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Vietnam Flashcards

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1
Q

when was the vietnam war?

A

1965-73

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2
Q

who fought against each other?

A

america + south vietnam VS vietcong and north vietnam

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3
Q

who ruled vietnam before ww2?

A

france

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4
Q

who conquered vietnam during ww2?

A

japan

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5
Q

which group formed in vietnam during ww2 to fight for independence?

A

vietminh - communist and nationalist

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6
Q

who was leader of the vietminh?

A

ho chi minh

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7
Q

what area of vietnam did the vietminh control?

A

north vietnam

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8
Q

what happened when ww2 ended?

A

a civil war (dien bien phu) between france and the vietminh

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9
Q

how did the USA get involved in the french-vietminh war? how much did the us contribute?

A

gave money to help the french - supplied 80% of the cost of the war

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10
Q

what happened to the french at dien bien phu in 1954?

A

the french were defeated - 8000 french troops killed - couldn’t fight guerrilla tactics of the vietminh

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11
Q

what 3 things were agreed at the geneva conference in 1954?

A
  1. to withdraw french troops from vietnam
  2. divide vietnam into south and north along the 17th parallel
  3. hold elections in 1956 to unite vietnam
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12
Q

who was appointed leader of south vietnam and who supported them?

A

Ngo Dinh Diem supported by usa

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13
Q

how did diem rule SV?

A

corruptly - prosecuted buddhists

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14
Q

which communist guerrilla group formed in SV?

A

viet cong

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15
Q

by 1963, what percentage of SV’s countryside had been taken over?

A

40%

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16
Q

what happened to diem in 1963?

A

he was assassinated

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17
Q

give 3 ways eisenhower got involved in vietnam between 1954-61

A
  1. sent equipment and military advisors
  2. prevented 1956 elections
  3. supported diem with $1.6bn
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18
Q

give 3 ways kennedy got involved in vietnams between 1961-63

A
  1. increased military advisors to more than 11,000
  2. allowed diem to be assassinated and supported his replacement
  3. set up strategic hamlets
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19
Q

what event in 1964 increased us involvement?

A

gulf of tonkin incident

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20
Q

give 3 ways johnson got involved in vietnam between 1963-65

A
  1. passed gulf of tonkin resolution in 1964
  2. started operation rolling thunder in february 1965
  3. sent in more troops
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21
Q

list 5 american tactics

A
  • strategic hamlets
  • search and destroy
  • bombing campaigns
  • herbicides (agent orange)
  • napalm
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22
Q

what was strategic hamlets? what effect did it have on the vietnamese?

A

it moved whole villages to american controlled areas –> peasants were angry as they lost their homes and villages

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23
Q

what were search and destroy missions? how effective were they?

A

involved infiltrating/raiding villages to find viet cong members –> not very effective - only 1% raids were effective and 6% of civilians were killed for every vietcong member

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24
Q

what was rolling thunder and how effective was it?

A

bombed ho chi minh trail and n. vietnam bases - VC were able to hide supplies in tunnels though - $400,000 to kill one VC

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25
how much napalm was dropped and how effective was it?
20,000 tonnes was dropped and killed many innocent civilians
26
overall, why were american tactics a failure?
didn't win hearts and minds of the vietnamese people
27
name 2 countries that supported NV and the VC and why was their support a problem for the US?
cambodia and laos - strengthened the communist forces
28
how many american soldiers died in the war?
58,000
29
what was fragging?
killing your superior officers
30
how long were soldiers conscripted for? why was this problematic?
one year - new inexperienced troops kept coming in and didn't know what they were doing
31
why were african american troops demoralised?
there were more of them in comparison to white troops
32
what did many us troops resort to?
drugs and alcohol
33
what type of warfare did the VC use?
guerrilla tactics
34
name 6 VC tactics
- ambushes - booby traps - underground tunnels - ho chi minh trail - won over vietnamese people - hanging on the belts of US troops
35
give evidence of the VC ambushes being effective
they causes 51% of us casualties and scared the troops/lowered morale/heightened paranoia
36
give evidence that hanging onto the belts worked
it made it hard to use airpower with close quarter fighting without killing their own troops
37
name 2 booby traps used by the VC
punji pits | bouncing betties
38
give evidence that booby traps worked
booby traps caused 11% of casualties/destroyed morale
39
how long was the ho chi minh trail?
240km
40
why were the underground tunnels and ho chi minh trail effective for the VC?
allowed VC to hide themselves and equipment from US troops and bombings
41
how did the VC win the hearts and minds the south vietnamese? 2 reasons
- provided them with education and farming techniques | - forced them using intimidation/killing
42
when was the tet offensive and who launched it?
jan 1968 - VC launched it
43
how many cities in SV were taken over by the VC in the tet offensive?
over 100
44
who won the tet offensive?
military win for US - drove the VC away
45
how many VC were killed in the tet offensive?
500,000
46
how did the tet offensive affect US media coverage of the war?
it made people question whether america could win the war - psychological defeat
47
who reported negatively on Tet?
walter cronkite
48
how did Tet affect johnson and government? 4 reasons
he knew the war wasn't winnable didn't stand for reelection government de-escalated the war it was a psychological defeat
49
what happened in march 1968?
my lai massacre
50
how many civilians were killed in my lai?
over 300 - mainly women and children
51
why did it take a long time to report on my lai?
the government wanted to cover up the event but by 1969 newspapers published it
52
how did my lai affect public opinion of the war?
people were against the war
53
list 7 reasons why america withdrew from vietnam
1. america's military failure 2. VC success 3. tet offensive 4. human + economic cost of the war 5. negative media coverage 6. anti war protests 7. vietnamisation
54
by 1968, how much was america spending on the war per year?
$20bn a year
55
why did human and economic costs result in withdrawal?
protestors spoke out about the needless killing of soldiers | nixon wasn't spending money on the americans - neglect, poverty in ghettos needed attention
56
what kinds of people protested about the war?
civil right campaigners students citizens criticised LBJ for spending loads on the war and not on his great society
57
what percentage of black americans were drafted to fight compared to white americans?
30% AAs compared to 19% of whites
58
which famous person refused to fight in the vietnam war?
muhammed ali
59
how many anti war protests were there in 1968?
over 100
60
why did the kent state uni protest take place in 1970?
nixon invaded cambodia in 1970
61
how many students are killed at kent state?
4 students
62
what did the protests do to the government?
pressured them to withdraw to please the public
63
give evidence that the protests weren't that significant
nixon's silent majority
64
what was vietnamisation?
handing the fighting over to the south vietnamese army so american troops could withdraw
65
why was vietnamisation good for the americans?
they could withdraw without it looking like they lost - peace with honour
66
when were the paris peace talks?
may 1968
67
what was the outcome of the paris peace talks in may 1968?
no outcome - N.Vietam wanted a united vietnam but america wanted a divided vietnam.
68
who led america's negotiations?
henry kissinger
69
which countries did america invade under nixon?
cambodia and laos
70
why did nixon invade cambodia and laos?
to destroy VC bases in those countries and show america's strength and make vietnam more willing to negotiate
71
what were the consequences of nixon's invasion of cambodia and laos?
n.vietnamese withdrew from peace talks | protests began in america
72
how did relations between america, china and the ussr change under nixon? - evidence of this? why did the relations change?
they began to improve due to détente (the easing of strained relationships). Nixon visited both countries in 1972. ussr and china relations had fallen apart so it was easier for use to negotiate as they were both now keen to have america on their side.
73
how did improved relations between china and the ussr impact the end of the war in vietnam?
they made n.vietnam negotiations easier for america as america could pressure the ussr to help in peace talks.
74
when was the peace treaty signed to end the war in vietnam?
january 1973
75
name four things the peace agreement of 1973 stated
1. immediate ceasefire 2. withdrawal of us forces 3. release of prisoners of war 4. s.vietnam would stay independent
76
name 4 reasons why america took so long to withdraw from vietnam
1. vietnamisation took time 2. invasions of cambodia and laos delayed peace talks 3. nixon was busy with the watergate 4. the americans wanted peace with honour
77
why did vietnamisation fail?
the south vietnamese army was no match for north vietnamese
78
how many civilians died in the war?
2 million
79
how many communist fighters died in the war?
1.1 million
80
how many us soldiers died in the war?
58,000
81
how many acres of land was destroyed?
5.4 million
82
how many south vietnamese people were displaced? why did they have to get displaced?
5 million - bombing and fighting destroyed their land and homes
83
how did vietnamisation fail in the long run?
1974 - n.vietnam invaded the south | 1976 - south vietnam was united under communist regime
84
name 3 effects the war had on the us army soldiers
1. increased deserters 2. drugs taking became widespread (30% of troops were addicted to heroin) 3. many soldiers suffered from PTSD
85
what were 3 long term effects of the war?
1. vietnam took 20 years to recover the war 2. thousands fled the country when it became communist to live in hong kong or malaysia 3) 1 milion vietnamese people escaped to the west (mainly america)

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