U.S. 2 Final - Vietnam

VIETNAM WAR

Vietcong

• Used guerrilla warfare - very familiar with their terrain and used it to their advantage

  • Ambush, Terrorism, and sabotage

  • Attacked the enemy and retreated when they were pursued.

  • raided enemy camps unsuspected

  • only took battles they knew would they would win

Credibility Gap

The difference between what the government was saying and what was actually happening

• Lyndon B. Johnson

War Powers Act

Resolution that limited the U.S. presidents ability to initiate or escalate military actions abroad

• Allowed Congress to check the power of the president and ability to commit to war with another country

Vietnamization

The idea of gradually leaving south Vietnam to fend for themselves in the war.

• Nixon’s idea

Dien Bien Phu

A town in northwest Vietnam with an isolated air base built and used by the Japanese in WW2

• Site of defeat of French forces by the Vietminh

Tet Offensive

Occurred during an important festival/holiday called Tet - the Vietnamese were allowed to bring back the dead for burials

• It was a sort of Chinese New Year where they also celebrated with fireworks

• Supposed to be a ceasefire for around 1 week

  • North Vietnamese and Vietcong launched a surprise attack by hiding bombs and weapons inside caskets.

  • This continued for about 1 month before the U.S. and S.V.A. regained control

    • Considered a loss for the Vietcong as they lost around 32,000 soldiers while U.S./S.V.A. lost less than 3,000.

Watergate

A political scandal in the 1970s involving the Nixon administration

• Break-ins occurred at the Democratic National Committee headquarters

  • Many cover-up attempts were made

• Led to Nixon’s resignation in 1974

Results of the Vietnam war/ Lessons learned

• North Vietnam took over control of South Vietnam and ended up as a communist country

  • Vietnam was left in a state of political and economic turmoil

• The people no longer trusted what the government or president was saying anymore. (credibility gap)

Lyndon B. Johnson (Escalation)

• Launched full-scale military intervention in SV because the SV gov. and army were on the verge of collapse

• Operation Rolling thunder - bombing campaign against North

Richard Nixon (Vietnamization)

Ended the war by reducing the number of U.S. military troops while training the SVA to fend for themselves

Ho Chi Minh

• Leader of the communist North Vietnam

• Led a popular government where he broke up large estates and redistributed it to commoners

• Seen as a national hero

Who fought in Vietnam before the U.S. became involved militarily?

France - in the Indochina war

What is the difference between the Vietminh & Vietcong?

• Vietminh- Communist-led nationalist movement in Viertnam led by Ho Chi Minh

  • fought against the french colonial

  • Organized “militant” fighters

• Vietcong- guerilla fighters & military force in SV fighting against the SV gov. during the Vietnam War

How did American public opinion impact the war effort?

Varied throughout the war but generally was against the conflict due to the unnecessary casualties, media coverage, and credibility gap

What lessons has the U.S. learned from Vietnam?

• Highlighted the limits of military power, the importance of public support during time of crisis, and caution when intervening in foreign conflicts.