Vietnam Flashcards
What VC tactics were used in vietnam conflict
Hit and run attacks/ambushes
Sabotaging roads & bridges
Hovered around US troops
Used complex tunnel network
Dressed like ordinary Vietnamese people
Propaganda used effectively
Ambush traps
Light weapons & equipment
US Tactics used in Vietnam
Operation Rolling thunder
Search and destroy
Operation Cedar falls
Operation Ranch Head/Chemical warfare
What was operation rolling thunder and the consequences of it
It was a bombing campaign over north vietnam
Targeted HCM Trail and industry
Caused lots of damage to the trail & industry
Thousands of civilians killed -> bad for public opinion at home
What was the tactic “search and destroy” and consequences of it
US solders searching “jungle” for VC camps or helicopters and bomb or spray chemicals
The spraying harmed ordinary people living in vietnam and turned them against the US
Reasons why were US tactics so ineffective
Failure to do enough damage to the Vietcong
The VC soldiers were very hard to find
War cost the US dearly
The tramua given to the vietnamese people and soldiers
Criticism on the war back home
How did the students part of the counter-culture
- sit-ins
- boycotts
- protest demonstrations
- marches
-strikes
Did media coverage of the vietnam war change views back home
Yes
Why did political opposition to the war increase
- many politicians were pacifists
- many politicians saw reputation war as unwinnable
- the war affected us relations abroad
- the war cost the us $167 billion
What was operation randh hand/chemical warfare
Kill crops which would make findibg US crops easier
Over 3,000 villages sprayed, civillians evacuated
Poisoned water supplies and soil which resulted in serious healthy problems
Bombing and invasion of Cambodia (970)
US secretly bombing Ho Chi Minh Trail in Cambodia
US and ARVN invaded to save Cambodia from Khmer Rouge communist guerillaa
Invasion of Laos (1971)
US provided air support for ARVN invasion of which 21,000 troops were sent to defeat communist groups
North vietnamese gathered 36,000 troops
Strengths of north vietnam
North/South Viet had been a country. Both sides wanted them to become a country again. This proximity gave them advantages
North understood the landscape, climate & language of the South
North viet had $3 billion of financial aid from China
Weaknesses of USA in vietnam conflict
Little grasp of what the vietnam was like
Did not understand that villagers didnt want to lesve their land
Didnt realise villagers couldn’t read
What was the strategic hamlet program
Diem setting up large new villages with facilities such as schools & clinics. Barbed wire was built around the villages and also guarded by ARVN
Why did Strategic Hamlet program fail
USA & Diem’s government ignored the fact that villagers didnt want to leave their homes
Diem’s government failed to provide foood to the villagers so they starved
Got little support
