Confrontation In Vietnam Continued: 1965-1972 Flashcards
(27 cards)
What vehicle was seen as a crucial component within the US armoury and why?
The helicopter.
It could efficiently deliver troops to directly where they were needed, without the risk of ambush. Furthermore, it served as a vital tool in recovering troops, particularly the wounded.
When was Operation Ranch Hand initially approved and what did it include?
Operation Ranch Hand was approved by Kennedy in 1962 and it involved spraying chemicals, such as Agent Orange and Agent Blue, over jungles and crops in order to defoliate them, compromising the Vietcong’s guerrilla tactics and depriving the north of food and the peasants of their livelihoods.
What were the two main military tactics the US employed against North Vietnam?
•Bombing
•Search and destroy
Why were the USA’s bombing campaigns ultimately ineffective?
They were ineffective as North Vietnam was predominantly agrarian, possesing only a few, well disguised, military targets and relatively few centres of industrial production.
This effort was further undermined by the fact the North Vietnamese lost resources were quickly replaced through the aid from both China and the USSR.
What were the names of the two, indiscriminate weapons the US employed in their bombing campaigns?
•Anti-personnel bombs - “pineapple bombs”
•Napalm
What did the strategy “search and destroy” involve?
Us forces would arrive by helicopter and raid villages suspected of harbouring Vietcong.
Why was the “search and destroy” strategy ineffective?
It was almost impossible to accurately identify who was Vietcong and who wasn’t. This resulted in many innocent civilians being killed, their homes, livestock and crops also being destroyed. These tactics undermined any US efforts to engage rural peasants as allies so that they would reject the Vietcong.
What were the USA’s two weaknesses within the conflict by 1968?
• The South Vietnamese army were uncommitted to the struggle and frequently avoided action. The soldiers were also severely undertrained
• Widespread TV and press coverage fuelled a growing anti-war movement domestically. Influential campaigners such as Martin Luther King publicly denounced the war and this resulted in a divided US society which served to damage Johnson’s war efforts.
What were North Vietnam’s strengths?
•Anti-American rural peasantry could easily be recruited by the NLF. If support wasn’t won, it was achieved through threats of violence - cooperation through terror
• Guerrilla tactics
- complex tunnel systems were constructed to hide troops
- Booby traps were deployed in the forest, such as trip wires which triggered grenades, and snake pits
• Ho Chi Minh trail which passed through Cambodia and Laos, acting as a crucial supply line for both men and equipment
• Aid from China and the USSR
- China supplied 80,000 guns in 1964
- USSR supplied missiles, jets and artillery systems
What were North Vietnam’s weaknesses?
• There was a degree of dependency on the USSR and China - the North’s economy could not sustain a prolonged war
• There was no guaranteed support among the South Vietnamese peasants
When was the Tet offensive?
January - February 1968
What was the Tet offensive?
A series of simultaneous military attacks against the US targets in over a 100 towns and cities, orchestrated by the Vietcong, with the hopes of stimulating a mass uprising against the Americans from the South Vietnamese. These attacks occurred during the traditional holiday period linked to the Tet religious celebrations where there was scheduled to be a temporary ceasefire.
Where did the majority of the fighting occur in the Tet offensive?
Hue
Communist troops entered Hue on the 31st January and the South Vietnamese flag flew over the city again on the 24th February.
Why was Tet a military defeat for the Vietcong?
• Didn’t succeed in provoking a South Vietnamese uprising against the US
• 25,000 Vietcong killed, another 5,000 captured
Why was Tet essentially a turning point for US conduct within the war?
The events of the Tet conflict were televised by US TV crews. Influential TV correspondent Walter Cronkite commented that the ‘conflict had reached a stalemate’. His views, alongside the harrowing footage broadcast to the US public, fuelled growing disillusionment and highlighted the futility of American involvement in the war, alongside their current military failures within the country.
This ultimately resulted in a change of policy focused on de-escalation and the bitter realisation that US victory in Vietnam was hardly possible.
What effect did the Tet offensive have on President Johnson?
Admonished and rejected by the US public for his failures regarding the Tet offensive, President Johnson announced that he would not stand for re-election in March 1968.
Who took office in January 1969?
Richard Nixon
What was Vietnamisation?
Vietnamisation was a policy which aimed to withdraw all US forces from Vietnam and replace them with South Vietnamese forces.
How could Vietnamisation help initiate negotiation between the US and North Vietnam?
Vietnamisation could help initiate negotiation as it involves the withdrawal of US troops from Vietnam, fulfilling a fundamental objective of the North Vietnamese. Nixon hoped that this policy, alongside the reintroduction of bombing and the invasion of Cambodia and Laos, could’ve encouraged the North to agree to a negotiated compromise.
How did Nixon support the AVRN?
The AVRN was modernised with the M-16 rifle, alongside military planes and helicopters. It’s service conditions were also modernised, troops seeing an increase in pay and benefits. Furthermore, the AVRN was increased in size from 82,000 in 1968 to 1 million by 1970.
How did the AVRN respond to the North’s Spring offensive?
They resisted the offensive. Although the AVRN suffered 8000 casualties, the North suffered almost 5 times this number. This served as a critical test of Vietnamisation and showed some success.
What was Operation Linebacker I?
A US bombing campaign from May to October 1972 which supported the AVRN during the Spring offensive. This operation saw 150,000 tons of bombs dropped on North Vietnam, boosting the morale of the AVRN and indicating to the North that the US were still committed to their allies.
Why did the AVRN remain an ineffective fighting force?
•The chronic problems of corruption and favouritism facing the AVRN were not resolved, severely disaffecting morale.
•The AVRN still assumed a secondary role within the conflict as it had now become dependent on US input.
•Desertions were high among troops and casualties were greatly increasing
When did Nixon instigate a military offensive into Cambodia?
March 1969
