US Involvement In Vietnam 54-63 Flashcards
(8 cards)
Who won at the battle of dien bien phu and why ?
The Vietminh had won due to their : commitment , knowledge of topography , local support and aid from china
What did the Geneva conference of 1954 set in place
The division of Vietnam along the 17th parallel .
What was the domino theory ?
Eisenhower was worried that if vietnam became communist then other countries in the region would surely follow
Why was Diems government another reason that USA got involved ?
Diems government was extremely unpopular due to corruption and complete disregard for the rural population and buddhists .
Insurrections began to form to fight Diem backed by the North . Eisenhower was afraid that if the south fell communism would spread
Why did JFK’s policy of pacification fail?
Soldiers that were sent to supply the villages with food could not communicate with the locals
The ARVN were seen as corrupt
JFK support timeline
Jan 1961 - supplies the ARVN with 40 million dollars
Oct 1961- JFK allows US troops to enter vietnam
Dec 1961- enables the use of chemicals to destroy crops
Why did JFK become worried about Diems rule
Jan 1963 the ARVN (despite US funding ) were defeated at the battle of AP Bac
On may 6 Diems troops fired on a Buddhist procession killing 9 and decreased Diems already small popularity
It was clear to JFK that Diem would not rule democratically and did not intervene in his assassination on November of 1963
The strategic hamlet program
1962
The aim was to build modern villages for locals to increase ARVN popularity and prevent the vietcong from recruiting at night .
It failed because :
The locals did not want to move from burial sites that contained loved ones .
Those that did leave were not supplied with the necessary food and many starved
