Early Vietnam 1940-1963 Flashcards
What happened in 1940?
Japan invaded Indochina which Minh and Giap saw as an opportunity to overthrow French rule. They set up the ‘League for the Independence of Vietnam’, or Vietminh
What happened after the Vietnminh was set up?
US intelligence helped train and equip the Vietminh; in 1944 it was ready to carry out guerilla attacks and by 1945 they had 5,000 fighters
What happened in August 1945?
Japan was defeated in WW2 and forced to retreat from Vietnam
What happened in September 1945?
Minh occupied Hanoi and Saigon and announced that Vietnam was an independent and democratic republic
What happened after Minh took over Vietnam in September 1945?
Within weeks 50,000 French troops had moved in, restored control in the South, and Minh was forced into the jungles of the North
When did the Chinese Communist Party win their civil war, and who led the party?
1949 and Mao Zedong
When did Truman send the French supplies, and how much were the supplies worth?
1950 and $15 million (80% of French supplies); over the next 4 years the USA spent nearly $3 billion helping the French
When was the Dien Bien Phu battle and what happened?
The French built a base at Dien Bien Phu, and from 13th March to 7th May 1954 the Vietnamese attacked- ‘55 days of hell’- at the start there were 16,000 French soldiers, by the end there were 4,000
How much of Vietnam were the Vietminh in control of after Dien Bien Phu?
3/4
Were the Vietminh given control of the North or the South?
North
A demilitarized zone was created between the North and South. On which parallel was it split?
17th parallel
When was SEATO created?
8th September 1954
How many refugees moved from the North to the South due to black propaganda from the CIA?
85,000
Who was the leader of the South?
Ngo Dinh Diem
When and what was the Geneva agreement?
May 1954, and it was the agreements about the future of Vietnam
When was Diem elected president of South Vietnam, and what happened during the elections?
October 1955, and the elections were rigged- 605,000 people in Saigon voted for Diem, but the population of Saigon was only 450,000
How did Kennedy respond to the threat of the NLF/VC?
He sent military assistance, which increased the number of experts training the SVA to 16,000 (included was the Army Special Forces, or Green Berets); he also equipped further 20,000 troops for the SVA, increasing it to 170,000
How much did the US spend in military support for Diem in 1961?
$270 million
When was Diem overthrown?
1st November 1963
How long did the generals who succeeded Diem last?
The general who succeeded Diem lasted 3 months, the general after that (General Khanh) lasted 1 year
When was the Strategic Hamlets policy created?
1962
How many hamlets were created as part of the Strategic Hamlets policy?
3,000
What happened as a result of the failure of the Strategic Hamlets policy?
Kennedy agreed to send more military support, including aircraft, intelligence equipment and more military advisors
When was Kennedy shot, and who took over from him?
22nd November 1963, and Lyndon Johnson
How many guerilla groups were there when Johnson took over?
There were 60,000 guerilla groups and 35% of South Vietnam was in VC hands
