Chapter 11: Conflict in Asia 1955-63

Question 1

How had the first Indochinese war ended?

Answer 1

• 1954 Geneva Conference
• Vietnam split into North and South

Question 2

What was meant to happen in 1956 and why didn’t it?

Answer 2

• Elections for reunification
• Stopped by US as they are scared of a communist win

Question 3

What was the name of North Vietnam?

Answer 3

• Democratic republic of Vietnam

Question 4

Who led North Vietnam?

Answer 4

• Ho Chi Minh

Question 5

What was South Vietnam called?

Answer 5

• Republic of Vietnam

Question 6

Who was the leader of South Vietnam?

Answer 6

• Ngo Dinh Diem

Question 7

What was Ho Chi Minh’s short term goal?

Answer 7

• Strengthen North Vietnam after the war
• Infrastructure, rebuilding, army etc

Question 8

What was the long term aim in the North?

Answer 8

• Reunification with the south under communism

Question 9

What policies were introduced in the north?

Answer 9

• Land reforms through Vietnam Workers’ Party (VWP)
• Seize private land, publicly denounce land owners
• Execute and imprison hundreds - esp Catholics, pro-French, land lords and owners

Question 10

What were the consequences of these new policies in the north?

Answer 10

• 1956 - military forced to put down a revolt - around 6000 killed
• 1 million fled to South Vietnam
• Loyal communists who had owned land started to oppose Minh

Question 11

What was the general situation in South Vietnam?

Answer 11

• Brutal, authoritarian
• Anti-communist
• Relied heavily on US aid

Question 12

What things did Diem use to rule? (4 things )

Answer 12

• Corruption - economic aid meant for his country taken by his family and officials for their own use
• Nepotism - his brother was PM and other family members had prominent positions in government
• Repression - silenced any political opponents
• US support - heavily relied on financial and military aid from the US

Question 13

What policies were Kennedy’s biggest concern in Vietnam?

Answer 13

• Containment
• Domino theory

Question 14

What new policy did Kennedy begin to rely on / be more involved in?

Answer 14

• Flexible response
• Could not always rely on nuclear weapons - needed to still have conventional forces
• Large shift from Eisenhower and massive retaliation / brinkmanship

Question 15

What new military tactic did Kennedy favour?

Answer 15

• Counterinsurgency
• Tactics to defeat guerrilla / unconventional forces
• Focused on gathering intelligence , targeting leaders, infiltrating the enemy –> instead of fighting head on

Question 16

How was Kennedy involved in Vietnam?

Answer 16

• Strategic hamlets
• Economic and military aid
• Military advisors for training the South Vietnamese army and just as troops

Question 17

Who recommended and what were the recommendations to Kennedy about US involvement in Vietnam?

Answer 17

• Nov 1961
• Taylor and Roscow
• Recommend helicopters, to increase training of South Vietnamese army, increase US combat forces, strategic bombing on North Vietnam

Question 18

Which aspects did Kennedy focus on?

Answer 18

• Counterinsurgency
• Helping the South Vietnam army

Question 19

When was the NLF formed and who was its leader?

Answer 19

• 1960
• Figurehead leader –> Nguyen Huu Tho
• Most considered Ho Chi Minh as the leader

Question 20

What was the aim of the NLF?

Answer 20

• Opposition to Diem and socialist reunification
• Want to free South Vietnam from American imperialism

Question 21

How did the NLF view the US?

Answer 21

• New colonial power that took over from France
• The US did little to help change this view

Question 22

How did the US view the NLF?

Answer 22

• As a communist tool
• Diem renamed them the Viet Cong
• Seen as a revolutionary army

Question 23

How did the NLF gain support in South Vietnam and who did they appeal to?

Answer 23

• 10 point programme
• Appealed to intellectuals, students, middle and working class

Question 24

What other thing helped the NLF to infiltrate the South?

Answer 24

• Supply route from north to south
• Supplied equipment and personnel
• Ho Chi Minh trail

Question 25

What was the strategic hamlet programme?

Answer 25

• Began 1962
• Put peasants in villages behind barricades like strongholds
• US backed policy of counterinsurgency and US military advisors oversaw them

Question 26

What was the aim of the hamlets?

Answer 26

• To contain the influence of the NLF and promote their own influence

Question 27

What was the scale of the hamlets in the first year?

Answer 27

• 1962
• 4 million people in hamlets
• 3000 hamlets

Question 28

What was the impact of the hamlets?

Answer 28

• NLF were not interested in the hamlets or the peasants –> instead went after corrupt and embezzling officials
• Peasants felt forced to protect against an enemy that targeted their government not themselves
• Influence of NLF + north makes their regime seem more appealing
• Hamlets became breeding grounds for NLF recruits

Question 29

Why were the Buddhists persecuted?

Answer 29

• Diem was catholic and him and the catholic minority in South Vietnam imposed this on the rest of the people - who were in the majority Buddhist

Question 30

Why did the Buddhists protest?

Answer 30

• May 1963
• In Hue were banned from flying flags to honour the Buddha’s birthday
• Military stopped them hearing the speech of their leader Tri Quang

Question 31

What ways did the Buddhists oppose?

Answer 31

• Trained in making anti-government propaganda
• Mass rallies and hunger strikes
• Self-immolation
• Engaged with foreign press

Question 32

How did Tri Quang help the protests?

Answer 32

• Secretly talked to US officials in Saigon
• Told them to put pressure on Diem to enact reforms or be removed
• Blamed the US for supporting Diem and so helping to create the situation

Question 33

What US action helped to cause Diem’s assassination?

Answer 33

• US considered removing support for Diem to pressure him into reform

Question 34

What do these US actions encourage?

Answer 34

• South Vietnamese generals to overthrow Diem

Question 35

When and how is Diem assassinated?

Answer 35

• 1963
• 1 Nov - generals organise a coup
• 2 Nov - Diem and PM brother assassinated

Question 36

How does the assassination impact the US?

Answer 36

• Claim to have had no involvement but this is still debated
• Brought even more involvement for the US into the Vietnam war