War In Vietnam, 1954 - 1975 Flashcards
Vietcong:
Worked in small groups and launched surprise attacks on US troops
In the jungle, they used hidden traps to kill or injure US soldiers
Hid in underground tunnels
Blended in easily with Vietnamese villagers
Guerrilla tactics, 1964 - 68
Ideal in jungle conditions - Vietcong able to make body traps, carry out ambushes and sabotage US bases, and then disappear into jungle.
Vietcong built thousands of kilometres of tunnels and complex underground shelters to avoid US air raids and reduce casualties.
Vietcong had much support in the villages
Vietcong supplied by North Vietnamese via the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
Ho Chi Minh Trail:
Was a North Vietnamese supply route which passed through Laos and Cambodia
Trail allowed soldiers, supplies and weapons to be sent from North Vietnam to support the Vietcong
Allowed the Vietcong to keep on fighting
US tried to bomb the trail but never managed to break it
Geneva peace conference:
Vietnam would be temporarily divided into 2 along the 17th parallel
North under the control of the communist regime of Ho Chi Minh
South controlled by NGO Dinh Diem, an anti-communist Catholic politician
A general election in 1956 for the whole of Vietnam to decide its future
Fighting the Vietcong: Operation Rolling Thunder
Huge bombing campaign against North Vietnam which ran from March 1965 until 1968.
Aim to destroy North Vietnam’s industry and stop supplies arriving from China.
They though if NV was weakened it wouldn’t be able to supply the Vietcong.
Operation wasn’t successful. Supplies from China continued to arrive.
Fighting the Vietcong: Search and Destroy
Focused on killing enemy troops. Instead of securing territory, US forces would hunt Vietcong and destroy villages.
Difficult to spot Vietcong soldiers from ordinary villagers, so innocent people were interrogated or killed. This made US unpopular.
US troops made brutal attacks to get revenge for their loses.
Fighting the Vietcong: Chemical Weapons
Napalm was a burning chemical jelly which stuck to people and objects.
Used to destroy hidden targets and burn areas of jungle.
Caused many civilian casualties - widely criticised
Agent Orange was a chemical which destroyed trees it was used to destroy jungle where the Vietcong hid.
Used to destroy food supplies, crops but it was very harmful and caused cancer.
Fighting the Vietcong: Hearts and Minds
US wanted to win South Vietnamese ‘hearts and minds’ so they wouldn’t help Vietcong.
Provided free health care and training programmes for Vietnamese villagers
Not successful as SV had been badly affected by the US’ search and destroy tactics.
US unpopular as it supported corrupt SV government.
My Lai Massacre, 1968:
March 1968, a ‘search and destroy’ mission in the village of My Lai led to the murder of 300 unarmed civilians, including women and children.
US army tried to cover up the incident - early reports claimed 20 civilians had accidentally been killed
Massacre was revealed to the media in autumn 1969.
Media coverage of the Vietnam War:
Media coverage led many people to oppose the war
Martin Luther King opposed the war, because of the disproportionate number of African Americans casualties. AA were were more likely to be called up and sent to most dangerous combat areas
USA spending too much money on the war - money that should be financing President Johnson’s promised social reforms in the US.
Opposition grew when taxes were raised in 1967
Exposure of My Lai massacre of 1968
Trial of Lieutenant Calley for My Lai massacre and guilty verdict widely applauded
Protest movements in the USA, 1968 - 73:
Burning draft cards: men conscripted to the army received a draft card. Some refused to go. Others burned their draft cards in public.
Both were criminal offences, and by the end of 1969 there were 34,000 draft-dodgers wanted by the police.
Many escaped abroad to avoid arrest
Protest movements in the USA, 1968-73:
War veterans held marches: the US soldiers who had fought in Vietnam, many of which had been badly injured.
Over 300,000 took part in war veterans March in 1971.
Protest movements in the USA, 1968-73: Demonstrations and protest marches
In 1967, on placards in marches President Johnson had been publicly criticised as a war criminal.
In 1968, he announced he was not standing for re-election as president.
10,000 demonstrators went to Chicago to the Democratic Party Convention to protest against the war.
Kent State University protest, 1970:
Students held demonstrations and protests on university campuses and in nearby towns
They went on strike in their universities
They burned their draft papers
Disrupted transport used for moving troops and army supplies
Fulbright hearings, 1971:
In 1971, it’s chairman was William Fulbright.
Committee investigated the Vietnam War with a view to giving advice on how to end US involvement there
Background information in Vietnam:
Vietnam had been part of the French empire
Thickly forested
Situated in south East Asia
Saigon was the capital of South Vietnam
Hanoi is the capital of North Vietnam
Suffered from a communist in surgery
Why was Vietnam important to the USA:
US believed in the domino theory - if one country became communist they all would
When was Vietnam divided into 2
17th parallel
Why did US support in 1954-60:
US determined to support South Vietnam against any possible takeover from the North.
Domino theory - US feared that, one by one, each country in Asia would fall to communism, like a row of dominos.
How did America support South Vietnam:
▫️1.6 billion in aid between 1954-60
▫️Sent US military advisers in 1954 to help prepare for the 1956 elections
▫️Backing Diem’s refusal to hold elections in 1956 in case the communists won
Why was the National Liberation Front set up:
Set up in opposition to Diem and soon controlled parts of the countryside in South Vietnam.
