Changes To Us Involvement Under Nixon Flashcards
What was the nixon doctrine
It was a doctrine that laid out what the role of the USA should be in southeast asian politics in the future it included:
Was a promise to suppply us military equitment to support the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) instead of providing us troops in (1969)
The ARVN forces grew
Decreased number of troops in Vietnam
What did Nixon do to fufil his promise of getting the USA out of the war
He held public and private peace talks,began to withdraw troops,focused on training ARVN and did the secret bombing of cambodia
What is ‘Vietnamisation’
Nixon introduced a policy of vietnamisation also known as Nixon doctrine in a speech of 25 July 1969. This made meant the building up of the capacity of armed forces of US alliesin vietnam untill they could take responsibility of their own defence.
Was vietnamisation sucessful
(All up to personal opinion) however vietnamisation achieved it’s most basic aim which was to withdraw the troops however many didn’t see it as a success as they felt US troops were bieng withdrawn too soon as they didn’t think the ARVN could handle the communist threat and it could spread
What were the reactions to vietnamisation
Many US citizens were happy that their troops were returning however many generals wanted them to stay and continue fighting,The north vietnamese/communists were happy as it gave them an upper hand in the war
Why did Nixon decide to expand the war into cambodia
He had secretly been bombing the Ho chi minh trail which partially ran through cambodia since 1969,However the North vietnamese and Khmer Rouge (cambodian communist guerrillas) joined forces who were attacking the anti communist new cambodian goverment.Nixon wanted to support this leader of cambodia so sent in 50,000 ARVN troops and 30,000 US troops
What were the limitations on US troops in cambodia in order to lessen public outrage
Nixon kept the bombing of Cambodia a secret fromthe American people as it would damage his credibility and escalate the war.
Nixon only allowed the troops to go 19 miles across the border and had to be out by 30th of june 1970
What were the results of the invasion of Cambodia in 1970
Significant damage was done to the Ho Chi Minh Trail,
Nol’s goverment was kept in power and 11,000 communists were killed,
communist bases and other supply networks were destroyed
many communists could just pull back into safe spots away from the 19 miles allowed and could use the ho chi minh trail in neighbouring country laos
When was the invasion of cambodia
April 1970
What happened in Laos in 1971
Forces of the Army of the republic of Vietnam (ARVN) lead an invasion supported by the US troops invaded Laos
Plan was similar to the Plan for the Combodian invasion the troops were the destroy communist basis and communist supply lines in South Vietname.
the operation was called operation Lam Son 719 but failed as the ARVN forces were defeated and suffered many casualities.
The North Vietnameses responded with the Easter offensive arracking South Virtname from North Vietname, Combodia and Laos
When was the Easter Offensive
30th March 1972
What was the Easter offensive
It started in March 1972- October 1972 communist troops led by General Giap launched an attack on South vietnam from Combodia, Laos snd North vietnam. The North lost a large amount of equipment and troops.
Both operations in Cambodia and Laos had ended and US troops were continuing the be withdrawn when North Vietnamese attacked south vietnam suddenly with a full scale invasion of South Vietnam,It started very successfully however the North Vietnamese were eventually pushed back
What was operation Linebacker a response to and when was it
May 1972,In response to the easter offensive
What was operation Linebacker
It was in may- october 1972 a series of airstrikes, heavy bombing of North vietnam and blockades to keep ships from china and the USSR from reaching North Vietnam.
It was an improvement over previous bombing campaigns like Rolling Thunder in terms of tactics and results.
The US navy commanders had more freedom to choose targets and tactics than they did during rolling thunder .
What were the consequences of operation Linebacker
Almost wiped out the North Vietnamese war industry
Severely disrupted supplies from the USSR and China
Destroyed radio stations and communication
Led to China and the USSR urging the north to reach a peace settlement
