Background to Vietnam War Flashcards
When did Japan take control of Indochina?
1940
When was the Vietminh set up?
1941
Why was the Vietminh set up?
To fight against French and Japanese control
How many guerrilla fighters did the Vietminh have by 1945?
5000
When was Japan defeated in WWII and forced to abandon control of Indochina?
1945
How many French troops were moved into Indochina to regain control of South Vietnam in September 1945?
50,000
When did China become communist?
1949
How did the newly-communist China help the Vietminh?
Sent essential military supplies
In what year did the Vietminh move from guerrilla-style fighting to larger attacks on cities?
1951
Where did the decisive battle for control of Vietnam take place?
Dien Bien Phu
In what year did the battle at Dien Bien Phu occur?
1954
How many French troops died in battle?
3000
How many French troops died in captivity?
8000
What did the demoralising and humiliating French defeat result in?
French actively sought peace
When did the Vietminh become communist?
1945
When did the USA’s support for the Vietminh begin to decline?
1949
When did the USA begin to support the French completely?
1950
How many dollars worth of supplies did the US give to the French to fight the Vietminh?
$15million
Why did the USA go from supporting the Vietminh to supporting the French?
Were against European colonisation of Asia, but after Vietminh became communist the US prioritised containing Communism
What was agreed in Geneva in 1954?
Divide Vietnam into communist North and capitalist South along the 17th parallel
What was the Domino Theory?
American belief that if one country became communist, others would follow like dominoes
On what date did the Gulf of Tonkin incident occur?
2nd of August 1964
What was the Gulf of Tonkin incident?
Us destroyer USS Maddox was fired at by North Vietnamese patrol boats in the Gulf of Tonkin.
There was allegedly a second attack two days later, though evidence later showed that it did not happen.
Why was the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution passed?
Johnson used the attacks on the USS Maddox in the Gulf of Tonkin to persuade Congress to allow greater US involvement in Vietnam
