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History > The Vietnam War > Flashcards

The Vietnam War Flashcards

1
Q

What is Indochina?

A

-The name given to Vietnam under French rule before WW2.

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2
Q

Who are the Viet Minh?

A
  • Anti Japansese resistance movement led by the communist Ho Chi Minh.
  • They controlled North Vietnam.
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3
Q

Who wasHo Chi Minh?

A
  • A communist leader of the Viet Minh.

- He formed the indochinese communist party.

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4
Q

What is the 17th Parallel?

A

-The border between North and South Vietnam decided at the peace conference in Geneva.

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5
Q

Who was Ngo Dinh Diem?

A
  • The corrupt leader of the Republic of South Vietnam.

- he was anti communist and overthrown in 1963.

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6
Q

What was the National Front for Liberation of South Vietnam?

A
  • Communist led resistance movement against the south Vietnamese government.
  • They were often referred to as the Viet Cong.
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7
Q

What was the Ho Chi Minh Trail?

A

-A hidden jungle trail between North and South Vietnam used by the Viet Cong to transport supplies and reinforcements.

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8
Q

Who was Vietnam ruled by?

A

-Foreign Imperialists.

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9
Q

Who made up the population?

A

-It was largely made up by poor peasants who were mainly monks.

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10
Q

Turning points of Vietnam.

A
  • At the End of WW2 the Viet Minh controlled the north. The Viet Minh were communist, and the USA wanted to contain communism.
  • In 1955 the Americans helped Ngo Dinh Diem set up the Republic of South Vietnam. He was anti communist, which was good for the USA but bad for the peasants as they were traded badly.
  • After Kennedy was assassinated he was replaced by Linden Johnson, who was a lot stricter with communism.
  • In August 1964 North Vietnamese patrol boats open fired on US ships in the Gulf of Tonkin and the US congress passed the Tonkin Gulf Resolution.
  • On the 8th March 1965 3,500 US marines came ashore at Da Nang. america was officially at war in Vietnam.
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11
Q

What is Military-Industrial Complex?

A

-Some historians believe that Military Officers and Companies which manufacture arms wanted a war as it meant more money for them.

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12
Q

What tactics were needed to win the Vietnam war?

A
  • Understanding of the area
  • Advanced warfare
  • To be able to blend in and be unnoticeable
  • Win over the hearts and mind of local people
  • Motivated troops
  • Reliable supplies and troops
  • Confidence
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13
Q

What tactics were used by the Viet song and North Vietnamese Army (NVA)?

A
  • Guerilla Warfare
  • Booby Traps
  • Support from local people
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14
Q

Describe Guerilla Warfare.

A
  • Unconventional Direct Fighting
  • The NVA were outnumbered by the South Vietnamese Army and US troops.
  • In November 1965, US soldiers killed 2000 Viet Cong and only lost 300 soldiers.
  • The Viet Cong and NVA defends using Guerilla Warfare.
  • They wore no uniform and blended in with the peasants.
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15
Q

Describe Booby Traps.

A
  • They were cheap to make and effective at disrupting US troops.
  • US troops had to go ‘on point’ to search for booby traps.
  • They cause 11% of US casualties.
  • An example os the spike trap.
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16
Q

Describe Support from local people.

A
  • The Viet Cong were expected to be courteous and respectful to the peasants, they helped out in field during busy times.
  • However, they were ruthless and killed anyone who didn’t support them.
  • Between 1966 and 1971 the Viet Cong were estimated to have killed 27,000 civilians.
17
Q

What tactics were used by the USA?

A
  • Chemical Warfare
  • Bombing
  • Search and Destroy
18
Q

Describe Chemical Warfare.

A
  • The US developed a powerful chemical weapon called agent Orange which was a highly toxic weed killer.
  • 82 million litres were used to spray thousands of kilometres of jungle where the Viet Cong hid.
19
Q

Describe Bombing.

A
  • On 7th February 1965 the US launched Operation Rolling Thunder, extensive bombing raids on military and industrial targets in North Vietnam.
  • This lasted until 1972, it would soon expand to North and South Vietnam, including Laos and the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
  • More bombs were dropped than WW2 and Japan.
  • The communists shot down 14,000 US and South Vietnamese aircrafts. It cost the US $400,000 to kill one Viet Cong fighter.
20
Q

Describe Search and Destroy.

A
  • They would go into small towns and villages and kill anyone that they suspected to be a Viet Cong soldier.
  • It was difficult as they had no uniform and many innocent people were killed.
  • These rids were based on inadequate information and the troops would often run into traps.
21
Q

What were the America problems in Vietnam?

A
  • Low morale and inexperience
  • Vietnams neighbours
  • Hearts and minds
22
Q

Describe Low Morale.

A
  • The Morale was high to start with.
  • After 1967 more troops were unscripted and they were very inexperienced.
  • The average age was only 19, 60% of Americans killed were between the ages of 17-21.
  • They only cared to get home alive.
  • There was a lot of tension between officers and troops.
  • There is evidence of ‘fragging’ where troops would kill their officers, 3% of officer deaths occurred this way.
  • There were 500,000 incidents of deserting.
23
Q

What is the One Year Term?

A
  • General Westmoreland introduced this to stop deserting.

- Troops would spend one year fighting and after a year, new and inexperienced troops would join.

24
Q

Explain Vietnams neighbours.

A
  • They were sympathetic of the Viet Cong.
  • The USA couldn’t send tier troops into North Vietnam or neighbouring countries Cambodia or Laos.
  • This gave the Viet song and NVA an advantage.
  • NVA and Viet Cong could get new supplies from these countries,
  • They only used the states to supply their troops along the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
25
Q

Explain Hearts and Minds.

A

-President Johnson spoke of the importance of winning over the hearts and minds of local people, between 1964 and 1968 it was mentioned in 28 speeches.

26
Q

Describe the events of My Lai.

A
  • 500 unarmed civilians were killed in the My Lai massacre.
  • It was a search and destroy mission lead by 24 yearly William Calley.
  • At 7:22 am, March 16 1968, nine helicopters flew to My Lai.
  • 140,000 civilians were left homeless.
  • The Vietnamese public lost all respect for the US Army.
27
Q

Describe the Impact of media at the start of Vietnam.

A
  • The media impact was positive at the start.
  • Newspapers, Tv and Radio all widely followed the official line of policy.
  • Even when the situation worsened, media stayed positive.
  • The US military created Military Control Assistance Vietnam (MACV) to lease with journalists.
  • Between 1964 and 1968, only 3 journalists lost their accreditations.
28
Q

Why did it change in later years?

A
  • Tv was becoming more popular and more raw footage was shown.
  • They filmed burning houses during the Tet Offensive in 1968.
  • US viewers saw South Vietnamese police chief Colonel Nguyen Ngoc Loan executing a Viet Cong suspect.
  • There wer growing doubts about the war.
29
Q

Describe the importance of Walter Cronkite.

A
  • Walter Cronkite was famous news reports.

- President Johnson said if they lost his support they would lose support of middle America.

30
Q

What was the support from African Americans like?

A
  • They were very unsupportive.
  • The war highlighted racial inequality.
  • 30% of African Americans were sent to war compared to 19% of White Americans.
  • 22% of US casualties were African Americans.
  • but they only made up 11% of the force.
  • Muhammed Ali made a stand and refused the draft on grounds of religion.
  • He was stripped of his title and passport.
  • He was part of the Radial black Power Group Nation of Islam.
  • They would not fight as they were discriminated against.
31
Q

What did students do in protest?

A
  • They did not want to fight in a war they did not believe in.
  • In the first half of 1968 there were over 100 protests, they involved 400,000 students.
  • Protests would involve burning the US flag.
  • In November 1969, there were almost 700,000 protests in Washington DC.
  • Bombs were set off at Berkley, Yale and Stanford.
32
Q

What happened at Kent State University?

A
  • A demonstration against Nixons plans to invade Cambodia.
  • National guards panicked and open fired on students.
  • 4 were killed and 11 injured.
  • 400 colleges closed as 2 million students went on strike.
33
Q

Describe the Tet Offensive.

A
  • During the Tet New Year (January 30th) the Viet Cong attacked over 100 cities.
  • They tried to capture the US embassy in Saigon.
  • Around 4,500 Viet Cong tied down a much serger US and ARVN force for 2 days.
34
Q

Describe the Results of the Tet Offensive.

A
  • The Viet Cong lost around 10,000 fighters
  • There were 500,000 troop, the USA were spending $20 billion a year.
  • The media asked difficult questions.
  • Walter Cronkite asked “ What the hell is going on? I thought we were winning this war.”
35
Q

What wer Beth consequences of the Tet offensive?

A
  • President Johnson reduced the bombing campaign against North Vietnam.
  • In March 1968 a peace conference began in Paris.
  • Johnson was not seeking re-election as president.
  • Both the republican and Democratic candidates campaigned to end the war in Vietnam.
36
Q

How did Nixon get out of Vietnam?

A
  • Vietnamisation: money and troops helped o train the ARVN so they could protect themselves.
  • Escalates the bombing and takes it into Cambodia and Laos to encourage peace.
  • ‘Peace with Honour’ leaving the war without looking weak and looking like the inner.
  • Started peace talks, SALT(strategic arms limitations talks) with Russia and China to end the war.
  • Nixon was invited to Chine in 1972.
37
Q

What was agreed in 1973 in Paris?

A
  • Le Duc Tho and South Vietnamese President Thieu signed a peace deal.
  • By March 197 the last American troops left.
  • They agreed on a cease fire, release of al war prisoners, withdrawal of US troops and base and Self- determination for South Vietnam (they can chose who rules and how).
38
Q

What were the results?

A
  • America withdrew and had not lost any battle.
  • Vietnam remained under Thieu’s rules.
  • Kissnger and Le Duc Tho received a nobel peace prize.
  • Without US support and money the Thieu government feel to the Viet Cong by April 1975.

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