History: Vietnam ALL

dien bien phu year and duration?

2 months, 1954

The 19__ Geneva Agreements ended the First Indochina War by partitioning Vietnam at the __th parallel

1954, 17th parallel

Why did Dien Bien Phu end 1st indochina war?

France lost elite units, ended political will and public support for the war

French casualties wounded and captured at DBP?

2,200 killed and 5,100 wounded, with nearly 11,000 personnel captured by the Viet Minh

General of Viet Minh at DBP?

Vo Nguyen Giap

What (2) was built/placed by Vietminh around DBP, significance?

Trenches around the base, artillery + anti-aircraft guns. Allowed Giap → dominate attritional siege by isolating French targets in the base

Primary counterinsurgency and intelligence program of the US operating in the South?

Phoenix Program

How did Diem avoid the 1956 election knowing he would lose? 2 things

Argued SV never signed the Geneva Accords, delayed process and cooperation with North

How did Diem consolidate and legitimise his power in the South?

Held a US-backed rigged referendum to oust Emperor Bao Dai (600k votes for him with 450k registered voters)

How did Diem avoid elections + create the Republic of Vietnam without seeming anti-democratic?

He stated he was not opposed to the idea of free elections, but asserted that fundamental freedoms did not exist under the communist regime in North Vietnam.

Year of Strategic Hamlet Programme under Kennedy?

1962

Significance of Battle of Ap Bac 1963

First major VC battle victory

2 statistics from Battle of Ap Bac

VC were outnumbered 5 to 1, shot down 5 US helicopters

Buddhist crisis year, self-immolation Monk name?

1963, Thích Quảng Đức

Diem assasination year?

1963

Ia Drang (first battle) date?

Nov 1965

Gulf of tonkin incident date?

August 1964

Name of ship in Gulf of Tonkin Incident

USS maddox

Battle of Khe Sanh date and duration?

9 days before Tet Offensive, lasted 77 days

Tet Offensive start and end date?

1968, Jan to Nov

First president involved in Vietnam AT ALL, what did he declare?

Truman, Truman doctrine

Year of peak US military involvement

1969

What key massacre turned SV opinion against NV

Hue Massacre 1968

How long did NVA + VC hold Hue citadel for?

26 days

How many people massacred in Hue?

6,000

When was the My Lai Massacre?

March 1968

Who ended the My Lai Massacre?

Hugh Thompson

Name of famous anti war poster depicting My Lai Massacre?

And babies

QUOTE to show how US disregarded whether casualties were VC or civilian

"If it's dead and Vietnamese, it's VC"

Name of elite unit that was investigated for war crimes

Tiger Force

What was controversial about the Phoenix Program?

use of summary execution, torture, violation of human rights

Who was William Calley + QUOTE from his trial

Officer responsible for MLM"I was ordered to go in there and destroy the enemy"

Calley's punishment was…

Life in prison reduced to 10 years, then paroled after 3.5 years mostly in house arrest

Operation rolling thunder lasted from when to when

1965 to 1968

Operation rolling thunder dropped how many tonnes of bombs?

3 million

Operation rolling thunder COST to the US?

900 million $ USD

Across whole war, US spent around $__________ to kill a single enemy soldier

400,000 USD

How many tonnes of bombs dropped by US across Indochina/VLC total?

7.5 million

Operation speedy express kill to captured weapons ratio?

claimed body count close to 11,000, turned in fewer than 750 captured weapons.

Paris Peace Talks begin when and last how long?

1968, last 5 years to 1973

Significance of the VIETCONG having a seat at negotiation table?

Legitimizes them as political entity rather than rebel group, weakened South Vietnam -> paved the way for VC to remain in the South

Who did Kissinger begin secretly meeting with in Paris from 1969 onwards?

Lê Đức Thọ

What accelerated negotiations in 1972? + US response

Easter Offensive, largest operation since 1968 Tet, US response with Operation linebacker

Crux of Kissinger + Tho draft agreement BY 1972 that pissed Thieu off

"ceasefire-in-place", NVA legally remain in South Vietnam after US withdrawal

How many ammendments to peace agreement did Thieu present Nixon with? how many were accepted?

69, none were accepted

December 1972, what did Nixon order?

Christmas Bombings/Linebacker II, to make NV come back after collapsed negotiations

Date of FINAL PARIS PEACE ACCORDS

January 1973, almost identical to draft terms, Nobel Peace Prize for Kissinger and Tho (Tho rejected)

3 things Nixon was SHOWING thieu through bombing North Vietnam from Linebacker I + II

-can/will protect the South if North violates treaty

-violence to bring NV back to negotiations

Nixons term lasts from when to when?

1969 to 1974

What 2 things does Nixon do in 1969 after elected?

Silent Majority speech + announces Vietnamisation

Bac Ho death?

2nd September, 1969

When do US troops illegally invade Cambodia?

April 1970

Hard Hat Riot date?

May 1970

Kent State shooting date and casualties?

May 1970, 4 deaths

What does Congress do in 1970?

Repeals Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

Pentagon Papers, who leaked, when?

Daniel Ellsberg, 1971

Pentagon Papers, what was revealed?

systematic lies to the public and Congress for decades regarding the secret, unprovoked expansion of the Vietnam War.

When did Nixon visit Moscow + Beijing, what did it tell NV?

1972, China and USSR cared more about relationship w/ USA than Vietnamese victory, diplomatically isolated Hanoi

What did Nixon's Beijing visit tell us about China's interests?

great power interests > revolutionary solidarity — Beijing = countering Soviet influence > Vietnamese liberation

What did Thieu do during his resignation speech that was lowkey embarassing

He cried and blasted the US of betrayal

Fulbright hearings lasted from when to when

1966-1971

Fulbright hearings did what?

Examined evidence (Tonkin) about the war and exposed the way US forces had acted in Vietnam. Legitimised institutional opposition to war

What did George Kennan say in Fulbright hearings

He was architect of containment theory, testified Vietnam was a misapplication of containment

Walter Cronkite was who, voted as what in public opinion polls?

anchor of CBS "the most trusted man in America"

Cronkite famous quote about nature of the war

"mired in a stalemate"

LBJ quote regarding Cronkites influence on public opinion

"If I've lost Cronkite, I've lost Middle America."

Napalm Girl Photograph year?

1972