Chapter 9 : Vietnam War Flashcards
The consolidation of communist control in North Vietnam and instability in South Vietnam led to the Vietnam war.
At the end of WWII, Ho Chi Minh kicked the Japanese out of North Vietnam and declared independence, with China and USSR’s support. The French rejected Vietnamese independence, resulting in the fighting between the Vietminh in the North and the French in the South. The French was defeated at Dien Bien Phu and wanted to leave Vietnam due to high cost of living. US was scared about the communist takeover of Vietnam and thus split Vietnam into North Vietnam and South Vietnam.
The Vietnamese were unhappy with foreigners trying to retain control and occupying Vietnamese land. Communists were only helping them gain independence. French not preventing Vietminh from taking over Vietnam worried the US as China fell to the Communist and did not want Vietnam to have the same fate, leading to a conflict between US and communist in vietnam
The discontentment over the Geneva accords led to the Vietnam War.
Vietnam was split at the 17th parallel with communist North Vietnam under Ho Chi Minh and non-communist South Vietnam under Diem. There would be free elections held in 1956. Ho Chi Minh consolidated his rule by removing non-communist opponents and promoting land reform. Diem consolidated his rule by removing communist opponents and appointing family members into the government.
Many Vietnamese were unhappy as they did not gain independence. Both sides use their time till the elections to increase their own support and remove rivals and opponents, increasing suspicions of each other, leading to tensions and conflicts, leading to the Vietnam war.
The failure to carry out elections led to the Vietnam War
Ho Chi Minh was very popular and Diem was not. Thus,Diem and the US did not want to hold election as they are afraid that the Communist would win and takeover Vietnam. US was not happy with Diem but could not find a good non-communist replacement and continue supporting in such as providing up to S$ 16 Billion in aid to help his government.
Many Vietnamese became angry with Diem and US and supported the communist. The North felt betrayed and thus began to send military weapons using the secret Ho Chi Minh trail to VietCong in the South, leading to tensions and conflicts in the South, leader to Vietnam war
Diem’s actions being unpopular led to the Vietnam War.
Diem was unpopular and corrupted as he placed his friends and family members into government positions. He did not conduct any land reforms like the peasants wanted and his pro-Catholic policies angered the Buddhist Vietnamese. Some monks even burned themselves to protest. Diem used American aid to sustain his regime’s power and corrupt practices.
Many Vietnamese became angry with Diem and US and wanted independence . Many began to support Ho Chi Minh and communist. Former Vietminh members in the south formed the Vietcong and started to organise an insurgency against his regime and attacked government buildings and forces. Thus, the rise in Communist influence led to tensions and conflicts in South Vietnam, leading to the Vietnam War.
The weakness of the South Vietnamese government led to the fall of Saigon
In November 1963, Diem was assassinated by a coup launched by ambitious military generals. After Diem’s death, a succession of military leaders and coups took over Diem, which was unpopular and weak as they were corrupted. The military leaders used US economic aid for themselves.
The ARVN was unmotivated to fight, in addition to them being badly trained as they did not want to fight for South. Vietnam if there was no strong, stable and honest government. Some ARVN soldiers also ran away during battle instead of risking being killed. This proved to North Vietnam that the South was weaker than the North and in 1975, South Vietnam fell as North Vietnam reunited under communist rule.
The fall of Saigon was because war was unpopular in the US.
The US wanted the communist killed in North Vietnam and thus proceed with many actions such as Operation Rolling Thunder and My Lai Massacre. However, My Lai Massacre showed the American public that US is killing civilian Vietnamese in Vietnam. It also felt that war was useless as US is sacrificing lots of US troops. Tet Offensive showed to the public that war could not be won and the US had been lying to them.
With the war being unpopular, US is unable to use atomic weapons and all resources to win the war. In 1973, the US singed the Paris Peace Accords, needing to withdraw its US troops all of Vietnam. Without the US economic aid and military support, South Vietnam allowed the fall of Saigon, ending the Vietnam war with Vietnam under the communist rule.
Saigon fell as the Vietnamese wanted re-unification of Vietnam and freedom from external forces.
Describe : People wanted a unified country. Many blamed US for their bad lives and South Vietnamese were disappointed with their corrupted and incompetent government. NVA and Vietcong were motivated and fought hard against the ARVN and US troops. With their intricate tunnel system, booby traps and jungle cover, it was difficult to defeat the NVA.
Vietcong and NVA live in South Vietnam villages and provided help to them daily, these actions made South Vietnamese support them. This led to more manpower and resources for the NVA and Vietcong in the war, enabling them to fight effectively and recover from terrible losses and eventually entered Saigon in 1975 and defeated the remaining ARVN troops
Ineffective US strategies led to the end of the Vietnam war.
The US believed that they could cripple North Vietnam and kill more communist troops than they could replace by using firepower and airpower in hopes for the North to surrender. US believed war was unpopular among the people, thus it prevented the use of atomic weapons and all resources to win the war.
However, the North did not fear bombing as it has less industries and the NVA build many underground shelters and survived the bombing. The North were also willing to suffer more casualties than the US. Without using atomic weapons, US found it difficult for the NVA to surrender which led to the fall of Saigon.
The effective North Vietnam strategies led to the fall of Saigon.
North Vietnam used guerrilla tactics and the dense jungle as cover to combat the US army with superior weapons compared to North Vietnam. US found it difficult as they were used to fighting conventional wars and not in jungles. Communist successfully demoralised US troops and public with the Tet Offensive where they launched simultaneous attacks on US bases and areas in the South.
After the increases in casualties in American soldiers and the ferocity of Vietcong attacks, US concluded that war was wrong and could not be won as it would take more damage to US forces and civilians that it was prepared to withstand. Thus, the US public persuaded US to withdraw from Vietnam. With no military and economic support from USA, South Vietnam allowed to fall of Saigon in 1975.
