Vietnam Flashcards
1
Q
When were elections planned in Vietnam?
A
1956
1
Q
What was planned for 1956 in Vietnam?
A
Elections to reunify the country.
2
Q
When was the NLF set up?
A
1960
3
Q
What did the Americans call the NLF?
A
Vietcong
4
Q
What was Diem’s government made up of?
A
Rich, Christian landowners
5
Q
When did the French rule of Indochina come to an end?
A
1954
6
Q
When did Diem refuse the election?
A
August 1955
7
Q
What did the military do in 1956 in North Vietnam?
A
Put down a revolt, about 6000 killed.
8
Q
How many fled from North Vietnam in 1956?
A
1 million
9
Q
Who advised Ho Chi Minh on his collectivisation programme?
A
China
10
Q
John Foster Dulles admission about Diem
A
Supported him because “we knew of no one better”
11
Q
Diem nepotism
A
His brother was prime minister.
Many family members government positions.
Large amounts of US aid for agriculture was given to family + officials.
12
Q
When did Diem visit USA?
A
1957
13
Q
What did Eisenhower term Diem?
A
The miracle man of Asia
14
Q
When was NLF established?
A
1960
15
Q
What does NLF stand for?
A
National Liberation Front
16
Q
What did Diem replace?
A
Councils with powerful officials (mostly Catholic)
17
Q
What were the two groups in the NLF?
A
Communists
Nationalists - also wanted to be rid of imperialists
18
Q
Who led the NLF?
A
Tho
19
Q
Where was the NLF in 1960 when established?
A
South Vietnam, to liberate.
20
Q
Benefit of Ho Chi Minh using the NLF instead of an army in 1960?
A
Presented as resistance movement - did not contravene Geneva Conference agreement that North couldn’t place forces in South.
21
Q
What is to note about the NLF manifesto?
A
Mostly nationalist instead of ideological.
22
Q
How much did USA give to French from 1950?
A
$1 billion a year
23
Q
By 1953-54 what % of French war effort were the USA paying for?
A
80%
24
Where was the French catastrophic defeat in 1954?
Dien Bien Phu
25
What religious group did Diem persecute?
Buddhists
26
When was the Buddhist crisis?
1963
27
When were the Geneva Peace Accords?
1954
28
What % of the country did Eisenhower think would vote communist in 1956?
80
29
What did Eisenhower send to Vietnam?
'Advisors'
30
What % of the country was Buddhist?
70
31
What policy did Kennedy initally implement in Vietnam?
Strategic Hamlets
32
How many troops did Kennedy send to vietnam?
33
What does Ho Chi Minh translate to?
Bringer of light
34
Notable important thing about 1956 prevention of elections
It was the US!!!! Especially John Foster Dulles
35
Evidence for sham election in 1955
Diem claimed 605,000 voters in Saigon for him. There were only 450,000 people...
36
What did the US insist upon in 1961?
South Vietnam allowed them to have a share in decision making for more aid.
37
How many special advisors were deployed in 1961?
400
38
Who visited Vietnam in 1961?
Johnson (vice president)
39
By the end of 1962, how many advisors in South Vietnam?
9000
40
What did the Kennedy administration go to considerable lengths to do?
Cover up their involvement
41
Late 1962, how many NLF members?
300,000
42
Early guerilla warfare victory
Battle of Ap Bac - Jan 1963
South Vietnam outnumbered NLF 10-1
NLF decisive victory
43
When did Mansfield visit Vietnam?
1962
44
Conclusions of Mansfield
Very little progress since last visit in 1955
45
What was McNamara planning in mid-62?
Withdrawal of troops once they had trained ARVN
46
What was the Strategic Hamlet program in reality.
Forced relocation
47
Extent of strategic hamlets
3000, with four million people
48
3 reasons strategic hamlet program failed
1 - Vietcong targeted officials, not peasants
2 - Almost impossible to prevent NLF agents entering the hamlets
3 - corrupt officials took supplies
49
Who became Archbishop of Hue?
Thuc, Diem's brother
50
Buddhist flag thing
Catholics encouraged to display papal flags
Next week buddhists banned from flying flags for Buddha's birthday
1963
51
Military treatment of crowd 8th May 1963
Fired into crowd to prevent them listening to speech by Buddhist leader - Tri Quang
52
Famous monk self-immolation
Quang Doc
53
How did Nhu's wife respond to burnings?
"Let them burn, and we shall clap our hands"
54
What did Khrushchev give a speech about in January 1961?
His support for wars of national liberation
55
When did CIA start arming tribes in Laos?
1961 - No public knowledge!
56
How did the US pressure Diem?
Cut off funds to Nhu's special forces.
Suspended commodity export program.
57
When was the fake coup that turned into a real coup?
1st November 1963
58
What happened to Diem and Nhu?
Brutally murdered
59
What had the CIA done throughout the coup?
Kept contact with plotting generals
60
What did Lodge (ambassador to SV) admit about coup?
Vietnam affair
Could not have been initiated without USA
61
How could Kennedy's involvement be analysed?
Middle ground, flexible response, had not defeated the NLF but emboldened them. The situation was more dangerous than in 1961.
62
What did Johnson initally view Vietnam through the lens of?
1964 election
63
What did Johnson initially want when he became president (vietnam)?
Win war fast but without it becoming Americanised
64
How much military in Vietnam when Kennedy dies?
16,000
65
Johnson approach until Gulf of Tonkin
Continued counterinsurgency
OPLAN 34A - "progressively increasing pressure"
Increased advisors to 23,000
Did not seek any negotiations
66
When was Gulf of Tonkin?
August 1964
67
What did South Vietnamese ships do 30th July 1964?
UNDER USA DIRECTION
Shelled 2 north vietnamese islands
68
What US ship was in gulf of tonkin?
USS Maddox
69
What happened 2nd August 1964?
North vietnamese ships fired torpedoes at USS Maddox in Gulf of Tonkin. US planes destroyed one ship and damaged 2 more.
70
What did Johnson order on 4th August 1964?
Bombing of NV naval bases
71
What was the law that gave LBJ full control?
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
72
What did Gulf of Tonkin resolution do?
Gave LBJ the power to take any action in Vietnam without consulting Congress.
73
What did NV do following GOFR?
Drastically increased efforts
74
Why was ARVN in a bad state in 1964?
Poor training, wages, and leadership.
75
Communist support for NV in 1964
China agreed to provide military supplies.
USSR set up diplomatic links with NLF
76
When did first PAVN forces move down Ho Chi Minh trail?
Late 1964
77
What was the PAVN?
People's Army of Vietnam
78
Failure of naval base bombing campaign
Bolstered Anti-American sentiment
79
Possibility of 1964 negotiations
UN offered to arrange talks
Canada offered to arrange talks
NV sent subtle indications of willingness
US firmly rejected
80
Post GofTR plan of US
Armed recon + graduated military response
81
2 examples of 1964 VC aggression to US
November - attack on US airbase kills 4
Christmas Eve - plant bomb in US bar
82
What caused Johnson to initiate Rolling Thunder?
VC attack on Pleiku helicopter base in February 1965
83
When does Rolling Thunder begin?
March 1965
84
When does Rolling Thunder end?
October 1968
85
What marked start of Americanisation?
Rolling Thunder in March 1965
86
In 1966 what was bombing expanded to?
NV's oil storage facilities
87
What % of NV's oil storage was destroyed by rolling thunder?
70%
88
2 failures of rolling thunder
NV agricultural landscape
Northern infiltration increased (one of the main aims was to prevent this)
89
1965-67 difference in northern infiltration
1965 - 35,000
1967 - 90,000
90
When were first US ground troops deployed?
March 1965
91
How many US ground troops by end of 1965?
180,000
92
How many ground troops by 1968?
536,000
93
What did Johnson escalation cause?
Resolve of North Vietnamese to strengthen against imperialist invaders - nationalism
94
Who was commander of North Vietnamese forces?
Giap
95
By 1967, how much supplies arriving to SV?
1 million tonnes a month
96
Why were helicopters used so much?
Allowed troops to be delivered to exact locations without ambush.
97
What was Westmoreland's approach?
War of attrition - essentially pound at enemy however they could until victory won.
98
Fact about extent of bombing
More bombs fell on Vietnam than bombs used in entirety of WW2
99
Explain the replacement problem
Whatever resources NV lost, they were just replaced by China and USSR
100
Operation Ranch Hand
Kennedy policy from 1962
Spraying chemicals
101
Agent orange
Destroyed trees, caused terrible deformities in children
102
Agent blue
Sprayed over crops to starve into submission. Alienated vietnamese peasants
103
Pineapple Bombs
Sent thousands of pellets flying everywhere. Harmed many civilians
104
Napalm
Indiscriminate air attack. Gel set on fire. Famous example is Kim Phuc
105
Effect of US chemical weapons attacks
Reinforced idea of US as an evil enemy. Alienated the peasants.
106
What was the US destroy tactic
Search and destory
107
Negative effects of seach and destroy
Success measure in body count.
Food supplies and civilians murdered.
108
What was commendable about the Vietcong?
Modelled on Mao's forces.
Aimed to not destroy land/crops and treat peasants well - won support and recruits.
109
What did the failure for the people to rise during Tet offensive show?
South Vietnamese peasant support was not guaranteed
110
When was the Tet Offensive?
January-February 1968
111
South Vietnamese leader in 1968
Thieu
112
Issue with Tet communication
36 hours
South Vietnamese failed to communicate this effectively, thought it would end later
113
NLF diversionary tactic before Tet
Attacked US base Khe Sanh
10,000 NV died. 500 americans.
US diverted resources including 6000 troops
Westmoreland wanted to use nukes
US believed this was the anticipated offensive
114
What day did Tet offensive start?
30th January 1968
115
Was Tet a success or failure?
Failure
25,000 VC killed
Failed to cause an uprising
116
What significant location was attacked in Tet?
US embassy
Falsely reported for a short while in US that it had been taken
117
What did VC capture from Hue?
Significant amount of ARVN weapons?
118
Who gave a famous broadcast following Tet?
Walter Cronkite
119
Message of Walter Cronkite in 1968
US not facing defeat but it was a stalemate. They should get out.
Johnson announces not running 33 days later
120
What kind of defeat was Tet for USA?
Psychological
121
Johnson's new Secretary of Defense in 1968
Clark Clifford, advised de-escalation post Tet
122
Post-Tet, what % of US thought getting involved was a mistake?
49%
123
What psychological policy failed?
Winning hearts and minds
124
October 1967 protest
Washington DC
100,000. MLK gave a speech
125
What did Johnson's tactics fail to adapt to?
Guerilla warfare, just persisted with attrition
126
When did first preliminary peace talks begin?
May 1968, went badly
127
When does Nixon become president?
January 1969 after 1968 election
128
What phrase did Nixon use?
Peace with honour
129
What did Nixon seriously consider when he entered office in 1969?
Ramping up the war
130
2 reasons Nixon did not ramp up war when he entered office
1 - domestic opposition
2 - desire for rapproachment with USSR/China
131
Madman Theory
Something Nixon admin actually promoted.
Nixon was impulsive and hardline enough that he could actually use nukes.
132
What theory did Nixon administration promote?
Madman Theory
133
Name for Nixon's Vietnam policy
Vietnamisation
134
Dual steps of Vietnamisation
1 - US withdrawal
2 - Strengthening of SV military machine
135
Increase in ARVN size 1968-1970
1968 - 820,000
1970 - 1 million
136
When were the Chicago 7 prosecuted?
1969
137
What threat did Nixon send to Ho Chi Minh personally?
If progress wasn't made by 1st November 1969, then he would resort to force.
138
1969 NSC plans
Duck Hook
Massive bombing of cities and tactical nukes
139
What were the 1969 NSC plans called?
Duck Hook
140
What plan did Nixon abandon in late 1969 and why?
Duck Hook
Hanoi stood firm.
141
When did Vietnamisation start?
Late 1969, speech in November
142
How many students went on strike?
4 million
143
How can we say Nixon failed at honour?
Actions internationally condemned
144
Change in US deaths pre and post vietnamisation
17,000 in 1968
2500 in 1971
750 in 1972
145
What likelihood fell due to Vietnamisation?
A US soldier became less likely to die, because US soldiers put on front line less
