The Vietnam War

Question 1

How was Vietnam organised and ruled from 1945?

Answer 1

Following the defeat of the french colonial forces, the country was divided into NV(led by the communist Ho Chi Minh) and SV (led by Diem)

Question 2

What were the four reasons the USA got involved in Vietnam?

Answer 2

♔Domino theory&Containment
♔Unpopularity of President Diem in SV
♔ARVN’s (south Vietnamese Army) weekness
♔The USA was attacked

Question 3

Why was President Diem’s government so unpopular?

Answer 3

♔His government was dominated by a catholic minority who did little to help the mainly Buddhist population.

♔Diem did little to help the majority of the country who were poor peasants, who increasingly began to support the Viet Cong.

Question 4

What was the domino theory?

Answer 4

The domino theory speculated that if one country in a region came under the influence of communism, then the surrounding countries would follow in a domino effect, such as Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and many more.

Question 5

How did US involvement increase under Johnson from 1963?

Answer 5

Johnson launched Operation Rolling Thunder, which was a mass bombing campaign against NV factories, ports and military bases to stop it supplying the VC.
The idea was that the bombing would be so heavy that troops would not be needed.
However, the bombing was not successful and in fact the number of troops heaving increased from 1963 until 500,000 troops were present by 1968.

Question 6

How did US involvement increase under Kennedy from 1961?

Answer 6

Under JFL the number of ‘advisers’ in SV rose to 11,000/ Furthermore, in 1963, the US decided that Diem was too corrupt and allowed an assassination by army officers to take place.

Question 7

How did US involvement increase under Einsenhower?

Answer 7

…

Question 8

When was Kennedy president?

Answer 8

January 20, 1961 – November 22, 1963

Question 9

When was Eisenhower president?

Answer 9

January 20, 1953 – January 20, 1961

Question 10

When was Johnson president?

Answer 10

November 22, 1963 – January 20, 1969

Question 11

Who were the Viet Cong?

Answer 11

a Communist-led army and guerrilla force in South Vietnam that fought its government and was supported by North Vietnam.

Question 12

Where did the VC get their weapons and supplies from?

Answer 12

The VC recieved their supplies from the government in NV(who were themselves supplied by the USSR and China).

Question 13

How muchof the countryside did the VC have control over by 1963?

Answer 13

40%

Question 14

What was the Gulf of Tonkin incident?

Answer 14

In the Gulf of Tonkin, North Vietnamese torpedo boats supposedly attacked the USS Maddox in the Gulf of Tonkin, off Vietnam, in a pair of assaults on August 2 and 4 of 1964. It was the basis for the Tonkin Gulf Resolution, which committed major American forces to the war in Vietnam.

Question 15

What were the consequences of the Gulf of Tonkin?

Answer 15

This provided the excuse for Johnson to increase US involvement. Congress agreed to give him massive amounts of financial resources.

Question 16

What are guerrilla tactics?

Answer 16

♔Hiding in the jungle and conducting sudden and unexpected ambushes on US troops.
♔Laying out booby traps for US troops
♔Relying on villagers for support, e.g. providing food or hiding weapons.
♔Blending in with villagers when needed- the US troops could not tell the difference.

Question 17

Why were booby traps effective?

Answer 17

The use of booby traps also had a long-lasting psychological impact on Marines and soldiers. The fear of booby traps was so great that units in the field were under stress the whole time. This created severe mental fatigue on both the commanders at platoon level and the individual soldiers.