cold war

• Vietnam


  Country divided into North and South after French rule ended in 1954
• Ho Chi Minh


  Communist ruler of North Vietnam who wanted to unite North and South under his control
• Vietcong


  Communist guerrilla soldiers fighting to overthrow President Diem and his government in South Vietnam
• President Diem


  Ruler of South Vietnam, strongly anti-communist but also brutal and unpopular
• By 1964, there were over 100,000 Vietcong in the South and they were killing thousands of South Vietnamese officials every year
• Diem's government was struggling to control the Vietcong
• "The Cuban Missile Crisis was never a threat to world peace."
• Conflict in Vietnam 1963-75
• Monomers


  Smaller units from which larger molecules are made
• Polymers


  Molecules made from a large number of monomers joined together in a chain
• Synthetic polymers


  • nylon
  • polyethylene
  • polyester
  • Teflon
  • epoxy
• Enzymes


  • They increase the rate of chemical reactions without themselves being consumed or permanently altered by the reaction
  • They increase reaction rates without altering the chemical equilibrium between reactants and products
• As temperature increases


  The rate of reaction increases
• Vietnam was ruled by the French till 1954. Then it was divided into two countries.
• Vietcong


  The communist guerrilla soldiers fighting to overthrow President Diem and his government
• By 1964, there were over 100,000 Vietcong in the South and they were killing thousands of South Vietnamese officials every year.
• This was the time of the Cold War. Americans were obsessed with stopping Communism, both abroad and at home in the USA.
• Truman Doctrine


  The USA wanted to support non-Communist governments which were threatened by Communists
• Domino theory


  If Vietnam became Communist, they were sure that neighbouring countries (e.g. Laos, Cambodia, Thailand) would do so too
• Diem was a corrupt and brutal leader, who was very unpopular.
• What the Americans did to help Diem

  1. Sent military advisers to train the ARVN

  2. Gave a lot of money and modern weapons to South Vietnam

  3. By November 1963, there were 16,000 military "advisers"

  4. Encouraged Diem to force the peasants in areas dominated by the Vietcong to live in "strategic hamlets"
• By 1963, the Vietcong controlled about 40% of the rural areas of South Vietnam.
• How Johnson escalated the war after 1963

  1. Continued the policy of using military "advisers"

  2. The Gulf of Tonkin incident gave him the excuse to attack the North

  3. In 1965, he ordered the bombing of North Vietnam

  4. He then ordered US combat troops into action to back up the weak ARVN
• By 1968 there were over 500,000 US troops in South Vietnam.
• Anti-aircraft guns, surface-to-air missiles and fighter planes (supplied by the USSR)

  How the North Vietnamese tried to fight back against the American bombers
• Vietcong guerrillas


  • Fought in small units, avoiding face-to-face fights
  • Used ambushes, planted mines and booby traps, targeting isolated US and ARVN units
  • Were experts at camouflage, blending into the countryside
  • Did not wear a uniform
  • Dug 250 km of tunnels to hide in
• The Vietcong tried to win over the peasants in the South, but they did not hesitate to torture and murder government officials and spies.
• Operation Rolling Thunder


  Bombing attack on North Vietnamese military and industrial targets
• "Search and destroy"


  Army units were sent out into the villages and countryside to search for and kill any Vietcong they could find
• "War of attrition"


  Westmoreland planned to kill so many Vietcong and NVA personnel that the Communists would give up
• Three times as much explosive was dropped on Vietnam as was dropped on Germany and Japan during the whole of the Second World War.
• The Tet Offensive started on 31st January, 1968. It was an attack by the Vietcong and NVA on more than 100 cities, towns and military bases throughout South Vietnam, including Saigon.
• Tet Offensive


  A huge turning point and was a major reason why more and more Americans turned against the war
• On 16th March, 1968, nine helicopter gunships landed three US platoons near the village of My Lai. The US troops were on a search and destroy mission and My Lai was believed to be a Vietcong stronghold. Over a two hour period, the Americans killed hundreds of men, women and children - probably 300, but maybe more.
• Vietnamization


  Taking American troops out of Vietnam and leaving the South Vietnamese troops of the ARVN to do the fighting
• Eventually, in October 1972, a peace agreement was reached.
• By July 1976, Vietnam was one country again – ruled by the communists.
• Impact of the war on Vietnam

  • Many villages and communities were destroyed
  • Civilians suffered brutal treatment including torture, and murder
  • About two million Vietnamese are thought to have died
  • Hundreds of thousands of orphans and wounded civilians and soldiers
  • Devastating economic effects
  • Environment was badly damaged
• Effects of the war on the United States

  • Protest movement started, many young American men avoided or refused the draft
  • Heavy casualties, 58,000 troops killed
  • TV showed pictures of the horrors of the war
  • Many Americans said the war was immoral
• How Americans protested against the war

  • Marches and demonstrations, especially on university campuses
  • Some war veterans opposed the war, threw away medals