Vietnam War

Question 1

when and who created the Indochinese communist party?

Answer 1

• Ho Chi Mihn

- 1929

Question 2

when and why was Vietnam split into north and south?

Answer 2

• 1954 Geneva convention
• after the french couldn’t regain Vietnam after ww2
  (North under Mihn, and south under Diem)

Question 3

how did Ike commit the US to the war?

Answer 3

• paid fortunetellers and others to spread the doom of communism
• invested millions by 1961 when communism was becoming popular in south Vietnam

Question 4

how did JFK increase US involvement in Vietnam?

Answer 4

• sent 12,000 troops by 1962

Question 5

how did US and Vietcong tactics differ?

Answer 5

• US spent lots of money on a technological warfare with things like chemical bombs
• Vietcong used Guerrilla warfare which was better suited to the jungle environment and confused the US as the didn’t understand it

Question 6

why did JFK face opposition for putting Diem in charge of the south?

Answer 6

• Diem was catholic but most in the south were Buddhist
• 10k Buddhists protested in 1963
• Buddhist priest set fire to himself and it was put in US news (caused people to disagree with JFK and the war)

Question 7

when was Diem assassinated?

Answer 7

• 1963

- JFK and military advisor Lodge wanted rid of Diem, coup began which led to his death

Question 8

how did Johnson justify the Gulf Tonkin Bombing of the north?

Answer 8

• US spy ship Maddox hit which meant congress passed avenge attack (67% of people supported)
• bombing known as rolling thunder however it was still an undeclared ware

Question 9

why didn’t Johnson declare war on Vietnam?

Answer 9

• north had the support of USSR and China
• wanted to spend on great society rather than war
• didn’t want to seem unreasonable/ like a colonist

Question 10

How many troops did Johnson send?

Answer 10

• sent 16,000 troops in 1965
• 125,000 troops by July 1965
• 535,000 by 1968

Question 11

when and what was the My Lai Massacre?

Answer 11

• march 1968
• US soldiers massacred area in south Vietnam
• 500 killed (caused international outrage)

Question 12

how many US cluster bombs were dropped?

Answer 12

260 million
(exploded into harmful fiber glass)

Question 13

what was agent orange and Napalm used by the US?

Answer 13

• agent orange chemical gas used to destroy forest cover and kill crops (also had serious health implications)
• napalm used in flamethrowers to burn down forests to eliminate Vietcong guerrilla tactics

Question 14

what were Vietcong tactics in the war?

Answer 14

• US didn’t know who enemy was so disguised as peasants and entered south
• had secret tunnels and traps to avoid US bombs and capture their soldiers

Question 15

how did the US media affect opinions of the war?

Answer 15

• saw My Lai Massacre that killed 347
• 50k soldiers had died
• images of Napalm put on TV
  $30 billion a year being spent

Question 16

why were the northern communists successful?

Answer 16

• passionate about reunification of Vietnam
• Guerrilla tactics defeated US high tech warfare (jungle terrain)
  avoided US bombing with tunnels
• North had a lot of support from the south, china and USSR

Question 17

what was Johnson and Nixons approaches to withdrawing from Vietnam?

Answer 17

• Johnson tried to increase hostilities to make Vietnam agree to peace
• JFK wanted “peace with honour” and needed the north to accept The as leader in south

Question 18

what did Nixon try to end the war?

Answer 18

• withdrew 150k troops in 71 but escalated attacks to try and make the surrender
• negotiations with USSR and China (supported the north)

Question 19

why did peace talks begin in October 1972?

Answer 19

• the US was running out of money

- china and USSR were pressuring the north to end war

Question 20

what happened when Nixon was reelected in Nov 1972?

Answer 20

• the democratic congress refused to give any more money to the war
• still refused to sign peace treaty that the rejected in October 72 (look foolish)

Question 21

when was the peace treaty signed and what did it state?

Answer 21

• January 1973
• Thieu in control of south and Minh in control of north
• Nixon secretly promised billions to reconstruction of Hanoi

Question 22

what happened In 1975?

Answer 22

• fighting carried on after the US left Vietnam

- the communist north took over the south

Question 23

how much money was spent on the war a year?

Answer 23

30 billion - undermined Johnson and great society

US finances worsened by oil crisis which caused recession and end of ww2 boom

Question 24

how many US soldiers were killed or injured in the war?

Answer 24

50,000 dead

300,000 wounded

Question 25

what was the Nixon doctrine after the war?

Answer 25

• said allies should take care of own military defence

- US were more cautious with foreign policy as they didn’t want to enter and lose another war

Question 26

By 1967, how much of US news was devoted to the war?

Answer 26

90%

Question 27

how many homes had TV’s by 1966?

Answer 27

93%

50 million viewers

Question 28

how did the media change US opinion of the war?

Answer 28

• Americans shocked by the Te offensive and My Lai Massacre of 1968 as they were killing innocent Vietnamese people