Vietnam Flashcards
Vietnam war
1945-1975
communist leader of North Vietnam
> wanted to unite North and South
> supported Vietcong in South
ho chi minh
president of South Vietnam
> strongly anti-communist
> brutal & unpopular leader
ngo dinh diem
National Liberation Front - communist guerilla soldiers fighting to overthrow Diem
vietcong
USA wanted to CONTAIN stop spread of communist in the world
policy of containment
Strategic Hamlet Program
> extensive security campaign called the Strategic Hamlet Program. The object of the program was to concentrate rural populations into more defensible positions where they could be more easily protected and segregated from the Viet Cong
1962
- isolate peasants from Vietcong (southern rebels)
- put them in compounds
- alienated villagers
- meant to avoid killing our allies
strategic hamlet program
Strategic Hamlet Program failed :
The Strategic Hamlet Program was unsuccessful, failing to stop the insurgency or gain support for the government from rural Vietnamese, it alienated many and helped and contribute to the growth in influence of the Viet Cong.
1963
Who did Ho Chi Minh send to South Vietnam to back up Vietcong?
NVA > North Vietnamese Army
gulf of tonkin
august 1964
LBJ ordered bombing of North Vietnam
1965
vietcong guerillas were helped by local people, but most of their supplies came down?
ho chi minh trail
war relying on the latest technology, including B-52 bomber planes, helicopters & chemical warefare
- also used “search and destroy” tactics
high-tech war techniques
Operation Rolling Thunder
february 1965
How did the USA measure their success in Vietnam?
body count
A war based on wearing the other side down by constant attacks and heavy losses
> General Westmoreland planned to kill so many Vietcong and NVA personnel that communists would give up
war of attrition
Napalm > weaponized mixture of chemicals designed to create a highly flammable and gelatinous liquid.
Agent Orange > tactical herbicide the U.S. military used to clear leaves and vegetation for military operations mainly during the Vietnam War. Veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange may have certain related cancers or other illnesses.
Agent Blue > tactical herbicide
aspects of operation rolling thunder
tet offensive
1968
my lai massacre
march 1968
President Richard Nixons strategy for ending U.S involvement in the vietnam war, involving a gradual withdrawl of American troops and replacement of them with South Vietnamese forces
vietnamization
Nixon ordered invasion of Cambodia & Laos
> aimed to disrupt Ho Chi Minh Trail & destroy Vietcong bases
1970 & 1971
Kent State University > American students shot dead by police in demonstration (brought war home - US citizens saw the extent to which govt would go)
1970 - university protests
Geneva Accords
> Geneva Agreements were signed. As part of the agreement, the French agreed to withdraw their troops from northern Vietnam. Vietnam would be temporarily divided at the 17th parallel, pending elections within two years to choose a president and reunite the country.
1954
Vietnamization
1969-1975
