US army tactics Flashcards
what methods of fighting did the americans use?
they fought a high tech war relying on the latest technology, including planes, helicopters and chemical warfare. They also used search and destroy operations
what was operation rolling thunder and why was it begun?
- it was a bombing attack on North vietnamese military and industrial targets like bridges, railways, roads..
- operation rolling thunder started in february 1965. the aim was to end the north vietnamese support for the vietcong
- bombing did not cost as many american lives as ground warfare
- at first cities like Hanoi and haiphong were not bombed because Johnson didn’t want to anger the USSR and China too much by targeting civilians. But later this policy changed and the US began saturation bombing - bombing everything in sight
what is meant by search and destroy?
- army units were sent out into the villages and countryside to search and kill any vietcong they could find
- this led to much brutality against the vietnamese, partly because the US soldiers were so afraid and angry when their friends were killed by the vietcong
- the US army high command measured the success or failure of a search and destroy mission by the body count meaning number of vietcong killed
- s and d missions were backed by helicopters, which were used to carry troops, arms and supplies. helicopters were the best form of transport in the thick rainforests and swamps of vietnam
- helicopters were also used as gunship armed with rocket launchers and machine guns
what did general westmoreland mean by a “war of attrition”?
- he planned to kill so many vietcong and north vietnamese that the communists would give up
- US casualties were always much smaller than thoseof vietcong and north vietnamese army, which was why westmoreland though the USA would win
- however the north vietnamese leaders were willing to accept massive casualties and planned to wear down the US for as long as necessary
what types of bombing did the americans carry out during the war?
- in 1965 selective bombing was carried out during operation rolling thunder, but as the war intensified this was replaced by saturation bombing - meaning dropping bombs on everything
- three times as much explosive was dropped on vietnam as was dropped on germany and japan in the whole of WW2
- the americans also used chemical weapons. they used napalm (jellied petrol) and agent orange (a weedkiller) to burn off leaves and vegetation
napalm could severely injure people and agent orange contained dioxin which poisoned the environment and caused long term effects such as cancers and deformities
what happened in the tet offesive?
the tet offensive started 31st january 1968
an attack by the vietcong and north vietnamese army on more than 100 cities, towns and military base throughout south vietnam, including saigon
it was totally different to the guerilla fighting they and was a surprise attack
the communists expected the people to join them, but the uprisings they hoped for did not happen
ovr 100,000 people were killed
what were the effects of the tet offensive?
On the one hand, the Tet Offensive could be seen as a huge failure for the North Vietnamese and Vietcong
47% of people killed during it were vietcong
5% were south vietnamese army and 2% were US troops, this seems to show it was a massive success for americans but was it…
as a result of what they saw as a failure the north vietnamese agreed to peace talks soon after the tet ended
from now on the north vietnamese army did most of the fighting as the vietcong never recovered from the tet
what were the effects of the tet offensive?
On the other hand, the Tet Offensive was a huge turning point and was a major reason why more and more Americans turned against the war
- before the tet offensive americans had been quite confident about the way war was going. the US media had given the americans back home the impression that the war would soon end
- but, when the news of tt appeared, many americans felt that they had been deceived by the army. vietcong troops were shown inside the US embassy in saigon, which seemed to show that the war could not be won or at leat not for a long time
most americans became convinced that the war had to be ended as soon as possible
tet played a large part in johnson’s decision to give up hopes of reelection
richard nixon promised to end the war and was elected president
what was the my lai massacre and why was it important?
on the 16th march 1968 nine helicopter gunships landed three US troops near the village of my lai
the us troops were on a search and destroy mission and my lai was believd to be a vietcong stronghold
over a 2h period the americans killed hundeds of men, woman and children
the truth about it didn’t come out until 18 months later
americans began to turn against the war - ppl were appalled
