Vietnam Flashcards
Ruled ‘Indochina’ from late 19th century
France
took control of vietnam during WW2
Japan
Vietminh
anti-japanese underground resistance movement led by communist Ho Chi Minh
Vietminh goals
-not a communist movement
-anti-imperialist + committed to independence
2 Sep 1945
Vietminh drove japanese out and declared vietnam independent
french response 1946
refused to acknowledge independence + reoccupation in 1946 caused war
french-indochinese war
1946-1954, guerilla tactics made them impossible to beat.
french casualties
over 90,000
french defeat
battle of Dien Bien Phu 1954
1954 geneva agreement
split vietnam along 17th parallel into 2 independent states. demilitarised zone between them + plans for unity elections
north vietnam leader 1954
Ho chi minh (communist) + Vietminh
south vietnam leader
Ngo Dinh Diem (pro west, capitalist, democratic)
US financial aid to france
Truman gave $23 mil to French at outbreak of war, $785 mil in total - 80% of costs
(truman doctrine)
Ngo Dinh Diem
leader of south, supported by US with $1bn aid + military advisors (domino theory). rich catholic - alienated from poor buddhist population
southern govt. corruption
accused of corruption, torture, repression (puppet state).
-refused unity elections
-postponed land reforms
-fraudulent referendum to solidify power
Vietcong
Diem labelled NLF ‘Vietnamese commies’ - Vietcong.
-plainclothes insurgents
National Liberation Front (NLF)
N. attacked S. after failure to hold unity elections in 1959. NLF est. by Ho in south: communist dominated alliance committed to unity and anti imperialism/foreign influence
ARVN
South vietnamese army
nature of the war
war of national liberation not communist uprising - US ‘Imperialist’
-failure by US to understand nature of the war
‘safe’ villages
peasants moved to ‘safe’ villages by Ngo as VC largely in countryside - essentially concentration camps
% of countryside controlled by VC
40%
Diem’s policies
-increasingly dictatorial + resented
-favoured min. catholics over maj. buddhists
-buddhist monks banned from flying flags on buddha’s birthday –> protests
thich quang duc
monk that set himself on fire as protest against repression of religious freedom
diem overthrown
diem seen as obstacle to winning war, overthrown in military coup in 1963 + assasinated by group of generals
-S. vietnam failed state
tran le xuan quote (ngo’s sister in law)
‘if the buddhists wish to have another barbecue, i’ll gladly supply the gasoline and a match’
domino theory
belief that if one country in a region fell to communism, the other states would follow
-if vietnam fell so would laos, cambodia, thailand, burma, indonesia, india
-believed by eisenhower, JFK, LBJ
US financial aid to south 1955 - 1975
$28bn in financial aid (war effort + generic economic aid)
-if south became wealthier they would be less likely to fall to communism
-money often taken by corrupt leaders
green berets
troops sent by eisenhower to advise the vietnamese army. reluctant to commit openly to battle
no. green berets by 1960
900
no. green berets by 1963
increased to 16,000 by JFK
22 Nov 1963
JFK assasinated, despite plans for withdrawal of 1000 troops
gulf of tonkin incident (2 aug. 1964)
-2 aug 1964: gulf of tonkin off coast of vietnam, USS maddox fired on N. vietnamese vessel (believed threat)
-3/4 aug Maddox + USS Turner Joy thought they were under attack again (confusing info on radars)
gulf of tonkin credibility
conflicting evidence for reliability of claims
-LBJ - ‘those dumb sailors were shooting at flying fish’
gulf of tonkin resolution (7 aug 1964)
passed unanimously by congress 7 aug, authorising ‘the president . . . to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the US and to prevent further agression’
-essentially decl. of war
- ‘all necessary steps, including the use of military force’
1964 election
-LBJ portrayed as moderate against rep. barry goldwater
-argued that he was not willing to ‘send american boys nine or 10 thousand miles away from home to do what asian boys ought to be doing for themselves’
-won landslide victory
LBJ approval rating 1964
85%
US troops engage
following attack on camp holloway feb 1965 (9 killed)
total number of troops sent to vietnam 1964-1973
2.8 mil
LBJ quote about US involvement
‘let no one think for a moment that retreat from vietnam would bring an end to the conflict. The battle would be renewed in one country and then another. To withdraw from one battlefield means only to prepare for the next.’
LBJ reservations about war
1964 phone call - ‘i don’t think it’s worth fighting for and i don’t think we can get out’
reasons for US involvement
-long term result of truman’s policy of aiding french
-domino theory (stop ‘communist’ takeover)
-gulf of tonkin incident
-US can’t lose to peasant farmers (must escalate)
-credibility at stake (withdraw from vietnam would destroy ally trust)
-LBJ determined not to look ‘soft on communism’ or weak (would cripple support for domestic policies)
-didn’t want to be first president to lose a war
-relied heavily on (bad) advice from military due to inexperience
-very overconfident: ‘that raggedy ass little fourth rate country’
macnamara and rusk
JFKs very anti-communist advsiors, retained by LBJ
search and destroy
US operation where the US searched vietnamese villages for VC and if they suspected any, destroyed the village -> many innocents killed
search and destroy quote
‘if they weren’t vietcong before we got there, they sure as hell were by the time we left’
napalm
flammable liquid chemical that sticks to materials
agent orange
chem weapon used to destroy foliage to clear jungles when searching for VC. also killed crops + caused sever birth defects in children
agent blue
killed rice crops
op. rolling thunder 1965
started as strategic bombing of specific targets in n. vietnam (avoiding cities) but soon moved to blanket bombing, including cities (hanoi)
meant to last 8 weeks but continued for 3 years
civillian casualties from op. rolling thunder
50,000
mothly air raids in sep 1966 (rolling thunder)
12,000 per month
Curtis LeMay
‘we’re going to bomb them back to the stone age’
bombs dropped between 1964 and 1969
more bombs dropped on N. Vietnam 1964-69 than on Nazi germany during WWII
weren’t allowed to bomb within within 40km of chinese border or SAM sites which may have soviet technicians
cold war fears
vietcong tactics
-‘hit and run’ groups
-wear down US forces, destroy morale, provoke them to act against civs. -> further support
-30,000 miles of underground tunnels (tunnel rats)
-constant fear of ambush/booby traps, particularly landmines and spike pits
-punji stakes + snake pits
desertion in US army
1 every 3 minutes
Ho chi Minh trail
trail passing through laos and cambodia used to supply VC. aid provided by china + soviets
how many supplies were brought each day via the HCM trail at the height of the war
60 tonnes
what were the VC like to locals
-courteous + respectful
-helped repair homes/bury dead
-paid for any food or supplies
-used fear + killed anyone who cooperated with US
-campaign of terror against S. govt employees
how many civilians did the VC execute during war for supporting the southern govt.
27,000
Hearts and minds campaign
-US put money into S. Vietnam to improve quality of life + repair damage. built schools, hospitals, roads etc.
-aimed to win support of locals + gain trust
-mildly successful but rural areas less supportive
my lai massacre 1968
15 march 1968, search and destroy mission, US army platoon massacred people of my lai after 2 hours of torture, rape, murder.
how many killed at my lai
500 unarmed villagers, including old, women, children
life magazine my lai
published photos of the massacre 12 months later -> clearest evidence the war had gone wrong
how many people protested across the US in nov 1969
700,000 anti war protestors
average age of US soldiers in Vietnam
19
body count
US measured success with ‘body count’ -> number of people killed
-led to many indiscriminate attacks on civilians
-lies about numbers
- ‘every rifle was a dead VC’
drug and alcohol abuse in late 1960s
15% regularly using heroin, 80% had tried drugs
-30% tried cocaine or heroin
-60% used weed
fragging
around 600 officers killed with hand grenades by their own men
number of people who thought war was a mistake 1965 vs 1967
number of people that thought US had made mistake sending troops to Vietnam rose from 25% in 1965 to 45% in Dec 1967
LBJ visits troops
declares victory is at hand
Gen. Westmoreland quote 21 Nov
VC ‘unable to launch a major offensive . . . whereas in 1965 the enemy was winning, today he is certainly losing’
tet offensive 1968
31 jan 1968, first day of tet (vietnamese new year) VC + N. vietnamese army launched attacks across the south, hitting over 100 places of civ. or military importance (80% of towns and villages in S.V)
how many troops in vietnam in 1968
500,000, in control of all cities
VC killed in 1967
100,000
reasons for tet offensive
-cause collapse of south, believed people would rise up to help overthrow americans
aftermath of tet offensive
-largest attacks in saigon. US embassy breached + 4 killed + radio stations captured
-south back under control within 48 hours
-people did not rise to support communists
-heavy VC casualties
impacts of tet offensive (military)
-US military saw it as a victory -> at least 30,000 VC dead, they never recovered
-US believed they could now win war with more troops
impacts of tet offensive (public opinion)
-saw attack on TV, shocked by reports + images
-destroyed image of US winning war
-assumed US had lied about state of the war for years -> ‘credibility gap’
walter cronkite on tet
‘what the hell is going on? I thought we were winning the war!’ watched by 9 million
impacts of tet offensive (political)
-neg. view of war
-Gen. westmoreland refused further 200,000 troops to ‘finish the job’
-LBJ challenged by anti-war candidates
-advised to withdraw by clark clifford (sec. of defence) and ‘wise men’
-LBJ decided not to seek re-election in 1968
-Nixon inaugurated + promised to end war
LBJ on losing cronkite
‘if i’ve lost walter cronkite, i’ve lost middle america’
anti war slogan
‘hey LBJ! how many kids did you kill today?’
draft dodgers
often wealthy or middle class, applying for deferments on basis of education or medical reasons.
in what ways was the draft unfair
-large numbers drafted were poor, esp minorities
-particularly in african american population
1969 draft lottery
brought in to make system fairer
reasons for student protests
-empathy (most soldiers around college age)
-immoral war (fighting on behalf of corrupt dictatorship)
-part of youth and counter culture movement of late 60s (rejection of values)
teach ins
U. california organised 36 hour teach in against the war. format copied by many others
SDS
students for a democratic society anti war protest group
kent state incident
national guard killed 4 students during protests on 2 and 4 may 1970
-mass protests followed
draft card burnings
1966 students organised mass burning of draft cards in protest
1967 march on washington
christian groups joined movement and 100,000 marched on washington
democratic national convention 1968
10,000 protested in chicago, violently attacked by local police
nov 1968 march on washington
35,000
nov 1969 march on washington
100,000
march 1971 march on washington (VVAW)
300,000 took part in vietnam vets march in washington
VVAW
vietnam vets against the war
-threw medals back into US capital at 1971 march
no. of americans that believed vietnam was a mistake 1965 v. after tet v. 1971
-1965 (25%)
-after tet offensive (58%)
-1971 (72%)
nixons approach to ending the war
‘peace with honor’
pentagon papers
publication in 1971 exposed the flawed strategy of the US army
-revealled secret history of US involvement in vietnam after 1945
watergate scandal
nixon caught attempting to spy on democrats, worsened credibility gap, along with other scandals in nixon presidency + economic/social problems
great society and vietnam (mlk quote)
great society cut to fund war
MLK - ‘the great society was shot down on the fields of vietnam’
% of soldiers that were black in 1967
16%, despite being only 11% of population
% of soldiers that were black in 1968
rose to 40% ( US changed draft criteria)
% of senior ranks that were black
less than 5%
racism in army
-draft inequality
-lack of senior ranks
-racial abuse
-after assassination of mlk some troops dressed as kkk and burned crosses
muhammad ali quote
‘i ain’t got no quarrel with them Vietcong . . . they never called me nigger’
-stripped of world title + banned from boxing
-convicted before supreme court
Gallup poll 1971 for black people against war
83% of african americans opposed war 1971
1968 paris peace talks
after tet offensive, LBJ knew war was unwinnable, reduced bombing + began to negotiate.
paris peace talks start march 1968. lasted for months. LBJ pushed for deal before he left office
paris peace talk demands
-US wanted south to be free from ‘foreign influence’ (communist)
-N. vietnam wanted americans gone
Nixon drama
secretly contacted southern govt + urged them not to make deal + that they would get a better deal if he was elected.
-wanted to reduce support for democratic opponent
-no agreement made + nixon inaugurated
death of ho chi minh
died 2 sep 1969
-lê Duàn leader of s. vietnam
nixon quote
‘win the war and win the peace’
vietnamisation
nixon proposed US would withdraw from active combat + be replaced with ARVN
-would be trained + given necessary eqpt. + money
-would make nixon popular
how many troops left vietnam by 1971
200,000
troops left in vietnam by 1972
fewer than 25,000
Nixon madman strategy
-resumed bombing of north during vietnamisation to put pressure on north to make concessions
-made them believe he could attack with nukes
invasion of cambodia 1970
-VC bases in cambodia to assemble/supply troops
-1969 began secretly bombing these bases
-1970 nixon moved openly, sent 100,000 troops to invade + destroyed north’s network there
-nixon attacked without congress approval
–> opposition
pathet lao
communist forces in laos trying to take over country, supplied by N.V.
invasion of laos 1971
s.v. invaded laos, supported by US bombing - failed, although prevented further attack
-kent state protests in opposition to the invasion of laos + cambodia
war powers act 1973
1973 congress revoked tonkin resolution + passed war powers act
-limited presidents power to deploy troops
paris peace accords
signed 27 jan 1973
-ceasefire pending further negs.
-remaining US forces would withdraw immediately
-communist forces did not have to withdraw but had to commit to disarm
-all POWs returned
when did the last US troops leave vietnam
29 march 1973
end of ceasefire
pres. of s. vietnam, Thieu decided to end ceasefire straight after US left + attacked VC in south
fall of S.V. economy
money spent by US soldiers was gone, congress refused to send aid
fall of saigon
march 1975 north invaded south, southern army collapsed + retreated
-30 april 1975 communists reached saigon + chased embassy staff out of vietnam
-picture of last helicopter leaving
north vietnamese reprisals after fall of saigon
killed 60,000 for ‘crimes against the people’
vietnam and containment
-policy in tatters, showed US could not stop spread of communism
vietnam and domino theory
US actions quickened domino effect, by 1975 vietnam, cambodia, laos all had communist govts.
Vietnam and PR
-PR disaster + public humiliation, defeated by some of the poorest people in the world
US military involvement after vietnam
retreated from direct military intervention in foreign conflicts
-did not commit to full scale ground war until gulf war in 1991
Howard zinn quote
‘when the US fought in vietnam, it was organised modern technology versus ordinary human beings, and the human beings won’
quote about LBJs presidency
Johnson ‘bullied, badgered and brainwashed the US congress during his time as president’
cost of the vietnam war
cost the US around $518bn (9.4% of GDP).
-came as economic boom was slowing + great society also very expensive
-massively increased US public debt + budget defecit
US casualties
58,000 killed
350,000 wounded
vietnamese deaths
between 1-2 million
impact of vietnam war
hugely divisive, opened generational, racial, social wounds
marshall mcluhan quote
‘vietnam was lost in the living rooms of america, not on the battlefields of vietnam’
