The Vietnam War

Question 1

Why did the US get involved in the Vietnam war

Answer 1

1. Vietnam had valuable resources such as tin, rubber and petroleum which the US did not want to lose
2. The Truman Doctrine of containment - American foreign policy which stated that the USA would ‘contain’ communism and stop the spread of it through the world
3. Domino Theory - This was an American belief that if one country falls to communism so would another then another in a knock on effect until a whole continent had become communist
4. Attack on the Maddox - The US navy claimed that their ship the Maddox had been fired on by the communists in North Vietnam. This gave them the excuse to send in US troops to Vietnam.
5. The Geneva agreement - In 1954 Vietnam was split into 2 parts, the North was communist under Ho Chi Minh and the south were capitalist under Diem. The American’s try to help the south to keep it capitalist
6. Diem - Created a weak south. He persecuted a Buddhist majority, taxed people heavily and took land from the peasants. Many turned against him and looked to communism as an alternative. The US had to help Diem to keep him in power

Question 2

US tactics

Answer 2

1. Chemical attacks - Napalm - A bomb filled with gelling agent. It would be heated to temperatures of 800 degrees celsius. It would explode and the gelling agent would get on the victims skin. This could do a lot of damage and burn to the bone
2. Strategic hamlet - The US soldiers created fortification around the peasants villages. These were guarded by armed guards. This was to try to prevent the Vietcong from getting help from these villagers. This created hostility from the villagers to the US soldiers as they felt they were being imprisoned by the Americans
3. Agent orange - Weed killer sprayed from US planes to defoliate the jungle and flush out the Vietcong. It got into the water and soil which caused severe birth defects for many Vietnamese children
4. Search and Destroy - US soldiers would helicopter into villages where they suspected the Vietcong to be hiding. The soldiers would search for any hiding Vietcong and any hidden weapons. Once they had searched they would burn down the villages to stop the Vietcong from returning
5. Operation rolling thunder - This was a US bombing campaign targeting military and industrial sites in North Vietnam. They then changed to bombing cities and towns, but it had limited success as it did not stop the Vietcong and the campaign which was supposed to last 8 weeks carried on for 3 and a half years
6. Vietnamization - This was the gradual withdrawal of US troops from South Vietnam, an increase in the number of South Vietnamese troops to replace the US forces, The Nixon Doctrine which was a promise to supply US military equipment to support the South Vietnamese troops

Question 3

Why did the US fail to win the Vietnam war

Answer 3

1. Tet Offensive - This was a series of surprise attacks launched during tet. Many south Vietnamese troops were on holiday when the attacks began and the US military was caught off guards. 500,000 communist troops died in an effort to gain control of the southern part of the country. Although a military loss, the Tet Offensive was a
   stunning propaganda victory for the communists. Many Americans began to
   question military and political leaders who assured them the Vietnam War would be won soon
2. My Li Massacre - This was when a US patrol was carrying out a search and destroy mission. Lieutenant Calley and his platoon wiped out the village of My Lai killing at least 347 men, women, children and babies. Some of the woman had been raped first. The US tried to keep the news of the massacre quiet. In 1969 the US press got hold of the massacre. This shocked the USA public opinion. It was the clearest evidence that the war was going wrong, a large number of Americans either refused to believe it or felt it was justified because the villagers were helping the Vietcong
3. The Vietcong knew the jungle better than the Americans. US troops were not used to jungle warfare
4. The Vietcong did not always wear a uniform. This made it hard for the Americans to identify their enemy. They found it hard to tell who was a vietcong member and who was a regular peasant
5. The Vietcong used guerilla tactics this meant they retreated when the enemy attacked, raided when the enemy would camp, attacked when the enemy tired and they pursued when the enemy retreated
6. Tunnels - elaborate tunnel systems that ran for 250 km underground. The Americans found it hard to infiltrate these. They were used by the Vietcong to house troops, transport, communications supplies, lay booby traps and surprise attacks

Question 4

What were the changing views of the Vietnam war in the US?

Answer 4

1. Many of the soldiers were young and inexperienced
2. Many citizens did not want their soldiers fighting in a foreign land for a country that did not want their help
3. TV was used to broadcast events and showed the people of America the horrors of the war
4. Many disagreed with the number of black soldiers fighting yet they had no civil rights in the US
5. Many soldiers were drafted into the war so had no choice but to fight
6. There was a high body count
7. The wounds suffered by the soldiers shocked many Americans