war in vietnam

• during what years, was the vietnam war?

  1954-75
• why was vietnam split into two?

  at the end of ww2, france wanted to regain vietnam.

  • the vietminh, led by ho chi minh, wanted independence so the democratic republic of vietnam (DRV) was created.
  • the vietminh had control of the north and the french had control of the south.
• how was china involved in the war between france and vietnam?

  in 1949, china became a communist country and supported the vietminh by sending troops and supplies.
• how did the usa become involved in the war between france and vietnam?

  the usa began sending military supplies to the french, however the soldiers were told to not actually fight to avoid getting openly involved.

  by 1954, the usa paid 80 percent of the cost of france's war with vietnam.
• when was the battle of dien bien phu?

  1954
• what happened at the battle of dien bien phu?

  after 55 days of fighting, the french surrendered due to the strength of the vietminh.

  this resulted in the geneva confrences.
• what was the geneva conference?

  1954.

  an attempt to restore peace between france and vietnam.
• what were the geneva accords?

  1954.

  divided vietnam into two countries along the 17th parallel, seperated by a demilitarised zone where no soldiers where permitted.
• who was north vietnam led by in 1954?

  ho chi minh.
• who was south vietnam led by in 1954?

  bao dia, backed by the usa, until 1955 when ngo dinh diem became president.
• why did the usa increase involvement in vietnam?

  the domino theory:

  • eisenhower was worried that if vietnam became communist, others would follow.
  • in 1954, eisenhower set up the southeast asia treaty organisation (SEATO) which involved countries like britain and france to stop the spread of communism.
• why did the usa increase involvment in vietnam?

  diem's government:

  • corrupt and unpopular - little respect for buddists, gave most jobs to his family.
  • vietcong (VC) were revolutionary groups in the south who were against diem.
  • north vietnam backed the vietcong and eisenhower backed diem by sending advisers to train the ARVN.
  • eisenhower didn't want to risk nuclear war by sending us troops.
• what years was kennedy president?

  1961-63
• what tactics did kennedy use?

  he agreed with the domino theory and wanted to avoid direct military action.

  • sent 160,000 more advisers to south vietnam by 1963.
  • authorized the use of chemical sprays such as agent orange, to kill crops and jungles.
  • changed tactics to searching for VC fighters.
  • in 1961, he requested a report on the feasibility of sending us soldiers into vietnam.
• why did kennedy have concerns about diem's effectiveness as a leader?

  he believed the VC were being beaten, but in jan 1963, the ARVN lost the battle of ap bac, even though it had us air support and 5 times as many soldiers.

  this brought negative publicity in america.
• why was diem's leadership unpopular?

  on 6 may, diem's government troops fired on a buddhist procession and killed 9.

  on 11 june, a buddhist monk burned himself to death (self-immolated) in protest to diem's government, which created worldwide publicity.
• why did kennedy put pressure on diem's government?

  to make peace with the buddhists, but diem's continued to persecute them.

  as a result of this kennedy withdrew all support for his leadership for diem as he know his government would never be democratic.
• when was diem assassinated?

  in nov 1963, ARVN generals overthrew and assassinated diem.

  the usa did not intervene to prevent this.
• what did kennedy do after diem's assassination?

  he felt he had a responsibility to protect the new south vietnam government from communism.
• what year was the strategic hamlet program?

  1962
• why did diem and kennedy create the strategic hamlet program?

  to house locals away from the vietcong, so the VC could not recruit them to fight.
• what was the aim of the strategic hamlet program?

  to provide security for villagers and create support for the government.

  the hamlets were also supposed to have schools and medical centers.
• why was the strategic hamlet program unpopular?

  the ARVN forcibly removed and relocated villagers, however they did not want to leave their ancestral homes.

  there was also not enough food or basic provisions therefore many villagers starved to death.
• when was eisenhower president?

  1953-61
• when was johnson president?

  1963-69
• what were johnson's aims as president?

  • stop the spread of communism.
  • establish democratic government in the south supported by the people.
  • ensure the situation did not escalate to nuclear war.
• what were johnson's problems as president?

  • communists in vietnam were getting stronger.
  • south vietnamese government was weak.
  • the USSR was a superpower with nuclear capability.
• why did the vietcong become more effective?

  • their numbers increased.
  • some VC ideas were popular amongst the ordinary vietnamese.
  • south vietnamese were angry with their government (like the strategic hamlet program).
  • they received support from north vietnam who provided weapons from USSR and china.
  • south vietnamese supported the VC.
• what year was the gulf of tonkin incident?

  1964
• what was the gulf of tonkin incident?

  two us naval ships reported attacks by north vietnamese torpedo boats off the coast.
• what were causes of the gulf of tonkin incident?

  • increased build up of us advisers in south vietnam under johnson.
  • us involvement in ARVN raids on north vietnam.
• what were consequences of the gulf of tonkin incident?

  • johnson ordered air strikes against north vietnam.
  • congress passed the gulf of tonkin resolution, allowing johnson to use armed forces to defend south vietnam and us troops.
  • in response, the north vietnamese expanded their involvement in south vietnam.
• what was the ho chi minh trail?

  • a network of paths and smaller trails with connected north and south vietnam.
  • it passed through laos and combodia and took about a month to get from one end to the other.
• what was the ho chi minh trail used for?

  the north vietnamese, with china's help, sent troops and weapons to the VC in south vietnam.

  by 1974, there were underground hospitals, fuel and weapon stores.
• what did the gulf of tonkin resolution allow johnson to do?

  the power to escalate the war without consulting with congress first.
• how did the vietcong use guerrilla tactics?

  • planted ambushes.
  • didn't wear military uniform to blend in with peasants.
  • stayed close to us deployments so they couldn't be bombed easily.
  • sabotaged roads and bridges to make it difficult for the enemy to move around.
  • avoided open battles.
  • used simple but deadly traps, such as the pitfall spike trap.
• how did tunnels aid the vietcong?

  allowed them to organise surprise attacks, store supplies safely, hide, and treat the wounded.
• when was operation rolling thunder?

  1965
• why did johnson organise operation rolling thunder?

  there were still no us soldiers in vietnam and johnson wanted to force the north vietnamese to negotiate a settlement, so they began a bombing campaign.
• what was operation rolling thunder?

  a bombing campaign that targeted the ho chi minh trail to stop supplies being sent to the vietcong and north vietnam's industrial base.

  • johnson avoided the capital hanoi, the port haiphong (where the USSR sent supplies into vietnam) and the border of china.
  • this was to avoid the war escalating and the USSR becoming more involved.