USA escalate involvement in the Vietnam War

Question 1

Johnson believed in the

Answer 1

domino theory

Question 2

Johnson wanted to

Answer 2

contain communism

Question 3

Johnson wanted a peaceful solution in Vietnam so he could spend money on his

Answer 3

‘Great Society’

Question 4

What was Johnson’s idea of a ‘Great Society’

Answer 4

investing money into USA to improve housing, hospitals and education

Question 5

Johnson was convinced to improve USA involvement in Vietnam by his

Answer 5

advisors

Question 6

What was Operation Plan 34A

Answer 6

When Johnson sent mercenaries to fight in North Vietnam and he ordered US naval ships to spy on North Vietnam from the sea

Question 7

What was the name of the US naval ship involved in the Gulf of Tonkin incident

Answer 7

The USS Maddox

Question 8

On what date did the USS Maddox attack a Vietnamese patrol boat who had followed it

Answer 8

3 August 1964

Question 9

On what date did the Maddox report an attack that had been launched against them by North Vietnam

Answer 9

4 August 1964

Question 10

What was the result of Johnson informing Congress the events of the Gulf of Tonkin Incident?

Answer 10

Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

Question 11

What powers did the Gulf of Tonkin resolution give to the president

Answer 11

Johnson could take any military action he thought necessary to defend South East Asia from communism without askung Congress

Question 12

How long did it take for direct American involvement in Vietnam after the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

Answer 12

Within 6 months

Question 13

When did evidence emerge that Johnson knew that the USS Maddox wasn’t attacked by North Vietnam but whitheld it from Congress?

Answer 13

2005

Question 14

What was the name of the US helicopter base in South Vietnam attacked by the Vietcong and where was it?

Answer 14

Camp Holloway, Pleiku

Question 15

What was the loss caused by the attack on Camp Holloway

Answer 15

helicopters destroyed, 8 US servicemen killed, 126 wounded

Question 16

How did President Johnson retalliate to the attack on Camp Holloway

Answer 16

ordered Operation Rolling Thunder

Question 17

What was Operation Rolling Thunder?

Answer 17

a continuous bombing capain carried about by USA deploying ‘precision bombing’ tactics against government and military targets in North Vietnam

Question 18

Why was Operation Rolling Thunder a turning point in the Vietnam war?

Answer 18

it meant US troops were directly involved in the fighting against North Vietnam

Question 19

What was the aim of Operation Rolling Thunder

Answer 19

lower North Vietnamese morale and force the withdrawal of the government in South Vietnam

Question 20

How long was Operation Rolling Thunder meant to last, how long did it actually last?

Answer 20

8 weeks, 3 years

Question 21

What tactic did Vietcong use

Answer 21

Guerilla tactics

Question 22

what was the supply route that the Vietcong used to get supplies from North Vietnam

Answer 22

The Ho Chi Minh Trail

Question 23

Why did the US never manage to destroy the Ho Chi Minh trail

Answer 23

because it was so successfully hidden in the jungle

Question 24

What was the Vietcong tactic of ‘Hanging on the belts’ of American troops

Answer 24

staying close to US troops as the US were unlikely to bomb their own men

Question 25

How many US soldiers died in VC ambushes

Answer 25

51%

Question 26

What was a punji trap?

Answer 26

A Vietcong booby trap which was a spike concealed in a hole, often with excrament on the end which US troops would fall on and be impaled by

Question 27

What was the average age of American GI’s

Answer 27

19

Question 28

What were Search and Destroy missions?

Answer 28

US marines searched villages and if they found any signs of the Vietcong they would destroy the whole village

Question 29

What were zippo raids

Answer 29

US marines would burn down villages with ‘Zippo’ lighters

Question 30

What did the mental strain and drug taking sometimes lead US troops to do

Answer 30

‘fragging’: murdering superior officers to avoid dangerous mission

Question 31

what were cluster bombs?

Answer 31

bombs which exploded horizontally scattering 600 smaller bombs

Question 32

what was Agent Orange?

Answer 32

a toxic weed killer intended to destroy Vietnamese jungles and expose the Ho Chi Minh trail

Question 33

What was Agent Blue?

Answer 33

a pesticide designed to kill crops and starve Vietnamese

Question 34

What was napalm?

Answer 34

a sticky gel mixed with fuel which would burn at high temperatures

Question 35

Was the US bombing campaigns succesful

Answer 35

No, few Vietcong were killed and they became incrediy unpopular with peasants

Question 36

When was the Tet Offensive

Answer 36

30 January 1968

Question 37

What was the Tet Offensive

Answer 37

a coordinated attack by Vietcong on numerous US controlled towns and cities in South Vietnam. It happened on their New year when a ceasefire between Vietcong and USA had been agreed so it came as a surprised for US troops

Question 38

How did Vietcong prepare for the Tet Offensive

Answer 38

Since September 1967, VC had attacked US airbases, attracting attention away from towns leaving them vulnerable

Question 39

What did Vietcong do in Saigon during the Tet offensive?

Answer 39

took over the radio station and entered the US embassy

Question 40

What did the Tet Offensive make LBJ realise?

Answer 40

USA couldn’t win the war

Question 41

What was the relevance of the US press in the Tet Offensive?

Answer 41

news reports of the fighting were broadcasted in America, making the public realise they had been lied to and USA weren’t succeeding as much as they were told

Question 42

When was the My Lai Massacre?

Answer 42

March 1968

Question 43

Who were the US marines involved in the My Lai Massacre?

Answer 43

Charlie Company

Question 44

How many men, women and children were raped, mutilated and murdered by the US at My Lai?

Answer 44

Up to 500

Question 45

How long did it take for the US press to publish the story of the My Lai Massacre

Answer 45

A year

Question 46

Was anybody brought to justice for the My Lai Massacre

Answer 46

No

Question 47

What was the impact of the My Lai Massacre in America

Answer 47

US public lost even more trust for the army and government, even more people stopped supporting the war