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Start of Chinese Civil War
The Chinese civil war was between the nationalists Kuomintang party, KMT, and the Communist Party of China, CPC. The KMT was led by Chiang Kai-shek and the CPC was led by Mao Zedong. The KMT was the governing party of China and the CPC was fighting them for control of the country. This event was the first step towards communism in China. -
China Becomes Communist
Mao took over Beijing and pushed Chiang Kai-shek into Taiwan. After taking control of China, Mao started to reform the country. China faced unemployment, inflation, and food shortages. Mao passed Agrarian Reform Law which gave farm equipment and land to peasants. Additionally, the government controlled inflation by setting fixed wages and prices and establishing a national bank. The transformation to communism caused China to be involved in several future issues. -
North Korea Invades South Korea
75,000 North Korean soldiers crossed the 38th parallel which is the boundry between North and South Korea. The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, North Korea, was backed by the Soviets while the Republic of Korea, South Korea, was backed by western nations. North Korea was led by Kim Il Sung, a communist dictator, and the South was led by Syngman Rhee, an anti-communist dictator. This invasion was the first military action of the Cold War. -
UN Sends Troops to Korea
The USSR was boycotting the UN's Security Council for recognizing Chiang Kai-shek’s government as China's official government instead of Mao's communism, so the USSR could not veto when the UN was deciding to assist South Korea. The US claimed that North Korea had broken world peace by invading South Korea. The UN eventually launched an attack on Inchon, a South Korean port. -
China Invades Korea
After the UN attacked the North Korean army, the UN pushed them back into North Korea. Upon advancing into North Korea, China attacked the UN, even though China had warned the UN several times. The Chinese army, along with the North Korean army, managed to push the UN back into South Korea. China invading Korea served as the turning point in the war. -
Korean War Ends
Neither side of the Korean War was able to get the advantage which resulted in a stalemate. South Korea and North Korea split into two independent nations at the 38th parallel. Both sides agreed to a ceasefire and the establishment of a 2 mile wide demilitarized zone which still exists today. -
Afghanistan Becomes Communist
A coup by the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan, PDPA, overthrew the previous monarchist government and implemented a communism. The PDPA received a lot of resistance from Islamists since communism rejects religion and they were very deeply Muslim. Islamist guerillas constantly fought the communist Afghanistan army in the mountainsides.
Afghanistan becoming communist led to direct and inderect military involvement by the superpowers, the USSR and the US. -
US aids Afghanistan
The United States involved itself inderectly in Afghanistan and gave the Afghan Mujahadeen, Islamist guerillas, supplies to fight the communists. The US sent weapons which effectively allowed the Afghan Mujahadeen to combat the communist forces. Islamist nations and groups lent their support which allowed the Afghan Mujahadeen to receive great amounts of aid. -
USSR Invades Afghanistan
Due to the opposition by the Islamist guerillas, Hafizullah Amin, the president of Afghanistan, asked the Soviets for help. The Soviets invaded Afghanistan in order to maintain communist power. The USSR fought the guerillas, but struggled greatly due to the rough terrains in the mountains. The Soveit effort to stop the Islamist guerillas was not succsesful because of their inability to handle the landscape and the assistance given to the guerillas by outside nations and Muslim groups.
