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History Vietnam > The Nature Of The Conflict 1964-68 > Flashcards

The Nature Of The Conflict 1964-68 Flashcards

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1
Q

What was festures of a gurrila war tactics?

A

1 - Get the support of the people

(assasonate key figures - use propoganda - dressed like normall vietnamese people to show how they were alike)

2 - Weeken the enemy with hit and run tactics - assasonations, sabotaging roads, ambushes, stayed close to US facilities so they wouldn’t be bombed - used light weight weapons, made tunnels so it was easy to escape - use simple traps eg with sharp bamboo

Occasionaly they would have a suprising large battle to try and win a supprise victory

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2
Q

Where is a place just 25 miles from Saigon?

A

Cu Chi

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3
Q

How many miles of tunnel was built in Cu Chi?

A

Almost 100 miles on several levels

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4
Q

What would some tunnels contain?

A

Hospitals, fuel, weapons

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5
Q

How did American’s initial try to deal with VC tunnels?

A

Sending tunnel rats down to destory the tunnel eg by planting mines and blowing them up

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6
Q

What was a tunnel rat?

A

A US soldier that was small enough to fit into the VC tunnels and who would go down there explore them and destory them

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7
Q

What was the US’s eventual solution to VC tunnels?

A

Theu buldosed over any entrances that they found so they wouldn’t be secret

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8
Q

Why were the first advicers a problem?

A

Theu thought in terms of battles and not winning the hearts and minds of the people

Theu often caused a lot of damaged with a lot of collateral damage

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9
Q

By 1965 what was there no of in Vietnam?

A

US ground troops

There were advisers and Green berets but no acutual soldiers

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10
Q

When was operation Rolling thunder given the green light?

A

Febuary 1965

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11
Q

What happened in Febuary 1965?

A

Rolling thunder was given the green light

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12
Q

What was rolling thunder?

A

A bombing campaign over North Vietnam

It began slowly - didn’t target Hanoi or the Haiphong port or placed near the China boarder.

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13
Q

What was happening at the Haiphong port?

A

Where a lot of USSR and Chinese supplies was comming from

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14
Q

What did the Military in Vietnma want from Operation Rolling thinder?

A

Fast heavy bombin of the North Including Hanoi

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15
Q

What places did Rolling thunder target?

A

Ho Chi Minh trail

The little industry in North Vietnam

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16
Q

What did the planes in Rolling thunder drop?

A

Napalm

Pineapple bombs

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17
Q

What was Napalm?

A

A slow burning petrol mixture that sticks to skin, and forest that burns things (through the bone of people)

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18
Q

What was a pineapple bomb?

A

Canisters that expolde and shoot pellets everywhere, like bullets

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19
Q

When were the first bombs on rolling thunder dropped?

A

2nd March 1965

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20
Q

What day did Rolling Thunders stop for?

A

Christmas 1965

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21
Q

When did Rolling thunders stop of the first time?

A

January 1966 when the 2 sides were negotiating

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22
Q

When did Rolling thunder continue again?

A

After the negotiations failed

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23
Q

What happened to Operation Rolling Thunder after the negotiations failed?

A

The targets that could be bombed were increased

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24
Q

When did Rolling Thunder stop altogether?

A

the end of 1968

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25
What demonstrates hiw well the VC tunnels were hiden?
A US base was made on top of one, there was an attack from inside with no sign of a break in, this would have scared american soldiers
26
What were the effects of Operation Rolling Thunder?
Caused damage to to Ho Chi Minh trail - but there were ways around it Destroyed industry - but must supplies was made in China or the USSR Caused a lot of destruction but it only made the US more unpopular in Vietnam and the whole world Aid from China and the USSR wasn't targeted
27
How much did aid sent by the USSR increase during Rolling Thunder?
1965-67 (Rolling thunder ended in 1968) | $210 million to $505 million
28
What was a byproduct of Rolling Thunder?
More airbases were built leading to more attacks on them by the VC
29
Who asked for US troops in Vietnam? Why?
General Westmorland To protect the US airbases
30
Who was General Westmorland?
The person in charge of the war in Vietnam
31
When did US troops start to arrive in Vietnam?
8-10 March 1965
32
Who was the first troops to land in Vietnam? | Where?
3,500 marrines | Landed at Danang
33
How did LBJ get troops to fight in Vietnam?
The draft
34
How many troops were there in Vietnam in 1964?
23,300
35
How many troops were there in Vietnam in 1965?
184,000
36
How many troops were there in Vietnam in 1966?
385,300
37
How many troops were there in Vietnam in 1967?
485,600
38
How many troops were there in Vietnam in 1968?
536,100
39
What was the US's main counter-insurgency mission?
Surch and destroy
40
Describe search and destroy mission?
Small group of men surched through the jungle for VC camos and supplies, if they found stuff they would call in helicopers to prey the area to destroy it Normally missions were on the ground - so there were a lot of booby-traps No full scale battles
41
Why were search and destory missions normally faliuors?
During the first wave 1000 VC were killed, 100US killed - US though it was a good attack as they destoryed a lot of their supplies and soldiers But afterwards the VC moved right back into the destroyed areas - the VC didn't care about the body count Spraying areas with de-folients caused damage to orginary violagers, this caused US aproval from the Vietnamese to drop
42
How many South Vietnamese refugees were ther from search and destory missions
4 million
43
When was Operation Cedar Falls?
1967
44
How many soldiers were ther is Operation Cedar Falls?
30,000 US and ARVN troops
45
Where did Operation Cedar Falls focus on?
The Iron Triangle (where the VC were the strongest)
46
What happened in Cedar Falls?
Vilages were burned | Villagers were out into refugee camps
47
What was the result of Operation Cedar Falls? People?
750 VC dead 450 US and ARVN dead 3,500 refugees from Ben Suc alone
48
What happened to the Iron Triangle after Operation Cedar Falls?
It became a "free-fire zone" It would be bombed without warning at any time
49
Why did Operation Cedar Falls end badly?
It became a free fire zone but the villagers didn't understand this and therefore went back Sometimes they were warned theough leaflets (but they wouldn't read them)
50
What type of mission was Cedar Falls?
Search and destory mission
51
Who was the first president to autherise the use of herbicides?
JFK
52
What was the defoliation programme called?
Operation Ranch Hand
53
When did Operation Ranch Hand start?
10 August 1961
54
Why was the use of chemcial weapons so bad?
Many villagers were killed or burned Theu could kill crops They could get into the water supplies and kill people They caused a lot of problems in women giving birth causing the next generation to have disibilities If the defolients got into the ground it could make the soil infertile for decades to come Some IS and ARVN soldiers were effected
55
How much of South Vietnam was sprayed with some sort of defolient?
Between 1964-70 24%
56
How much herbicide could 1 plane spray?
300 acres in 4 minutes
57
How strong were the defolients?
They were 50% stronger than thise used in the US
58
What was Agent Blue?
A defolient which was fast acting and used to kill crops
59
What was Agent Orange?
A defolient which was stronger and was used on the forest
60
How mnay villages were sprayed?
Over 3000 | Somethimes the villagers wern't goten out first
61
When was spraying of defolients stopped?
October 1971
62
Who stopped the spraying of defolients?
The US's Defense Department
63
What are the Vietnameses Red Cross estimates of the effects of using defolients?
150,000 children born with health defect
64
What was the Ted Offensive?
A series of atatcks on 26 cities amd US bases in South Vietnam
65
When did the Tet Offensive start?
The beginning of the Ted Lunar New year | 30th January 1968
66
Why was staging the Tet Offesnsive on the Lunar New Year smart?
Nomally there was a ceasfire ARNV was court off guard Many ARVN was off-duty for the holiday
67
How did the VC try to catch the US offguard at the Tet offensive?
Late 1967 - attacks in the DMZ to try and lure US troops away from their targets - North Vietnam suggested it may be ready to negotiate 20th January 1968 there was an attack at Khe Sanh which got 6,000 troops and bombers redeployed
68
Who was in charge of Vietnam?
General Westmorland
69
Who was in charge in Vietnam?
General Westmorland
70
What was the result of the Tet offensive in Saigon?
The VC got into the US embassy although it was soon recaptured
71
What city was captures during the Tet offensive?
The old city of Hue
72
How long did it take for the US and ARVN to win back Hue?
3 weeks of fighting in the streets
73
Why was the Tet Offensive significant?
The cities were suppost to be safe The US embassy itself was lost Huge scale - 84,000 troops VC were almost wiped out as there were heavy losses The revolution which they hoped this would triggor didn't happen Huge propoganda victory for the VC US public saw Tet and a uge defeat
74
What was US involvment like in 1968?
$26,266 million 536,100 soldiers 16,899 dead

History Vietnam (8 decks)

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