1. Causes of the Vietnam War Flashcards
How did french colonial rule decline after WW2?
During the 18th century, the French are taken over large parts of south east Asia in order to extend their empire (this was called French Indochina)
During World War II France was invaded by German forces. Japan took advantage of the French weakness and began to occupy French Indochina.
A strong Vietnamese resistance called the Vietminh developed and was determined to make Vietnam independent.
On the 2nd of September 1945 they declared Vietnam to be independent but the French did not accept this and they thought the war until 1954
How did China get involved in Vietnam?
In 1949, communists took over China and began to give help in the form of training, supplies and equipment to their fellow communists (the Vietminh)
How did the USA get involved in Vietnam?
Do USA were scared of communism spreading about to help the French contain communism
In July 1950 US President Harry S Truman sent $15 million in military aid to the French, along with military advisors sent to help the French troops
How did the war between the French and Vietnam continue?
The French set up a non-Communist government in the south of Vietnam. Vietnam was beginning to split in two, Communist vs capitalist.
During the war between France and the Vietminh there was a very even fight and it seemed as if no one would win.
The Vietminh used guerilla tactics, which made them difficult to beat, 190,000 French soldiers suffered casualties and 80,000 were killed by these guerilla tactics
When is this the French try to hit back with a brutal attacks on peasant villages just increase the support for Ho Chi Minh.
What was the battle of Dien Bien Phu and how was it a decisive battle?
In the spring of 1954 a small French Air Force Base at Dien Bien Phu, occupied 10,000 French soldiers was surrounded by 50,000 Vietnam troops
They bombed the runway so the French troops couldn’t receive supplies.
Neither the USA or British would help the French so they surrendered.
The Prime Minister of France, Dien Bien Phu, resigned and was replaced by one who wanted to get out of Vietnam.
400,000 soldiers and civilians had died.
What happened at the 1954 Geneva Agreement?
Shortly after Dien Bien Phu leaders of Britain, France, China, USA and the USSR met in Geneva.
The Vietnamese were represented by both communist and capitalist representatives.
The Vietminh wanted early elections so the people could elect a government for the whole of Vietnam.
Worried by the popularity of the communists and Ho Chi Minh, western powers wanted to delay the elections.
What was agreed at the 1954 Geneva Agreement?
Vietnam to be divided on the 17th parallel
North would be led by Ho Chi Minh
South would be ruled by Diem, a Communist who had links to the USA
Troops would withdraw from their opposition’s land
How did opposition to Diem cause conflict?
Diem’s brutal actions in South Vietnam and his disregard for the terms of the 1954 Geneva agreement lead to many of his opponents to think that armed rebellion was the only way to oppose him.
Buddists carried out self-immolation as acts of protest (Thich Quang Duc’s act of protest in 1963)
In 1957 Civil War broke out as many people joined the National liberation front and equipment was smuggled into the south by the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
They were fighting the South Vietnamese (ARVN) army who had the support of the USA
How did the USA get support from the ARVN?
They supplied equipment and released anti-Communist propaganda claiming that China and the Vietminh were killing innocent civilians in the south.
Who were the Viet Cong?
Ho Chi Minh encouraged different armed groups in the north to join together.
In 1960 they did and referred to as the Vietcong
Their aims were to replace Diem with a more inclusive government, unification of Vietnam, the promotion of peasants rights and the redistribution of land to the people
How did the Vietcong fight?
They used guerrilla tactics
They would divide into smaller units of 3 to 10 soldiers
They did not wear uniform so they blended in with ordinary villages
They would only attacked if they outnumber the enemy
There attacks would be at night and they would surprise the enemy
Supplies for the Vietcong came from North Vietnam through the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
This went through the jungle and through villages the Vietcong soldiers knew these remote jungles well, giving them a huge advantage.
What was the Domino theory?
In the mid 1950s key US politicians were convinced that the USSR and China were committed to spreading communism.
Eisenhower was convinced that Ho Chi Minh would win elections to unify Vietnam and it would become a Communist State.
This would lead to Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Burma and possibly even India also falling to communism.
They also believed that there were communist spies in the USA.
Eventually the McCarran act was passed, this limited employment opportunities for communists.
These events caused a wave of paranoia known as the ’red scare’ in the USA.
This created more support for action against the spread of communism
What was the Strategic Hamlet Programme?
It was introduced by Diem in 1962 and supported by Kennedy
The policy was promoted as the one that encourage the South Vietnamese peasants to defend themselves against the Vietcong.
In reality the point of the program was to stop the Vietcong influencing peasants in their villages and cut off the support the peasants gave the Vietcong
By 1963 over two thirds of the population had been forced into these camps
This destroyed their whole way of life and as a result support for the Vietcong against Diem and the USA rose by 300%.
This led to Kennedy sending more military advisors into Vietnam.
