Vietnam war Flashcards
What was containment
The US foreign policy from 1946 to stop the spread of communism – Truman
What was the Domino theory
Idea that if one country fall to communism then the others would follow – Eisenhower
What was the first involvement of the US in Vietnam (not sending troops yet)
In 1961 John F Kennedy Centre in the green Bretts to train the Vietnamese people to fight
What happened at the Dien bien phu
It was a Town surrounded by mountains in the north-west Vietnam and was a Vietminh stronghold
– the French hoped To beat the Vietminh
– 15,000 French troops were brought in and waited for an attack
– there no idea that there were 50,000 Vietminh soldiers surrounding in the mountains with anti-aircraft guns that they had spent a month getting up there
-Fighting lasted 55 days and in May 1954 the French surrendered
What were the strategic hamlets
In the 1950s communities increased activity in Vietnam with introduction of the Vietcong
– the Vietcong will start to take over the countryside
– the US realise this and attempted to relocate peasants in the rural communities to protect communities called argovilles by separating them from the Vietcong
-Strategic hamlets with special villages, which had Barbwire or bamboo fence to separate them – each community were connected to each other
What was the Ho Chi Minh Trail
The Trail which run through Laos and Cambodia and supplied weapons from the north to the south viet Cong troops
What year was Diem assassinated
1963
– South Vietnam soldiers rise up and kill Diem and his brother
What was operation Rolling Thunder (1965)
A demonstration of America’s total air supremacy when they bombed North Vietnam
What was the result of Dien bien phu
Following international peace conference decided that Vietnam would be temporarily split into two and that three elections would be held in 1956
When were the Vietcong formed and what did they do
They were formed in 1960 and fought on behalf of the North Vietnam in the south – they also known as the National liberation front
Why could the USA not beat the Vietcong
Communist tactics
Inexperience soldiers
US strategy
Cost of conflicts
How did inexperienced soldiers mean the USA could not beat the Vietcong
– So just averaged an age of around 19
– many had low IQs
– this meant that the Vietcong and they gorilla warfare often out with the soldiers leading them vulnerable
-Many turned to drugs and alcohol leading to depression and mission Failiar
-They often had to get kills to be released and therefore killed innocent people
– many of them didn’t know what they’re getting themselves into
– often they would have no contact with the enemy and therefore left frustrated
How did the cost of Conflict mean that the US could not beat the Vietcong
The war was costing around $2 million a day
– this was spent on US bombing, the use of troops, chemical warfare, high technology
– the spending prevented the president on spending money at home and therefore people got frustrated
– many of the high cost operations are ineffective
How did US strategy Phalia lead to the US not being able to beat the Vietcong
The majority of tactics used were searching destroy missions
– this is when they would search the jungle for Vietcong in helicopters and bomb or use chemical Sprays to destroy the area
– this killed many innocent people and destroyed whole villages areas
– the US wanted to win the hearts of the Vietnamese people and persuade them that capitalism is the best idea however this is not work
How did Communist tactics mean that the USA could not beat the Vietcong
The Vietcong used to gorilla tactics which meant they would flee when the enemy was strong and attack when the enemy was weak
-They would set booby-traps
– they used tunnels to hide when the enemy was strong
– they received weapons from the Ho Chi Minh Trail
