U.S. History Lesson 50 Quiz

Vietnam Veterans Memorial

-"The Wall"

-The Wall lists the names of U.S. soldiers killed or missing in action during the Vietnam War

-First two men Chester Ovnand and Dale Buis, first two to die in vietnam war during a surprise attack on their camp

Ho Chi Minh

-From 1880s til WWII Vietnam was part of French Indochina

-Vietnam also had a 2,000 year history of resisting foreign rule

-Vietnamese communist Ho Chi Minh used this to incite nationalist sentiment

-Ho Chi Minh helped found a group to oppose foreign occupation

-Members of this independence movement became known as Viet Minh

-Ho Chi Minh delivered a speech the day that Japan surrendered to the Allies basically saying that his only goal was independence for Vietnam, an appeal for U.S. support

The Viet Minh

-Vietnamese movement led by Ho Chi Minh against foreign occupation, first against Japanese and then French occupation

-Called their country the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and named city of Hanoi capital and Ho Chi Minh president

First Indochina War

-The Viet Minh called their country the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and named city of Hanoi capital and Ho Chi Minh president

-French refused to accept Vietnamese independence and wanted to eliminate Viet Minh

-French troops drove rebels out of Saigon, French colonial capital, then attacked northern Viet Minh strongholds

-Viet Minh retaliate by attacking French ground forces

-This marked the beginning of the First Indochina War which went on for 8 years

American View of The First Indochina War

-Some American officials view it as a war between colonial power and nationalists who want independence

-They urged France to allow Vietnam's independence

-Others, like Truman, believed the Viet Minh intended to establish communist dictatorship

-For Truman containing communism was above supporting nationalist movements

-Truman called for increased military aid to French Indonesia

Dien Bien Phu

-During the First Indochina War Viet Minh launched a surprise attack on a large French military base at Dein Bien Phu

-More than 12,000 French soldiers appeared ready for surrender

-Truman's successor, Eisenhower considered bombing Viet Minh to insure French didn't lose

-May 7 1954 Viet Minh finally overran this French base, ending the Battle of Dien Bien Phu

-French began to withdraw from northern Vietnam and the war ended with a peace conference in Geneva

Domino Theory

-During a news conference after Dien Bien Phu, Eisenhower warned that if Vietnam fell to communism, the rest of Southeast Asia would as well

-This was known as the Domino Theory

Materiel

Military equipment and supplies

Geneva Peace Conference- Geneva Accords

-France wanted to maintain some control over south Vietnam, while Viet Minh demanded France leave the country completely and recognize it as an independent nation

-China and the Soviet pressured Viet Minh to compromise so they wouldn't antagonize the U.S. and lead to military intervention

-French and Viet Minh signed the Geneva Accords, which ended the fighting and split Vietnam temporarily along the 17th parallel

-Viet Minh were north of the line while the French withdrew south of it

-The Accords scheduled an election for the reunification of Vietnam

U.S. Intervention in Vietnam

-As French move out, U.S. moves in

-American officials believed they could form a strong noncommunist state in South Vietnam and put an anticommunist South Vietnamese leader, Ngo Dinh Diem, into power

-Diem built an army with assistance of Eisenhower (provided military advisers)

-With U.S. approval, Diem blocked the national vote, rejecting the Geneva Accords, and held elections only in the South

-Declared himself as president of South Vietnam, returned land to the wealthy, and started drafting men ot army

Military Advisers

Noncombat specialists who train and equip another nation's soldiers

Viet Cong

-In response to Diem's actions in South Vietnam, Viet Minh communists in the south launched guerilla war against Diem's government

-Viet Minh formed national Liberation Front, invited all opponents of Diem

-This group was referred to as Viet Cong, slang for "vietnamese communists"

-Viet Cong's response was the first actions in the Second Indochina War, AKA the Vietnam War

Kennedy and South Vietnam

-Kennedy sent an inspection team to South Vietnam to evaluate their capabilities in fighting against Viet Cong and Northern Vietnam

-Kennedy originally opposed U.S. military intervention but these opinions shifted

-Favored policy of containing communism

-Kennedy's inspection team informed the president that South Vietnam was losing the war

-Some recommended increased military and economic aid and others urged withdrawal

-JFK chose to send more weapons and supplies to Vietnam

Ngo Dinh Diem

-Diem was corrupt and brutal

-Diem discriminated against Buddhist, the majority of Vietnamese citizens

-Buddhist rally opposing Diem's policies was interrupted by South Vietnamese police killing nine demonstrators

-U.S. acknowledged Diem failed as a leader and approved a coup, assassination Diem

Lyndon B. Johnson

-Kennedy was assassinated three weeks after Diem

-Johnson was Kennedy's successor

-LBJ thought the situation was potentially dangerous and could be a long conflict but he also believed in the containment of communism

-LBJ's moderate stance on Vietnam boosted his vote appeal

-He had plans to escalate U.S. involvement in the war, instructed the military to prepare to bomb North Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh Trail

-North Vietnam sent weapons and supplies south to the Viet Cong over the Ho Chi Minh Trail

-Passed through Laos and Cambodia

Gulf of Tonkin

-The North Vietnamese Army (NVA) began traveling along the Ho Chi Minh Trail

-Johnson approved covert attacks on radar stations along North Vietnam's coast

In response to the raids, NVA retaliated, firing machine guns and torpedoes at a U.S. destroyer in the Gulf of Tokin

-The ship was undamaged

-On August 4th, American sailors thought their ship was under attack again (no attack had occured)

-LBJ and officials decided an attack had occurred and sent air sticks against N Vietnamese naval bases

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

-Allowed the president to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the U.S. and to prevent further aggression

-Not a legal declaration of war, but did allow the president to expand U.S. role in Vietnamese conflict

Debate Over Increased Involvement

-LBJ supported a limited war to get S Vietnam independence

-Most LBJ advisors were hawks who mostly argued in favor of sending U.S. ground troops to Vietnam to escalate the war

-Some of LBJ advisors were doves, advocates of achieving a peaceful resolution in Vietnam through negotiation and compromise

-After weighing both sides, Johnson deployed U.S. troops

Hawks

-Most of LBJ advisors were hawks, people who favored expanding U.S. military involvement in Vietnam

-Vietnam defense was crucial to the broader struggle to contain communism

-Mostly argued in favor of sending U.S. ground troops to Vietnam to escalate the war

-Invoked domino theory to justify argument

-Argued against a policy of appeasement, referenced the Munich Pact and appeasement in WWII

-Emphasized importance of American credibility and reliability

Doves

-Some of LBJ advisors were doves, advocates of achieving a peaceful resolution in Vietnam through negotiation and compromise

-Argued against widespread bombing, escalation, and sending U.S. combat troops

-Argued that furthering the war wouldn't lead to victory like the Korean War

-Argued that the U.S. had no business engaging in another countries civil war

-Feared that direct U.S. involvement in Vietnam might draw China or Soviet Union into the conflict

Operation Starlite

-First major assault by U.S. ground troops

-August 1965

-Targeted 1500 Viet Cong who were preparing to attack a U.S. air base near the coast

-Fought with bomb and artillery attacks

-Marines successfully defeated the enemy

-Used strategy of transport troops by helicopter while battering the enemy with overwhelming firepower

Two-Pronged Strategy

-First U.S. marines would seize key cities and other viral sites along the coast, and transform them into modern military bases

-Bases then used to launch search-and-destroy missions against Viet Cong

-This strategic change represented the Americanization of the war

-South Vietnamese would only play a supporting role in the conflict