the vietnam war

Question 1

what was the background to the vietnam conflict

Answer 1

Vietnam was a French colony before it was occupied by the Japanese during WW2. After, it returned to French control, but many Vietnamese people wanted independence. As a result, in the 1950s the French found themselves fighting a war against the Viet Minh - an organisation dedicated to removing foreign imperialist powers from Vietnam.

Worried about the spread of communism in South East Asia, the USA began to support the French war effort in Vietnam.

In 1954, the French were defeated by the Viet Minh at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu. The French had tried to block a communist supply line and set up a defensive system at an army base in Dien Bien Phu. However, the communist Viet Minh forces trapped soldiers inside the garrison for 56 days

The outcome of this defeat was formalised in the Geneva Agreement of July 1954 and temporarily separated Vietnam into two zones: a northern zone to be governed by the Viet Minh, and a southern zone to be governed by anti-communist government led by Ngo Dinh Diem. The Geneva Agreement spelt the end of French control of Vietnam, and the start of a major headache for the USA.

Question 2

why did the vietname conflict worry the usa

Answer 2

-Vietnam was divided into North and South at the 17th Parallel, with the Viet Minh in control of North Vietnam, and a non-communist government in control of South Vietnam.
-The Viet Minh was under the control of the Vietnamese Communist Party, led by Ho Chi Minh, so victory for the Viet Minh was a victory for communism.
-America feared that if Vietnam fell to communism, other countries in South East Asia would fall too (domino theory). They were mindful that the Korean War (1950-1953) had resulted in North Korea becoming communist.

Question 3

who was ho chi minh

Answer 3

President of North Vietnam from 1954 until his death.

His family had resisted the French authorities and been punished for it.
Minh travelled to London and Paris, and became a communist (he even helped found the French Communist Party in December 1920).

He set up the Vietnamese Communist Party in 1930 and League for Independence of Vietnam in 1941, but had to live in China to avoid being arrested.

Question 4

who was Ngo Dinh Diem

Answer 4

at this point
America was operating a policy of containment so decided to give its support to the non-communist government of South Vietnam, led by Ngo Dinh Diem

he was proved an unpopular choice with the Vietnamese people.

He had removed the previous leader in a fraudulent election, in which he had won 600,000 votes in a country with only 450,000 people eligible to vote!

He was a rich landowner in a country of poor peasant farmers.

He was a Catholic and openly discriminated against Buddhists (the majority religion in Vietnam at the time). Some Buddhists, for example the Buddhist monk Quang Duc, burnt themselves to death in protest at Diem’s government.

He was a staunch anti-communist

Question 5

what was the vietcong

Answer 5

Ngo Dinh Diem’s government was unpopular with ordinary Vietnamese people in South Vietnam, and so they began to give their support to another organisation - the National Liberation Front, which was to oppose Diem’s rule, and was eventually to become the Vietcong.

The Vietcong was supplied by communist North Vietnam and its leader Ho Chi Minh. The Vietcong’s message of independence from foreign control and ending the concentration of land ownership among rich landlords made it popular with Vietnamese peasant farmers.

Diem’s Strategic Hamlets policy- 1962. It was to create ‘safe villages’, and to stop the Vietcong from getting their supplies and soldiers from villages. It meant destroying peasant villages near areas held by the Vietcong and forcefully relocating the people. This made him very unpopular with the ordinary people and may have increased support for the Vietcong.

In 1959 Ho Chi Minh declared a war to overthrow the South Vietnamese government and unite Vietnam under communist rule with the support of the Vietcong.
The Vietcong begin to fight a guerrilla war against the government of South Vietnam.

Question 6

why did america become involved in vietnam

Answer 6

The non-communism government of South Vietnam looked in danger of being overthrown by the communist-backed Vietcong guerillas.
America was operating a policy of containment and feared if Vietnam fell to communism, other countries in South East Asia would fall too. This was known as domino theory.

Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy, USA gave millions of dollars to help French in Vietnam, and sent ‘military advisers’ to support Ngo Dinh Diem’s corrupt, anti-communist government. The failure of these two policies had shown that providing money and military advisors to train the army of South Vietnam was not enough.

Force was needed and this meant American soldiers in a combat role.

Ngo Dinh Diem was assassinated in November 1963. South Vietnamese forces overthrew his government, he and his brother were captured and killed. the USA to got involved in order to ensure ‘stability’ and beat back the communist threat.

A dramatic attack gave them the excuse to intervene. In August 1964 the destroyer USS Maddox, an American naval vessel, was attacked in the Gulf of Tonkin, by North Vietnamese torpedo boats. This gave President Johnson an excuse to order attacks on North Vietnam.

Question 7

explain the gulf of tonkin incident

Answer 7

-President Johnson had committed himself to containing communism in Vietnam.
-In August 1964, North Vietnamese patrol boats attacked US vessels in the Gulf of Tonkin.
-The US politicians in Congress were furious. They passed a resolution that allowed US forces to ‘take all necessary measures to prevent further aggression and achieve peace and security’.
-President Johnson now had effective permission to pursue full war in Vietnam.
-8 March 1965, 3500 US marines landed at Da Nang. By 1968, the number of troops was 536,000.

Question 8

how was bombing used in the vietnam war

Answer 8

President Johnson ordered the bombing of strategic military targets in North Vietnam, including air raids on the capital , Hanoi, and bases and supply routes for the Vietcong. This was code-named Operation Rolling Thunder. The USA would drop three million tonnes of bombs in Vietnam - more than all the bombs dropped in Europe during World War Two. However, bombing was highly inaccurate due to the jungle landscape and the lack of industrial targets in North Vietnam.

Question 9

how was escalation used in the vietnam war

Answer 9

President Johnson increased the number of American troops on the ground in Vietnam. In 1965, two battalions of US Marines were deployed to protect military bases at Da Nang. This represented a shift away from ‘military advisors’ to combat troops. In July 1965, Johnson sent another 100,000 troops, and a further 100,000 in 1966.

Question 10

how was air and artillery used in the vietnam war

Answer 10

American troops were sent on patrols, to be supported by air and artillery if attacked by the Vietcong. This demoralised soldiers, who realised they were being used as bait to draw out the enemy.

Question 11

how was search and destory used in the vietnam war

Answer 11

From 1965, the American military began a policy of sending soldiers into the jungle and villages of Vietnam to ‘take the war to the enemy’. This meant soldiers were easy targets for Vietcong guerrilla attacks as the Vietcong were far more at home in the jungle than the American soldiers. This tactic also led to a high number of civilian casualties, destruction of villages and atrocities like the My Lai Massacre all of which damaged the USA’s reputation.

Question 12

how was technology used in the vietnam war

Answer 12

The USA relied on high altitude bombers to drop heavy bombs in North Vietnam. They used jets to dump napalm, a chemical that burnt skin down to the bone, on suspected Vietcong strongholds, and Agent Orange, an ultra-strong defoliant, was used to destroy the jungle cover. Helicopters were used to deploy (search for) and destroy guerrilla combatants. Television propaganda was used in the USA to report the ‘body count’ of estimated Vietcong casualties.

Question 13

how did those part of the vietcong fight

Answer 13

Peasants- Vietcong treated the peasants in the villages with respect, even helped them with their workloads in the fields. They needed the peasants to give them food, shelter and hiding places.
Land that was taken from large landowners would be given to the peasants. The Vietcong encouraged a fear amongst the peasants that the Americans and South Vietnamese would take this land back.
They would frustrate the Americans : retreating when the enemy attacked; raiding enemy camps; attacking the enemy when they were tired and pursuing the enemy when they retreated.

Guerilla- The Vietcong made sure they picked battles they would be able to win. Weapons included daggers and swords, and explosives captured from the Americans to ambush patrols. traps were made from pointed bamboo sticks, mines, grenades and artillery shells. The Vietcong wore no uniform and could not be found in any particular location.

Tunnels existed for them to escape into the jungle. The cells they worked in were very small so that if captured, they could not be tortured for information about others.

Question 14

how did the us fail vietnam

Answer 14

Failure of Operation Rolling Thunder: The bombing campaign failed because the bombs often fell into empty jungle, missing their Vietcong targets. The Vietcong guerrillas knew the jungle and made use of elaborate underground bases and tunnels to shelter from US bombs, and often re-used unexploded American bombs against US soldiers.

Failure of Search and Destroy (My Lai Massacre): Search and Destroy missions were based on poor military intelligence. The tactics used by US troops drove more Vietnamese civilians to support Vietcong. In 1968 American soldiers, searching for Vietcong guerrillas, raided village of My Lai, killing around 300 civilians, The My Lai Massacre severely damaged America’s reputation

Role of the media: Events like the My Lai Massacre were reported in the US press leading many ordinary Americans to question the war. Film footage of US soldiers burning homes and of the effects of napalm all turned public opinion against the war.

Lack of support back home: Americans began to oppose the war in Vietnam. and public figures, like the boxer Muhammad Ali, risked prison because of his refusal to go to Vietnam. people questioned the lengths their government would go to in support of this unpopular war.

Question 15

explain how the vietcong was successful

Answer 15

The Vietcong used the cover of the jungle to their advantage. They fought a hit-and-run guerrilla war against inexperienced American soldiers. The threat of an invisible enemy and hidden traps like punji sticks – sharpened sticks of bamboo which were laid in traps - had a demoralising psychological impact on US troops.

Ho Chi Minh Trail: Vietcong guerrillas were kept well supplied by a constant stream of weapons from the North. These were carried on foot, bicycle and mule along Ho Chi Minh Trail - a jungle trail through the neighbouring countries of Laos and Cambodia and which was bombed by the US Army but never fully disrupted.

Tet Offensive: In 1968, the Vietcong used the cover of the Buddhist New Year (Tet) celebrations to change tactics and launch a massive attack on US-held areas across South Vietnam, including the US Embassy in Saigon. The attack was a success for Vietcong and although they were driven back by the US Army, it showed the Americans that despite all the soldiers, bombs, and money spent in Vietnam, they were not making progress against the Vietcong or communism.

Many historians see the Tet Offensive as a turning point in America’s mission in Vietnam. After it, President Johnson said that if the North Vietnamese launched another attack, Many men will be lost

Question 16

how did the war end with vietnam

Answer 16

In 1968, with criticism of the Vietnam War at home and abroad, President Johnson announced that he would stop the bombing of North Vietnam and that he would not run for re-election the following year. He was succeeded in by Richard Nixon as President of the USA. Ho Chi Minh died in 1969 but it took a few more years for the war to conclude.

Question 17

explain vietnamisation

Answer 17

Nixon was a staunch anti-communist, but he was concerned about the growing risk of nuclear war and wanted to ease the tensions of the Cold War – this was the period of ‘détente’. He set out to improve relations with China and the USSR.

These efforts to ‘manage’ the Cold War and improve relations with the communist powers along with the growing number of American casualties in Vietnam, shaped Nixon’s attitude to the war in Vietnam.

He introduced a policy of ‘Vietnamisation’, also known as the Nixon Doctrine, in a speech on 25 July 1969. This meant building up the armed forces of America’s allies, until they could take responsibility for their own defence.

It meant that the USA was beginning the process of withdrawing troops from Vietnam, while helping to strengthen the South Vietnamese army with the aim of getting it to take over the war against communism.

Question 18

explain what ping pong diplomacy was

Answer 18

The US table tennis team visited China in 1971 for a game of table tennis and was followed by Nixon himself in 1972. Trade between the US and China improved and tensions were reduced. This strategy became known as ‘ping pong diplomacy’

Question 19

why did nixon escalate the bombing campaign in north vietnam

Answer 19

to disrupt the Ho Chi Minh trail and hit Vietcong bases in the neighbouring countries of Laos and Cambodia
and
to force the North Vietnamese to negotiate after initial peace talks (from early 1969 on) broke down

Question 20

explain opposition to the vietnamese war

Answer 20

Around 2.8 million American soldiers served in Vietnam. The conflict affected the whole nation. The period witnessed unrest in others areas of American life – black Americans fought for their civil rights, the Women’s Liberation movement grew and young people protested against the government for a variety of reasons. This coincided with growing opposition to the war in Vietnam.

People started to turn against the war prior to the Tet Offensive, but after it, criticism grew more. There were nearly half a million troops in the country and the cost was about $20 billion per year, yet communists had been successful in taking key positions. The fight to drive them back harmed many civilians and was public – The use of napalm (a chemical that burns the skin) had shocked many, as had public executions and episodes like the My Lai Massacre.

Question 21

explain what the My Lai Massacre was

Answer 21

16 March 1968: ‘Charlie Company’ platoon moved towards the village of My Lai.
Villagers suspected of hiding guerrillas.platoon completed a ‘search and destroy’ mission and to get rid of all houses, dwellings and livestock= told the villagers would be at market.
In tracking ,the platoon had suffered casualties from traps.
Under the command of Lieutenant William Calley, the platoon arrived in My Lai.
The report recorded that 90 Vietcong fighters and 20 non-combatants were killed and one American soldier shot in the foot. The operation was regarded as a success.
-estimated 347 men, women, children and babies killed in the four hours , whilst working in the fields, some inside homes.
A soldier who had served in Vietnam and knew others who had been at My Lai had written a letter to a number of politicians in early 1969, asking them to investigate. This was followed up with Life magazine publishing official army photographs of dead bodies in My Lai.
In September 1969 Lt. Calley was charged with murdering 109 people. soldiers and officers were charged with offences at My Lai, but Calley ended up taking the majority of the blame.
The case got media attention. Calley was sentenced and imprisoned in March 1971. He was pardoned by President Nixon and released in 1974.
In November 1969, 700,000 anti-war protesters went to Washington and protested. Public opinion about the war was starting to turn.

Question 22

explain how students began protesting

Answer 22

Students were one of the key groups who protested against the war. it was also the time of the ‘hippy movement’ . In April 1965, 20,000 people went to the Washington Monument to protest at a rally led by the group ‘Students for a Democratic Society’. By 1967, protests had become more likely to erupt into violence – sometimes the Stars and Stripes flag was burnt. (This was an arrestable offence in the USA.)

At Berkeley, Yale and Stanford universities, bombs were set off. Violence continued to escalate and in 1970 four students at Kent State University were shot dead by the National Guard.

Question 23

explain the kent state university shootings

Answer 23

In April 1970 Nixon announced Cambodia was to be entered to stop the Vietcong profiting from supply lines and bases there.
Many students protested across the country.
On 4 May at Kent State University students protesting were shot at by the National Guard who had been called there to ensure stability. Four students were killed in unclear circumstances.
The media covered events and the nation reacted with shock. Further protests followed – 2 million students in 400 institutions went on strike.

Question 24

what was draft dodging

Answer 24

Young people were hit by the draft which required them to report for compulsory duty in the army. Some young men burnt their draft cards in protest and a number of ‘We Won’t Go’ groups were formed at Cornell and other leading universities. Although the government prosecuted 9118 men for avoiding the draft between 1963 and 1973, about 34,000 draft dodgers were wanted by the police. Many young Americans left altogether, the majority fleeing to Canada.

Question 25

how did the draft affect non students

Answer 25

The draft also affected black people disproportionately – white men at university could defer the draft, but as there were fewer black students, this option of deferring was not open to them. The cost of the war meant less could be spent on social programmes at home to tackle problems like poverty – which again affected the black communities . the Black Panthers and other militant black groups were growing in popularity and media presence – these groups argued strongly against the draft and the war itself.

Question 26

explain what support for the war was like

Answer 26

Though Nixon had spoken of leaving the war in his campaign to become President, once he entered the White House he started to believe that a quick withdrawal might make the USA look weak. In his ‘Vietnamisation’ speech in July 1969, Nixon appealed to the ‘great silent majority’ in America to offer their support to continuing the war so that America could ‘win the peace’ rather than retreat and appear weak.

People who supported Nixon and the continuation of the war included construction workers from the World Trade Centre and so became known as the ‘hard hats’. Together with Wall Street office workers, the hard hats confronted anti-war demonstrators on the streets of Manhattan.

Question 27

what were the paris peace accords

Answer 27

The increasing level of public criticism of the war was a reason for the growing pressure to find a peaceful solution. The financial cost was also a factor, as were world politics – the Nixon Doctrine (1969) showed the President was less interested and would only use US troops if the USA was directly threatened. Nixon was also increasingly trying to work better with the USSR and Chinese – anti-communist battles were less of a pressing concern than they had been when the Vietnam War started.

Question 27

why was there pressure to find a peaceful solution

Answer 27

The increasing level of public criticism of the war was a reason for growing pressure to find a peaceful solution. The financial cost was also a factor, as were world politics – the Nixon Doctrine (1969) showed the President was less interested and would only use US troops if the USA was directly threatened. Nixon was also increasingly trying to work better with the USSR and Chinese – anti-communist battles were less of a pressing concern than they had been when the Vietnam War started.

Question 28

explain the paris peace accords

Answer 28

Date January 1973
USA negotiator-Henry Kissinger,(Security Advisor)
Vietnam negotiator- Le Duc Tho, Member of the Vietnamese Communist Party
Aim-To negotiate an end to the war in Vietnam

Question 29

what were the negotiations that took place at the paris peace accords

Answer 29

In October 1972 Henry Kissinger worked out a peace agreement with the North Vietnamese. However, fearing the Americans were going to abandon him, Nguyen Van Thieu, the president of South Vietnam, refused to sign and the North Vietnamese pulled out of the talks.

Kissinger and Nixon acted as good cop and bad cop through negotiations. Kissinger offered peace terms to the North Vietnamese, while Nixon threatened to launch massive airstrikes if they refused. Nixon mounted huge bombing raids on North Vietnam until, in Paris, the North Vietnamese were forced to sign.

Nixon then told the South Vietnamese President, Nguyen Van Thieu, he had to make peace whether he agreed with it or not, and so he was also forced to sign.

Question 30

explain the outcomes of the paris peace accords

Answer 30

A ceasefire was agreed, and American forces would leave Vietnam. The city of Saigon fell to communists on 30 April 1975. The final hours of the American presence in Vietnam had to evacuate US personal and South Vietnamese civilians to US navy ships in the South China Sea. The signal to head for the helicopters was White Christmas by Bing Crosby playing over the speakers of the US Embassy.

Once American forces were out of Vietnam, the way was open for a communist takeover of the South. In April 1975, the forces of North Vietnam entered the southern city of Saigon and the country was unified under communist leadership.

Question 31

explain the consequences of the us defeat in vietnam

Answer 31

The policy of containment failed . it could not stop the spread of communism. The guerrilla tactics used by the Vietcong and their absolute commitment to the cause, outweighed the Americans -This was added to the disadvantage of the Americans’ lack of knowledge of the enemy and area they were fighting in.
-The policy of containment failed politically. the USA failed to stop Vietnam falling to communism, their actions in the neighbouring countries of Laos and Cambodia helped bring communist governments to power there too.
-Having presented the war in Vietnam as a moral crusade against communism, the atrocities committed by US military in terms of killing and the use of chemical weapons, had tarnished America’s image at home and abroad.
= war cost 58,000 American and 1-4 million Vietnamese lives, affected 700,000 American veterans, cost America over 100 hundred billion dollars, and damaged reputation at home.
-The Russians and Chinese had interest in what happened in Vietnam. Both pumped money and technology into Vietnam to help communist forces. After Vietnam, the policy of containment was replaced by a period of détente, a thawing in the tensions of the Cold War and gradually relations between the USA and the USSR/China improved.