The Cold War : Vietnam Flashcards
give 3 causes of the Vietnam war
-Ho Chi Minh self determination
-USA backed French colonialism
-1954 Geneva Conference
how did Ho Chi Minh cause the Vietnam war
-he was a communist leader who believed in self determination and wanted an independent Vietnam
how did the USA cause the Vietnam war
-feared communist control via either HCM or China
-backed French colonialism instead
how did the Geneva Conference cause the Vietnam war and when was it (4)
-1954
-Geneva Conference split Vietnam into North and South
-communist rule in North and Diem as prime minister in the south
-1956 there would be a democratic election for a single Vietnamese gov
who was prime minister in SV
-Diem
why did Ike and Kennedy feel as though they had to increase US involvement in Vietnam
-they both had something to prove after failure of Korea and the Bay of Pigs
how did Ike increase US involvement in Vietnam
-propped up Diem’s unpopular regime economically
-invested millions despite voter fraud and torture techniques
how many troops in Vietnam by Kennedy’s assassination
-17,000
give 3 reasons why Diem’s regime was unpopular
-tried to move peasants off farms and into armed villages (unsuccessful)
-he was Catholic in a majority Buddhist country
-used voter fraud and torture
what does Diem’s religious conflict demonstrate
-Kennedy’s lack of knowledge and awareness of Vietnam
what happened to Diem
-often refused advice from USA and was assassinated before Kennedy
who inherited and escalated the war
-LBJ / president Johnson
what allowed Johnson to increase involvement in Vietnam
-Gulf of Tonkin incident
what was the Gulf of Tonkin incident
-Johnson claimed NV carried out 2 unprovoked attacks on the US ship Maddox
-won congress approval to fight back against NV
what did the Gulf of Tonkin lead to
-Rolling Thunder
-thousands of bombs dropped daily
why did Johnson not officially declare war
-still wanted to spend money on his Great Society
-feared involvement of China/ USSR
what had Johnson achieved by 1968
-535,000 troops in Vietnam
-Congress approved $700 million in military operations at confining communism
give 4 methods of warfare used by the US
-cluster bombs
-napalm
-agent orange
-My Lai Massacre
what were cluster bombs and how many were dropped
-bombs dropped smaller bombs of fibre glass
-260 million cluster bombs dropped
what was napalm
-flammable jelly thickened so it couldn’t be washed off
-burned flesh
what was agent orange
-chemicals used to eliminate forest cover for VC troops
-caused tumours and birth defects
give 3 methods of warfare used by the Vietcong
-tet offensives
-secret tunnels
-guerilla warfare
-what were tet offensives
-attacked cities and military bases cross the south
what were secret tunnels used for
-hide from bombs
what percentage of American casualties were due to booby traps
-20%
what was guerrilla warfare
-VC often helped by SV which made it harder for Americans to identify/fight enemies
when and what was the My Lai massacre
-1968, 500 SV killed by US soldiers
what happened when Johnson tried to withdraw from Vietnam
-HCM not willing to stop fighting
what did Nixon do before attempting to withdraw from Vietnam
-bombed HCM trail
-withdrew troops to campaign in Laos and Cambodia instead
what impact did the US campaigns have in Cambodia and Laos (2)
-escalated war as US attacked neighbouring countries (where HCM trail was)
-made Cambodia’s communist party more popular
why did Nixon continue bombing
-first diplomatic efforts in Paris were rejected
why did Nixon want to withdraw (3)
-part of his campaign to withdraw
-troops began to ignore orders
-was running out of money as Congress refused to give any more after his 1972 re election
what happened in 1973 (2)
-Nixon bombed Hanoi
-a month later agreed to peace treaty
what was decided in the 1973 peace treaty
-Thieu left in charge of SV
-prisoners of war exchanged
-Nixon secretly promised billions of dollars worth of construction aid to Hanoi
what happened after the peace treaty in 1973
-fighting continued
-NV took SV in 1975
give 4 ways the media impacted Vietnam
-first televised war with war journalists
-showed they were losing
-public outrage at massacres/weapons
-showed opposition from soldiers
give 4 impacts of Vietnam
-spent $30 million a year; undermined Johnson’s Great Society and made it less popular
-Nixon’s diplomatic strategies changed eg visiting China and detente with SU to disrupt NV’s support
-Nixon Doctrine where USA expected allies to take care of own military defence
-50,000 deaths , 300,000 wounded
give 6 reasons the USA lost the Vietnam war
-lack of clear aim
-public opinion/ protest
-over confidence
-guerilla warfare/ determination of NV
-ran out of money
-lack of knowledge of Vietnam
