War In Vietnam 1964-1975 Flashcards
What shocking defeat was enough to make the French give up on the idea of controlling Vietnam?
Diem Bien Phu 1954
What was decided at the Geneva Conference 1954?
Split Vietnam into 2 parts (border along 17th parallel)
- N communist ruled by Ho Chi Minh
- S non-communist
Elections would be held at some date in the future to see if Vietnamese wanted to be joined as one country- because of conflict didn’t happen
Who led S Vietnam?
Diem
Why was Diem’s rule unpopular?
- Christian- most S Vietnamese Buddhist (he even maltreated buddhists, frustrated as couldn’t practice their religion and way of life freely)
- Corrupt: Gov money used for own private wealth (members of his family+ supporters rewarded with top positions) took land from peasants to give to his own supporters
Why did the US feel like they had to make a strong stand against communism in S Vietnam?
Domino theory
What were the communist fighters in S Vietnam called + when did they form?
Vietcong
1960
What was the Vietnam Cong’s aim?
To defeat Diem’s government and unite Vietnam
By 1962 what was the US President, Kennedy doing?
Backing the S Vietnamese army with weapons + sending military advisors
What happened in 1963 + why did the US let it happen?
Diem assassinated by his own army generals
US knew it was going to happen but allowed it in hoe that the replacement government would be more popular
From 1963-1964 what was the new president Johnson trying to do?
Get congress to give him the go ahead to send in much greater military support (US not yet fully committed to a war against the viet cong
What happened in August 1964 + what was the consequence?
A US warship was fired on by Vietnamese patrol boats (the “Tonkin Gulf Incident”
Congress passed the Tonkin gulf resolution which agreed that the US president could take all steps to bring peace and security to S Vietnam
What was happening from 1965-68
Full-scale US military commitment
When did Operation Rolling thunder start?
March 1965
When did Operation rolling thunder continue until + how many casualties did it cause?
November 1968
90000
In a guerilla war what is the aim for the guerilla side?
To make the war too expensive in lives and money for the other side - keep war going until they lose the will to keep fighting and withdraw
What did the Vietnam gong do to demonstrate their power to villagers?
Murder unpopular land owners and government tax collectors
Why did the US aim to win over the “hearts and minds” of the civilians?
So that the viet cong would have less support and fewer places to shelter and hide
What turned the S Vietnamese people more against the USA?
The money that they poured in often found its way into the wrong hands leading to a rise in organises from and corruption.
Dropping bombs and carrying out attacks on the Viet Cong tended to kill civilians as well
What military tactic did the US use on the viet cong?
Search and destroy
Napalm
Agent orange
Difficulty of dealing with guerilla tactics led US to increase bombing of N Vietnam in operation rolling thunder
When was the My Lai Massacre, when did it become pillbox knowledge + how many were killed?
March 1968
Public knowledge November 1969
Between 347 and 504 unarmed civilians
What were the consequences of shocking events like My Lai?
Helped to destroy US’s self confidence and belief that it always acted in the right.
However Nixon had already begun withdrawal of US troops by the time it was public knowledge so added to but did not create public’s feelings that US should get out of S Vietnam
US publics attitudes towards the war in 1964 compared to 1968
1964 clear majority in favour
1968 below 50% of US public, Nixon elected in that year and in his election campaign he had promised to lower the number of US troops in Vietnam
In the US what was there by 1968?
Major protest movement against the war
Some men publicly burnt their call-up papers
What happened in May 1970?
There was a series of large demonstrations at Kent State University
What happened in 1971 which particularly affected the Americans?
The veterans march
300,000 ex-soldiers marched through Washington to demonstrate against the war
Why were US actions to stop S Vietnam from going communist unsuccessful? (3)
- By 1968 there was a military stalemate with neither side winning
- Although US controlled the cities they couldn’t permanently destroy the Viet Cong forces hiding in the countryside or NVA support and supply moving down the Ho Chi Minh trail- more US used huge air and artillery firepower the more civilians they killed. Turned rural population more against the US and hurt hearts and minds programme
- With the stalemate in reality the Viet Cong were winning as they just needed to keep the war going until IS sickened of the cost in money and lives- US needed to actually finish Viet Cong which it could not achieve
When was the Tet Offensive?
January 1968
What happened during the Tet Offensive?
Viet Cong captured Hue, over 100 US bases attacked, Viet Cong raiders got inside US Embassy
Between 1969 and 1971 around how many US troops were withdrawn?
400,000
When did the Paris peace talks begin?
November 1968
The Paris peace talks dragged on from 1969 to 1973 without producing any quick solutions so what did Nixon decide to do?
Put more pressure on the communists, ordered US and ARVN troops to carry out large-scale ground attacks into neutral Cambodia in 1970
Failed to permanently cut Ho Chi Minh trail
In 1972 what do the NVA attacks lead Nixon to do?
Restart the bombing of N Vietnam (Operation linebacker)
What was the aim of operation linebacker?
Force the N Vietnamese to make real efforts towards making peace.
December 1972 bombers directly struck main cities including the capital Hanoi
What did the pressure of the American bombing of N Vietnamese cities lead to?
N Vietnam making a deal in the Paris peace accords in January 1973
By when had the US pulled out its remaining troops?
April 1973
What happened in 1974?
N Vietnamese troops started to attack S Vietnam again- no Is military help given + congress passed laws preventing president from allowing US airforce to bomb N Vietnam
What had happened by 1975?
All the major south Vietnamese cities fell to the NVA
Which scene seemed to sum up to the world the failure of the US in S Vietnam?
US scrambling to evacuate its last officials from Saigon by helicopter from the roof of the US embassy
When was Saigon captured by the NVA?
April 1975
