Conflict and tension in Asia - quizlet

• Why did USA fail to win Vietnam war?

  - Vietcong tactics- Inexperienced soldiers - US attitudes towards war- American Tactics - Didn't have Vietnam support
• When was the Vietnam War?

  November 1, 1955 - April 30, 1975
• Why did war in Vietnam break out?

  - Vietnam ruled by French until 1954 then divided- Ho Chi Minh wanted to unite both countries - President Diem
• Dien Bien Phu (1954)


  A French fort in Vietnam that was massacred and destroyed by Vietnamese fighters. The fort was in the middle of a valley and the Vietnamese assembled artillery in the surrounding mountains.
• Who were the Vietcong?

  South Vietnamese communists - wanted to overthrow Diem
• Who were the ARVN?

  Army of South Vietnam
• Vietcong statistic

  By 1964 there were over 100,000 Vietcong in the South
• Why did America get involved in Vietnam war?

  - Stop the spread of communism - containment, were scared of domino theory
• How did America help Diem?

  - Trained ARVN soldiers - Gave money and weaponry to South- encouraged Diem to force peasants to live in Bietcong areas
• Vietcong rule statistic

  By 1963, Vietcong controlled around 40% of rural South Vietnam areas
• ARVN Military advisors statistic

  By November 1963, there were 16000 military advisors
• When was Diem killed?

  1963
• How did Johnson escalate the war after 1963?


  - At first continued using military advisors but after Ho Chi Minh sent North Vietnamese back up to Vietcong, Johnson increase American insolvent- Gulf of Tonkin- In 1965, ordered bombing of North Vietnam
• Gulf of Tonkin (1964)


  - The North Vietnamese attacked a U.S. Navy destroyer that they thought had assisted South Vietnamese raids nearby. - The North Vietnamese may have attacked again three days later, but this is uncertain. -President Johnson told Congress that the destroyer had been attacked twice, without mentioning the South Vietnamese raids
• American involvement statistic

  In March 1965, 3500 marines arrived in Vietnam By 1968, there were over 500,000 Us troops in South VietnamBy 1970 only 280,000By 1971 only 140,000
• What were the Vietcong tactics?

  - booby traps- guerrilla warfare- tunnels - 250km- Ho Chi Minh trails- plant mines
• US planes statistic

  Over 1400 US planes shot down between 1965 and 1968
• What were American tactics?

  - Search and destroy - Agent blue - destroys plants(rice paddies)- Agent orange - herbicide - napalm - burning chemical
• Operation Rolling Thunder (February 1965)


  - Bombing attack on North Vietnamese military- aim was to end North Vietnamese support for Vietcong
• Bombing statistic

  3 times as much explosive was dropped on Vietnam than on Germany and Japan in whole WW2
• Tet Offensive (31st January 1968)


  - attack by over 70,000 Vietcong on over 100 cities in South Vietnam- surprise as different to Guerilla warfare- Vietcong never fully recovered - Americans lost moral - bad media
• Tet offensive statistic

  - Over 10,000 people died during Tet offensive (47% Vietcong, 5% ARVN, 2% US troops)
• My Lai Massacre( 16th March 1968)


  - 9 helicopter gunships landed 3 US platoons near My Lai village- Charlie Company(US troop)- Was a search and destroy mission - killed over 500 civilians - broadcast widely - bad media
• Vietnamisation


  - Taking US troops out of Vietnam and training ARVN to do the fighting
• Cambodia(1969) and Laos(1971)

  - Nixon ordered bombing to disrupt Ho Chi Minh trails- ARVN proved they needed US
• Kent State University (1970)


  the National Guard was called out to police a protest on 4 May at the college → nervous soldiers fired into the crowd and killed 4 students
• How did the war end?

  - October 1972, peace agreement reached - Thieu was furious - American troops left Vietnam in 1973 - North Vietnam invaded South and by July 1976, Vietnam was one communist country
• Vietnam casualties entire way statistic

  About 2 million died during conflict
• US presidents during Vietnam war

  Eisenhower( 1953-1961)Kennedy(1961-63)Johnson(1963-1969)Nixon(1969-1974)
• South Vietnam presidents during war

  Ngo Dinh Diem (1955-1963)Nguyen Van Thieu ( 1967-1975)
• North Vietnam presidents during war

  Ho Chi Minh(1945-1969)
• Timeline of events Vietnam war

  1954 - Battle of Dien Bien Phu1954 - Vietnam divided 1955 October - Diem made South Vietnam president 1957 - Vietminh begin guerilla attacks1957 - Ho Chi Minh trails first used1960 - American aid to Diem increases1960 - Vietcong is formed 1963 - Diem assassination 1964 - Gulf of Tonkin 1965 - Operation Rolling Thunder 1968 January - Tet Offensive 1968 March - My Lai massacre1968 - Secret Peace talks begin in Paris 1969 - Ho Chi Minh dies1969 - Vietnamisation begins 1969 - US attack Cambodia 1969 - My Lai massacre made public1971 - Calley convicted of murder in My Lai1973 - Ceasfire agreed in Paris1973 March - US troops pull out of Vietnam
• When was the Korean War?

  1950-1953
• What caused the Korean War?

  - After WW2 Korea was divided by 38th parallel - North was communist and South was non-communist - June 1950, North Korea attacked South Korea
• Why did the US get involved in the Korean War?

  - To stop the spread of communism (containment), prevent domino effect, Truman doctrine - Proxy war against Russia and China
• Why did China get involved in the Korean War?

  - China feared an American invasion.- Mao did not want "rollback" to succeed. North Korea as a communist country provided a buffer zone for China.- The Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance with the USSR meant that, as their ally, China was under pressure from Stalin to help Korea.
• Why did the USSR get involved in the Korean War?

  - It was part of Soviet ideology to spread communism which is what Kim Il Sung was trying to do.- Stalin wanted to see communism expand as long as he did not get involved in a 'hot war' with the USA.- A successful takeover of South Korea would increase the USSR's influence in Asia.- The USSR was boycotting the UN and therefore could not use their boycott to prevent UN involvement in Korea so they gave support to Sung.
• PVA ( Chinese People's volunteer army)


  - sent 2,000,000 to Korea
• USSR actions in Korean War

  - sent fighter jets - provided tactics and support - shot over 400 UN aircraft
• Korean casualties in Korean War

  3-4 million