Vietnam - Why US failed and withdrew Flashcards
Identify 3 reasons why the US failed in Vietnam.
Poor tactics
Communist tactics
The Tet Offensive
Identify 5 American military tactics used during the Vietnam war.
- Strategic Hamlets Programme.
- Search and destroy patrols
- Bombing campaigns (Rolling Thunder)
- Herbicides (Agent Orange)
- Napalm
What was the Strategic Hamlets programme?
Whole villages in Viet Cong areas were moved to to new sites controlled by the South Vietnamese government.
Who controlled who entered and left the Hamelts?
American soldiers.
What did the American soldier’s give to the villagers of the Hamlets?
Building materials, food, money to build new farms and homes.
What evidence is there to show that the Strategic Hamlets programme was ineffective?
Peasants did not like having to leave homes and villages.
Forced to build new villages without pay.
How did the Strategic Hamlets programme increase support for Vietcong?
Many did not see Viet Cong as a threat, and did not like being constantly stopped and searched.
What happened on search an destroy patrols?
American troops were sent on patrols form helicopters. They would target villages and destroyed any Viet Cong forces they found.
Why were the search and destroy patrols ineffective?
Innocent villages were mistaken for Viet Cong bases, leading to high civilian casualties and deaths.
What did the search and destroy patrols mean for the feeling towards the US army from civilians?
US army grew unpopular.
What was the proportion of civilian to Viet Cong killed by search and destroy patrols?
6 to 1
What is an examples of a failed search and destroy mission?
Operation Cedar Falls - 1967
When did Rolling Thunder begin?
February - 1965
What did Rolling Thunder target?
North Vietnam
Ho Chi Minh trail
Suspected Viet Cong bases
When did Rolling Thunder end?
1968
What evidence is there that the bombing campaigns were effective?
Damaged NV’s war effort and destroyed supply routes.
Affected NV’s industry.
What evidence is there that the bombing campaigns were ineffective?
Financial cost was enormous - it cost $400,000 to kill one Viet Cong fighter.
Ho Chi Minh trail rebuilt and continued to operate.
What were Agent Orange and Agent Blue?
Highly toxic weed killers used to destroy the Vietnamese jungle and crops where Viet Cong fighters and bases were hidden.
Why did Agent Orange make the US very unpopular with the Vietnamese?
Over 3,000 villages were sprayed without warning the inhabitants.
Caused many health problems for people.
What was napalm?
A chemical weapon used to destroy Vietnamese jungles and villages.
How many tonnes of napalm were used?
20,000 tons
What evidence is there that napalm was ineffective?
Killed many innocent civilians.
Give 4 reasons to why the US army became weaker after 1967.
- Lack of professional and experienced soldiers.
- Struggles to recruit soldiers.
- Morale of the US army was very low.
- Drug abuse amongst US soldiers.
What was the morale of the US soliders?
Many did not care about defeating communism and not committed to fighting in Vietnam.