Cold war-vietnam Flashcards
Who did the french fight? and what happened when they left?
The french fought the communists and the Ho Chi Minh.
When they left North Vietnam become communist, and South Vietnam become non- communist.
Why did the USA get involved?
USA helped South Vietnam
didn’t want the domino theory occurring
Vietcong began a guerrilla war against S.Vietnam
High ranking officers and arms manufacturers wanted a war
What did the US do to help?
What happened when they helped?
Dates
1961- They sent in 16,000 ‘advisors’ to S. Vietnam
Johnson sent lots of troops to S.Vietnam
1964-N. Vietnamese patrol boats shot at US ships
Johnson allowed to take action and sent thousands of troops into S.Vietnam to fight in jungle
What sort of war did the N. Vietnam want?
What were their tactics?
They wanted a guerrilla war. retreat when the enemy attacks launch surprise attacks on camps follow the enemy when they retreat wear the enemy down- ambushes etc use jungle- tunnels live amongst the civilians Dont wear uniform
What were the three types of US tactics?
Bombing
chemical weapons
search and destroy missions
What did bombing mean for the US?
bomb the vietcong supply lines
vietcong were underground
industry and military disrupted
What did chemical weapons mean for the US?
Agent orange- destroy the jungle and foliage
Napalm- very flammable, burnt everything, even civilians
What did search and destroy mean for the US?
used helicopters to find bases, so they could land quickly.
HOWEVER
killed many civilian bases
made US troops unpopular with the civilians
How good were the vietcong tactics? and what tactics of the US did not work?
Their tactics were amazing
The bombing and search and destroy missions did not work
What was the tet offensive? and date?
1968, was when the vietcong launched a major attack on 100 vietnamese cities. Americans did not expect that.
What problems did the US have at home?
They had the role of the media who eventually turn against the war when somebody said that the US could no longer win it. The TV showed graphic images of what was happening.
Also The protests against the war started to happen in the US and some of the South Vietnamese.
What was the My Lai massacre? and date?
1968, was when US troops were on a search and destroy mission and they killed 400 civilians, and no vietcong were found. Shocked the american public.
Who replaced Johnson and what did he try and do?
Nixon replaced Johnson because he didn’t want to re-elect for the election. And Nixon tried to end the war against Vietnam.
