Vietnam Flashcards
What were Vietnam fighting for after WW2?
Independence
Who did the US first back?
France and then South Vietnam under Diem
What did Kennedy criticise Eisenhower for and what did he do due to this criticism?
Allowing the spread of communism so he sent in 17,000 troops by 1963
Who passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution and what did it do?
Johnson, allowed him to intervene in Vietnam as he saw fit
When was Tet Offensive and what was it?
1968, North Vietnamese and communist Viet Cong forces launched a coordinated attack against a number of targets in South Vietnam. The US and South Vietnamese militaries sustained heavy losses before finally repelling the communist assault.
When was the My Lai massacre and what happened?
1968, US troops killed a whole village and this was documented in the press in 1969
How many men, women and children were killed in the My Lai massacre?
347
How many troops were in Vietnam by 1968?
535,000
When was a ceasefire signed in Paris and what followed?
1973, formal peace treaty
When did the Communists defeat South Vietnam, reuniting the country?
1975
What countries also fell to Communism?
Cambodia and Laos
How much money per year did the US spend on the war?
$30 billion
How many American soldiers died in the Vietnam war and how many people were injured?
50,000 died and 300,000 were wounded
When was the Helsinki Agreement?
1975
What was the Helsinki agreement?
USA and USSR agreed to recognise the current national boundaries in Eastern Europe, both agreed to respect human rights
