Vietnam 1945-63

Question 1

Who was the leader of the Vietnamese communist party

Answer 1

Ho Chi Minh

Question 2

How much of the french bill for the first Vietnamese war was America paying by 1953

Answer 2

80%

Question 3

Why did the French decide to leave Vietnam in 1954

Answer 3

Dien Bien Phu
Lack of french support
Popularity of Ho Chi Minh
Military genius of Giap
Viet minh

Question 4

How did Dien Bien Phu cause the french to leave in 1954

Answer 4

Military fortification system
French believe that it can be held indefinitely
Viet Minh defeat Dien Bien Phu by dragging artillery guns up the mountains
Leads to french surrender
Acts as trigger event

Question 5

How did the lack of french support cause the french to leave in 1954

Answer 5

Europeans were arrogant about their military abilities
“Yellowing” the french army- replace french soldiers with Vietnamese
Public support declines

Question 6

How did the popularity of Ho Chi Minh cause the french to leave in 1954

Answer 6

Offered key communists ideas e.g. land reform/ social policies
Patriot-Vietnamese first
Beloved by the thee population called “uncle Ho”

Question 7

How did the military genius of Giap cause the french to leave in 1954

Answer 7

Viet Minh Military general
Tactic of guerrilla warfare- hit and run tactics/traps
Viet Minh increased numbers from 250,000- in 1952 there were 2 mill
Use of women- 40,000 female porters- ensured that soldiers loosed rules to maintain hearts andminds

Answer 8

Viet Minh Military general
Tactic of guerrilla warfare- hit and run tactics/traps
Viet Minh increased numbers from 250,000- in 1952 there were 2 mill
Use of women- 40,000 female porters- ensured that soldiers followed rules to maintain hearts and minds

Question 9

How did the Viet Minh cause the french to leave in 1954

Answer 9

1960+ VC
High morale
Long term aid
Some support from other communist countries- Chinese weapons, later soviet air defenses

Question 10

When was the Geneva conference

Answer 10

1954

Question 11

What did the Geneva accords state

Answer 11

1)Vietnam would be divided- communist north/ Diem south
2)Viet Minh would leave S Vietnam
3)10 km demilitarised zone between N+S
4)french would leave S
5)1956 Democratic elections held and vietnam would be reunited
6) no one was able to make a foreign military alliance

Question 12

What of the accords did the us not agree with and what was there actions towards them

Answer 12

5+6
Didn’t sign the accords
1956 elections wouldn’t take place as HCM would win
Creation of seato

Question 13

How were Eisenhower’s policies successful

Answer 13

American troops kept out of vietnam
Rejects French demands for nuclear weapons at Dien Bien Phu
Limited acceptance of the Geneva accords- does send military advisers (700)

Question 14

How was Eisenhowers policies not successful

Answer 14

Wanted to do more but was restrained by congress and Britain
Gave huge sums of military support
Made it difficult for other presidents to change course

Question 15

Who was the leader of S vietnam after 1955

Answer 15

Diem

Question 16

Give three reasons why Diem was unpopular

Answer 16

Corrupt- fraud election results (win 98%)
Nepotism-brother Nguyen( head of the secret police)
Catholic— minority connected to the french, social progression
Weakness of the military- relied on us aid massively

Question 17

How many communists were there in the S by 1959

Answer 17

2000

Question 18

How many advisers were in Vietnam in 1960

Answer 18

800

Question 19

How many advisers were in Vietnam by 1963

Answer 19

16,000

Question 20

What was the strategic hamlet programme

Answer 20

Villagers would be moved to a new settlement and guarded. It was believed that they would be able to identify communists by isolating them

Question 21

How many strategic hamlets were created

Answer 21

3000

Question 22

How many strategic hamlets were under the control of the VC by 1963

Answer 22

2,600

Question 23

When was the battle of Ap Bac

Answer 23

Jan 1963

Question 24

What happened during the Battle of Ap Bac

Answer 24

ARVN forces faced only 350 lightly armed VC fighters. Failed to defeat them showing they couldn’t be relied on and the US would need to intervene

Question 25

Why may have JFK might have escalated the war in Vietnam

Answer 25

Domino theory Personal beliefs Situation in SV Actions of previous presidents

Question 26

What was the Buddhist spring

Answer 26

A large scale protest against discrimination against Buddhists in Spring 1963. At least 9 were killed when the police and army fired at the crowd. Conflict between pro-catholic french and Buddhists- Buddhists religious days were banned and Catholic religious days promoted- riots 1963

Question 27

Who was Thich Tri quang

Answer 27

First Buddhist to carry out self immolation in June 1963- leads to cultural divisions as suicide was a sin in the Christian church

Question 28

When was JFK assassinated

Answer 28

Nov 1963

Question 29

Who assassinated Diem in Nov 1963

Answer 29

Generals of SV army

Question 30

Who was Henry Cabot Lodge

Answer 30

Us ambassador to SV in 1963

Question 31

Details of the us options of withdrawing from the war

Answer 31

Diem had failed to carry out any reform (promised) - perfect reason to leave PROBLEM- WOULD LOOK LIKE FAILURE 1) Kennedy will look weak 2) change in US foreign policy- domino theory Eisenhower Never properly considered

Question 32

Detail of us option of peace in Vietnam

Answer 32

Always the plan- peace talks announced in 1962 BUT: 1)USA believe that they can “win” more advantage given time 2) Hanoi stated that the VC would only negotiate after the US left Very little progress

Question 33

Details of the US option of using the military in Vietnam

Answer 33

Increase in military advisers 800 1960- 12,000 1962- 16,000 Nov 1963 MACV sends supplies including helicopters Ap Bac Jan 1963

Question 34

Details of the US option of reform

Answer 34

Always a key component of US success Need to introduce social and economic reform- ignored Diem Strategic hamlet programme Buddhist spring 1962- many Americans were shocked by the dislike of the Vietnamese towards them

Question 35

Details of the US option of removing Diem

Answer 35

Aug 1963 Cabot-Lodge arrives in Saigon as the new us ambassador Told to act tough on Diem and dislikes him- support for a military coup Kennedy approved the coup- confused circumstances LBJ opposed the coup Diem is warned indirectly by JFK in Walter Cronkite interview Nov 1963 coup took place- Diem+ brother are murdered- Kennedy claimed that he was shocked BUT the USA will be fundamentally tied to the new regime JFK assassinated Nov 22nd 1963

Question 36

When did the first Vietnam war begin

Answer 36

1946

Question 37

What was the domino theory

Answer 37

Eisenhower believed that if one country fell tot he communists its neighbour would also fall like a domino

Question 38

How much of Loas did the communists control by the 1950s

Answer 38

50%

Question 39

What was the name Of the communist party in Loas

Answer 39

Pathetic Loas

Question 40

What did Kennedy sign in Loas

Answer 40

A neutrality agreement. He disliked it as he thought it made him look weak

Question 41

Who was Dean Rusk

Answer 41

Kennedys Secretary of State Believed that Vietnam was a military issue Outsider- not part of the inner circle

Question 42

Who was Robert McNamara

Answer 42

Secretary of Defence Believed in containment Believed in military solutions Part of inner circle

Question 43

How successful was Kennedy

Answer 43

Didn’t send in ground troops Problems in Vietnam only developed in 1963 Allowed the coup to take place Failed the force Diem to provide reforms including land reforms

Question 44

When did Kennedy start peace talks

Answer 44

1962