The Vietnam War Flashcards
What was the background of the Vietnam War?
- Split into North and South Vietnam
- Along the 17th parallel
- Elections were to take place in 1956
- Diem, anti-communist leader was scared he would lose
- Viet Cong started fighting against them
- Received supplies from Ho Chi Minh trail
Why did USA get involved?
- Domino theory: Americans believed that if one country fell to communism other’s near it would fall to it too. SEATO created in 1954 to fight communism in Asia.
- Diem’s weak government: He was corrupt and unpopular. He killed Buddhists and suspected communists. It was evident that his government wouldn’t last without America.
Briefly describe the war under Kennedy
- Limited War (1961)
- Hamlet Program
- Overthrowing of Diem
Explain what was meant by ‘Limited War’
- Kennedy didn’t send troops
- He instead sent 16,000 advisers along with the ARVN
- He also sent Green-Berets to train locals to protect themselves
- Agreed to the use of chemical spraying
Explain what the Hamlet Program was
- USA helped Diem Strategic Hamlets
- These were villages meant to protect the villagers from being recruited and attacked by the Viet Cong
Why did the Hamlet program turn the villagers against the USA?
- Villagers didn’t want to leave their homes
- There wasn’t enough food provided
Why was Diem overthrown?
- He was extremely cruel to Buddhists
- ARVN lost in the battle of Ap Bac
- Villagers may have associated the ARVN with Diem, therefore without him, perhaps they would gain support
Briefly describe under Johnson
- Gulf of Tonkin Incident
- Operation Rolling Thunder
- Search and Destroy
- Operation Ranch Hand
- Guerilla Warfare
- Tet Offensive
Why was the Viet Cong stronger?
- Support from locals
- Support from China and the USSR
- Didn’t like the South’s government
- Well organized
Describe the Gulf of Tonkin Incident
- 4th August 1964
- Maddox and C.Turner Joy were torpedoed by North Vietnamese forces in the Gulf of Tonkin
- No one was sure what happened - it could have been bad weather
- However Johnson believed in the former speculation
- He ordered air strikes
- He passed Gulf of Tonkin resolution which allowed him to send troops into Vietnam
- Started spending $2 million per day
- Approximately 184 300 troops in Vietnam
- Convinced the war could be won quickly
What was operation Rolling Theory?
- Wanted to stop supply from Ho Chi Minh trail
- Aimed bombs towards the Northern area of the trail
- Also aimed at industrial areas
- Used bombs, napalm and pineapple bombs
What were the problems with Operation Rolling Thunder?
- Trail kept being re-built
- No attacks aimed towards USSR and China
- Destruction made USA unpopular
What was Search and Destroy?
Small groups of US soldiers would go into the forest to find VC camps, and the order helicopters to bomb the area.
What were the problems with Search and Destroy?
Troops left afterwards, so it could be remade.
Spraying and bombing hurt villagers which turned them against the Americans.
What was Operation Ranch Hand?
- The USA used chemicals to fight the VC
- Agent blue was used to kill crops
- Agent orange was used to kill forests
