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Vietnam Flashcards

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1
Q

What was the background with French involvement in Vietnam?

A
  • Before the second world war Vietnam was controlled by France.
  • Japan invaded and took over in 1942
  • By 1945 the Japanese were defeated and the French Returned.
  • American troops are sent in to help the French.
  • In 1954 the French are defeated and withdraw.
  • Vietnam was divided into North and South.
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2
Q

What happened to American involvement after the 1954 peace treaty?

A

Elections were supposed to be held by 1956 in order to reunite North and South Vietnam. Although America prevented these elections from taking place as they supported the anticommunist leader of south Vietnam.

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3
Q

In 1955 who was in charge of South Vietnam?

A

Ngo Dinh Diem

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4
Q

What were some of the issues with Ngo Dinh Diem’s leadership?

A

It was extremely corrupt and he would refuse to hold any form of democratic elections. He also showed little regard for the everyday person of Vietnam and did not agree with the Buddhist religion which most people had.

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5
Q

How much money did America give to Diem’s government?

A

Around $1.6 billion during the 1950’s

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6
Q

What happened in November 1963 to Diem’s government?

A

He was overthrown by his own military leaders, but the next government were equally corrupt but still received massive US support.

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7
Q

What does ‘Vietcong’ stand for?

A

National Front for the liberation of south Vietnam.

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8
Q

When was the Vietcong setup?

A

It was set up in December 1960.

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9
Q

What caused people to support the Viet-Cong?

A

They became unhappy with the corrupt and unstable south Vietnamese governments.

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10
Q

Who was the leader of the Veit-Cong?

A

Ho Chi Mihn

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11
Q

What groups of people joined together to form the Viet-Cong?

A
  • South Vietnamese opponents of the government

* North Vietnamese under the control of Ho Chi Minh.

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12
Q

What was the purpose of the Ho Chi Minh trail?

A

To send extra troops/supplies between North and South Vietnam.

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13
Q

What targets did the Viet-Cong attack?

A
  • South Vietnamese Government forces
  • Government buildings
  • American Military Bases
  • American Supply Bases
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14
Q

How did President Kennedy deal with the Viet-Cong in 1962?

A

Kennedy supported anti-communist policies, along with sending 11,500 US troops as ‘advisors’ to help fight against the Viet-Cong.

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15
Q

When was Kennedy assassinated?

A

November 22, 1963 - Dallas, Texas.

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16
Q

Who replaced Kennedy as President?

A

Lyndon Johnson

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17
Q

What was Johnson’s stance toward the Viet-Cong?

A

He was more prepared to commit to a full-scale conflict in Vietnam than Kennedy was.

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18
Q

When was the Gulf of Tonkin incident?

A

August 1964.

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19
Q

What was the Gulf of Tonkin incident?

A

It was when North Vietnamese Patrol boats opened fire on US ships in the Gulf, this was seen as a direct act of war against the US.

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20
Q

How did the US respond to the Tonkin incident?

A

The US congress passed the ‘Tonkin Gulf Resolution’, this allowed president Johnson to take any measure which he deemed necessary to deal with the Viet-Cong.

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21
Q

When did the war against Vietnam ‘officially’ start?

A

March 8th, 1965.

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22
Q

Where did the American troops land, during the initial invasion?

A

3,500 US marines landed at Da Nang.

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23
Q

What were the four main reasons that America became increasingly involved in Vietnam?

A

1) Containment.
2) Domino Theory.
3) Military - Industrial complex.
4) American Politics.

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24
Q

How did containment lead to increased American involvement?

A

The American policy of containment from the cold war continued into the Vietnam war. It was the idea that America would support any country resisting communist take over. They also wanted to keep the support of the French who were working with America in the cold war in Europe.

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25
How did domino theory lead to increased American involvement?
President Eisenhower strongly believed that once the first domino fell (Vietnam) to communism, that all the other surrounding countries would fall to communism. They viewed it to be highly important to not let Vietnam fall to communism.
26
How did the Military-industrial complex lead to increased American involvement?
This was the belief that large corporations in America actually wanted a war, this is because large amounts of money were spent on weapons/equipment, causing companies to make large profits.
27
How did American Politics lead to increased American involvement?
During the Presidential Elections how to deal with communism was an important issue, if the candidate had a weak stance on communism they would likely lose the election. This may have causes the situation in Vietnam to become worse.
28
What was the general title given to the type of combat the Viet-Cong engaged in?
Guerilla Warfare.
29
What was the impact of the Veit-Cong's use of booby traps?
Traps that were behind doors were effective in slowing down American 'search and destroy' missions. Traps such as spike pits could easily be hidden away in the Jungle making them hard to detect.
30
What was the impact of the Veit-Cong's use of tunnel systems?
The Vietcong made many complex underground tunnel networks that had a range of purposes such as having a hospital in them or allowing the fighters a place to sleep. This allowed the Vietcong to survive American Chemical Weapon attacks and made them difficult to target during airstrikes. They also could quickly retreat when necessary allowing them to be a more effective force.
31
What was the impact of the Veit-Cong's use of the Ho Chi Minh trail?
The trail allowed the Veit-Cong to move discreetly throughout Vietnam without being attacked/killed by the Americans. It allowed them to efficiently move troops/equipment to keep the Veit-Cong well supplied.
32
What was 'Operation Rolling Thunder'?
It was the American air force campaign against the Veit-Cong which focused on destroying communist military and industrial buildings.
33
What was the impact of 'Operation Rolling Thunder'?
It was successful in damaging the Veit-Cong supply routes and allowed the US to continue to strike the Veit-Cong without putting ground troops at risk.
34
What was 'Search and Destroy'?
It was an American tactic which involved sending a small team of soldiers to a village to 'root out' any Vietcong which were hiding amongst the people.
35
What was the impact of 'Search and Destroy'?
It was ineffective in fighting the Veit-Cong as it turned many villagers to supporting the Veit-Cong. It also resulted in large numbers of civilian casualties as they were mistaken for being Veit-Cong. Many American soldiers were also killed through traps the Veit-Cong had left in the houses.
36
What was 'Agent Orange'?
Agent Orange (Dioxin), was a very aggressive 'weed killer' used to destroy large areas of jungle, where the Veit-Cong would hide. During the war, around 82 million liters were used.
37
What was the impact of 'Agent Orange'?
It was effective in destroying the dense jungles, although the tunnel systems used by the Veit-Cong made it ineffective as they could still not be located. It also has long lasting Health effects to this day, as many children are born with birth defects. This would have made the Veit-Cong more popular due to the high amount of civilians effected.
38
What was Napalm?
Napalm was a chemical weapon used by the US against the Veit-Cong. It caused burning to both jungle and people.
39
What was the impact of Napalm'?
Whilst it allowed large areas of jungle to be destroyed, it caused large civilian casualties and was very unpopular amongst the south-Vietnamese people. This turned more people towards the Veit-Cong. Also because of the Veit-Congs use of tunnels they could survive most of the damage caused by Napalm.
40
What three main issues did the US face during the Vietnam war?
1) Poor Tactics 2) Poor Morale 3) Declining support
41
How were the poor tactics used by the US an issue during the war?
The Veit-Congs tunnel system made them difficult to target and Search and Destroy tactics could not defeat a large committed army. The Veit-Cong had much more efficient tactics suited to their environment.
42
How was poor morale in the US force an issue during the war?
At the start of the war the soldiers were from the Military and were well trained, or people had volunteered to fight in the war so had high morale. Whereas after 1967 conscription started meaning people were forced to fight a war they did not believe in. However the Veit-Cong were fighting in a war they strongly believed in, making them much more committed. As a result of the poor morale many US soldiers started taking drugs, committed suicide or deserted the army.
43
How was declining support from the Vietnamese people an issue during the war?
The American tactics were unpopular amongst the people as chemical weapons caused a large number of civilian deaths. Search and destroy was also unpopular amongst the people as it caused them disturbance and many were wrongly accused of being Veit-Cong. This caused the people to turn towards the Veit-Cong which made the war more difficult.
44
When was the Tet Offensive?
January 1968
45
What was the Tet Offensive?
It was when the Veit-Cong launched a major attack on around 100 south-Vietnamese cities during the new year holiday.
46
What was the outcome of the Tet offensive for the Veit-Cong?
The Veit-Cong has hoped the Vietnamese people would join them in taking over the cities, although this did not happen. 10,000 experienced fighters were lost during the attacks, causing the Veit-Cong to be weakened.
47
How was the Tet offensive a turning point for US involvement in Vietnam?
Prior to the Tet offensive, American military leaders were optimistic that they were able to win the war, although it became clear during the tet offensive that many more troops and much more money would be required. This made the Americans want to withdraw from Vietnam during the 1968 presidential elections.
48
What was the stance of the media on the war before 1967?
Between 1964 and 1967 the majority of media coverage did not criticize the war in Vietnam as most editors did not want to be seen to undermine policy against communism.
49
What was the stance of the media on the war after 1967?
After 1967 the reports on the war begun to change, the media through the use of television started to show graphic details of the war which upset many people and turned public opinion against the war.
50
When was the My Lai massacre?
It occurred in March 1968.
51
What type of mission were the soldiers supposed to be on during the My Lai massacre?
It was supposed to be a common 'Search and Destroy' mission.
52
What happened when the troops arrived at My Lai?
Charlie Company (Troops) opened fire on all the people in the village regardless of age or any connection to the Veit-Cong. Over 400 innocent people were killed during the massacre but not a single Veit-Cong were found.
53
What was the name of the soldier who lead Charlie Company at My Lai?
The leader of the My Lai massacre was called William Calley.
54
How long was Calley imprisoned for?
He was given a 20-year sentence although he only served 3 years before being released.
55
Who was the main group who protested against the war in the US?
African Americans.
56
Why did many African Americans protest?
The war highlighted racial inequalities in America, as many young white men were able to dodge the conscription by going to university, many African American men could not, so were forced to fight.
57
What was the number of African American casualties during the war?
African Americans made up 22.5% of total casualties despite a far lower % of troops were actually African American.
58
What happened at the Kent University (Ohio) Protest?
During 1970 a large group of students protesting against the war were accidentally shot at by the police, causing 4 students to be killed and 11 more injured.
59
Who succeeded Johnson as president?
President Nixon.
60
What was the stance on the war of both candidates in the 1968 election?
That the war needed to end, that America had to Withdraw from Vietnam.

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