Vietnam war tactics

Question 1

Who fought in the Vietnam war?

Answer 1

USA and ARVN - South Vietnam

NVA and VC - North Vietnam

Question 2

What was the ARVN?

Answer 2

Army of the Republic of Vietnam

Question 3

What was the VC?

Answer 3

Vietcong
People from south Vietnam who were communist sympathisers. Thought with guerrilla warfare tactics.
Supplied by the North Vietnam army

Question 4

What was the NVA?

Answer 4

Northern Vietnamese Army

Question 5

Who backed North Vietnam?

Answer 5

USSR and China

Send supplies of aid and military equipment

Question 6

What type of war was Vietnam?

Answer 6

Media War

War of attrition

Question 7

What were America’s war tactics?

Answer 7

War of attrition
Helicopter warfare
Chemical warfare
Search and Destroy missions
Pacification: Hearts and Minds

Question 8

What was operation Rolling Thunder?

Answer 8

Began 11th February 1965
Joint attack by US and ARVN
Bombed infrastructure, industrial sites, military sites and supply depots in North Vietnam

Question 9

What was the reasoning for operation rolling thunder?

Answer 9

Increases confidence in the south
Shows Ho Chi Minh that US and ARVN won’t be defeated
Reduces the flow of men and supplies from the North

Question 10

What is meant by the Americanisation of the war?

Answer 10

Helicopter warfare

3500 US marines

Question 11

Fact about how many soldiers the US had in Vietnam

Answer 11

December 1964 - 16000
1966 - 268000
1968 - over 500000 (peak amount)

Question 12

What were the advantages of helicopter warfare?

Answer 12

Good air mobility (quick and good accessibility)
Increased battlefield size
Gave aid to wounded soldiers
moved weapons and supplies
Offensive force

Question 13

What were search and destroy missions?

Answer 13

Destroy resources so that public couldn’t survive
Westmoreland strategy
Terrible but very effective
Example - My Lai

Question 14

What was Chemical warfare?

Answer 14

20 million gallons of chemicals produced by US
used to spray on supplies
contaminated the water supply and food supply

Question 15

Give an example of a chemical used?

Answer 15

Chemical Orange

Question 16

What were the negatives to chemical warfare?

Answer 16

US soldiers couldn’t drink water supply
Had to drink alcohol - less effective soldiers
Damaged some Vietnam War veterans

Question 17

What were firebases?

Answer 17

Camps for US soldiers

Supplied by helicopters

Question 18

What was Pacification: Hearts and Minds?

Answer 18

Intended to win back support among South Vietnamese people that was lost due to search and destroy missions
US rebuilt houses and infrastructure, provided clinics
Had some success

Question 19

What is meant by a war of attrition?

Answer 19

Where one army wins due to sheer numbers
Used because VC and NVA were smaller than US
Only failed when public support from US stopped

Question 20

What were North Vietnam’s war tactics?

Answer 20

Guerrilla warfare
Soldiers were passionate and motivated (all volunteers)
Also soldiers experienced from French colonial war
Used knowledge of landscape to their advantage
No uniform - hard to spot

Question 21

What were guerrilla tactics?

Answer 21

Tunnels and mines
Booby traps using bamboo
Made US soldiers paranoid

Question 22

What were America’s soldiers mistakes?

Answer 22

Overconfident
Forced enrolment - therefore no passion
Soldiers stopped following orders after being forced to kill people who they knew ere innocent - My Lai
Agent Orange meant they couldn’t drink water, forced to drink alcohol so they were less effective
Tet Offensive

Question 23

What were America’s mistakes to the war approach?

Answer 23

Allowed Vietnam to be a media war, which changed public opinion allowing the war of attrition to fail
Kent State University massacre
Underestimated the Vietnamese (racist)