3.3 The Vietnam War Flashcards
(20 cards)
Who controlled Indochina for many years prior to the Second World War
- France
- was keen to maintain its colony and re-establish some national pride after humiliations of the war
Who was the most popular leader of the anti-French rebels and what did he do
- Ho Chi Minh
- leader of Viet Minh (Vietnamese communists)
- proclaimed the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (communist state)
How many casualties did France suffer by 1952 in attempt to keep control of Indochina and why
- 90,000 casualties
- despite superior weaponry, the French could not compete with the guerilla warfare tactics of the Viet Minh (knew the jungles much better than the French)
Guerilla warfare meaning
The use of ambushes and raids by small armed groups; used successfully in Cuba by Castro and by the Vietcong in Vietnam
What happened after the French defeat at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954?
- French decided to withdraw from Vietnam
- caused great concern to the USA
Why was america concerned by the French withdrawal from Vietnam
- as part of their policy of containment, Americans paid for 75% of the French campaign
- soviet and Chinese money and equipment was being supplied to the Vietnamese communists
- Eisenhower did not want to send US troops and so a diplomatic solution was needed
What happened at a meeting in Geneva in July 1954?
- USSR, USA and France agreed that Vietnam would be split in two along the 17th parallel
- french would leave the northern zone, where Ho Chi Minh had established his communist republic and the Viet Minh would leave the southern zone
- plan was temporary and elections were scheduled for two years later when the country would be reunited
Why could the usa not sign the agreements at Geneva
Refused to sign because Eisenhower could not accept a communist North Vietnam
How was the domino theory applied to Vietnam
- theory: if communism spread to south Vietnam, it would then spread to nearby countries
- made containment more important
How did Eisenhower differ from Truman when applying the policy of containment
- much less willing than Truman to become military involved in individual conflicts
- believed in a much wider strategic approach, focus on increasing number and power of nuclear weapons
What was the New Look policy
- defence policy followed by Eisenhower
- led to increasing amounts of American money, equipment, and military political experts being sent to South Vietnam
- although south Vietnamese leader Ngo Dinh Diem was corrupt, he was hugely anti-communist
- USA determined to keep his government in place
Name of south Vietnamese leader
Ngo Dinh Diem
When was the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam established and what else what is called
December 1960, aka the Vietcong
What was the Vietcong
An alliance of smaller groups aimed to overthrow Diem’s government
What was the Ho Chi Minh Trail
A route established through the mountains to provide the Vietcong with fighters and weapons
What happened when Kennedy took office in 1960
- saw dealing with crisis as vital for stopping spread of communism
- sent advisors and experts to the country in greater numbers (eventually more than 16,000)
- most advisors were military, rumours of US pilots flying combat missions against communist north began to spread
What did the Americans do when they realised Diem was losing control and because of his increasingly brutal attempts to deal with opposition
- backed his removal form power
- diem murdered by rebels who forced him from power
When was Diem murdered
2 November 1963
When was Kennedy shot and killed in Dallas
22 November 1963
What happened when Kennedy died
- Johnson ordered full US military involvement
- war was long and bloody US army struggled against guerilla tactics of the Vietcong in the jungles of Vietnam
- showed USA’s commitment to communism
