Vietnam Flashcards
(31 cards)
What were the cultural and geographical reasons for the US weakness in vietnam
- Many americans had very little grasp of what vietnam was like even top military figures did not understand . Tehy also came with very racist viewpoints , this did not help to win the hearts and minds of villagers
- Americans in vietnam used interpreters in order to communicate with villagers (due to the fact they could not speak the language) this prevented them building up the trust of and building relationships with the villagers in vietnam
- Americans in vietnam found it very difficult to understand the mindset of villagers . In particular why they would want to stay in the villages where their anscestors and relatives were buried . This made it hard for them to gain the support of villagers
- The americans also did not understand that vietnamese villagers could noy read english so could not understand leaflets telling them their houses were going to be bombed.
What were the military weaknesses of the US in vietnam
- The US never trained its soldiers in how to combat geurilla warfare -the main type of warfare they actually faced when in vietnam
- The US measured their success in vietnam in the wrong ways so it made them seem like they were doing better than they actually were E.g they would measure the amount of people they killed in an operation against the VC rather than mentioning how much land the VC actually controlled. These lies covered up the fact they were actually losing the war
- The US was convinced the way forward was too implament more troops into north vietnam and bomb north vietnam more-They had no clear proven tactics in vietnam . The tactics they did use e.g operation rolling thunderwhere they killed 1000s of civilians were very unpopular at home and abroad
- The US soldiers never fully commited themselves to winning over the hearts and minds of villagers which meant they were destined to fail
- The draft system meant most of the soldiers fighting in vietnam were young and inexperienced. Their stay only lasted a year which was a negative for two reasons : firstly , it meant as soon as they became experienced they were replaced by new, inexperienced soldiers . It also meant that their morale and commitmentwas low as tehy new they were leaving in a year
What were the Political reasons for the US failure in vietnam
- They were seen by the vietnamese as just another occupying power despite claiming that they were there to restore democracy. This made it hard for them to build up trust with the villagers and win their hearts and minds
- The south vietnamese government taht they backed were very unpopular throughout due to the fact that many in the government had worked fpr the french beforehand
- There was significant political opposition to the war by congress who were concerned about the cost of the war. By 1971 they were setting limits on the amounts of money that could be spent on the war, reducing the chances of winning. This opposition came as a result of Nixon expanding the war into Cambodia in order to stop the North Vietnamese from helping communist powers there , aftervt this expasion congress were outrages and cancelled the gulf of tonking resloution of 1964
- There was also growing public opposition to the war at home die to events such as the tet offensive and My lai massacare which made it almost impossible for the US government to continue the war
What were the cultural and geographical strengths of North Vietnam
- The North vietnamese understood the landscape , climate and language of vietnam
- Many of the North Vietnamese had already fought the french so knew the tunnel systems well so had an advantage
- The north vietnamese were commited to the cause as they were originally from the south
What were the military advantages of the north vietnamese
- The north vietnamese were used to fighting in the jungle so had an advantage
- The VC use of geurilla tactics was very effective e.g they would have complex tunnel networks , explosives and booby traps . This had a massive pyscological affect on the american soldiers as tehy dis not know the enemy they were fighting
- As well as having these superior geuriila tactics the north were also better than the south at traditional fighting which helped them to win. They eventually won the war by invading the south and not simply geurilla tactics
What were the political and economic strengths of the north vietnamese
- The North Vietnamese recieved financial aid from China and the USSR . They recieved $3 billion dollars in aid between 1954 and 1967 this helped them to finance their war
- Neighbouring countries, Laos and Cambodia ,allowed the Ho Chi Minh trail to pass through their countries . Without this the North Vietnamese could not have easily moved troops and equipment to the south
- The VC had the whole of Vietnam united behind their cause
What were the USA’s reasons for the peace negotiations up to 1972
- The chances of winning the war were looking increasingly slim for the USA especially after things such as the Tet offensive where US bases in south vietnam were attacked
- There was growing opposition to the war at home
- Congress was reluctant to finance the continuation of the war partly due to the affect it was having on the US image abroad
- Nixon was keen to set up peace talks in order to appear as the peacemaker in vietnam for his own political gain
What were reasons shared by the USA and vietnam for peace talks
- Hogh numbers of soldiers were dead and wounded
- The war was very costly for both sides
- The war could drag on for years to come , however this was less of a problem for the North Vietnamese as they had all the time to fight this war
What were North Vietnamese reasons for agreeing to peace talks
- China and the USSR wanted the North Vietnamese to make peace with the Americans and there was the threat that China and the USSR could withdraw their support
- Noeth vietnam was also being heavily bombed
When did original peace talks start
Original peace talks started in paris in 1968 after the Tet offensive of 1968
What disagreements between the sides prevented meaningful peace talks happening
There were disagreements within the two sides that stopped meaningful peace talks happening.
- The USA wanted south vietnam to be independent and non communist
- North vietnam wanted Vietnam reunified as one country ans expected a communist government to be elected
How did Nixon do in order to get secret peace talks started in 1970
Nixon held talks with China and the USSR in 1970 . This led to the NoRth Vietnamese agreeing to secret peace talks as they feared the loss of aid from the USSR and china
-The south vietnamese government, now led by Thieu, were not involved in these peace talks as the US did not tryst them and were considering abandoning them if they could get an agreement on an independent South vietnam
How did Nixon keep up pressure on North vietnamese to agree to peace from 1970
- Nixon kept pressure on North Vietnam by
- Continuing official negotiations
- Continuing secret negotiations
- Continuing Vietnamisation
- Continuing fighting and bombing
When did official peace talks begin again
The official peacetalks began again on 8 october 1972
What happened with these peace talks
At these October 1972 peace talks North Vietnam and the USA produced a peace agreement that had been agreed at their secret talks
- Thieu refused to sign it and he was furious that an agreement he had no part in making was being forced onto him
- The north vietnamese then accused the South Vietnamese refusal in order to back out of the agreement.
- The talks broke up again
When did official peace talks begin again
Talks began again on 8th January 1973 after nixon again used various tactics to start them up
What was agreed at the paris peace accords of 1973
At the Paris peace accords it was agreed that :
- The Us troops and bases would be withdrawn within 60 days
- The US would give aid for the reconstruction of the north and the south
- an immediate ceasefire would begin
- There would be no US government intervention in vietnamese politics or military
- all countries would accept would accept Vietnam as a single reunified country
- The government of a new unified veitnam would be chosen through fair and independent elections
How significant was the paris peace agreement for the US
The Paris Peace agreement provided the US with their perfect opportunity to withdraw from vietnam. By 23rd of March 1973 there were only 150 marines left in Vietnam but 10,000 military personell became civilian advisors .
-In the long run , the Paris Peace agreement did not bring the independent non communist south vietnam that america were afetr. South Vietnams economy crashed due to bad harvestss and a reduction in US aid and investment . This contributed to the upopularity of Thieus government and led to VC becoming popular in villages again
What was the significance of the Paris peace agreement for North Vietnam
-The Paris peace agreement had little significance for North Vietnam . They continued to seek a united vietnam but became impatient at president Thieus refusal to tapk to them so they resumed combat in late 1974. The ARVN cpuld not fend off the attack and Saigon fell in April 1975
What was operation rolling thunder (1965)
Operation rolling thunder was a bombing campaign over north Vietbam
- It targeted the ho chi minh trail and industry
- It used napalm and pineapple bombs
Why was the operation not succesful
- Operation rolling thunder failed to destroy the ho chi minh trail
- , it killed 1000’s of civillians and was very bad for the Us image at home and abroad and increased opposition to war at home
What was search and destroy tactics
This was where the US searched countryside for VC camps and then got helicopters to bomb them or sprayed chemicals on tjem
Why was the search and destriy mission not affective
- VC often moved baxk in after the mission was over so they were ineffective in that way
- The chemical spraying in the destroy part of the mission harmed ordinary citizens and turned them agaisnt the US
What was operation cedar falls
Operation cedar falls was where 30000 US soldiers and ARVN troops engaged in search and destroy missions wehre they burned down villages and then moved people on . The areas became free fire xones that could be bonbed at any time
