The Cold War Flashcards
Vietnam
Vietnam
USA was committed to containing the spread of communism (policy of containment)
The American opposition to communism was underpinned in the Truman Doctrine and Domino Theory
Background to Vietnam:
Between 1957 and 1965, the South Vietnamese army fought the Vietcong (Communist trained rebels in the South) who were supported by the Viet Cong (Communist guerrillas in North Vietnam)
- The period between 1957-1965
Military aid and advisors were sent to Vietnam limited but increasing ground troops sent
USA was following a policy of containment in the context of the Cold War
Initially USA did not want to commit ground troops so had been sending ‘advisors’ and aid to support the South Vietnamese government (capitalist) defended itself against threat from popular North Vietnamese government (communist)
From 1957 North Vietnam intensified its effort to take control of South Vietnam using guerrilla tactics + military aid from USSR
South Vietnam government (under Diem) was becoming very unpopular, US increased its support: JFK sent in the US marines, by 1963 there were 11,000 US troops in Vietnam
US supported South Vietnam’s “Safe Villages’ Policy (forcibly removed South Vietnamese into fortified villages)
Villagisation/ Strategic hamlet programme (USA and South Vietnam government created new villages and attempted to separate villagers (farmers) from (guerrillas) which was a failure
In 1963 USA gave secret approval (and CIA support) to the South Vietnamese army coup which overthrew Diem
In 1964 Gulf of Tonkin incident (an important turning point)- US claimed that North Vietnam had attacked its ships and used this to justify increasing ground troops and military aid to South Vietnam
The Gulf of Tonkin resolution (1964) gave president Johnston wide military powers resulting in the escalation of warfare in Vietnam
- The period between 1965-1969
A period if intense US intervention, bombing and combat troops sent to Vietnam
USA committed ground troops (by 1967 there were 500,000 USA troops situated in Vietnam)
USA tactics of mass bombardment with expensive weapons was largely ineffective in the jungle terrain and against the North Vietnam Army and Viet Cong guerrilla soldiers who intended to unite Vietnam as a communist country
1965-68: Operation Rolling Thunder (aerial bombing)
The USA was involved in widespread bombing raid on military and industrial targets in North Vietnam and extended to include cities in North and South Vietnam
The bombing campaign was supposed to defeat the North Vietnamese within eight weeks but had continued for over three years (Very high cost unsuccessful)
US used helicopters for ‘search and destroy’ missions
USA search and destroy missions frequently ended in civilian causalities which increased opposition against the USA within South Vietnam
US used search and destroy mission to destroy villages supported by Viet Cong (this resulted in large numbers of civilian death)
Operation Ranch Hand used of chemical weapons such as napalm and agents orange (chemical to destroy forests) and blue (chemicals to destroy crops) in an attempt to defoliate forests to better identify North Vietnamese targets)
1968: Massacre at My Lai- revealed that US troops were responsible for violating human rights of Vietnamese (growth an anti-war movement in USA)
1968: Peace talks between USA and Vietnam began in Paris
In 1969 Tet Offensive (an important turning point) showed USA public that the USA was not winning the war
- The period between 1969-1973
A period of negotiation and withdrawal
President Nixon of US introduced policy of Vietnamisation (US decided it would no longer send ground troops to fight communism in Vietnam)
US began to withdraw troops but continued aerial bombing
1970: Nixon ordered the bombing of Laos and Cambodia (to cut off supplies transported along Ho Chi Minh Trail)
Operation Line-backer (1972: Nixon) wide-scale bombing of Cambodia and Vietnam at great expense but failed to end the war, Nixon faced growing opposition from the anti-war movement in US
1972: Christmas Bombing
1972: Christmas Bombing (US bombed a number of North Vietnam cities)
1973 US signed a peace accord with North Vietnam, US ground troops were withdrawn from Vietnam, to intimidate and destroy the Vietnamese people
These tactics lost the USA a great deal of support among Vietnamese people (North and South) but also fuelled the anti-war feeling back in the USA
President Nixon’s policy
The USA failed to win the hearts and minds of the Vietnamese people-many Vietnamese people saw the communist forces as liberators and nationalists
President Nixon’s Vietnamisation policy/ including WHAM (Winning the Hearts and Minds of the Vietnamese) was an attempt by the USA to withdraw from war and ‘save face’
The Viet Cong
The Viet Cong were highly disciplined and dedicated guerrilla soldiers fighting to free their country (Vietnamese saw it as a war of liberation)
They also had the support of the majority of Vietnamese people
In contrast the US army was made up mainly of very young, conscripted soldiers
The communist forces of North Vietnam and their supporters in South Vietnam conducted a very successful guerrilla campaign against the US army
Effectively used ambush, booby traps, hit-and-run tactics
The Vietcong developed a network of underground tunnels to move through the jungle
Although the Viet Cong did not have the chemical weapons and sophisticated
Weapons that were used by the USA they did not receive weapons, aid and support from the USSR and China
Support from China and the USSR made it very hard for USA troops to disform the guerrilla’s
The US involvement in the Vietnam War can be divided into three phases
- Largely indirect intervention via military aid and advisors
- Intense intervention with combat troops sent in
- A period of negotiations and withdrawal of troops
