Conflict and tension in Asia, 1950–1975, Part two: Escalation of conflict in Vietnam Flashcards

1
Q

What was Indochina?

A

A french colony comprised of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.

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2
Q

Why did France lose Indochina?

A

They were beaten by the Nazi regime. The Japanese take control of Vietnam.

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3
Q

Why did the USA support the french in taking control of Indochina?

A

The US wanted to ‘contain’ communism.

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4
Q

How much of the war was the US funding in 1953?

A

By 1953, the US was paying 80% of France’s war in Vietnam.

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5
Q

When was the battle of Dien Bien Phu?

A

May 1954

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6
Q

When were the Geneva Agreements?

A

July 1954

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7
Q

What were the main reasons the french were defeated at Dien Bien Phu?

A
  • Terrain suited the Vietminh
  • French did not expect the Vietminh to have artillery and ani-air guns.
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8
Q

How many french casualties were there by the end of the battle?

A

8000 men had died

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9
Q

What was the French government’s response to defeat in Dien Bien Phu?

A
  • The French prime minister resigned.
  • The parliament voted to end the war and leave Vietnam.
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10
Q

What were the conditions of the Geneva Agreement?

(Five conditions)

A
  • Vietnam divided
  • Ho Chi Minh leading the North. Ngo Dinh Diem leading the South.
  • French leave Vietnam. Vietminh leave South Vietnam.
  • People could decide on which side they wanted to live on.
  • Elections to be held in 1956 to unite the country.
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11
Q

What were the main reasons for the civil war in South Vietnam?

A
  • Diem refused to have elections.
  • Diem persecuted Buddhists, in a Buddhist country.
  • Diem jailed his political opponents.
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12
Q

What was Diem’s religion?

A

Diem was Catholic.

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13
Q

What did NLF stand for?

A

National Liberation Front

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14
Q

When was the NLF created?

A

1960

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15
Q

Why was the NLF created?

A

To fight against Diem’s regime to unify Vietnam.

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16
Q

What did ARVN stand for?

A

Army of the Republic of Vietnam

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17
Q

When was the ARVN created?

A

1955

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18
Q

Why was the ARVN created?

A

Created to protect Diem’s regime from communists, the NLF, and Buddhists.

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19
Q

How did Diem persecute communists?

A

He made a law in 1959 that meant military courts could execute anyone found being part of a communist organisation e.g. Vietminh.

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20
Q

How was Diem corrupt?

A

He used his power to benefit his family - controlling businesses and trade.

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21
Q

What were the main reasons Diem was so unpopular?

A
  • Persecution of communists
  • Corruption
  • Nepotism
  • Persecution of Buddhists.
  • Relocation of peasants
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22
Q

When did Diem’s rule start and end?

A

1954 - 1963

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23
Q

What referendum was there in 1955?

A

In 1955, the people of South Vietnam voted for Diem or his rival, Bo Dai. Diem won with 98.2%. He cheated.

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24
Q

Why did the US stop supporting Diem?

A
  • He was too corrupt.
  • He was too unpopular. The Buddhist persecution made supporting him impossible.
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25
Q

What were the aims of the Vietcong?

A

To overthrow Diem’s regime and unify Vietnam.

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26
Q

What made the Vietcong so popular with the peasants?

A
  • They were forbidden to mistreat them.
  • Diem taxed and relocated many peasants. The Vietcong fought to end Diem’s regime, which the peasants wanted.
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27
Q

What guerrilla tactics did the Vietcong use?

A
  • Ambushes
  • Sabotage
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28
Q

Who supported the Vietcong?

A

North Vietnam, China and the USSR.

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29
Q

Where was the Vietcong based?

A

Mainly in South Vietnam.

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30
Q

In what year did the Truman Doctrine start?

A

1947

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31
Q

What was the Truman Doctrine?

A

America’s commitment to containing communism.

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32
Q

What did Domino Theory state?

A

That if one nation becomes communist, the neighbouring countries will follow in a domino effect.

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33
Q

What year did Diem’s regime collapse?

A

1963

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34
Q

Why did the US decide to increase involvement after Diem?

A

At the time of Diem’s assassination, the South was at its weakest.

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35
Q

In what ways was the USA limited in the extent to which it could get involved in Vietnam?

A
  • It didn’t want another Korea
  • It didn’t want the USSR or China to get involved.
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36
Q

When was Eisenhower president?

A

1953-60

37
Q

How many military advisers did Eisenhower send to the ARVN to help them win the civil war?

A

700 military advisers

38
Q

What did Kennedy do to get involved?

A
  • Sent thousands more military advisers
  • Economic assistance to Diem’s government
39
Q

What were ‘strategic hamlets’?

A

Fortified villages defended by the ARVN.

40
Q

Why was the strategic hamlets programme so unpopular?

A

It forced peasants out of their native villages. Ancestors’ graves were spiritually important.

41
Q

By how much did the the strategic hamlets programme increase Diem’s unpopularity?

A

it tripled his unpopularity rating

42
Q

How many strategic hamlets were set up?

A

5000

43
Q

How much money did the USA send in economic aid by 1961?

A

$136 million economic aid

44
Q

How much money did the USA send in militaristic funding by 1961?

A

$65 million for equipment
$40 million to train ARVN

45
Q

How many military advisors were there in Vietnam by 1963?

A

Over 16000

46
Q

When was Diem killed?

A

November 1963

47
Q

How was Diem killed?

A

ARVN plotted to kill him in coup d’etat.

48
Q

When was the USS Maddox attacked?

A

2nd August 1964

49
Q

When was the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution passed?

A

Presented to Congress on the 7th August 1964. Passed on the 10th.

50
Q

Vietcong strength, 1963 and 1964.

A

Vietcong had 23,000 fighters in 1963, 60,000 in 1964.

51
Q

Why was LBJ eager to pass the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution?

A

He wanted the US to get more involved in Vietnam. LBJ was criticised for being too soft. After the resolution passed, he won the election easily.

52
Q

What was the US’s mass bombing campaign called?

A

Operation Rolling Thunder

53
Q

How big was the Ho Chi Minh trail?

A

16,000km

54
Q

It what ways did North Vietnam support the Vietcong?

A

The North Vietnamese army gave weapons and training to the Vietcong soldiers. Sometimes the North Vietnamese army would join Vietcong divisions.

55
Q

When did Operation Rolling Thunder start?

A

March 1965

56
Q

What was the aim of Operation Rolling Thunder?

A
  • Make N.Vietnam stop supporting the Vietcong.
  • Destroy industries and transport links bringing supplies to the south.
57
Q

How long did the bombing campaign last? How long was it originally intended to last?

A

It was expected to succeed in eight weeks. It lasted three years.

58
Q

How many bombs had been dropped on Vietnam?

A

900,000 tons of bombs dropped. 90,000 people killed as a result
(by November 1968)

59
Q

Was Operation Rolling Thunder a success?

A
  • Most of the Vietcong’s supplies came from China
  • USSR and China provided air cover. 745 US airmen were shot down.
60
Q

How did the US deal with the Ho Chi Minh trail?

A

It burned entire forests with Agent Orange, and dropped cluster bombs and napalm to kill the people walking along it.

61
Q

How did the Vietcong defend against the air strikes?

A

They built hundreds of underground shelters along the Ho Chi Minh trail.

62
Q

What were Search and Destroy missions also referred to as?

A

‘Zippo raids’ Zippo being a lighter brand they would use to light up villages.

63
Q

Who was the General in charge of US military in Vietnam?

A

General Westmoreland

64
Q

How many US troops were there by the end of 1965?

A

By the end of 1965, there were 200,000 US troops on the ground.

65
Q

What was the essence of Search and Destroy tactics?

A

US troops would go to villages in small groups and search for Vietcong members and weapons. They would then kill them.

66
Q

What was the success of Search and Destroy tactics in the first month?

A

1100 Vietcong killed
only 100 US troops died

67
Q

Why did the initial success of Search and Destroy not continue?

A
  • It was hard to tell civilian from Vietcong
  • Burning down villages made the US troops unpopular
  • It also made 4 million refugees by the end of the war.
68
Q

What was the My Lai massacre?

A

The murder of over 347 women and children by US troops.

69
Q

What was the impact of the My Lai massacre?

A

The public were horrified and support for the war rapidly declined.

70
Q

What day was the My Lai massacre?

A

16th March 1968

71
Q

What was Charlie Company?

A

The Charlie Company were the troops involved in My Lai.

72
Q

How long did the army cover up what had happened?

A

Over a year

73
Q

What did the My Lai Massacre show about the effectiveness of Search and Destroy?

A

It showed that it increased conflict and tension. Charlie Company was told to kill Vietcong; women and children could be part of Vietcong.

74
Q

What was the Tet Offensive?

A

A Vietcong attack in over 100 South Vietnamese cities.

75
Q

What day was the Tet Offensive?

A

30th January 1968

76
Q

Who was in control of North Vietnam in 1968?

A

Le Duan

77
Q

What year did Ho Chi Minh die?

A

1969

78
Q

Why did Le Duan launch the Tet offensive?

A

He believed that a major attack would lead to South Vietnamese people rising up and overthrowing the Southern regime, leading to the unification of Vietnam.

79
Q

Why was the Tet offensive a surprise attack?

A

It happened on a holiday. The US military thought that the Vietcong would rest, as most of them were Buddhists.

80
Q

What were the consequences of the Tet Offensive for the war?

For the VC

A
  • US took back control quickly. Some cities were left in ruins. e.g. Hue
  • The people had not risen up and the Vietcong suffered major losses.
81
Q

What were the consequences of the Tet Offensive for US public opinion?

A
  • 20 million people watched on television
  • People started realising the war was going on without any progress
82
Q

Troops to be sent to Vietnam March 1968?

A

In March 1968, LBJ stated another 200,000 troops were to be sent to Vietnam.

83
Q

LBJ approval ratings 1968.

A

Dropped from 40% to 26%

84
Q

How many Americans watched the Tet Offensive on TV?

A

20 million Americans watched the television coverage of the Tet Offensive.

85
Q

What were the main Anti-war protests?

A

December 1964: 25,000 people march in DC
October 1969: two million people demonstrated across the USA

86
Q

Why were there more student protests?

A
  • They were more liberal
  • The draft conscripted 18-26yo’s. This meant students had friends in Vietnam.
87
Q

What was a common chant at Anti-war demonstrations?

A

‘Hey, hey, LBJ, how many kids did you kill today?’

88
Q

How much was the US spending in Vietnam in 1967?

A

$30 billion a year

89
Q

What did MLK say about the war?

A

King declared he was against the war. That the government should not spend so much whilst there were so many domestic problems.