AQA GCSE History · BD

Conflict and tension in Asia, 1950–1975

Exam-style questions with answers for BD Conflict and tension in Asia, 1950–1975 in AQA GCSE History (spec 8145). Practise with flashcards, a topic quiz, a random quiz across the course, 5 crosswords, or read every question and answer below.

All questions and answers

Question 1 · Spec 3.2.2 BD, Part one
Explain why Korea was divided in 1945. [2 marks]
Answer:
Japan had ruled Korea and surrendered in 1945 (1); the USSR occupied the North and the USA the South, divided at the 38th Parallel (1).
Question 2 · Spec 3.2.2 BD, Part one
Who led North and South Korea in 1950? [2 marks]
Answer:
Kim Il Sung led communist North Korea (1); Syngman Rhee led anti-communist South Korea (1).
Question 3 · Spec 3.2.2 BD, Part one
Explain how Korean nationalism contributed to the war. [2 marks]
Answer:
Both Kim and Rhee wanted to unite Korea under their own rule (1); there were border clashes before 1950 (1).
Question 4 · Spec 3.2.2 BD, Part one
Explain why US relations with China affected Korea. [2 marks]
Answer:
The USA refused to recognise Mao’s China and backed Taiwan (1); the USA feared China and the USSR would spread communism across Asia (1).
Question 5 · Spec 3.2.2 BD, Part one
Why did North Korea invade the South in June 1950? [2 marks]
Answer:
Kim believed the South was weak and the USA would not defend it (1); he gained support from Stalin and Mao (1).
Question 6 · Spec 3.2.2 BD, Part one
Why could the UN act against North Korea? [2 marks]
Answer:
The USSR was boycotting the Security Council over the UN’s refusal to admit Communist China (1); so it could not use its veto (1).
Question 7 · Spec 3.2.2 BD, Part one
Explain why the USA intervened in Korea. [2 marks]
Answer:
Truman believed in containment (1); he feared the Domino Theory, that other Asian countries would fall to communism (1).
Question 8 · Spec 3.2.2 BD, Part one
By September 1950, where were the UN and South Korean forces? [1 mark]
Answer:
Trapped in a small area around Pusan in the south-east.
Question 9 · Spec 3.2.2 BD, Part one
What were the Inchon landings (September 1950)? [2 marks]
Answer:
MacArthur landed UN forces behind North Korean lines at Inchon (1); they recaptured Seoul and pushed the North Koreans back (1).
Question 10 · Spec 3.2.2 BD, Part one
Explain why the UN advance into North Korea worried China. [2 marks]
Answer:
UN forces approached the Yalu River on China’s border (1); China feared an invasion of its own territory (1).
Question 11 · Spec 3.2.2 BD, Part one
What happened when China intervened in October 1950? [2 marks]
Answer:
Hundreds of thousands of Chinese ‘volunteers’ attacked UN forces (1); UN forces were pushed back south of the 38th Parallel (1).
Question 12 · Spec 3.2.2 BD, Part one
Why did Truman sack MacArthur in April 1951? [2 marks]
Answer:
MacArthur wanted to attack China, possibly with nuclear weapons (1); he publicly criticised Truman, who wanted a limited war (1).
Question 13 · Spec 3.2.2 BD, Part one
Describe the military situation in Korea from 1951 to 1953. [1 mark]
Answer:
A stalemate with trench warfare around the 38th Parallel.
Question 14 · Spec 3.2.2 BD, Part one
Explain why peace talks in Korea took two years. [2 marks]
Answer:
The sides disagreed about the return of prisoners of war (1); many Chinese and North Korean prisoners did not want to go home (1).
Question 15 · Spec 3.2.2 BD, Part one
When was the Korean armistice signed? [1 mark]
Answer:
July 1953 at Panmunjom.
Question 16 · Spec 3.2.2 BD, Part one
State three consequences of the Korean War. [3 marks]
Answer:
Any three from: about 2–3 million Korean civilians killed (1); Korea remained divided (1); the UN showed it could act (1); China and the USA became enemies (1); US military spending increased (1).
Question 17 · Spec 3.2.2 BD, Part two
Who was Ho Chi Minh? [1 mark]
Answer:
The communist nationalist leader of the Vietminh who fought for Vietnamese independence.
Question 18 · Spec 3.2.2 BD, Part two
Explain why Dien Bien Phu (1954) was a turning point. [2 marks]
Answer:
The Vietminh besieged and defeated the French garrison (1); France decided to withdraw from Indochina (1).
Question 19 · Spec 3.2.2 BD, Part two
What did the Geneva Agreement (1954) decide? [2 marks]
Answer:
Vietnam was temporarily divided at the 17th Parallel (1); elections to unite Vietnam were to be held in 1956 (1).
Question 20 · Spec 3.2.2 BD, Part two
Why were the 1956 elections never held? [1 mark]
Answer:
The USA and Diem feared Ho Chi Minh would win.
Question 21 · Spec 3.2.2 BD, Part two
Explain why Diem was unpopular in South Vietnam. [2 marks]
Answer:
He was a Catholic who persecuted Buddhists in a mainly Buddhist country (1); his government was corrupt and favoured landowners (1).
Question 22 · Spec 3.2.2 BD, Part two
What happened in 1963 that showed opposition to Diem? [1 mark]
Answer:
Buddhist monks, including Thich Quang Duc, burned themselves to death in protest.
Question 23 · Spec 3.2.2 BD, Part two
What were the aims of the Vietcong? [2 marks]
Answer:
To overthrow Diem’s government (1); to unite Vietnam under communism (1).
Question 24 · Spec 3.2.2 BD, Part two
Describe the Vietcong’s guerrilla tactics. [2 marks]
Answer:
They used hit-and-run attacks, booby traps and tunnels (1); they blended in with villagers, making them hard to identify (1).
Question 25 · Spec 3.2.2 BD, Part two
What was the Ho Chi Minh Trail? [1 mark]
Answer:
A network of paths through Laos and Cambodia used to supply the Vietcong from North Vietnam.
Question 26 · Spec 3.2.2 BD, Part two
Define the term ‘Domino Theory’. [1 mark]
Answer:
The belief that if one country fell to communism, its neighbours would follow, like falling dominoes.
Question 27 · Spec 3.2.2 BD, Part two
How did Eisenhower support South Vietnam? [2 marks]
Answer:
He gave money and equipment to Diem’s government (1); he sent several hundred military advisers (1).
Question 28 · Spec 3.2.2 BD, Part two
How did Kennedy increase US involvement in Vietnam? [2 marks]
Answer:
He increased the number of military advisers to about 16,000 (1); he sent helicopters and supported the Strategic Hamlets programme (1).
Question 29 · Spec 3.2.2 BD, Part two
What was the Strategic Hamlets programme? [2 marks]
Answer:
Peasants were moved into fortified villages to separate them from the Vietcong (1); it was unpopular and failed because villagers resented being moved (1).
Question 30 · Spec 3.2.2 BD, Part two
What was the Gulf of Tonkin incident (1964)? [2 marks]
Answer:
North Vietnamese boats were reported to have attacked US destroyers (1); Congress passed a resolution giving Johnson power to wage war (1).
Question 31 · Spec 3.2.2 BD, Part two
What was Operation Rolling Thunder? [1 mark]
Answer:
The mass US bombing campaign against North Vietnam from 1965 to 1968.
Question 32 · Spec 3.2.2 BD, Part two
Describe Search and Destroy tactics. [2 marks]
Answer:
US troops raided villages to find and kill Vietcong (1); civilians were often killed and villages destroyed, turning people against the USA (1).
Question 33 · Spec 3.2.2 BD, Part two
What happened at My Lai (March 1968)? [2 marks]
Answer:
US soldiers killed around 350–500 unarmed villagers (1); news emerged in 1969 and increased opposition to the war (1).
Question 34 · Spec 3.2.2 BD, Part two
What was the Tet Offensive (1968)? [2 marks]
Answer:
A surprise Vietcong and North Vietnamese attack on more than 100 cities in the South (1); it was a military defeat for the communists but a propaganda victory (1).
Question 35 · Spec 3.2.2 BD, Part two
Explain why the Tet Offensive was a turning point for the USA. [2 marks]
Answer:
It showed the war was not nearly won, despite government claims (1); public opinion turned against the war, and Johnson did not stand for re-election (1).
Question 36 · Spec 3.2.2 BD, Part two
Explain why Johnson escalated the war after 1964. [2 marks]
Answer:
The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution gave him power to use force (1); he believed South Vietnam would fall without US combat troops, so he sent the first marines in 1965 (1).
Question 37 · Spec 3.2.2 BD, Part two
Explain why student protests grew in the USA. [2 marks]
Answer:
The draft sent young men to fight in an unpopular war (1); television images of casualties and civilian deaths turned many against it (1).
Question 38 · Spec 3.2.2 BD, Part three
Define the term ‘Vietnamisation’. [1 mark]
Answer:
Nixon’s policy of withdrawing US troops and handing the fighting over to the South Vietnamese army.
Question 39 · Spec 3.2.2 BD, Part three
What was Agent Orange? [2 marks]
Answer:
A chemical defoliant sprayed to destroy forest cover and crops (1); it caused long-term illness and birth defects (1).
Question 40 · Spec 3.2.2 BD, Part three
What was napalm? [1 mark]
Answer:
A jellied petrol weapon that burned and stuck to skin, causing terrible injuries.
Question 41 · Spec 3.2.2 BD, Part three
Explain why Nixon widened the war into Cambodia and Laos. [2 marks]
Answer:
To destroy Vietcong bases and supply routes on the Ho Chi Minh Trail (1); it led to more protests in the USA (1).
Question 42 · Spec 3.2.2 BD, Part three
Explain why Nixon improved relations with China in 1972. [2 marks]
Answer:
He hoped China would put pressure on North Vietnam to make peace (1); it divided China and the USSR (1).
Question 43 · Spec 3.2.2 BD, Part three
What happened at Kent State University (May 1970)? [2 marks]
Answer:
National Guardsmen fired on students protesting against the invasion of Cambodia (1); four students were killed, increasing anti-war feeling (1).
Question 44 · Spec 3.2.2 BD, Part three
Explain why the media influenced public opinion about Vietnam. [2 marks]
Answer:
It was the first ‘television war’, showing graphic images such as the Tet Offensive and napalm victims (1); reports contradicted official claims of progress (1).
Question 45 · Spec 3.2.2 BD, Part three
What was the Watergate affair? [1 mark]
Answer:
A scandal in which Nixon’s staff broke into Democratic headquarters and Nixon tried to cover it up, leading to his resignation in 1974.
Question 46 · Spec 3.2.2 BD, Part three
What did the Paris Peace Agreement (January 1973) agree? [2 marks]
Answer:
A ceasefire and the withdrawal of US troops (1); the return of prisoners of war (1).
Question 47 · Spec 3.2.2 BD, Part three
What was Henry Kissinger’s role in ending the war? [1 mark]
Answer:
As Nixon’s National Security Adviser, he led secret peace talks with North Vietnam’s Le Duc Tho.
Question 48 · Spec 3.2.2 BD, Part three
When did Saigon fall to North Vietnam? [1 mark]
Answer:
April 1975.
Question 49 · Spec 3.2.2 BD, Part three
State three costs of the Vietnam War. [3 marks]
Answer:
Any three from: about 58,000 US deaths (1); millions of Vietnamese deaths (1); land damaged by chemicals and bombing (1); huge financial cost to the USA (1); refugees (1).
Question 50 · Spec 3.2.2 BD, Part three
State two problems facing Vietnam in 1975. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: destroyed infrastructure (1); poverty (1); refugees and ‘boat people’ (1); unexploded bombs (1); re-education camps for opponents (1).

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