Vietnam

Question 1

How was Vietnam organised from 1954?

Answer 1

Following the defeat of the French colonial forces, the country was divided into North and South Vietnam,
NV(led by the Communist Ho Chi Minh)
SV(led by American imposed Diem)

Question 2

Why was President Diem’s government unpopular?

Answer 2

His government was dominated by a Catholic minority who did little to help the mainly Buddhist population.
Diem didn’t help the majority of the country who were poor peasants

Question 3

Where did the VC get their weapons from?

Answer 3

They received their supplies from the government in NV who got them from China and the USSR

Question 4

Why did the USA support Diem’s government?

Answer 4

They believed that if SV also fell to communism then other countries around Vietnam would fall to communism too,
Domino Theory

Question 5

How did involvement increase under JFK from 1961?

Answer 5

The number of ‘advisers’ in SV rose to 11,000.

In 1963 the US decided Diem was too corrupt and allowed an assassination by army officers to take his place

Question 6

What was the result of the Gulf of Tonkin?

Answer 6

When NV torpedo boats attacked US ships in the Gulf of Tonkin in 1964, Johnson had an excuse to increase involvement and congress gave him huge funds to do so

Question 7

How did US involvement increase under Johnson from 1963?

Answer 7

He launched Operation Rolling Thunder

Number of troops increased from 1963 to 500,000 in 1968

Question 8

What are the main reasons the USA got involved in Vietnam?

Answer 8

Domino Theory & containment
Unpopularity of President Diem’s regime in SV
Gulf of Tonkin incident

Question 9

Why was the USA’s superior firepower not effective in Vietnam?

Answer 9

The VC fought a guerrilla war and avoided any large open battles

Question 10

What were VC guerrilla tactics?

Answer 10

Hiding in the jungle and conducting sudden ambushes on US troops,
Laying out booby traps for US troops,
Relying on villagers for support,
Blending in with villagers when needed

Question 11

How did US troops feel about the war and their progress?

Answer 11

It was frustrating:
They rarely encountered any VC,
Their friends were being killed by unseen and indefensible traps,
Villagers refused to help them find VC

Question 12

What new tactics did the USA use to try and win the war?

Answer 12

Strategic Hamlets,
Chemical warfare,
Search and Destroy missions,
Bombing

Question 13

What were strategic hamlets?

Answer 13

The US moved villages to new sites surrounded by barbed wire and constant monitoring, the idea was to control who came in and out so they could find the VC,
However villagers didn’t want to leave as their ancestors bones were there

Question 14

What was Agent Orange?

Answer 14

A defoliant chemical that destroyed areas of jungle and prevented villagers from living in some areas

Question 15

What was Napalm?

Answer 15

A burning petroleum jelly which destroyed jungles & villages containing VC,
However thousands of innocent villagers were also killed

Question 16

Why were new USA tactics still failing to have an affect?

Answer 16

VC continued to receive supplies from NV along the Ho Chi Minh Trail,
They also built extensive tunnel systems to move around under protection from chemical agents

Question 17

How many Vietnamese were killed in total?

Answer 17

300,000 South Vietnamese and 900,000 North Vietnamese & Viet Cong

Question 18

What happened at My Lai?

Answer 18

In March 1968 a unit of American soldiers massacred between 300-400 civilians, mostly women, children and old men.
The incident was investigated by congress who only found Lt William Calley guilty and 12 months after the incident

Question 19

What impact did My Laid have?

Answer 19

It attracted a lot of attention and publicity in America, the revelations shocked the public and showed them what was happening in Vietnam,
Many therefore believed that the war in Vietnam was wrong

Question 20

How expensive was the war for America?

Answer 20

By 1968 the war was costing $30 billion pa,

It’s suggested that for every VC killed by rolling thunder it cost the USA $400,000

Question 21

How many Americans died?

Answer 21

58,202- most of which were under 21

Question 22

Why did the USA fail to win the support of the SV people

Answer 22

US military tactics killed many innocent civilians with things like Napalm,
Over 1.3 million were affected by these defoliants,
Strategic Hamlets angered many Vietnamese people

Question 23

What was the Tet Offensive?

Answer 23

January 1968 Viet Cong fighters attacked over 100 cities and military targets in South Vietnam. They almost captured the US embassy in Saigon

Question 24

How did the Tet Offensive affect public opinion?

Answer 24

Although the US successful re-took many of the towns, it had showed Americans that they weren’t winning the war.
Johnson realised the war couldn’t be won militarily

Question 25

Why did protests increase in America?

Answer 25

Media coverage was showing Americans what was really happening in the war as this was the first televised war.
US casualties also rose to 300 each week which also angered Americans

Question 26

What happened at Kent State University in 1970?

Answer 26

3000 students gathered to protest the war,
National Guardsmen used tear gas to disperse the crows and later fired shots into the crowd,
4 students, 2 of which not involved in the protest, were shot dead

Question 27

How else did people protest?

Answer 27

Burning their draft cards,

Adopting anti war slogans and chants

Question 28

What was Vietnamization?

Answer 28

The process of training the SV army to fight the VC - a policy adopted by Nixon

Question 29

Why did Nixon begin the policy of Vietnamization?

Answer 29

He knew the USA was suffering from the war and they couldn’t win it but he also couldn’t be the president who lost the war and so he planned to gradually withdraw so they neither lost nor won

Question 30

Did Vietnamization work?

Answer 30

To begin with yes, the SV army managed to hold off a major NV offensive,
However following continued fighting in 1974 the USA lost their support in SV and the country fell to communism