Vietnam

• In the evacuation of Saigon, thousands and thousands of South Vietnamese civilians fought and clawed their way in a desperate attempt to escape with the Americans, with mass chaos and confusion.
• France had ruled Indochina before WWII, but during the war it was conquered by the Japanese, who were vicious and cruel to the people, leading to the creation of an anti-Japanese resistance movement, the Viet Minh, with Ho Chi Minh as the leader.
• Ho was supported by China, who was communist in 1949, yet the USA opposed the communists, pouring 500 million dollars a year into the French effort.
• A peace conference was held in Geneva and the country was divided into North and South Vietname until elections could be held.
• The 17th Paralell was established as the demiliatarised zone between the two.
• Laos and Cambodia were independent states.
• National Elections were to be held in two years (by July 1956) throughout indochina.
• There were to be no foreign bases in Vietnam, which the Americans did not respect.
• Freedom of movement between the North and South Vietnam for 300 days was agreed.
• A combination of communist camaraderia and Vietminh nationalism ensured that the people that were devoted to Ho Chi Minh, and in return he looked after the people.
• Napalm, a weapon of destruction, was banned in 1980 and its use in the war has been condemned since.
• The Ho Chi Minh trail was a logistical network of roads, trails and jungle paths from North Vietnam that ran through Laos and Cambodia, supplying supplies and weapons.
• Some soldiers even blew up their own officers when out on patrol, claiming that the officer stepped on a booby trap so that they did not have to fight in the war anymore.
• The Vietcong Tunnel system was an extensive network of tunnels used for transporting troops and supplies, launching attacks, hiding from enemy fire, storing weapons and ammunition, and dug by hand and dug in the night to remain undetected.
• The Vietcong were a guerilla force, meaning that they did not wear a uniform, making it impossible to distinguish between civilians and Vietcong.
• Booby traps, devices with tripwires often placed in areas where soldiers were going to walk, were a constant danger and worry for the US soldier.
• Herbicide used in war operations, known as Agent Orange, has been condemned as a dangerous substance since the war and is estimated to have exposed over 4.5 to 5 million people to its toxic chemicals, leading to cancer, birth defects, and neurological disorders.
• The main form of transportation for the Vietcong was either by foot or bicycle, making it impossible for the Americans to cut off supplies from Russia and China as the Vietcong could always find a way through regardless of how much the Ho Chi Minh trail was bombed.
• The average age of soldiers was 19, many had been forced to join the war (or face a 5-year prison sentence), and most did not understand why they were fighting the war and had no real reason to want to fight the Vietcong.
• The USA got involved in the Vietnam War due to the Domino theory and fear of communism.
• In 1949, the Soviet Union tested its first Atomic bomb and China became communist.
• In 1949, the French lost their colony in Vietnam.
• Ngo Dinh Diem was disliked because of his catholic orders in a buddhist coutnry and his corruption.
• The NLF (National Liberation Front) were set up.
• US Presidents involved in the Vietnam War were Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon.
• Johnson came after the assassinantion of Kennedy, more prepared to send the USA into a full-scale conflict.
• The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was passed, allowing the US to commit a massacre, using bombs on innocent cities and factories.
• Operation Rolling Thunder was initiated, allowing the US to commit a massacre, using bombs on innocent cities and factories.
• Christian Davies stated that at the beginning of 1968, the american people were told that the Viet COng had been badly damaged from the aerial bombing and were on the brink of collapse.
• The war in Vietnam cost the USA $400,000 per Vietcong soldier killed and $33 billion per year.
• American tactics such as the use of chemical weapons like napalm and agent orange led to the development of the anti-war movement.
• 503,000 tons of bombs were dropped in the entirety of WWII.
• 653,000 tons of bombs were dropped in the entire Korean War.
• 864,000 tons of bombs were dropped on North Vietnam during operation rolling thunder.
• Over 58,202 American deaths and 75,000 severely injured occurred during the Vietnam war.
• On 4th May 1970, US president Nixon decided to carpet-bomb Cambodia, who he accused of supplying the Vietcong.
• In March 1968, the Secretary of Defence, McNamara, told President Johnson that America couldn’t win the war and he should start thinking of an exit strategy.
• Unknown to the americans, the NLF celebrated the TET New Year Festival two days early.
• The Vietnam war was a T.V war.
• The draft, introduced as experienced and professional soldiers were killed or wounded in the war, exposed the racial inequality in the USA, with 30% of African Americans being drafted compared to 19% of white Americans.