Why Did USA Lose The Vietnam War? Flashcards
How did bombing contribute to the USA losing the war?
More bombs were dropped on Vietnam in 3.5 years than on Germany and Japan in the whole of WWII, this lost the USA popularity and people went against USA involvement in Vietnam
How did low moral and inexperience of the U.S. Troops contribute to USA losing the war?
Conscription was brought it again in 1967 so most of the soldiers were young and inexperienced, there was tension between the soldiers and the officers and most of them didn’t want to be there or had little knowledge of why they were there
How did Vietnams neighbouring countries contribute to USA losing the war?
Vietnams neighbouring countries were sympathetic to the Vietcong and helped them with supplies via the Ho Chi Minh trail. They had base camps in their countries for the Vietcong to recover and were more likely to turn to communism
How did hearts and minds contribute to USA losing the war?
USA needed to win hearts and minds of people in Vietnam but they never succeeded
How did media coverage in USA contribute to USA losing the war?
Tech had advanced so there was extensive media coverage of the events of the war, which upset the people in America and turned them against USA involvement in Vietnam
How did the my Lai massacre contribute to USA losing the war?
USA killed over 500 innocent people which lost them popularity in USA
How did events at Kent state university contribute to USA losing the war?
In March 1970, 4 student protestors were shot dead by the national guard at Kent state uni which caused a lot of public uproar
How did draft dodgers contribute to USA losing the war?
Many young people became drafter Dodgers to avoid conscription of the Vietnam war
How did Vietcong guerrilla warfare contribute to the USA losing the war?
Unconventional warfare from the Vietcong caused the USA army surprise as they weren’t used to it, the psychological warfare also terrified them
Who was Cyrus vance?
The deputy defence secretary, he initially supported the war and then changed his views, advising the president to withdraw troops from South Vietnam, and then resigned in protest of the war
When had USA lost support for the Vietnam war?
1967/68
What was the tet offensive?
Surprise attacks by the Vietcong with the national liberation front against the USA
When was the tet offensive?
Started on the 30th January 1968, on the tet holiday Vietnamese new year
What was the U.S. Reaction to the start of the tet offensive?
They felt they didn’t need any widespread defensive measures
What happened in the main onslaught of the tet offensive?
80,000 troops crashed over 100 USA towns in South Vietnam
How did USA react to the main onslaught of the tet offensive?
They lost control of their occupied cities momentarily but regained control quickly to fight back against the Vietcong
How long did the intense fighting last for in the tet offensive?
Intense fighting lasted for months
What was the massacre at hue?
Where communists executed thousands of people at the massacre of hue
What did USA force destroy in the tet offensive?
USA forces destroyed many communist cities
What was the offensive impacts for the communists?
A military defeat for the communists
What were the philosophical effects on the USA government of the tet offensive?
U.S. Government and public had previously been led to believe that communists were being defeated and were incapable of starting such a massive effort
What happened to the public opinion about USA involvement in Vietnam after the tet offensive?
USA public support for the war effort declined and the USA sought negotiations to end the war
Why was the tet offensive a turning point in the Vietnam war?
It was the first time the U.S. Government were truly unsupported by the public, U.S. Opinion shifted against the war which led to U.S. Decline in the involvement of the jet am war
Who was Walter cronkite?
A reporter who reported throughout the tet offensive that the war was unwinnable
What was clear from 1969?
It was clear that the U.S. Troops were only able to eradicate a small proportion of the Vietcong
Why was the media thought of as undermining the war efforts?
It brought the horrors of the war into people’s homes which ultimately turned them against USA involvement in Vietnam
What was Vietnamization?
Where the South Vietnamese were trained by the USA so they could take their place as USA backed out of the Vietnam war
Why was Vietnamization unsuccessful?
The South Vietnamese were no match for the communists
When was the ceasefire of the Vietnam war signed and where?
A ceasefire was signed on the 23rd January 1973 in Paris
How did USA remove themselves from the Vietnam war?
They tried Vietnamization which was unsuccessful so in the end they stopped sending money and troops to Vietnam
By 1969, how many USA troops were killed?
69,000
What happened in the USA from 1973-1975?
- Nixon promised to give Vietnam money but the congress refused as it was a waste of money as Vietnam was corrupt
- Nixon resigned in 1974 due to the watergate scandal
- Gerald ford took over from Nixon but still failed to get congress on board with sending money to Vietnam
What happened in Vietnam from 1973-1975?
- December 1974, both Vietnamese launched a major military offensive against South Vietnam
- South Vietnam fell under communist forces in 1975 when they took over Saigon
Name 5 consequences of the war for USA
- spent $300 billion
- was a propaganda disaster for USA for supporting corrupt Vietnam
- Nixon doctrine
- Johnson was very unpopular
- USA bad reputation for my Lai massacre etc
What was the Nixon doctrine?
New policy where USA expected its own allies to look after their own military defence and become less willing to get involved in future conflicts
How many USA deaths came from the Vietnam war?
Over 58,000
Name a consequence of the war on Vietnam
•by 1975, communist forces had defeated South Vietnam and reunited Vietnam
Name 3 consequences for the policy of containment of the war?
- USA had sped up the domino effect due to their heavy bombing campaign in Vietnams neighbouring countries
- USA policy of containment had failed
- Nixon decided to improve relations with China and Russia to drive a wedge between the 2 supporters of North Vietnam
