Nixon And Vietnam

Question 1

When did Nixon become president?

Answer 1

January 1969

Question 2

Which countries did he want to improve relations with when he planned to withdraw from the Vietnam war?

Answer 2

Soviet Union and china

Question 3

What was his main method to try to encourage north Vietnam to withdraw and surrender to south Vietnam’s rule?

Answer 3

Large-scale bombing of the Ho Chi Minh trail in north Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.

Question 4

What was the overall response from the US Home Front to the bombing in Vietnam?

Answer 4

Anti-war protests

Question 5

What policy did the turning point the Tet Offensive (1968) result in under Nixon?

Answer 5

Vietnamisation - Nixon wanted to withdraw the US troops from the Vietnam war and begin to build the ARVN (south Vietnamese troops).

Question 6

What did Nixon want to achieve out of Vietnamisation instead of escalating the Vietnam war?

Answer 6

‘Peace with honour’ - where Thieu and south Vietnam would take over north Vietnam and restore Vietnam, so the USA could leave Vietnam ‘with honour’.

He hoped that the Soviet Union and china would help him convince Hanoi to agree to the terms that south Vietnam would unite Vietnam under their rule.

Question 7

First strategy to encourage north Vietnam to adhere to peace with honour
How did Nixon plan to use the sino-soviet spilt to withdraw from Vietnam?

Answer 7

By encouraging a detente between the USA, and the communist leading global nations: Soviet Union and china. This softening of relations would encourage north Vietnam to agree to Nixon’s peace of honour policy in Vietnam.

Question 9

How had the USSR and china supported Hanoi before?

Answer 9

USSR: provided military aid - worth billions of dollars, with artillery, tanks, bombs etc.

China: essential food, troops and ammunition.

Question 10

USSR attidute to china, sino-American relations

Question 11

Sino-American relations

Question 12

Second strategy to encourage north Vietnam to adhere to peace with honour
What was Nixon’s ‘Madman Theory’ strategy and how what was it a result of on the US Home Front?

Answer 12

Where Nixon presented himself as an unpredictable communist hating leader who may potentially resort to nuclear weapons in order to initimidate Ho and north Vietnam into making ‘peace with honour’ .

This was out of pressure from the anti-Vietnam war protests Nixon was facing on the US home front - during his presidential inaugural parade, protesters were chanting “Ho, Ho, Ho Chi Minh, the NLF is going to win”.

Question 13

What were the 3 aspects of Nixon’s active policy to withdraw Vietnam with “peace with honour”?

Answer 13

1. Escalate the bombing
2. Peace talks with north Vietnam

Question 15

What did Nixon also hope to achieve with china and the USSR out of his withdrawal of Vietnam?

Answer 15

To sign an armistice

Question 16

What offensive led to Nixon bombing to destroy the Ho Chi Minh trail in Cambodia in 1969?
Was Nixon’s bombing of vietnamese communist headquarters in CambodiaCOSVN (Central Office for South Vietnam) a success?

Answer 16

The offensive in February 1969, led by north Vietnam and taken place in the south.
Nixon’s bombing in attempt to destroy COSVN wasn’t a successful, as he escalated the bombing by April1970.

Question 18

What were the numbers of US troops withdrawn from Vietnam between 1970-1971?

Answer 18

1970 - 475,000
1971 - 335,000

Question 19

What was the US response to the increased bombing of the Ho Chi Minh trail and the conscription of US soldiers (including students by 1968) in 1968?

Answer 19

More frequent anti-war protests:
Kent State University, may 1970 - the National Guard shot 4 student protestors

Question 20

How did Nixon try to keep the anti-war protestors quiet?

Answer 20

In september 1969, people were preparing to protest, but Nixon publicly revealed the withdrawal of 60,000 soldiers.

In November 1969, he made a speech on how he intended to end the Vietnam war, which led to his approval rating increasing to 68%.

Question 21

Nixon wasn’t any closer to ending the Vietnam war in January 1970. Where did he escalate bombing?
Why did he escalate the bombing?

Answer 21

On the Ho Chi Minh trail in Laos, Cambodia and north Vietnam.
To reassure south Vietnam that despite him withdrawing troops the USA were still helping them defeat north Vietnam.

Question 22

Cambodian offensive
Evidence to show Nixon’s failure to end the war:
What was the north Vietnamese response to the January 1970 bombing in Laos in February 1970?

Answer 22

The north Vietnamese launched an offensive in Laos to protect the Ho Chi Minh trail.
Cambodian offensive: USA responded by sending 30,000 troops into cambodia, which WIDENED the conflict. But they didn’t encounter the north Vietnamese.

Question 23

How did Cambodia respond to the Cambodian offensive?
How did the US poll ratings respond to the Cambodian offensive?

Answer 23

They wanted the north Vietnamese forces to be removed from Cambodia.
50% approved and 39%

Question 24

Nixon argues that the Cambodian offensive was successful. Is this accurate?

Answer 24

Successful:
Destroyed a lot of PAVN/NLF military material
Prevented north Vietnam from doing an offensive on the south for another 2 years

Unsuccessful:
Couldn’t find COSVN in Cambodia
Over 300 US troops were killed
North was still not willing to make concessions at peace talks or fulfil Nixon’s peace with honour policy

Question 25

Lan Son Offensive (invasion of Laos) When and how did the US and ARVN invade Laos? Was is successful for the US and south Vietnam?

Answer 25

January 1971 - with US 600 helicopters and 17,000 ARVN troops and labelled an ARVN invasion (to boost the south’s morale and show that Vietnamisation was working). Unsuccessful, as the PAVN troops numbered 30,000, so the ARVN were heavily defeated, with a casualty rate of 50%.

Question 26

Paris Peace Talks - may 1968 What did the USA want out of the Paris Peace Talks in may 1968? What did the north Vietnamese want out of the pars peace talks in may 1968?

Answer 26

The USA wanted: North Vietnamese withdrawal from the south The southern government to be free of communists The North wanted: A US withdrawal from south Vietnam Communist government in south Vietnam

Question 27

Why didn’t north Vietnam accept the terms of the Paris peace talks of may 1968?

Answer 27

They would only release the US prisoners of war if the terms to accept Thieu would be dropped.

Question 28

As Nixon and negotiator Henry Kissinger knew that he wasn’t able to achieve a military victory in the Vietnam war, how did he try to continue his ‘peace with honour’ policy at the Paris peace talks in may 1971 ?

Answer 28

May 1971 - Henry Kissinger offered north Vietnam to withdraw US troops in south Vietnam if Ho would: Accept Thieu’s regime Returned the US prisoners of war The PAVN would stop adding troops and infiltrating the south - but no mention of WITHDRAWING troops

Question 29

What was the reaction of the US home front to the Cambodian and Lan son offensive, as well as Nixon’s proposal at the Paris peace talks in may 1971?

Answer 29

Nixon’s approval rating fell by 31% in 1971

Question 30

Who was Henry Kissinger?

Answer 30

National security adviser in 1969, then became the Secretary of State in 1973. He wanted to exploit the sine-soviet spilt for the USA’s withdrawal with honour from the Vietnam war. He also supported Vietnamisation and the bombing in Cambodia and Laos.

Question 31

Why did Nixon escalate the bombing in 1972?

Answer 31

He was facing an election in 1972, and since his approval rating had fallen, he needed to prove that Vietnamisation was working to the US Home front. In march 1972, the north launched another offensive on the south, which virtually destroyed the ARVN.

Question 32

How did Nixon escalate the bombing?

Answer 32

He attacked north Vietnamese mines and ports with B-52 bombs.

Question 33

Despite 4 soviet ships being hit (as the supported the north) what did the Soviet Union actually want?

Answer 33

An end to the war (as funding north Vietnam was costly), and were willing to make concessions as they had planned a meeting with the USA in Moscow.

Question 34

Whilst bombing throughout the Moscow summit in may 1972, what secret concession did Nixon make?

Answer 34

That the PAVN would be allowed to stay in south Vietnam - this showed that Nixon was tired f funding the costs for south Vietnam to the north Vietnamese.

Question 35

What was the agreement by October 1972?

Answer 35

US troops would withdraw but continue supplying the ARVN Hanoi would release the American prisoners of war Thieu would remain in power, but the PAVN could stay in south Vietnam The neutral faction the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam (PRG) would start democratic elections.

Question 36

What were the results of the November 1972 elections? Before the election, Thieu refused to accept the terms of the October 1972 concessions. When Kissinger ‘accidentally’ announced that peace was close, Nixon got angry with Kissinger as it could change the views of north and south in the concessions.

Answer 36

Nixon became president again (won by 60.7%), but the democrats dominated congress and wouldn’t allow him to continue funding the Vietnam war.

Question 37

What happened in January 1973, the Paris peace accords?

Answer 37

Nixon said to Thieu that he’d sign it off with or without him - Thieu eventually agreed, despite being virtually a surrender. Ceasefire announced in Vietnam (not Cambodia or Laos) and that the US prisoners of war would be released. But PAVN would stay in south Vietnam and ultimately united Vietnam under north Vietnamese communist rule in April 1975.

Question 38

What operation did Nixon introduce which led to the Christmas bombing?

Answer 38

Operation enhance plus (to provide Thieu with military equipment - Christmas bombing 1972 - to force north Vietnam into final concessions. The US home front was ashamed, as there was no reason for the bombing, which even resulted in the deaths of 1000 civilians in Hanoi. Kissinger lied to the press that he ‘disagreed’ with the Christmas bombing.

Question 39

Relations with ussr

Question 40

Relations with china

Question 41

Fall of Saigon

Answer 41

Whilst being attacked by the north Vietnamese (who sent more troops via the Ho Chi Minh trail) in 1973 and 1974, the south was also enduring a poor harvest and the negative economic impact of the USA’s withdrawal of funding. Saigon then fell to communism in April 1975.