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GCSE History > The Vietnam War > Flashcards

The Vietnam War Flashcards

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1
Q

Which two countries had previously invaded Vietnam?

A

Japan and France

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2
Q

How did America support the French?

A

They gave the French $500 million a year to defeat the Vietminh

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3
Q

Why did America support the French?

A

They were fighting against the Vietminh- who were communist

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4
Q

What happened when the French fought the Vietminh?

A

They were eventually defeated in 1954

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5
Q

How was Vietnam divided?

A

Vietnam was divided into North (communist) and South (Capitalist) in 1954

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6
Q

Who was the leader of South Vietnam?

A

The corrupt leader Diem who was bitterly anti-communist, and also looked down upon Buddhists and peasants

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7
Q

Why did the USA support Diem?

A

He was anti-communist

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8
Q

How did the USA support Diem?

A

They supported his regime with about $1.6 billion in the 1950s

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9
Q

Why did support keep rising for the Vietcong rebels?

A

The Vietnamese people were treated with respect by the Vietcong, and their leader Diem was corrupt and did not help them

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10
Q

What happened in 1954?

A

The Americans prevented free elections from taking place in South Vietnam (despite what they had promised) because they feared the communists would win

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11
Q

How long did the Vietnamese war with the French last?

A

From 1946 to 1954 (8 years)

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12
Q

When was Diem overthrown?

A

1963- Diem was overthrown by his own army leaders- but governments that followed were equally corrupt, but still received US support

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13
Q

Who was the leader of the Vietminh and North Vietnam?

A

Ho Chi Minh

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14
Q

Who were the Vietcong?

A

Communist fighters taking orders from Ho Chi Minh, who wanted to liberate South Vietnam

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15
Q

Who was the Vietcong made up of?

A

North Vietnamese fighters and South Vietnamese opponents of the government

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16
Q

How did the Vietcong receive weapons and supplies?

A

The Ho Chi Minh trail

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17
Q

What did the Vietcong start doing?

A

Attacking S. Vietnamese government forces, officials and buildings, attacking American air force and supply bases

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18
Q

Why did the USA not want Vietnam to become communist?

A

Domino theory- if Vietnam fell to communism, surrounding countries would fall. Eisenhower was convinced that China + USSR were trying to spread communism over Asia

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19
Q

What was Kennedy doing by 1962?

A

Sending in increasing numbers of American ‘advisers’ to fight Vietcong

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20
Q

What continued to increase from 1962?

A

Tension between North and South Vietnam and amount of American involvement

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21
Q

How many American troops were in Vietnam by the end of 1962?

A

11,500

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22
Q

How many American troops were in Vietnam by the end of 1964?

A

23,000

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23
Q

When was Kennedy assassinated?

A

1963

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24
Q

Who became president after Kennedy?

A

Johnson- who was much more ready to commit to full-scale conflict in Vietnam to prevent spread of communism

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25
Q

When did full scale conflict begin?

A

8th March 1965

26
Q

How did full scale conflict begin?

A

3500 US marines and combat troops came ashore at Da Nang

27
Q

How many soldiers did the Vietcong have at the beginning of the Vietnam war?

A

170,000 in early 1965

28
Q

What happened at La Dreng Valley?

A

November 1965- Vietcong lost 2000 and US only lost 300- Ho Chi Minh decided to use Guerrilla tactics

29
Q

Why were Guerrilla tactics so hard to fight?

A

Attackers blended with the people, disappeared into the jungle,tunnels or villages, soldiers in constant fear of attacks or booby traps

30
Q

Why did the Vietcong get support from the people?

A

The Vietcong were respectful of villagers and women, helped in the fields and returned what they borrowed

31
Q

What civilians were not respected by the Vietcong?

A

Employees of the government (teachers, police, tax collectors etc) and those co-operative with their enemies

32
Q

How many civilians did the Vietcong kill?

A

Between 1966 and 1971 they killed 27,000 civilians

33
Q

Why did the Ho Chi Minh trail stay open despite S. Vietnamese and US bombings?

A

40,000 Vietnamese constantly worked to keep it open whatever the cost

34
Q

How many Vietcong and North Vietnamese were killed in the war?

A

Approx. 1 million (much higher than US losses); but the Vietcong always had troops available; the fighters believed in what they were fighting for

35
Q

When did the US bombing raids begin?

A

7th February 1965, this was known as Operation Rolling Thunder

36
Q

How long did the air offensive continue for?

A

7 years (1965-1972)

37
Q

How many bombs were dropped on North Vietnam?

A

More than were dropped on the Japan and Germany in the whole of WW2

38
Q

What was the approximate cost (in air warfare) to kill 1 Vietcong soldier?

A

Life magazine (a famous US magazine) estimated it to be approx $400,000

39
Q

What was agent orange?

A

A weedkiller which the US used to destroy the jungle where the Vietcong hid

40
Q

How much agent orange did the US use?

A

Over the course of the war; 82 million litres

41
Q

What two chemical weapons did the US mainly use?

A

Napalm and Agent orange

42
Q

What was Napalm?

A

It was used to destroy the jungle,but also burned through skin to the bone. It killed many civilians and US soldiers too

43
Q

What casualties did the search and destroy missions cause?

A

For every 1 Vietcong weapon captured there was a body count of 6

44
Q

What were search and destroy missions also known as?

A

Zippo raids, Zippo- a lighter used to set houses and villages on fire

45
Q

What was the Tet offensive?

A

A large scale communist attack on over 100 towns and cities in S. Vietnam, attack on US embassy in Saigon

46
Q

Why did the Tet offensive happen?

A

So that the communists could: seize the initiative, break the stalemate, persuade S. Vietnamese people to join them

47
Q

Did the Tet offensive succeed?

A

Not really; they embarrassed the US and appeared daring and brave, but 100,000 Vietcong were killed and they took 4 yrs to recover

48
Q

When did the Tet offensive happen?

A

January 1968

49
Q

When was the turning point of the war?

A

1968

50
Q

When did the My Lai massacre occur?

A

16 March 1968

51
Q

What happened at the My Lai massacre?

A

Between 175 and 500 innocent civilians were massacred by young American soldiers

52
Q

When did footage of the My Lai massacre reach home?

A

Footage wasn’t released until 1969 (the next year) but caused American people to turn against the war

53
Q

Why did the soldiers slaughter people at My Lai?

A

Lt. Calley ordered his men to kill the villagers saying they were all supporting or part of the Vietcong. They were all innocent.

54
Q

Who was punished for the My Lai massacre?

A

Only Lt. Calley who was sentenced to life imprisonment but released after only 3 years despite certainty that he had murdered hundreds of innocent people

55
Q

What did people in America do to protest against the war?

A

Burned draft cards, university protests, Washing demonstration, anti-war songs

56
Q

Why did Nixon get elected?

A

On the promise that he wold end US involvement in the war

57
Q

What was Vietnamization?

A

As American troops left, they were replaced with S. Vietnamese soldiers

58
Q

When did US troops start leaving?

A

7th July 1969

59
Q

When were all US troops out of Vietnam?

A

By the end of March 1973

60
Q

When was a cease fire held?

A

From 1973 (January) to 1974

61
Q

When did the South fall to the North?

A

Saigon, Southern capital fell in April 1975

62
Q

What was the average age of a US soldier in Vietnam?

A

19

GCSE History (10 decks)

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