they would have a happier life there than under Viet Kong Rule. Two weeks after the U.S. fully withdrew from Vietnam, Saigon was captured by Viet Kong forces.

This picture shows U.S. forces getting on a warship and retreating from Vietnam. While on the retreat, many Vietnamese people tried to smuggle their children onto ships and helicopters, hoping their children would have a happy life in America.  However, most Vietnamese who approached U.S. soldiers were shot.

Korea: The OutBreak

Korea: The Outbreak

The picture shown here is an example of Chinese human wave tactics. The tactic requires throwing tons of people at a position, hoping to overrun whoever was there. It created high casualties, but was very effective. 

The mortars shown here were large and powerful. However they were quite inaccurate and their range was a mile or two. Many mortar strikes were shooting in the general direction and hoping for the best. 

CAUSES

This is a poster from North Korea. It states:

 “Kick out the Americans and unite the Fatherland!”.

Posters like these justifies the Invasion of South Korea.

The Korean war began after WWII ended, and the country was split. The northern half was given to the U.S.S.R, and the southern part was given to the United States. As each parenting country began to rebuild, each portion of Korea grew in a different way. North Korea went Communist, while South Korea became Capitalist. North Korea wanted to reunite the two Korean countries and invaded South Korea. Using Russian weapons and tanks, North Korea pushed South Korean and U.S. forces down to the bottom of the peninsula. While this started the war between North and South Korea, it was just another portion of the Cold War.

US INVOLVEMENT IN THE WAR

The picture shows U.S. soldiers parachuting behind enemy
lines. The soldiers were planning to cut off the the North
Korean Army that were below the 38th parallel.

The United States had soldiers stationed in South Korea when the invasion began. these soldiers fought bravely to keep the foothold in south Korea, and succeeded in not
being overrun off of the Korean Peninsula. Truman, hearing of the invasion, called to reinforce the troops in Korea. If America lost South Korea, then Japan would fall to Communism too. General MacArthur had a plan to flank the North Korean Army by dropping troops in the port of Inch-On. The port had rough waters and highly varied tides, making the port the least safe place to drop troops, catching the North Korean Army off-guard.

This picture is a sign at the 38th parallel. This sign signals that you are crossing from North Korea into South Korea. The trucks shown are driving troops to the front line. 

SETTING

This picture shows the mountain The Seorak Dinosaur Range.
The Seorak Dinosaur Range is a perfect example of the treacherous
terrain. Many battles were fought in areas like these. 

The Korean peninsula is a very cold and mountainous region. The region has yearly monsoons, flooding the peninsula with tons of water. During the winter, the Temperatures can drop to 30 below zero. These harsh conditions caused problems with the American army, as they were not prepared for invading such an inhospitable place. North Korea shares a border with Russia and China, and trades with both countries. however, the U.S.S.R gave weapons and tanks to North Korea, in hopes of spreading Communism. The connections with such large countries gives North Korea an easy access to and military munitions they would need to fight America and the south Koreans.

This propaganda in South Korea symbolizes how the North Korea
split the country apart.On the right however, the UN is repairing
Korea. These types of propaganda were common. 

ON THE HOME-FRONT

This is a picture of General MacArthur. He was the general of
the American Army. He was famous for his actions in WWII,
an for planning the attack on inch-on.

Americans were split on the war with Korea. Some thought it was a mistake, others believes that it was the right thing to do. Many people wanted no part in this war. There was a massive draft; one point five million people were drafted, unlike the one point three million who volunteered. The draft was called The Selective Service System. It was a "peacetime draft" that was created after the last draft ended. Just like World War Two, many factories were turned to make military munitions, so the soldiers would be well supplied in the war. however, none of the soldiers were prepared for the harsh climate and environment of the Korean Peninsula. 

This newspaper is talking about how the Koreas signed a
peace treaty. After tensions dropped enough to stop war,
negotiations arose. The picture included is the signing of the
armistice

THE END OF THE WAR

The Korean war went back and forth. At first, it seemed as if North Korea would overrun the Americans. However, after a daring plan by general MacArthur, The north Koreans were pushed back near the Chinese border. After the Chinese got involved, the American soldiers were push back behind the 38th parallel. After one more offensive push by the Americans, the North and South Koreans agreed to an armistice. This was has technically never ended, and the two countries share the most secure border in the world. Truman believed we succeeded in stopping the spread of Communism, but MacArthur believed the soldiers died for nothing. 

This is a picture of the Korean war memorial in Washington D.C. This monument recognizes the lives lost in the war, and honors them. Construction began in 1986.

WWII: The Outbreak

                                      THE WWII BLOG

This is the aftermath of Pearl Harbor. The attack was so brutal the Pacific navy was incapacitated. Soldiers tried to save others while the ships were burning.

This is a map of where the boats were stationed at the time of the attacked. Almost all the ships were injured, only three were sunk. This marked the United States's entrance into the war.

WWII was a time for women to take charge
and begin to do jobs men normally would.
This time period allowed for the idea of
women's rights and allowing women into
the work space.

CAUSES

In this picture, president Roosevelt is talking to the senate.
He is asking the Senate to declare war on Japan.
This is the turning point for America 

This poster seen here is propaganda
posted by the US. Other posters like
these inspired brave Americans to
enlist in the Military. After all,
who will if you don't? 

The main cause of the U.S.'s entrance into the war was pearl harbor: the first foreign attack on American soil.Within a matter of hours, the entire Pacific fleet and thousands of soldiers were slaughtered in a mass of explosions and fire. This massive amount of destruction created a ripple in the U.S. What if they were coming to strike again? What will happen next if we do not step in? These questions filled the minds of our great leaders as they declared war on Japan. Since Germany was an ally of Japan,  they declared war on us as well.  

This is the German tank Panzer IV.
This tank was the most technically advanced weaponry on the battlefield.
  However, it took too much time to create one, leading to sparse amounts of tanks.

U.S. INVOLVEMENT IN THE WAR

The U.S. has finally set its sight on war. With the attacks from the West and feared attacks in the East, America began to prepare itself for invasion. They posted a draft, converted old factories to create munitions, and recruited women in the male absence. While many men went to fight the Japanese in the Pacific, plenty of troops were shipped toward Europe, where they partook in two places: D-day and Italy. D-day was a time in which English, Canadian, and American forces stormed the beaches of Normandy to create a toehold in Europe and forced Hitler to fight on two sides. The invasion of Italy, however, was a plan in which we eliminated Hitler's primary associate: Mussolini. 

THE SETTING

The U.S. fought on two fronts: in the Pacific and in Europe. none of the fighting was on U.S. soil. On the Pacific front, American soldiers faced oceanic assaults, varying climates of island takeovers, and kamikaze pilots near the end of the war. The island climates were so varied that no two islands taken over were that similar. They were mostly jungle filled or incapable of sustaining life. On the other front, the brave soldiers faced the temperate mountainous climates of Europe; there were two fronts in Europe: Normandy and Italy. The most famous battle is D-Day, a battle for the beaches of Normandy.

ON THE HOME FRONT

The invasion of D-Day, as pictured here
was a brutal assault on Normandy. Many
soldiers died trying to take the soil from
the Nazi's. Although it was victorious,
it came at a heavy cost. 

Although many Americans had reservations of joining the war, Pearl Harbor set their minds on war. Men were drafted, women were put in munitions factories, many weapons, tanks, ships, and planes were made. America began to ration goods, so that they could send more supplies to soldiers on the front lines.  Many women began to reach a new standard: to work instead of just being a housewife. Anyone who was against the war was shunned as "Anti-American". America was ready for a counter-attack, and it was not going to wait to become a target a second time.

THE END OF THE WAR

The war ended in Europe when the British, French, Canadians, and Americans from France and Italy were approaching Germany from one side, and Russia was rearing towards Hitler on the other front. With one final failed counter-attack from the Germans at the Battle of the Bulge, the Allies began to close in on Hitler's stronghold. With no options left, Hitler cowered in fear and took his own life. With the war in Europe over, America could begin to focus its efforts on Japan. Japan would not surrender as easily as Germany would, as their soldiers were trained to fight till the last man. Each island taken from the Japanese costed the Americans thousands of casualties. After taking Iwo Jima, America was in range of bombing Japan. They were faced with two options: use the experimental nukes Fat Man and Little Boy, or risk more soldier's lives and mental health invading Japan. Every last Japanese man, woman, and child would fight the American soldiers, which could cause some serious psychological issues. In the end, the nukes were dropped, and Japan surrendered. The Americans had won.

This poster shows Uncle Sam holding a wrench
and threatening the Japanese. He is using a slang
term for the Japanese, or Japs. This poster was put up
after the defeat of Hitler, marking Japan's end.

This is a picture of brave American soldiers lifting a flag over
Iwo Jima.  This marked the end of the fighting in Japan, as
this was the last island taken from Japan. The flag represented
American freedom, looming over the oppressed Japanese.