nixon and ford's policies - vietnmaisation, peace and communist victory 1969-75

what was vietnamsiation

us policy to end american involvement in vietnam by developing sva

when was vietnmaisation introduced and when did it start failing

3rd nov 1969 - spring 1972

who was involved in vietnamisation

nixon

aims of vietnamisation

maker arvn self suffieicent so it could defend vietnam without us support so nixon could withdraw us troops from vietnam

why was vietnamisation introduced

• victory unlikely and war had to end

• nixon couldnt nuclear weapons to do this so had to find another way

• nixon anticom and didnt want sv to fall to com

• nixon believed sv should take responsibility for their own defence

• needed to end war quickly but practicallt as poll in 1969 should 56% of americans thought us involvement in vietnam was wrong

problems nixon faced with vietnamisation

extended war into cabodia nd laso at same time - needed more soldiers so in april 1970 he announced 100,000 more troops needed

how did vietnamisation work

• us provided training and equipment for expansion of arvn

• local villagers recruited as civilian militia, in charge of securing local areas

• arvn would take more direct role in seeking out vc - since 1965 they had taken an back seat to the us

• between 1968-71, arvn was increased fro, 393,000 to 532,000 troops

• as arvn because more self suffieicent us troops would be withdrawn from vietnma - first natable depature was on 7th july 1969

• beginning of 1970 arvn had been equipped with 4 bil woth of miliatry supplies

• arvn officers received specialised training in command, military strategy and counter-insurgency warfare

what were official peace talks during vietnamisation

sending representatives to negotiate with nv and sv and vc

what were secret peace talks during vietnamisation

nixon with nv leader le duc tho sending henry kissinger to negotiate

how many su troops withdraw during vietnamisation

by 25,000 - started in july 1969

why did they train arvn during vietnamisation

continue war without support of us troops

what were secret bombing ordered by nixon during vietnamisation

march 1969 nixon ordered bombs to be dropped on ho trail in cambodia - due to presence of vietnmaise coms and because it was being used a s a supply trail - wanted to pressure nv into negotiating

why did vietnamisation fail

• poor harvest 1972 - led to economic hardship

• corruption and theft - cost us army millions and so troops not adequately supplied

• us didnt provide enough funfinh - restricted by us congress limiting options available to us military

• arnv soldiers not adequately trained - rushed instuctions in elgish so couldt understand

• sv gov unpopular - weak and divided and seen as a puppet of us administration that was also courrput

• arvn militarily weak and corrupt - leaders couldny command respect of their men and did not have morale needed to combat vc - was riddled with corruption and incompetence and was a divided organisation

• sv economically weak - sv dependent on american funding - us looking to wd and ussr and china sending funds to nv gov

what was nixon doctrine

us gov foreign policy on how it would support allies who faced military threats - us would supply them with money and equipment but no troops

when was nixon doctrine

25th july 1969

who was responsible for nixon doctine

nixon elected in 1969

result of nixon doctrine

vietnamisation

what did nixon say in doctrine

speechu july 1969 said america would honour any treaties it had already made and would support its allies against any threat providing training for their troops

what did vietnamisation mean under nixon doctrine

usa could withdrae with honour and allow sv to remain independent and non com

how was reaction to nixon doctrine divided

sv gov felt us wd before arvn was ready to take over - us wanted vietnmaisation nixon promised

what were cambodia attacks

nvj brining supplies for war effort against south through cambodia - us decided to bomb and attack this supply route

when did cambodia attacks start

given march 15th 1969 and occured between march 1969 and may 1970

what did us do in cambodia attacks

ordered secret bombing raids and sent 30,000 us and 50,000 arvn troops into cambodia - troops limited to keeping within 19 miles of border with vietnam and had orders to wd by end of june 1970

were attacks in cambodia successful

11,000 coms killed and helped keep lon nol’s anti com gov in pwer - extensive damage to ho chi minh trail and larg amounts of weapons and suuplies confisciated- nv could still us trail in laos

what was the reality of the attacks in cambodia

19 mile limit meant sva couldnt advance further as would be cut off from us troops and own supplies - many coms could stay safe by staying outside 19 mile boundary

did people portest against cambodia attacks

yes - gulf of tonkin resolution cancelled by congress, military funding became limites and there were calls for vietnamisation to happen more quickly

what were laos attacks

attacks on ho chi minh trail through laos

when were attacks on laos

feb - march 1971

what happened at tchepone in laos attacks

sva captured city of tchepone (aka sepon) - nva gathered 36,000 troops for retaliatory attack

outcome of laos attacks

fiece fighting and trail remained under nva control - despite air support from usa arvn suffered heavy casualties and had to retreat

what was nv easter offensive

nv laucnhed surprise attacls againsts outh in march 1972

what happened during north vietnams eatser offensive

120,000 troops from nv and vc attacked 3 bases in sv - arvn with air support from us managed to repel attack

what did usa do during nv bombing offensive

april 1972 usa retaliated with op linebacker - involved heavy bombing of nv including cities of nahoi and haiphong - also blocked chinese and soviet ships from entering nv waters

outcome of nv bombing offensive

usa destroyed majority of nv war industry and supplu roytes - most of its radio and communciation networks also demolished - china and ussr started to encourgae north to negitaite for peace