Early Vietnam 1940-1963

Question 1

What happened in 1940?

Answer 1

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

Question 2

What happened after the Vietnminh was set up?

Answer 2

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

Question 3

What happened in August 1945?

Answer 3

Japan was defeated in WW2 and forced to retreat from Vietnam

Question 4

What happened in September 1945?

Answer 4

Minh occupied Hanoi and Saigon and announced that Vietnam was an independent and democratic republic

Question 5

What happened after Minh took over Vietnam in September 1945?

Answer 5

Within weeks 50,000 French troops had moved in, restored control in the South, and Minh was forced into the jungles of the North

Question 6

When did the Chinese Communist Party win their civil war, and who led the party?

Answer 6

1949 and Mao Zedong

Question 7

When did Truman send the French supplies, and how much were the supplies worth?

Answer 7

1950 and $15 million (80% of French supplies); over the next 4 years the USA spent nearly $3 billion helping the French

Question 8

When was the Dien Bien Phu battle and what happened?

Answer 8

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

Question 9

How much of Vietnam were the Vietminh in control of after Dien Bien Phu?

Answer 9

3/4

Question 10

Were the Vietminh given control of the North or the South?

Answer 10

North

Question 11

A demilitarized zone was created between the North and South. On which parallel was it split?

Answer 11

17th parallel

Question 12

When was SEATO created?

Answer 12

8th September 1954

Question 13

How many refugees moved from the North to the South due to black propaganda from the CIA?

Answer 13

85,000

Question 14

Who was the leader of the South?

Answer 14

Ngo Dinh Diem

Question 15

When and what was the Geneva agreement?

Answer 15

May 1954, and it was the agreements about the future of Vietnam

Question 16

When was Diem elected president of South Vietnam, and what happened during the elections?

Answer 16

October 1955, and the elections were rigged- 605,000 people in Saigon voted for Diem, but the population of Saigon was only 450,000

Question 17

How did Kennedy respond to the threat of the NLF/VC?

Answer 17

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

Question 18

How much did the US spend in military support for Diem in 1961?

Answer 18

$270 million

Question 19

When was Diem overthrown?

Answer 19

1st November 1963

Question 20

How long did the generals who succeeded Diem last?

Answer 20

The general who succeeded Diem lasted 3 months, the general after that (General Khanh) lasted 1 year

Question 21

When was the Strategic Hamlets policy created?

Answer 21

1962

Question 22

How many hamlets were created as part of the Strategic Hamlets policy?

Answer 22

3,000

Question 23

What happened as a result of the failure of the Strategic Hamlets policy?

Answer 23

Kennedy agreed to send more military support, including aircraft, intelligence equipment and more military advisors

Question 24

When was Kennedy shot, and who took over from him?

Answer 24

22nd November 1963, and Lyndon Johnson

Question 25

How many guerilla groups were there when Johnson took over?

Answer 25

There were 60,000 guerilla groups and 35% of South Vietnam was in VC hands