The Nature Of The Conflict 1964-68 Flashcards
What was festures of a gurrila war tactics?
1 - Get the support of the people
(assasonate key figures - use propoganda - dressed like normall vietnamese people to show how they were alike)
2 - Weeken the enemy with hit and run tactics - assasonations, sabotaging roads, ambushes, stayed close to US facilities so they wouldn’t be bombed - used light weight weapons, made tunnels so it was easy to escape - use simple traps eg with sharp bamboo
Occasionaly they would have a suprising large battle to try and win a supprise victory
Where is a place just 25 miles from Saigon?
Cu Chi
How many miles of tunnel was built in Cu Chi?
Almost 100 miles on several levels
What would some tunnels contain?
Hospitals, fuel, weapons
How did American’s initial try to deal with VC tunnels?
Sending tunnel rats down to destory the tunnel eg by planting mines and blowing them up
What was a tunnel rat?
A US soldier that was small enough to fit into the VC tunnels and who would go down there explore them and destory them
What was the US’s eventual solution to VC tunnels?
Theu buldosed over any entrances that they found so they wouldn’t be secret
Why were the first advicers a problem?
Theu thought in terms of battles and not winning the hearts and minds of the people
Theu often caused a lot of damaged with a lot of collateral damage
By 1965 what was there no of in Vietnam?
US ground troops
There were advisers and Green berets but no acutual soldiers
When was operation Rolling thunder given the green light?
Febuary 1965
What happened in Febuary 1965?
Rolling thunder was given the green light
What was rolling thunder?
A bombing campaign over North Vietnam
It began slowly - didn’t target Hanoi or the Haiphong port or placed near the China boarder.
What was happening at the Haiphong port?
Where a lot of USSR and Chinese supplies was comming from
What did the Military in Vietnma want from Operation Rolling thinder?
Fast heavy bombin of the North Including Hanoi
What places did Rolling thunder target?
Ho Chi Minh trail
The little industry in North Vietnam
What did the planes in Rolling thunder drop?
Napalm
Pineapple bombs
What was Napalm?
A slow burning petrol mixture that sticks to skin, and forest that burns things (through the bone of people)
What was a pineapple bomb?
Canisters that expolde and shoot pellets everywhere, like bullets
When were the first bombs on rolling thunder dropped?
2nd March 1965
What day did Rolling Thunders stop for?
Christmas 1965
When did Rolling thunders stop of the first time?
January 1966 when the 2 sides were negotiating
When did Rolling thunder continue again?
After the negotiations failed
What happened to Operation Rolling Thunder after the negotiations failed?
The targets that could be bombed were increased
When did Rolling Thunder stop altogether?
the end of 1968
What demonstrates hiw well the VC tunnels were hiden?
A US base was made on top of one, there was an attack from inside with no sign of a break in, this would have scared american soldiers
What were the effects of Operation Rolling Thunder?
Caused damage to to Ho Chi Minh trail - but there were ways around it
Destroyed industry - but must supplies was made in China or the USSR
Caused a lot of destruction but it only made the US more unpopular in Vietnam and the whole world
Aid from China and the USSR wasn’t targeted
How much did aid sent by the USSR increase during Rolling Thunder?
1965-67 (Rolling thunder ended in 1968)
$210 million to $505 million
What was a byproduct of Rolling Thunder?
More airbases were built leading to more attacks on them by the VC
Who asked for US troops in Vietnam?
Why?
General Westmorland
To protect the US airbases