Vietnam War

Question 1

What did both sides want in negotiations to do with the end of the Vietnam war in Paris 1968?

Answer 1

1) The USA wanted South Vietnam to be indepedent and non communist. Nixon had promied to end the war when he was elected in 1968.
2) North Vietnam wanted Vietnam reunified as one country and expected a communist government to be elected.

Question 2

What were huge barriers to agreement in terms of the end of the Vietnam war?

Answer 2

1) Whether to unite Vietnam and how to do so.
2) Who governed south vietnam, the government the US supported, or the National Liberation Front.
3) Tropp withdrawals from South Vietnam.

Question 3

Explain what was talked about at secret peace talks and why they took place?

Answer 3

1) The Paris Peace talks went nowhere, this led to Nixen holding peace talks with China and the USSR hoping to end the Cold War.
2) As a result, North Vietnam feared an end to aid from these countries, and agreed to secret peace talks in 1970.

Question 4

Why did south vietnam refuse to sign the agreement made at the secret peace talks?

Answer 4

1) They refused to sign the agreement due to not being present during the secret peace talks.
2) The north felt that the US was using this as an excuse, which led to a lack of trust on both sides.

Question 5

What were reasons for the US agreeing to peace negotiations?

Answer 5

1) No victory was in sight.
2) Growing anti war feeling in the US and worldwide.
3) Reduced funding from congress
4) Cost of war
5) Casualties of the war.

Question 6

What were reasons for North Vietnam agreeing to peace negotiations?

Answer 6

1) Possible loss of aid from China and USSR.
2) Continous bombing of North Vietnam
3) No victory in sight
4) Casualties of the war.

Question 7

What were the Paris Peace Accords?

Answer 7

1) Signed on Jan 27th 1973.
2) Agreements were made so that:
- US troops, bases to be withdrawn in 60 days
- US to give aid for reconstruction of North and South
- No more US support for ARVN
- Ceasefire to begin
- All countries would accept Vietnam as a single country
- A new government would be elected with international supervision
- Prisoners of war and captured equipment to be returned in 60 days.

Question 8

What were the consequences of the Paris Peace Accords for the US, ARVN and the VC?

Answer 8

1) US:
- Congress cut military funding and aid sent to the south was below what Nixon had promised. 10,000 personnel still in Vietnam.
2) ARVN:
- Economic collapse, Thieu’s policy was not to work or negotiate with communists.
3) VC:
- Sent troops supplies to the Ho Chi Min trail and launched a new attack. ARVN could not cope. Fall of Saigon 30th April 1975.

Question 9

What was the Economic cost of the Vietnam war to the US?

Answer 9

1) The war cost an estimated $167 billion.

Question 10

What was the political cost of the Vietnam war to the US?

Answer 10

1) Johnson could not fund his idea of a ‘ great society’
2) Led to a lack of trust between Americans and the government/ military
3) US had lost face abroad and had failed to keep Vietnam free from communism.

Question 11

What was the military cost of the Vietnam war?

Answer 11

1) Many saw it as a defeat to a country much ‘inferior’ to them.
2) 58,220 dead
3) Poor treatment of returning veterans. Many treated with hostility
4) Suicide rate for veterans much higher than other men of similar age.

Question 12

What was the social cost of the Vietnm War to the US?

Answer 12

1) Money could have been spent on other things to benefit society
2) Ingnificant impact on survivors
3) More divided society was shown by protests
4) Affected the way Americans saw themselves and their country

Question 13

What were some of the Vietcong’s strengths that led to the failure of the USA in Vietnam?

Answer 13

1) Committed to the cause, many fighters for the VC were orignially from the southh.
2) VC had support from other countries
3) Guerilla tactics used were very effective
4) VC understood the landscapes, climate and language
5) Many had already fought the french, knew how tunnel systems worked.

Question 14

What were some of the USA’s weaknesses which led to their failure in Vietnam?

Answer 14

1) Never won the hearts and minds of the people, their tactics just caused resentment.
2) Growing opposition at home made it almost impossible for the US government to continue the war.
3) Didn’t understand the climate, language and completely misunderstood the villagers.

Question 15

Describe the key features of Operation Rolling Thunder and its effect.

Answer 15

1)
- Bombing campaign over North Vietnam. Began slowly and did not target Hanoi or the partnof Haiphong.
- Targeted HCM Trail and industry
- Included napalm and pineapple bombs
2) Effects:
- continued until 1968. Caused a lot of damage to the trail and industry.
- Did not destroy the trail, North used tunnels for protection, 1000’s of civilians killed, bad for public opinion at home and made North even more determined.

Question 16

Describe the key features and the effects of the USA’s ‘Search and Destroy’ tactics.

Answer 16

1) Key features:
- US soldiers searched countryside for VC camps, helicopters then bomb or spray chemicals.
- often suffered hit and run attacks
- some success in tracking down and killing VC
2) Effects:
- VC often moved back in after these missions
- US bombings created refugees and chemical spraying harmed people and turned them against the US.

Question 17

Explain the key features and effects of Operation Cedar Falls.

Answer 17

1) Key features:
- 30000 US and ARVN soldiers on search and destroy mission
- burning down villages and moving people on.
- these areas then became free fire zones that could be bombed any time.
2) Effects:
- many villagers did not understand the point of it and returned to their homes in free fire zones
- big civilian casualties made US more unpopular.

Question 18

Explain the key features and effects of Operation Ranch Hand/ Chemical Warfare.

Answer 18

1) Herbicides named after the colour of container to kill crops and make VC bases easy to find.
2) Effects:
- over 3000 villages sprayed, poisoned water supplies and soil- which caused serious health problems at the time and for decades after.
- public outrage led for it to end in 1971.

Question 19

What happened at the Tet Offensive and what were the consequences of it?

Answer 19

1) On Jan 30th 1968 (Lunar New Year), VC troops attacked 5 major cities as well as military installations. They managed to take the US embassy temporarily. They wanted a fight that would end the war.
2) No clear winner. Almost 60,000 dead for thr VC. 4k dead for US. Johnson administration had misled the US public. This led to Johnson stepping down from the Presidential race. The public were lied to about what the conditions were like, ultimately causing opposition to grow.

Question 20

Why did student opposition grow in the late 60’s?

When was Students for a Democratic Society setup?

Answer 20

1) Students adopted ‘counter culture’. They completely rejected the values land views of their parents generation and wanted social change.
2) They used techniques such as sit ins, boycotts and protest demonstrations and marches.
3) Students for a Democratic society was setup in 1960. By ‘65, it had 3,000 members. They not only opposed the war, but supported the VC.

Question 21

Why was Television so important for the growth of opposition tonthe Vietnam War?

Answer 21

1) TV is an enemy.
2) Pictures kf dead soldiers angered and troubled citizens. “Where do we stop this”
3) When news reporters went to report, they reported that the miltary were lying, and were very willing to criticise the government.

Question 22

Explain what happened at the My Lai massacre.

Answer 22

1) Charlie Company were ordered to fulfil a search and destroy mission. They were told that they would come under fire from VC in 5 mins. Didn’t happen. Over the next few hours, the troops, led by Leiutenant Calley killed all people and animals.
2) The military had announced a succesful mission. The My Lai VC base was destroyed.

Question 23

Explain the enquiry up and public reaction caused by the My Lai massacre.

Answer 23

1) A soldier had collected eye witnesses evidence about the massacre. He sent it to key US politicians. 15th July 1970, an enquiry reported that they army had covered up what happened.
2) Public reaction - public were not sure what to believe at first. Evidence was confusing and contradictory. On 13th Nov, 35 different newspapers reported the massacre. Reporters collected eyewitnesses testimony that 500+ civilians have been killed.

Question 24

What happened at Kent State University in 1970?

Answer 24

1) May 1st 1970- a group of students decided to buy the US constitution and one veteran who had fought in Vietnam buried his.
2) 2nd May- Several demonstrations. In the evening the officer training corpse building was burnt down. More than 50,000 people. Mayor declared an emergency and 900 members of national guard appeared.
3) 4th May- officials planned a demonstration. National guard could not break it up with tear gas and fired shots to crowd.

Question 25

What was the public reaction to the Kent State shootings?

Answer 25

1) Horrified the public. 2 people that were killed were not protesting, they were going to a lesson. Pictures shown of people killed were published worlwide, would have shown everyone what was going on.