Cold War: Part 2 Flashcards
1
Q
Vietnam War
A
- 1955-1975
- one of the most broadcasted wars in US
- 20 years of fighting
- 2 million deaths
- large areas devastated
2
Q
after the Japanese left Indochina following WWII
A
- France wanted to regain control of Vietnam
- A Vietnamese nationalist group had developed, however, that wanted an independent Vietnam - called the Vietminh
- Leader = Ho Chi Minh
- this group = communist
- supported by the Soviet Union and China
- Vietminh and France could not agree on how to share power in Vietnam
- 1946: two sides went to war
- US sent military and financial aid to help France
- French still couldn’t pull out a victory
3
Q
one month after battle
A
- the Vietminh, France, and US met to negotiate a settlement to the Vietnam conflict
- agreed to divided Vietnam along the 17th parallel
- created a communist North Vietnam and a democratic South Vietnam
- division supposed to last until 1956: when elections were to be held
- Ngo Dinh Diem (leader of South Vietnam) rejected the proposed elections
- Diem = weak and unpopular, even with his own people
- Ho Chi Minh = VERY popular
4
Q
Viet Cong
A
- communist guerrillas in South Vietnam fought Diem in hopes of uniting Vietnam under Ho Chi Minh
- 1963: South Vietnamese military staged a coup in which Diem was killed
- US quietly approved of this coup
5
Q
late 1963, 1964
A
- by later 1963, 16,000 American advisors were in Vietnam
- 1964 = US approved of secret South Vietnamese naval raids against North Vietnam
- August 2, 1964 = US president Lyndon Johnson announced that North Vietnam had fired on 2 US ships off the coast of Vietnam
- incident never confirmed
- President Johnson used it to increase American involvement in the war
6
Q
gulf of tonkin resolution
A
- gave the President broad war powers
- march 1965 = Johnson sent first ground troops to Vietnam
- by 1968 = more than 500,000 American troops were in Vietnam
- south Vietnamese army = numbered 800,000
- north Vietnamese army and the viet cong - numbered 300,000
- China and soviet union sent aid, but no troops, to help north Vietnam
7
Q
1968
A
- early 1968 = the Tet offensive = when the Viet Cong launched a major military offensive during the Vietnamese New Year holiday (tet)
- did no capture any major cities
- bitter fighting made even more Americans realize, however, that years of US involvement in Vietnam had failed to weaken the Viet Cong
- opposition to the war intensified - Johnson did not run for reelection in 1968 (President Nixon elected0
8
Q
President Richard M. Nixon
A
- US began to withdraw troops
- 1973 = South Vietnam, the US, and the communists agreed to a cease-fire
- US withdrew the rest of its troops
- 1975 = the war resumed North Vietnamese and viet cong forces defeated the South Vietnamese
9
Q
who had control of Indochina before WWII
A
- France
10
Q
the Viet Minh was the national independence coalition developed in North Vietnam after WWII. who was the leader of the viet minh?
A
- Ho Chi Minh
11
Q
who was the President that started the withdrawl of American troops from vietnam?
A
- Richard Nixon
12
Q
in 1964 President Lyndon B Johnson announced that North Vietnamese had fire on an American ship in the _______
A
- Tonkin Gulf
13
Q
the Vietnam war was the first war to be ______
A
- covered by the TV and the press
14
Q
how many American troops were stationed in Korea?
A
- 500,000
15
Q
Walter Cronkite was an American news anchor who concluded that _____
A
- it looked like the war couldn’t be won
