vietnam war Flashcards
1
Q
ho chi minh
A
leader of communist north vietnam
2
Q
vietnam independence league/vietminh
A
north vietnamese guerilla forces
3
Q
hanoi
A
north vietnamese capital
4
Q
dien bien phu
A
french airbase and where the french indo-china war ends
5
Q
17th parallel
A
split between north and south vietnam
6
Q
saigon
A
south vietnamese capital
7
Q
national liberation front/vietcong
A
south vietnamese communist guerilla rebels
8
Q
john f kennedy
A
us president from 1961
9
Q
french indochina
A
colonies controlled by the french in the far east
10
Q
when did france first take over indochina
A
18th century
11
Q
when did japan invade indochina
A
during ww2
12
Q
how many vietnamese had starved to death by 1945
A
2 million
13
Q
when was vietnam declared to be independent
A
2nd September 1945
14
Q
when did the french reinvade vietnam and how long did the war last
A
1946, 8 years until 1954
15
Q
how did the usa help the french
A
harry truman sent $15m by july 1960 and $3b in total
16
Q
before dien bien phu, how many casualties did the vietnamese inflict on the french
A
80,000
17
Q
how many French troops were at dien bien phu
A
10,000 troops
18
Q
how many vietminh surrounded dien bien phu
A
50,000
19
Q
how many French were killed and wounded (DBP)
A
3000 killed and 8000 wounded
20
Q
how many Vietnamese were killed and wounded (DBP)
A
8000 killed and 12000 wounded
21
Q
why did the French surrender
A
French troops ran out food, water and medicine
22
Q
how long did the dien bien phu attack last
A
13 march 1954 to 7 may 1954 (55 days)
23
Q
how many French prisoners of war were there in dien bien phu
A
10,000 (half of which died)
24
Q
what was the main industry of French indochina
A
rubber industry
25
what did ho chi minh do in 1911
he went to sea and travelled the world working simple jobs
26
what did ho chi minh set up in 1930
indochinese communist party
27
who was general giap
a young vietnamese general
28
what were the consequences of dien bien phu
French ministered resigned
French leave Indochina
over the 8 years 400,000 soldiers and civilians were killed
geneva accords
29
what are the outcomes of the Geneva accords
vietnam is divided along the 17th parallel
ngo dinh diem is the president of the south
elections in the south held in 1956
30
why was diem so unpopular
strategic hamlet programme (2/3 of peasants moved)
persecution of buddhists
rigged early election in october 1955
nepotism (madame nhu)
31
what is the ARNV
army of republic of vietnam
south Vietnamese capitalist army (supported by the US)
32
when did civil war break out in south vietnam
1957 (in the countryside)
33
who led the vietcong
Hua Tho
34
when was diem assassinated
November 2nd 1963
35
what 3 things led to diem's assassination
his corruption and brutality
ARVN cannot beat the VC without public support
strategic hamlet programme
36
what is the red scare
fear of the dangerous spread of communism across the world
37
what were the 3 aims during the national security briefing 1954
oppose communism in SE asia
no US soldiers on ground
save money and yourself from humiliation
38
McCarran Act
law that limited employment opportunities for communists in USA
39
HUAC
house un-american activities committee
all US communists groups had to register with this body
40
Joseph McCarthy
senator who claimed to have a list of 200 communist government workers
41
what percentage did diem win by in the election
98.2%
42
what did jfk do to aid the war and help
fund the ARVN and increase their army to 170,000
sent 300 helicopter pilots
support the strategic hamlet programme
help the ARVN stage a coup and assassinate diem
43
why does the usa get involved in vietnam
prevent the spread of communism
fear of ho chi minh
american ideology and ideals
satisfy the US public
US pride
44
when does LBJ send some US destroyers to monitor the gulf of Tonkin
march 1964
45
when were the initial reports of an attack on the USS maddox reported
3rd august 1964
46
when does LBJ announce US involvement in the war
4th august 1964
47
what is the gulf of Tonkin resolution and when was it created
US act granting power to use the US military in vietnam
7th august 1964
48
what happened in February 1965
attack on US base camp Holloway killing 8 and wounding 100
49
how did the US react to the attack on camp Holloway
operation rolling thunder
February 1965
LBJ announces 3 year bombing campaign of north vietnam and communist military facilities
50
how many US marines were in vietnam by the end of 1965
200,000
51
how many tonnes of US bombs were dropped by the end of ORT
1,000,000 tonnes
52
what percentage of the US public supported the war
61%
53
how long were the ho chin minh trials
15,000 km
54
what percentage of VC weapons were stolen from the US
90%
55
what percentage of US troops died in the ambushes
51%
56
how long were the VC tunnels
300 km
57
how many south vietnamese government workers were killed
27,000
58
what were the 6 main VC tactics
- underground tunnel system
- Ho Chi Minh trials
- hanging on the belts
- no standard uniforms or equipments
- punji traps and bouncing betties
- propaganda and civilian recruitment
59
how many soldiers were in vietnam by the end of 1968
500,000
60
what was the average age of soldiers
19
61
what percentage of troops were black and what percentage of the US population were black
41% of troops
11% of the population
62
what is 'cherries' the slang term for
young, inexperienced soldiers
63
what is fragging
soldiers turning on and killings their commanders
64
what were the 7 main US tactics
- operation rolling thunder
- hearts and minds programme
- search and destroy raids
- napalm
- agent orange
- body count
- army recruitment
65
what is napalm
a mixture of gelling agents and petrol which would burn through anything it landed on
66
why did the US use napalm
to destroy jungles so the Americans could see VC tunnels and bases
67
what is agent orange
highly toxic chemical weed killer that was used to destroy jungle
68
what were the disadvantages of agent orange
it could cause cancer
cause genetic defects meaning pregnant women who came in contact with napalm would give birth to babies with disorders
69
what was the hearts and minds programme and why didn't it work?
a propaganda campaign in which US soldiers tried to win the support of vietnamese peasants
all their other military tactics went against this like bombing campaigns, napalm, agent orange and search and destroy raids
strategic hamlet programme also made them lose a lot of support
70
why were US forces unable to defeat the Vietcong
- public support went to VC
- jungle terrain
- underground tunnels
- undermined VC tactics
- lack of commitments from G.I.s
71
who was the US commander
general William westmoreland
72
how many soldiers did the ARVN provide
800,000
73
what was different about the VC attack on Khe Sanh
conventional, open warfare completely different to their usual guerrilla warfare
74
what was operation niagara
24,000 American airstrikes (100k bombs)
75
what was Ho Chi Minh and general Giap's real plan in January 1968
to attack government and military in cities of south vietnam
76
what celebration is held in january 1968 and what did ARVN soldiers do?
tet new year, ARVN went to visit their family
77
what happened on 31st january signalling the start of tet offensive
VC attack a radio tower in Saigon calling the vietnamese people to arms
78
what happened on 31st january signalling the start of tet offensive
VC attack a radio tower in Saigon calling the vietnamese people to arms
79
what target was attacked by the C10 battalion
US embassy
80
why was the board cast of the tet offensive so important
makes the US look vulnerable and like they're losing
81
which city was still under VC control after all the others had been recaptured
hue
82
what made fighting the VC in hue difficult
- main source of VC soldiers
- too many buildings to raid
- couldn't be bombed
83
how did US forces eventually recapture hue
bombs
84
how was tet a military disaster for the VC
- lost all the cities they captured
- lose experienced soldiers
85
how was tet a media disaster for the US
- looks like they are losing
- execution of VC dressed as a civilian broadcasted
- public image ruined
86
what were the political consequences of the tet offensive for LBJ
he couldn't run for another presidential term
87
how did the war change from december 1967 to january 1968
in late 1967 victory was in sight for the US with a high kill ratio and the VC having lost around 100,000 men
by early 1968 us public image was ruined and public support dropped below half at 42%
88
how long was the battle of hue
25 days
89
what was the my lai massacre
the massacre of 500 women, elderly and children in the village of my lai
90
which company was involved in my lai
Charlie company
91
who was the lieutenant of CC
William calley
92
when does the CC first enter the village of my lai
16th march 1968
93
how many men and officers entered my lai
120 men + 5 officers
94
why did the soldiers get suspicious in my lai
no young men insight
they could have gone to fight with the VC or the people in the village were trying to hide them
95
why did soldiers kill the women, elderly and children in my lai
- direct orders so disobeying would mean court marshall
- so many members of their company were killed by the VC so they wanted revenge
96
who was the army pilot who intervened and stopped the massacre
hugh thompson
97
who was the first man that came clean to my lai
ron ridenhour
US marine who wrote to the generals about my lai
98
who was the journalist that wrote about my lai
seymour hersh
99
when did my lai actually happen and when did it get revealed to the public
march 1968
november 1969
100
what were the consequences of my lai
- increased credibility gap
- ruined public image
- decrease in public support
101
when was nixon elected
january 1969
102
when was the kent state massacre
4th may 1970
103
why was opposition to the war increasing by 1968
- media coverage of tet
- 41% of men drafted were black
- draft dodgers
- increased credibility gap
- corruption in the south vietnamese government
104
what was the casualty rate by 1968
12%
105
what is vietnamisation
gradual withdrawal of US troops and increased funding to the ARVN
106
how many troops does nixon bring home
85,000
107
who is henry kissinger
US negotiator
108
who is le duc tho
vietnamese negotiator
109
when is the first round of paris peace talks
march 1969
110
what does nixon publicly announce in march 1969
bombing campaign in cambodia which will require another 150,000 troops
111
what is the name of the communist party in cambodia
khmer rogue
112
when is the second round of paris peace talks
february 1970
113
when is the incursion of cambodia
april 1970
114
what happens after nixon announces the incursion in cambodia (kent state events)
- 3,000 students gather to protest
- national guard are called in
- protesters throw rocks
- national guard fire 67 shots
- 4 killed and 9 injured
115
what were the consequences of kent state
- national strike of 2 million students
- march for those who died
- investigation but no charges
116
what percentage of the population thought that the kent state killings were justified
58%
117
what happened in jackson state and when
2 students killed and 12 injured
may 15th 1970
118
when and why does nixon order the invasion of laos
february 1971
to test the ARVN and see if they are ready to fight on their own
119
what were the consequences of the invasion of laos
- VC counterattack in south vietnam
- popularity of the laos communist party grows and laos eventually becomes communist
120
what are the communist party in laos called
pathet lao
121
when does nixon announce the peace talks
january 1972
122
when does nixon visit china and the USSR
china - feb 1972
USSR - may 1972
123
when are the paris peace talks signed
27th january 1973
124
what were terms agreed upon in the Paris peace talks
- immediate ceasefire
- free elections in the south
- all prisoners of war released within 60 days
- all US troops leave within 60 days
125
when do the last marines leave vietnam
march 1973
126
when is the watergate scandal
august 1974
127
who replaces nixon and what are his opinions on the war
gerald ford
wants to cut all ties with vietnam
128
what happens to the $1 billion nixon promised to the ARVN
ford doesn't send the money promised by nixon
129
when does north vietnam break the peace accords
december 1974 by invading the south
130
when does saigon fall to the communists
april 1975
131
how much money did the US spend on the war
$170 billion
(around $1 trillion now)
132
how many American soldiers were killed in the war
58,000
133
how many American soldiers were wounded in the war
300,000
134
how many vietnamese soldiers were killed during the war
1,000,000
135
how many vietnamese soldiers were wounded during the war
2,000,000
136
how many vietnamese civilians were killed during the war
2,000,000
137
how many vietnamese civilians were wounded during the war
5,000,000
138
how many vietnamese refugees were there
11 million
139
what was operation babylift
the adoption of 3000 half vietnamese half american babies in 1975
140
how many hectares of farmland was destroyed
300,000
141
how many hectares of jungle was destroyed
1 million
142
what is the name of the famous US TV journalist who stated that the US should negotiate for peace
Walter Cronkite
143
who replaced general Westmoreland
General Creighton Abrams
144
what is the name of the buddhist monk who self-immolated in protest
Thích Quang Duc
