GCSE History: The Vietnam War

Indochina

French colony made up of Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam

Vietminh

An organization of Vietnamese Communists and other nationalist groups that between 1946 and 1954 fought for Vietnamese independence from the French

What is the name of the battle where the Vietnamese beat the French and when was it?

Dien Bien Phu in 1954

Who did the USA support in the war of France and Vietnam?

They supported France and gave $3 billion in aid

Who supported the Vietminh?

China

How many "votes" did Diem get from Saigon in the 1955 elections?

605,000 votes but only 450,000 lived there

How did Eisenhower support South Vietnam?

He did not uphold the free elections and sent aid and advisors to support Diem.

How did Buddhists respond to Diem's oppression?

Many self-immolated (set themselves on fire) such as Quang Duc in 1963

How much did Kennedy spend in support of Diem?

$270 million

How did Kennedy support South Vietnam?

Sent military experts to train the ARVN

Sends over 16,000 advisors and 20,000 troops

Ho Chi Minh Trail

A network of jungle paths winding from North Vietnam through Laos and Cambodia into South Vietnam, used as a military route by North Vietnam to supply the Vietcong during the Vietnam War.

Why were the Vietcong more of threat in 1964?

-they were supported by USSR and China

-had local support and trust

-had time on their side

-South Vietnam very unpopular

What happened at the Gulf of Tonkin?

In August 1964 the US ship Maddox was attacked in North Vietnamese waters. Congress were furious. The ship was 'attacked' again and Congress used this as permission to pursue war

What was the Gulf of Tonkin resolution?

Congress gave Johnson the power to use full military power to repel attacks against the US

How many US troops were in Vietnam in 1968?

536,000

What were the Americans two objectives in Vietnam?

Kill the Vietcong

Spread capitalism

How did the Americans attempt to spread capitalism in Vietnam?

They used the "hearts and minds" approach

Give examples of Vietnamese Guerilla tactics

-hiding in underground tunnels

-punji traps in the ground

-deliberately causing infection

Why were the Vietcong so hard to identify?

They didn't wear uniform and so were indistinguishable from other innocent civilians

How long was the Vietcong's network of tunnels?

250km

How many tons of supplies were carried by Ho Chi Minh trail each day?

60 tons

What new tactic did the Americans use after failure to fight against Guerilla warfare

Search and destroy

What 4 principles were Guerilla attacks based on?

-retreat when attacked

-raid enemy camps

-attack when the enemy sleeps

-chase the enemy when they are retreating

What percentage of American deaths were caused by traps?

11%

What protective features did the Ho Chi Minh tunnels have?

Punji traps, firing posts, really narrow tunnels and trip wires

When did Operation Rolling Thunder begin and end?

2nd March 1965-1968

What was Operation Rolling Thunder?

America's first sustained bombing campaign of North Vietnam which aimed to destroy key infrastructure and convince the North to stop supplying the VC.

How much damage did Operation Rolling Thunder cause to Vietnam?

$300 million

How many planes did the Vietcong shoot down during Rolling Thunder?

900

How many bombs were dropped on Vietnam?

More than the whole of WW2

Why did the USA introduce chemical weapons in Vietnam?

They wanted to destroy the jungle so they could see the Ho Chi Minh trail

What was Agent Orange?

Chemical weapon used to kill crops and leaves on plant life (a defoliant)

What was the impact of Agent Orange?

It got into the water supply and caused genetic deformities

What was Napalm?

Petroleum jelly burning at 800 degrees that burst out the bomb, killing and burning people horribly

What happened at La Drang Valley?

First major face to face combat with the Vietcong- VC lose 1800 people and USA lost 240 men

What were Zippo raids?

Helicopters would drop soldiers into towns and they would search and then burn them

Why were the USA's new tactics unsuccessful?

They were very unpopular and caused public backlash

What is the acronym for US tactics?

B-bombing

E-escalation

A-air and artillery

S-search and destroy

T-technology

What is the acronym for the Vietcong's tactics?

P-peasants

E-enemy

G-Guerilla

What was the Tet Offensive?

Massive surprise attack on over 100 different places in South Vietnam.

When was the Tet Offensive launched?

January 30, 1968 (Vietnamese new year)

What building in Saigon was attacked during the Tet offensive?

The US embassy

How many men did the VC lose at Tet?

58,000

How many men did the US and ARVN lose at Tet?

4000

What was the impact of the Tet offensive on the US?

Johnson was caught lying and stepped down from the presidential race

What did a reporter say to Johnson which caught him out for lying?

"What the hell is going on? I thought we were winning this war?"

Sum up Kennedy's involvement in Vietnam and his three main involvements

Advise

-overthrow of Diem

-Strategic hamlets

-16,000 "advisors"

Sum up Johnson's involvement in Vietnam and his four main involvements

War

-Chemical warfare

-Gulf of Tonkin

-Search and destroy

-Operation Rolling Thunder

What is Vietnamisation?

the process of the united states military leaving vietnam and letting the south vietnamise army take command

What was Nixon's second policy?

Escalation of the war, expanding it into Laos and Cambodia

What support continued after Vietnamisation?

Money and air support

What did Nixon brag about?

"Bombing the communists back to the bargaining table"

How did the public react to Nixon's escalation of the war?

There was mass outrage and massive protests at universities

Why did Vietnamisation fail?

Once the American troops withdrew, the ARVN would have to surrender

What was the Madman Theory?

Nixon's plan to pretend to be mad and willing to use nuclear weapons in an attempt to scare North Vietnam into surrender.

What was Nixon's main policy?

Lies

How many bombs did America drop on Cambodia?

3 million tons

What was Operation Linebacker II?

An increased bombing attack aimed at forcing peace talks from communists

Why did politicians oppose the Vietnam war?

USA was supporting a corrupt government and a lack of democracy

Why did Vietnam veterans oppose the war?

Many had PTSD and debilitating injuries

75,000 were left severely disabled

Why did Black Americans oppose the war?

Money spent on the war was not being spent on civil rights

Expected to die for their country but not treated equally

Draft system was unfairly stacked against blacks people

Why did women oppose the war?s

They lost family members and husbands

Why did students oppose the war?

They were more liberal and engaged with morality than the older generations

How many US casualties were there by the time Nixon came to power?

34,000 deaths

What were the Pentagon Papers?

Papers leaked in 1971 that revealed that the government had not been honest with the public about Vietnam and that LBJ had been lying about winning the war

How did the media increase opposition to the war?

Showed the brutality of US tactics and also showed that the US weren't winning. The Tet Offensive was televised on CBS

How did the US methods of warfare increase opposition?

They showed indiscriminate killing and brutality

What were draft dodgers?

People who taught others how to avoid the draft

By 1969 there were 34,000

What was Operation Phoenix?

A CIA operation where they arrested, interrogated, & killed suspected Vietcong

Why were people protesting at Kent State?

They had seen friends and family drafted and disagreed with Nixon's policy of expanding the war into Cambodia

How did the Mayor of Kent respond to peaceful rallies?

He declared a state of emergency and called in the National Guard

What happened on 4th May 1970?

Kent State University students held a demonstration against Nixon's decision to invade Cambodia - 4 students were killed.

How many students and guardsmen were involved at Kent State?

3000 students congregated

100 guardsmen confronted them

What role did Newsweek have in the Kent State riots?

They published a photo of a 14 year old crying over a dead body which became a symbol of opposition to the war

What happened on 9th May 1970?

There was a March at Washington with 100,000 people

What was the counter movement to the university protesters called?

The silent majority

How much of South Vietnam was sprayed by Agent Orange?

24%

How many members were part of the Students for a Democratic society?

3000

What percentage of Americans supported the war in 1964?

85%

What percentage of Americans supported the war in 1970?

50%

McCarthyism

The term associated with Senator Joseph McCarthy who led the search for communists in America during the early 1950s, creating the Red Scare and a public fear of communism

Why did the fear of communism make people support the war?

People were paranoid and believed in the domino effect. Brezhnev doctrine and Soviet expansion created fear over the fate in the East.

What term was first used by George Meany in 1967 to describe most of the American public?

The silent majority

Who were the Hard Hats?

Construction workers who supported the war and were highly patriotic

What did the Hard Hats do on 8th May 1970?

200 Hard Hats beat up anti-war protesters in New York and injured 70

What was agreed at the Paris Peace Agreement (1973)?

-USA will withdraw all troops

-a ceasefire will be reached

-prisoners of war will be repatriated

When did America first try for peace in Vietnam?

In 1968 after Tet created bad publicity

When did Vietnam become united?

1975

What key issues affected Vietnam veterans?

PTSD, drug addiction, hostility from people when they returned

How many Americans died in the war?

50,000

How much did the war cost America?

$167 billion

How many troops were addicted to heroin?

30%

What was the impact of psychological issues on veterans?

More veterans killed themselves after the war than died during the war

When was the Kent State shootings?

1970