Unit 4: The Indochina Wars

Other names for Vietnam War & why

Johnson’s War (escalated the war the most), TV War (extreme presence of the war in media)

What did Ho Chi Minh want when he returned to Vietnam in 1941

Free Vietnamese people from Japanese and French

What were the names of Ho Chi Minh’s government

Vietnam Independence League, Vietminh

Who was Ho Chi Minh’s military commander

General Giap

How was Ho Chi Minh involved in WWII

Ho Chi Minh and General Giap fought with USA against Japan (believed US would help them get freedom from Japanese)

What happened in Vietnam after WWII

Ho Chi Minh declared Vietnamese independence and created Democratic Republic of Vietnam

Why did the USA not help Ho Chi Minh and Vietnam

Monolithic View of Communism; Ho Chi Minh was educated in Communism → US believed him to be communist

Who did Ho Chi Minh seek aid from and why (First Indochina War)

USA and USSR against French and Republic of China

Who supported Ho Chi Minh during the First Indochina War

Vietnamese people

Who supported Bao Dai during the First Indochina War

French

Who was Bao Dai

French puppet emperor of Vietnam (Vietnamese hated him)

When was the First Indochina War

1946-1960

When was the Second Indochina War

1960-1963 (US involvement ended in 1973)

How did the First Indochina War start

Ho Chi Minh declared war on French in Vietnam

How did General Giap defeat the French (battles in 1952)

Guerilla tactics, helped by Mao and People’s Republic of China (PRC), supported by Vietnamese people

What was the USA’s involvement in the early Indochina War (1950)

President Harry Truman sent financial aid and arms to French through Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG)

Why did Truman help the French in 1950

Believed Ho Chi Minh was puppet leader of Moscow and he needed to support the French against the spread of communism in Europe and Asia

Who won the Chinese Civil War in 1949 and what were the effects of this on the Vietnam War

Mao Zedong, established People’s Republic of China, Truman became tougher on communist spread in Asia

Why did Eisenhower support the French in Vietnam

Wanted to stop China’s influence, secure French ally, and appear tough on communism

How did the US get further involved in the First Indochina War from 1953-1961

Increased financial aid to French, sent military advisers to Vietnam, became politically involved in democratic freedom for South Vietnam, and gave Diem support

What was Dienbienphu and what occured during 1954 (Battle of Dienbienphu)

As Ho’s army became stronger, French hid in Dienbienph (stronghold) to force a face-to-face battle, General Giap and army disassembled artillery and attacked Dienbienphu, cut off parts of the stronghold → forced French to surrender through attack

What were the factors that weighed against further intervention in the First Indochina War (1954)

Korean war just ended, Vietnam was unknown and not very important, French was unlikely to win, Congress & Britain didn’t support intervention, could cause war in/with China

What was agreed at the Indochina Geneva Conference 1954

Geneva Accords were created, but no documents were signed

What did the Geneva Accords state and what were the impacts of it

Vietminh would rule North Vietnam and Bao Dai would rule South Vietnam (divided by 17th parallel); prevented Vietminh from becoming directly involved in the war until 1964

When did Vietminh first send PAVN soldiers to Vietnam

1964

What was the PAVN

People’s Army of Vietnam, North Vietnam

What was the ARVN

Army of the Republic of Vietnam

What did the US and France want during the Indochina Geneva Conference and why

Truce, didn’t want to lose control/influence over Vietnam

What did China want during the Indochina Geneva Conference and why

Truce, keep USA from entering Vietnam & away from Chinese borders

What did the USSR want during the Indochina Geneva Conference and why

Divide of everyone involved, avoid threat of US & France and Mao & Ho alliances

What did Ho Chi Minh want during the Indochina Geneva Conference

Communist control of Vietnam, settled for truce to reorganize forces because of Chinese and USSR pressure

What was the capital of North Vietnam

Hanoi

What was the capital of South Vietnam

Saigon

Who did the Geneva Accords apply to and how did this impact the Vietnam War

North Vietnam & France, US continued to support Bao Dai and Diem in South

Who was Diem and what was his full name

Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem, ruled South with Bao Dai until South Vietnamese election in 1955 (ruled after election)

When was the Republic of Vietnam created and why

1955, refused to recognize Geneva Accords (Diem created them)

What were the beliefs of the USA relating to Ngo Dinh Diem

Believed he can’t wage war or govern South alone

Why did the USA support Ngo Dinh Diem during the First Indochina War

To resist spread of communism in Vietnam

What were the differences in amount of support in North and South Vietnam (1961)

Eisenhower and US invested billion to Diem and South, USSR and China didn’t spend any resources in Vietnam

Who were the Vietcong

National Liberation Front created in 1960 (Diem called them Vietcong), Vietnamese in South secretly loyal to Ho Chi Minh but were told to remain secret because Geneva Accords

What was the Vietcong army’s official name

People’s Liberation Armed Forces

Who was believed to have started the Vietnam War

John F. Kennedy

What influenced Kennedy’s involvement in the Second Indochina War

• Catholic

• Anti-communist

• Believed USA should be involved in foreign affairs (to contain & destroy communism)

• Believed he needed to prove Democratic strength in Asia (Redeem Democrats after Truman’s failure in China that lead to Eisenhower winning next election)

• Believed he needed to make up for failure in Bay of Pigs

Why did Kennedy not want nationwide elections in Vietnam

Ho Cho Minh would win, without US involvement there would be a domino effect leading to South-East Asia falling to communism

Who was in Kennedy’s National Security Council (NSC)

Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara

What was Kennedy’s NSC’s role in the escalation of the Second Indochina War

Rusk and McNamara gave Kennedy updates on Vietnam that lead him to believe they were succeeding in Vietnam when they weren’t (to justify their original commitment to the Vietnam War)

Who were the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Kennedy’s significant military generals in Vietnam (ex. General Maxwell Taylor)

Who told Kennedy about what was actually going on in Vietnam (contradicting the NSC’s reports) & South Vietnam wouldn’t succeed without USA intervention

WWII hero General Maxwell Taylor

What did the Military Assistance Command in Vietnam do

Coordinate increasing US involvement (Kennedy created it)

Hawks vs. Doves and influences on Vietnam War

Hawks want President tough on communism & aggressive with containment, Doves believe aggression against communism is waste of resources and soldiers’ lives; Press influenced public opinion, president needs public support of actions by appeasing to hawks and doves

What did USA advisors do in Vietnam (Second Indochina War)

Didn’t do anything because of extensive military operations, helicopters were already helping ARVN hunt down Vietcong

Why did Kennedy continue to support Diem during Second Indochina war

Didn’t trust him & believed he was too weak to rule South Vietnam, wanted to help Diem gain control over South Vietnam & eliminate Vietcong & establish democratic government

Why was Diem hated by the Vietnamese

Catholic in Buddhist region (hated Catholics because of French), refused to provide social support that would benefit Vietnamese people

Who was Diem’s brother and his wife?

Ngo Dinh Nhu & Madame Nhu

What were Ngo Dinh Nhu and Madame Nhu’s roles in the Second Indochina War

Nhu served as Diem’s Prime Minister & oversaw South Vietnam social structure and military operations of ARVN (Diem was incapable, Nhu was out of touch with common people); Nhu & Madame Nhu created Strategic Hamlet Program; banned worship practices of Buddhists & activities popular with common people

What was the Strategic Hamlet Program

Kicked people out of homes to fortify South Vietnamese villages militarily and keep them from communist influence

What was the impact of the Strategic Hamlet Program on the Vietnam War

Lead to people joining the Vietcong (did the opposite of what they wanted to happen; wanted to prevent communism in South Vietnam)

What battle occurred in January 1963 and who won

Battle of Ap Bac; Vietcong won because ARVN soldiers refused to fight (many tanks got stuck & didn’t want to fight without cover)

What happened for the Buddhists of Vietnam to protest against Diem’s government’s treatment of them (1963)

Buddhist priest set himself on fire; Kennedy claimed unaware of Catholic vs. Buddhist conflicts

Who was the Ambassador of Vietnam 1963

Henry Cabot Lodge II

What did Henry Cabot Lodge II do

Outlined failures of Diem & belief major reforms were needed to succeed in Vietnam

Why did Kennedy support ARVN’s coup against Diem (1963)

Too dedicated to war to withdrawal, believed Diem incapable of governing South Vietnam and leading ARVN

When was Diem chased out of government

November 2, 1963

When was Diem & Nhu found dead

November 3, 1963

What was Kennedy’s response to Diem and Nhu being found dead in 1963

Claimed shock, stated he wished coup could’ve been done without deaths, human life is valuable (contradicts Castro assassination attempts)

When was John F. Kennedy assassinated

November 22, 1963

Who succeeded Kennedy after his assassination

Lyndon B. Johnson

Who was Kennedy’s Vice President

Lyndon B. Johnson

What was Johnson’s role in the Vietnam War

Seen as the president who began the war due to increase of US military involvement in Vietnam & escalation of conflict during his presidency

Why did Johnson increase US influence in Vietnam War

Believed he needed to continue US involvement in Vietnam to continue Kennedy’s legacy, hated communism, believed USA couldn’t fail in Vietnam

Why did Johnson keep Kennedy’s advisors and his NSC

Continue his legacy and ensure he’d win the next election

Why was the conflict looking bad for the USA in 1964

PAVN soldiers were sent to South Vietnam to help Vietcong (didn’t feel the need to follow Geneva Accords because of US involvement), USSR & Chinese Rocket-Propelled Grenades (RPGs) were used by PAVN and Vietcong against US helicopters

How was the CIA involved in the Vietnam War (Johnson)

Sabotage teams against North Vietnamese coasts to stop North sending supplies from North to Vietcong

What was Gulf of Tonkin incident and when was it

July & August 1964; American ships were attacked by North Vietnamese (ships were in international waters), Johnson threatened US military retaliation, Johnson used possibly false second attack to gain support from Congress to send more US military ito Vietnam

What was the Gulf of Tonkin resolution

Plan to increase US military presence in Vietnam to secure success & protect US troops

False Flag Incident

Fabricating events to justify actions

Who was Johnson running against in 1964 election

Barry Goldwater

How did Johnson win the election in 1964

Stated America wasn’t going to invade and keep the war as a “Vietnamese problem” with minimal commitment (to appease hawks and doves); avoided full commitment before election, was able to fully commit after

What was the Working Group and who created it

Johnson; combined Defense Department, State Department, CIA, and JCS (Joint Service Committee on Military Service), would update Johnson on situation in Vietnam to inform decisions

What did the Working Group tell Johnson about the situation in Vietnam (1964 or 1965)

South Vietnam couldn’t fall to communism due to domino effect, US intervention was necessary, bombing North Vietnam would force PAVN and Vietcong to surrender

What was Johnson’s role in the Working Group

Commander-in-Chief

What was Operation Rolling Thunder

Bombing raids on North Vietnamese & Hanoi (response to Vietcong attacks), bombed Vietcong & PAVN trails to South and Hanoi to stop aid in South; increased in frequency and intensity during the war, only increased tensions & conflict

Why was Operation Rolling Thunder considered limited response

Not using nukes (avoiding China’s involvement)

What was Johnson’s claims of Operation Rolling Thunder & increased ground troops in 1965

Would protect Americans

Why was increasing ground troops during the Vietnam War counter-productive

Cycle of more Americans in Vietnam meaning more troops would need to be sent to replace wounded and dead

What happened with Diem’s successors, generals, and officials

Did worse than Diem (decreased moral & faith in Vietnam)

Who became Head of State in South Vietnam in 1965

General Nguyen Van Thieu

Who was Nguyen Van Thieu’s Prime Minister

Nguyen Cao Ty

Why were Nguyen Van Thieu & Nguyen Cao Ty hated and unfit to rule South Vietnam

Nguyen Van Thieu was corrupt & took advice from an astrologer; Nguyen Cao Ty was a Hitler supporter, dressed in bright and fancy clothes (Vietnamese were mostly poor and didn’t wear that sorta stuff), drank, gambled, womanizer

Why did Johnson continue to increased US troops & bombings in 1965

Wanted to prove they could win, public and political pressure to resolve conflict

What as the Ho Chi Minh Trail

Trail for PAVN soldiers and supplies to be brought from North Vietnam to South Vietnam; went through Laos & Cambodia where US air forces couldn’t reach them, went through Gulf of Tonkin and South China Sea because of international waters (US couldn’t attack)

Where did the US focus a lot of its bombings

Ho Chi Minh trail to stop supplies from reaching South Vietnam, failed; trail was vital to PAVN, PAVN soldiers and supporters took different routes on the trail to avoid detection

What was the first major engagement between the US and the NVA

Battle of Ia Drang, November 1965

What was the Battle of Ia Drang (1965)

US troops dropped near NVA activity near Ho Chi Minh trail to stop them; 1st Engagement: 1st Battalion of 7th Cavalry Regiment fought against NVA forces; 2nd Engagement: 2nd Battalion had 50% casualties before retreatingW

Who won the Battle of Ia Drang (1965)

USA & North Vietnam claimed to have won; convinced Ho Chi Minh he could win Vietnam War

What was the CIA operation in 1967-1972

Operation Phoenix; find and eliminate top Vietcong agents, more Vietnamese always replaced eliminated ones

Why did US soldiers start committing war crimes

Became desperate, frustrated, and careless from tension of war & aggressive training tactics; started to destroy villages suspected of aiding Vietcong

Why did the South Vietnam government never win over the South Vietnamese people

Hated the government and USA, strengthening NVA & Vietcong; winning over the people could’ve won them the war

What was the My Lai Massacre (March 16, 1968)

American Unit killed hundreds of villagers in My Lai; incident covered up causing outrage in USA when it was revealed

Why were there so many Vietnamese civilian casualties during the Vietnam War

US soldiers killed villagers suspected of aiding North Vietnam, NVA & Vietcong killed villagers allied with South Vietnam