US Active Involvement in Vietnam Flashcards
What were the failures of the strategic hamlets programme?
- Many Vietcong infiltrated them anyway
- US troops even burned down villages to force villagers to relocate
- Many joined the Vietcong (300% increase in 2 yrs) out of hatred for the US
How did Kennedy escalate involvement in Vietnam without using the military?
Sent more military advisors, started strategic hamlets programme, sent 1000 military advisors
What was the strategic hamlets programme?
An effort to stop the spread of communism across Vietnam. Involved forcibly moving South Vietnamese villagers into fortified hamlets, which was unsuccessful
What were the successes of the strategic hamlets programme?
- Planned to teach self-defence classes
- Would protect S.V from the Vietcong
- Easier to locate Vietcong
What was the main goal of strategic hamlets?
To prevent Vietcong spreading communism through S.V rural populations and to win the support of the Vietnamese people
When/what was the Gulf of Tonkin incident?
- 1964
- A ship called the USS Maddox was spying on N.V
- It was attacked by N.V torpedo boats (seen on RADAR, doubted if was actually an attack or a mistake)
- Congress gives Johnson emergency powers to take necessary action against North Vietnam (resolution)
What/when was Operation Rolling Thunder?
1965
A massive bombing campaign against N.V., used chemical warfare such as Agent Orange and napalm
What was the Ho Chi Minh trail?
A trail that supplied the Vietcong with soldiers, weapons, and supplies.
At first bikes were used, then USSR trucks
Went through Laos and Cambodia - neutral countries that the US couldn’t attack
How successful was Operation Rolling Thunder?
- Supplies had to be diverted away from Vietcong + focused on reconstruction
- N.V volunteers repaired roads, bridges, etc. quickly
What were the goals of Operation Rolling Thunder?
- Destroy N.V’s military capabilities
- Demonstrate the US’s firepower
- Encourage the N.V to stop the war
What tactics did the Vietcong use?
- Didn’t wear uniforms
- Cells (no soldier knew the whole plan)
- Ho Chi Minh trail (6 weeks)
- Underground tunnels
- Booby traps (morale)
What tactics did the US use?
- Search and destroy
- Operation Rolling Thunder
- Defoliants
What/when was the My Lai massacre?
1968
500 innocent S.V were killed by US troops in a search and destroy mission
What was the capital of North Vietnam?
Hanoi
What was the capital of South Vietnam?
Saigon
What was the impact of My Lai?
- The US government covered it up for a year before the photographer released the photos
- Decreased trust in US government
- Increased opposition to war after seeing effect on soldiers’ mental health
What were the causes of My Lai?
- Soldiers were paranoid that any Vietnamese person they encountered were Vietcong
- Many had watched friends be killed by Vietcong, and wanted revenge
- Under immense stress that an ambush could happen any moment
What were search and destroy missions?
Locating Vietcong and killing them
Some US soldiers burnt down villages in ‘zippo raids’
Difficult to tell who was Vietcong
What happened at Kent State University?
- 1971
- Students protested against Nixon’s widening of the war into Cambodia (neutral country)
- 4 students were shot dead by National Guard
- Photo of Jeffrey Miller who had been killed was used in newspapers
- Increased opposition to war
What/when was widening the war?
- Nixon ordered bombing over Laos and Cambodia to destroy the Ho Chi Minh trail
- When this proved ineffective he sent 50,000 US troops into Cambodia to block the trail in 1970
- Encouraged communists in Cambodia (Khmer Rouge) and caused civil war
