issue 4 Vietnam Flashcards
dificulty faced by the usa military
k-the us troops failed to adapt to the Vietnam tactics this was seen as 11% of us deaths were due to booby traps
k-the us failed to win the hearts and minds of the us solders this led many to resorting to drugs and alcohol while they were in Vietnam
A+however the us could have won the war if they continued to deploy troops as they could overrun the Vietnamese solders
E-us difficulties is the main reason for us defeat in Vietnam because they failed to adapt to gurellia warfare such as the vc blending in with civilians so they could create attacks this was seen as historian A. Krepinevich agreed that it was the us army failure to adapt to the gurelia warfare which resulted in their defeat this shows that if america took time to find a good strategy they could have won the war
strengths of the north vietnam
k-the north were led by devise and determined leaders such as ho chi min
k-the north had a reason to fight as they wanted freedom and they were very determined to get this
k-the north gained support from china and Russia they gained resources and training
A+however the vc were only effective in their ideal conditions this meant that if they ever met the us in the open they would most likely lose
E- strengths of the north although an important factor was no as important as the difficulties faced by the us army this was because although the vcs effective tactics shocked american soldiers and killed many it was ultimately down to the refusal to adapt to theses strategies such as the boobies traps where they put excrement to infect people if they found a strategies of how to not fight in their ideal conditions they could have won
changing public opinion
k- 4 peaceful protesters were killed the Kent state shootings by the national guard
k-Muhammad Ali was a contentious objector when he got called up he refused as he didn’t believe in the war this led to his titles being striped away and great outrage at the war
A+however lots of people were still in favour of the war this was seen as the most popular song of the time was a pro war song
E-although the opposition to the war in america was important in the reasons us had to withdraw from Vietnam it was not as important as opposition in Vietnam this was because in america not much could be done however the failures to win the hearts and minds of people in south Vietnam this was important as they could act against the us soldiers and distract them from their targets
weaknesses of the south
k-the south was not very motivated to fight this was due to the fact that they were run by a dictatorship
k- the south was lead by general Thieu who was a known gambler and a drunk he was also known for turning a blind eye to corruption
A+however they south army was very strong in numbers as they had 150,000 men and they were equipped with new technology
E- to evaluate the weakness of the south Vietnamese was the least important reason because the south Vietnamese were very passive american troops joked that they went on “search and avoid missions” this shows that even if they were to improve their army they would still not want to fight and would try to stay away from conflict
intro
background knowledge- the Vietnam war started on the 1 st of November 1955 and ended on the 30th of April 1975 the war was between the north Vietnam and the south Vietnam the south had a strong ally in the USA
