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G12 History 2023-01 > T1M3 The Vietnam War > Flashcards

T1M3 The Vietnam War Flashcards

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1
Q

What is a proxy war?

A

A war supported by major powers without them fighting directly against each other.

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2
Q

What was Vietnam’s colonial struggle prior to World War II?

A

French colonies in South Vietnam were to be one colony called Cochinchina. Due to tensions increasing between China and France, the Sino-French War started in 1884 and ended in 1885. The war forced China to disengage from Vietnam, and the French divided the country into 3 regions.

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3
Q

When was the French Indochina officially formed?

A

October 1887.

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4
Q

What were the 3 regions that formed part of the French Indochina?

A
  • Cochinchina (southern France Vietnam)
  • Annam (central Vietnam)
  • Tonkin (northern Vietnam)
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5
Q

How was the French colonial rule in Vietnam?

A

French colonial rule was politically repressive, and the economy was exploited for the benefit of French industries.

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6
Q

Who coordinated the nationalism movement in Vietnam, after WWI?

A

Ho Chi Minh.

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7
Q

How did Ho Chi Minh go back to Vietnam knowing that French authorities would arrest him?

A

Vietnam was occupied by Japan during WWII, he secretly returned.

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8
Q

What did Ho Chi Minh do after he secretly returned to Vietnam?

A

He organised the Viet Minh (Vietnam Independence League) which were a resourceful group of soldiers that were able to restrict the control Japan had over Vietnam.

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9
Q

What happened during WWII, after Japan occupied Vietnam, in Vietnam?

A

The US military intelligence agency formed an alliance with Ho Chi Minh and his Viet Minh guerrillas to fight the Japanese. The Japanese surrendered and Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia were returned to France.

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10
Q

When did the Japanese in Vietnam surrender?

A

August 1945.

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11
Q

What did Ho Chi Minh do in response to Vietnam becoming a French colony again?

A

Ho Chi Minh declared himself president of Vietnam after the Viet Minh occupied Hanoi and proclaimed a provisional government, which wasn’t by Truman in the USA.

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12
Q

What happened from May to September in 1946?

A

Ho Chi Minh tried to negotiate for full independence for Vietnam, with the French government, which failed. In November, French ships arrived in Haiphong and occupied the area. In response, the Viet Minh began a guerilla campaign against the French.

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13
Q

When did the first Indochina war happen?

A

From 1946 to 1954.

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14
Q

What happened in the first Indochina War?

A
  • 1949: The Vietnamese National Army was established.
  • 1950: Russia and China formally recognised Ho Chi Minh’s Democratic Republic of Vietnam in North Vietnam. As part of the US policy of containment, President Truman authorised $15 million in military aid to the French in Vietnam.
  • 1953: President Eisenhower took over as US president in 1953, and he increased US military aid to the French in Vietnam to prevent a communist victory.
  • 1954: The Viet Minh troops outnumbered the French troops nearly five to one. The Viet Minh were led by General Vo Nguyen Giap. After a siege lasting 57 days, the French surrendered and France withdrew from Vietnam.
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15
Q

How did France and Vietnam officially end the conflict?

A

They met in Geneva, Switzerland in July 1954 and signed the Geneva Peace Accord. Due to pressure from Russia and China, Vietnam agreed to split Vietnam along the 17th parallel.

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16
Q

What was agreed in Switzerland in 1954?

A
  • Due to pressure from Russia and China, Vietnam agreed to split Vietnam along the 17th parallel.
  • Ho Chi Minh was given control of the north and Bao Dai remained in the South.
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17
Q

What happened in Vietnam after the Geneva Accords?

A

Ho Chi Minh set up a communist government in the north. In the south, Ngo Dinh Diem overthrew Bao Dai with the support of the US, and the Republic of South Vietnam was proclaimed.

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18
Q

Why did the US create SEATO?

A

They did this to support their position in South Vietnam, and they wanted to stop the spread of communism in the region.

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19
Q

What was the peace agreement to end the First Indochina War called?

A

The Geneva Peace Accords.

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20
Q

What things did Ngo Dinh Diem do to make him unpopular among the South Vietnamese people?

A
  • He imposed a repressive dictatorship.
  • He appointed members of his family to important positions in the government.
  • He failed to introduce a viable land reform programme.
  • He failed to hold the proposed elections in 1956.
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21
Q

When and how was Diem overthrown?

A

In 1963, Diem was overthrown in a military coup, however, the men who succeeded him were also corrupt.

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22
Q

When was the National Liberation Front formed and what did they aim to do?

A

In 1960. They consisted of 12 nationalist groups, communists and Buddhists included. They aimed to get rid of Diem’s corrupt government, introduce land reform and unite Vietnam.

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23
Q

What did the US and Diem refer to any opposition as?

A

Viet Cong.

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24
Q

What was the Viet Cong?

A

The Viet Cong was a guerrilla army made up of the former Viet Minh, as well as peasants recruited from villages.

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25
Q

What did the Viet Cong peasants fight for?

A

They fought for the unification of Vietnam.

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26
Q

What was the conflict in South Vietnam until 1965?

A

A civil war between the Viet Cong rebels and the South Vietnam government.

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27
Q

What was the South Vietnamese army called?

A

The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN).

28
Q

How did the Viet Cong fight against the ARVN?

A
  • They used guerilla tactics, and they received support from North Vietnam in the form of men and supplies. These supplies were transported via the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
29
Q

Why did the Kennedy send 5000 troops and 50 fighter jets to South Vietnam, in 1961?

A

The Viet Cong intensified their resistance against South Vietnam.

30
Q

How many US troops were in South Vietnam by December 1962?

A

11 000.

31
Q

What happened in May 1963 in South Vietnam?

A

Buddhist monks were gunned down during a demonstration against laws that disallowed them from publicly displaying religious flags. A Buddhist monk set himself alight as a form of protest.

32
Q

What is espionage?

A

The practice of spying or of using spies, typically by governments to obtain political and military information.

33
Q

What happened on 2 August 1964, in response to American and South Vietnamese espionage?

A

On its coast, North Vietnam launched an attack on an American ship that was anchored in the Gulf of Tonkin. The US claimed that a second attack on 4 August, however this didn’t happen. In ‘retaliation’, the US bombed North Vietnam.

34
Q

Why did the US lie and claim a second attack happened on the 4th August 1964?

A

President Johnson used this second ‘attack’ to get Congress to pass a resolution allowing the president to take ‘all necessary measures’ to prevent ‘further aggression’.

35
Q

What was the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution?

A

When the US Congress passed a resolution allowing the president to take all necessary measures to prevent further aggression.

36
Q

What was the domino theory in the policy of containment?

A

The domino theory argued that if one nation were to fall to the communists, neighbouring countries would also fall.

37
Q

Why did the US become involved in the Vietnam War?

A
  • Americans feared the spread of communism as a result of the domino effect.
  • The US wanted to contain the spread of communism.
38
Q

What was the Strategic Hamlets policy that President Kennedy introduced and was it successful?

A

President Kennedy introduced the ‘safe village’ system, in which peasants were moved into fortified villages in an attempt to isolate the Viet Cong. This policy wasn’t successful because most Viet Cong were peasants and just continued their work from within the villages.

39
Q

How did the US support the South Vietnamese between 1954 and 1960

A

They sent aid, equipment and military advisors.

40
Q

Who succeeded Kennedy after he was assassinated in 1963?

A

Lyndon B. Johnson.

41
Q

By 1963, what percentage of rural area did the Viet Cong take over?

A

40%

42
Q

By 1967, how many US troops were in South Vietnam?

A

500 000.

43
Q

Name the American tactics that were used in the Vietnam War?

A
  • Operation Rolling Thunder.
  • Agent Orange.
  • Napalm.
  • Controlled movement.
  • Winning the hearts and minds (WHAM)
44
Q

What was the Operation Rolling Thunder tactic and was it successful?

A

The US launched a bombing campaign wherein they used fighter jets and airplanes to drop multiple bombs, where the successive detonations would sound like thunder from a distance. This campaign was partially successful, as many bombs missed their targets and the US were unable to destroy the Ho Chi Minh Trail.

45
Q

What was the Agent Orange tactic and was it successful?

A

The US also used chemical warfare to try to defeat the Viet Cong. The US soldiers found fighting in the thick jungle difficult. The US used a gas called Agent Orange to defoliate the forests and make it easier for the soldiers to locate the Viet Cong. The defoliant was so potent that it caused many Vietnamese people to suffer serious health conditions and many children to be born with birth defects.

46
Q

What was the Napalm tactic and was it successful?

A

The US also used napalm to clear the forests of leaves, bushes and branches. Napalm sticks to the skin and causes intense burns. The local Vietnamese population were often victims of napalm bombings and lost their means of production as Agent Orange destroyed the environment. This made the Vietnamese increasingly hostile to the US involvement in the war.

47
Q

What was the controlled movement tactic and was it successful?

A

Like the South Vietnamese army, the US struggled to identify Viet Cong soldiers in the Vietnamese villages. To counter this problem, they tried to control the movement of peasants in and out of villages. This would make it difficult for the Viet Cong to find shelter and food in the villages. The US set up villages and barricaded them with barbed wire. This tactic led to an increase in distrust of the American forces.

48
Q

What was the WHAM (winning the hearts and minds) tactic and was it successful?

A

The US needed the support of the Vietnamese to identify Viet Cong soldiers and to stop the villagers giving refuge to these soldiers. The US built houses and launched literacy schemes to win over the locals. However, the US tactics in the war harmed most of the population. This, along with the US’s support of the hated South Vietnamese government, meant they were never able to win over the Vietnamese people’s support.

49
Q

What was the name of the route used by the North Vietnamese to supply the Viet Cong in the south?

A

The Ho Chi Minh.

50
Q

Who was the American commander in Vietnam?

A

General Westmoreland.

51
Q

What type of war did the US and Vietnam fight, respectively?

A

A conventional war and a guerilla war.

52
Q

Who did the Viet Cong receive help from?

A

North Vietnam, China and the USSR.

53
Q

What is NVA?

A

It stands for the North Vietnamese Army.

54
Q

What guerilla tactics did the Viet Cong use?

A
  • they blended in with peasants, so troops couldn’t tell if it was a peasant or a guerilla.
  • they created a series of elaborate underground tunnels to hide from US troops.
55
Q

What was the role of women during the Vietnam War?

A

Many young girls joined the Viet Cong and trained to fight in the jungle. In North Vietnam, because so many men were fighting in the army, young women carried the supplies from North Vietnam down the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Yet they carried on because they believed in their cause. They were committed to winning a united and independent Vietnam, even though they suffered enormous hardships and 10% of them died from disease alone.

56
Q

What was the Tet Offensive?

A

A surprise guerilla attack, from the Viet Cong, to major South Vietnamese towns and American bases in February 1968.

57
Q

Why was the Tet Offensive named that?

A

It was launched during the Tet religious festival, the Vietnamese equivalent of New Year.

58
Q

What happened in the Tet Offensive?

A

On Tet 1968, streets were filled with celebrators of the New Year, but there were a lot of funerals. The coffins were used to hide weapons for the farmers who were in special Viet Cong units. Using these weapons, the Viet Cong launched a massive attack that night, on around 100 towns, including Saigon and 12 US air bases.

59
Q

What happened as a result of the Tet Offensive?

A
  • The Viet Cong suffered heavy casualties and failed to deliver a knockout blow.
  • The Viet Cong were able to capture nearly 80% of all towns and villages.
  • Negatively affected the morale of the American armed forces.
  • This offensive also indicated to the American public that they could not win the war. Even some of the president’s associates began calling for the US to cut its losses and pull out.
60
Q

What happened in March 1968, after the Tet Offensive?

A

Charlie Company, a top US unit, was patrolling the village of Mỹ Lai in central Vietnam. They started killing civilians as revenge. They rounded up unarmed women, children and elderly civilians, raped the women, forced them into ditches and then opened fire. They killed over 300 Vietnamese civilians, mostly women and children. Under the command of Lieutenant William Calley, the soldiers of Charlie Company took a break for lunch, and then went back to killing and burning. The incident became known as the Mỹ Lai Massacre.

61
Q

What was the incident where a US unit killed over 300 Vietnamese civilians, called?

A

The Mỹ Lai Massacre.

62
Q

How did the Mỹ Lai Massacre stop?

A

A US helicopter pilot placed his helicopter between the soldiers and civilians and ordered his gunner to fire at anyone who shot another woman or child.

63
Q

What were the 3 factions of Vietnamese nationalists that battled over the type of government and ideology that would best suit an independent Vietnam?

A
  • The Viet Minh and the Communist Party centered in the north. (They were the strongest of these factions.)
  • The National Liberation Front. (Southern allies of the Viet Minh)
  • The non-communist Republic of Vietnam. (They were supported by the Americans, who were trying to stop the spread of communism.)
64
Q

What are the reasons that America lost the Vietnam War?

A
  • The failure of political will.
  • A military failure.
  • The failure to understand the Vietnamese context.
  • Failure to win the hearts and minds of the Vietnamese.
  • Aid for the enemy.
  • The determination of the enemy
  • Lack of support.
65
Q

How is the war remembered in Vietnam?

A
  • people called the war the ‘American War’
  • many museums and war sites in Vietnam reflect a strong anti-American bias
66
Q

Which policy aimed to train the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) and supply arms to the government of South Vietnam while gradually withdrawing American troops from Vietnam?

A

Vietnamisation.

G12 History 2023-01 (13 decks)

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