The Vietnam War Flashcards
Ngo Dinh Diem
- bitterly anti-Communist
- hated by the people
- corrupt regime
How much did the US give to Diem?
$1.6 billion
When was Diem overthrown?
November 1963, by his army leaders
Why did US involvement increase?
- elections were going to be held
- the US we’re worried that the communists would win
- they thought the USSR was planning on spreading Communism throughout the whole of SE Asia
Why did the Viet Cong emerge?
The actions of the anti-Communist government increased support among the peasants for the communist National front (e.g. The Vietcong)
Who was included in the Vietcong?
- south Vietnamese opponents of the government
- lots of Communist North Vietnamese taking orders from Ho Chi Minh
What did the Viet Cong target?
Government officials and buildings
By 1962 the countryside was unsafe for government troops and the Vietcong had started attacking military bases
What was the major turning point for the US involvement?
The assassination of Kennedy, in 1963
Johnson was more prepared to go to war
When was the Gulf of Tonkin incident?
August 1964
What happened at the Gulf of Tonkin incident?
- N Vietnamese patrol boats opened fire on US ships
- in a furious reaction, the US passed the TONKIN GULF RESOLUTION
What did he Tonkin Gulf Resolution state?
It gave Jonson the power to ‘take all necessary measures to prevent further aggression and achieve peace and security’
What was Operation Rolling Thunder?
A gigantic bombing campaign
February 1965
What did Operation Rolling Thunder target?
N Vietnamese cities
Factories
Army bases
The Ho Chi Minh trail
When did the US marines come ashore at Da Nang
8th March 1965
Vietnamese army tactics
- guerilla warfare
- worked in small groups with limited weaponry
- ambushed, set booby traps
- hand-to-hand fighting
How many US casualties were caused by boobytraps?
11%
What percentage of US troops died from hand-to-hand combat?
51%
Vietcong and civilians
- kept the civilian population on their side
- ruthless when necessary
US tactics
- bombing
- Agent orange and napalm
- search and destroy
What was the problem with search and destroy?
- often based on poor intelligence
- many US soldiers were killed in traps
- innocent villagers were punished
The US troops
- at the start, most of the men were professionals
- as the war went on, conscription increased
- the men who went to Vietnam were poorly trained with little motivation
When was the Tet Offensive?
Early in 1968
What happened at the Tet Offensive?
- 100 cities/towns in were attacked by the Viet Cong
- the US embassy in Saigon was temporarily taken by the Viet Cong
What was the outcome for the Viet Cong?
10000 fighters lost so badly weakened
What questions did the Tet Offensive raise for the US?
- 500,909 US/SV troops
- $20 billion annually on the war
- why was the North not defeated?
Media about the Tet Offensive
- most of the media was positive until the Tet Offensive
- the media began to reflect the view that Vietnam was increasingly not worth the trouble
- no censorship of US television- people were horrified by the images of the war
Peace movement in the US
- public opinion turned against the war
- war draining money
- victory was not closer
- racial inequality of USA exposed (30% of African Americans drafted to only 19% whites, 22% of black soldier casualties despite being only 11% of the force)
Anti-war protests
100 protests involving 40,000 students in 1968-70
November 1969, 700,000 anti-war protestors demonstrated in Washington
When was the Mai Lai massacre?
March 1968
What happened at the Mai Lai massacre?
- 16th March, 300-400 civilians killed, mostly women, children and the elderly
- no VC found, only 3 weapons
- report said it was a mistake
What happened to the commanding officer at Mai Lai
- September 1969
- he was charged with murder of 109 people
- 10 other members of company also charged
- August 1971, sentenced to 20 years hard labour
- released in 1974
Ending the war in Vietnam
- reduced bombing campaign against the North
- LBJ didn’t seek reelection as president
- promised to end involvement in Vietnam
- wanted it to not seem like a defeat
How was the US made to not seem weak?
- increased bombing campaigns were used
- the US/SV troops invaded Cambodia, to the outrage of the world
After the war
- after 2 years, SV fell to the Communists
- the Communists finally won in Vietnam
How did the Vietnam war affect Containment?
- now in tatters
- it had failed militarily and strategically
- sped up the Domino effect
- propaganda disaster
