Vietnam

• Vietnam had been a French colony , but the defeat to the French in 1954 resulted in far greater US involvement
• The US became involved in Vietnam as part of their policy of containment to stop the spread of communism - the fundamental reason was the Domino Effect
• The US became involved Vietnam because of their fear of the 'Domino Effect' - they were convinced that if Vietnam fell to communism , it would be followed by its neighbouring states , especially Laos and Cambodia
• Who was the US backed leader of Vietnam that was overthrown in 1963?

  Diem
• In 1963 , Diem was overthrown - In the south , he was a corrupt and unpopular leader
• After Diem was overthrown , the Vietcong became more popular in the South
• The Vietcong were communist guerrilla fighters
• The failure of the Strategic Hamlet Policy occurred in 1963
• The Strategic Hamlet Policy was John F Kennedy's plan to reduce communist influence - It involved moving peasants into fortified villages guarded by troops
• The Strategic Hamlet Policy did not stop the communists
• The Strategic Hamlet Policy was very unpopular with the peasants
• The Gulf of Tonkin incident occurred in 1964
• In the Gulf of Tonkin incident, President Johnson wanted more direct military involvement in Vietnam but needed an excuse
• On the 2nd of August 1964, the US destroyer Maddox was fired on by North Vietnamese patrol boats in the Gulf of Tonkin
• President Johnson was able to use the attacks in the Gulf of Tonkin incident to persuade Congress to support greater US involvement in Vietnam
• Operation Rolling Thunder lasted from 1965 to 1968
• In Operation Rolling Thunder , the US bombed North Vietnam for 3.5 years - they hoped to destroy supply routes to the South
• The US engaged in chemical warfare with Vietnam - they used defoliants such as Agent Orange and Napalm
• Agent Orange was a highly toxic weedkiller used to destroy the jungle - The US used 82 million litres
• Napalm was a type of bomb that exploded and showered the surrounding victims with a burning petroleum jelly - Napalm could burn through the skin and flesh to the bone
• Napalm sticks to the skin
• Westmoreland, the US commander in Vietnam , establishing secure and heavily defended US bases in the south of the country
• The US and South Vietnamese (ARVN) forces launched 'Search and Destroy' - they would descend on a village they believed
• The troops involved in 'Search and Destroy' named their attacks Zippo raids after the name of the lighters they used to set fire to the thatched houses of the villages
• Inexperienced US troops often walked into traps , and civilian casualties were very high - This made the USA and ARVN very unpopular with many South Vietnamese peasants who were more than likely to support the Vietcong