Asia 1945-1980 (note: unspecified dates will be denoted as 1/1/year)

  • Japan is forced out of Vietnam after their loss in WWII

  • Indonesia claims independance

    Two days after the Japanese surrendered, Sukarno proclaimed Indonesia’s independence and named himself president.
  • Period: to

    Civil War in China

    Civil war is renewed after fighting the Japanese, between Comunist Mao and Nationalist Jiang
  • Phillipine Independance

  • The Dutch agree with Indonesia

    The Dutch, after losing American and British support, agree to let Indonesia to become independant.
  • Cities Fall in China

    Major cities in China fall to the Red Army.
  • Mao is in Charge

    Mao has control over the whole country. The remaining troops of Jiang are running south.
  • China and USSR sign a friendship treaty

  • Agrarian Reform Law of 1950

    Mao takes the properties of the landlords and kills them off, spreading the land among the peasants.
  • Period: to

    China takes Tibet with brutal force.

  • North Korea invades South Korea

    N. Korea invades past the 38th parallel in a surprise attack. They manage to penetrate deep into the south in days.
  • The UN decides to retaliate

    The UN, without the consent of the USSR, send troops (mostly American) to Korea to help the South. Their campaign is successful at first, pushing the Communists back up to China. But then China joins in, and the border gets pushed down to the 38th parallel again.
  • Mao's attempt at a Five-Year Plan

    Mao set high standards for the newly nationalized industry at his disposal. And to his benefit, production increased dramatically. Now if only those products were of acceptable quality.
  • Korean Ceasefire is signed.

  • The French surrender to Ho Chi Minh

  • The Federation of Malaya

    British officials created the Federation of Malaya from Singapore, Malaya, Sarawak, and Sabah.
  • Period: to

    The Great Leap Forward

    Mao wanted to expand the success of his Five-Year Plan. He made even bigger communal farms, and things went down the drain. Eventually, in 1961, a famine hit, and over 20,000,000 died, ending the Great Leap Forward with them.
  • Failed revolt by Tibetans, many flee to India

  • Ne Win sets up a military govt. in Burma

    He wanted to make Burma a military state
  • Diem is assassinated by South Vietnam generals

  • President Johnson starts to send troops in

    Based on a supposed attack, the US joins a war in Vietnam
  • Singapore becomes a nation

    Singapore separated from the federation and became an independent city-state.
  • Suharto gains power

    A group of junior army officers attempted a coup when Suharto smothered them, and took the power for himself. He killed 500.000+ Indonesians.
  • Period: to

    Ferdinand Marcos

    He was elected president of Phillipines. He turned out to be an authoritarian dictator, imposin martial law for extended amounts of time.
  • Mao calls for a Cultural Revolution

    Mao asks the youth of the nation to step forward and revolt against the "Olds" of society. After two years, Mao admits they need to be stopped.
  • Suharto named president of Indonesia

  • Period: to

    Leaving Vietnam

    Nixon starts to withdraw troops from Vietnam. He calls it Vietnamization.
  • North Vietnam overruns the South

  • Cambodia under Pol Pot

    The Khmer Rouge set up a brutal govt. under their leader, Pol Pot. 2,000,000 people were killed in an attempt by Pol Pot to establish a Communist society.
  • N. Vietnam controls S. Vietnam

    The north establishes a strong grip on life in South Vietnam. Industry was nationalized, and reeducation camps were started.
  • Suharto annexes East Timor

  • Vietnam invades Cambodia

    Vietnam sets up a less brutal govt., but fighting continued.