Cold War Issue 4 Flashcards
Background
In 1954 Vietnam was split into 2 countries; North Vietnam which declared itself a communist state and was run by Ho Chi Minh, and South Vietnam which was run by corrupt leaders and supported by American Aid.
LOA
…. was probably the most important factor in causing US defeat in Vietnam because….
Factors
US tactics, Economic Pressures and Isolation of America, NV tactics, Changing Public Opinion
Changing Public Opinion (KU and A)
KU- Returning soldiers often turned to drugs and alcohol, they also suffered mental breakdowns
A- Showed US public how horrific the conditions were, which led to them having demonstrations in favour of US withdrawal from Vietnam
KU- Vietnam was a media war, where people watched Vietnamese children being burned by Americans
A- Made people think if it was worth drafting the 90,000 US troops just to kill innocent civilians
KU- Student protests were huge in America such as one in Kent State University where the national guard killed 4 students
A- The public were horrified and began questioning the government which suggested that USA was unstable
Changing Public Opinion (A+ and E)
A+- If USA had been seen to be winning US people would have supported the war
E- Changing public opinion was very important because it showed the country was unstable with many disagreeing about the war which then put pressure on the government who took the final decision to withdraw
Economic Pressures and Isolation of US (KU and A)
KU- US had a deficit of $1.6bn
A- The war had cost $518m which was nearly 10% of US GDP
KU- Britain who was US main allie decided to stay out of the war
A- NV had 2 superpowers supporting it (Russia and China) which meant that it had continuous supplies
KU- US suffered 350,000 casualties
A- Led to the policy of Vietnamisation which was the slow withdrawal of US troops in 1969
Economic Pressures and Isolation of US (A+ and E)
A+- Not that significant because US is a large country with huge supply of people, weapons etc. However they failed in doing so, which helped to cause their defeat.
E- Not that significant because US still had the means to carry on production, however it was the changing of public opinion which put pressure on the government to stop.
US Tactics (KU and A)
KU- US began ‘operation rolling thunder’ which was mass bombing of military and industrial sites in NV
A- The operation was unsuccessful because they had a problem finding NV military and industrial sites because they were underground in the NV underground tunnels
KU- US troops found it hard to deal with the conditions in Vietnam such as humidity
A- VC troops were well adapted to conditions
KU- US tried to use chemical gases such as agent orange which killed thousands of Vietnamese Civilians
A- Caused deaths among US troops as well as illnesses, and has been linked to high cancer in previous American soldiers who fought in Vietnam
US Tactics (A+)
A+- US tactics failed mainly because of the strengths of NV
North Vietnamese Tactics (KU and A)
KU- VC soldiers didn’t wear a uniform
A- US did not know who was friend or foe which meant that they killed a huge number of civilians
KU- North Vietnam was led by Ho Chi Mihn, a very strong leader who led them to be successful
A- SV was corrupt so soldiers did not trust the government and therefore their army was not as unified and did not have high morale like NV
North Vietnamese Tactics (A+)
A+- Limits because if US troops had not killed as many civilians the people may not have been as unified against the US. (people hiding troops)
