Vietcong

• • After Kennedy’s assassination, President Johnson wanted to continue Kennedy’s aims of ensuring South Vietnam had a democratic, popular government that would oppose communism, and to avoid USA getting involved in a war
• • The ARVN were too busy arguing about who should be the leader rather than working to defeat the VC
  • The VC were very organised
• • China sent $100 million to help North Vietnam, using the Ho Chi Minh trail
  • The Southern government was still unpopular as it was seen as a puppet of the USA
• • The VC gained local support by using propaganda
  • The VC began to attack more often and attacked more US military targets
  • Johnson increased the number of advisors in South Vietnam to 200,000
• Why the Vietcong were more of a threat in 1964:

  • They were organised in 3 man cells that could act quickly
  • They were provided ammunition by China and the USSR
  • the villagers hated being sent to strategic hamlets and saw the South Vietnamese government as a puppet of the USA
  • The Vietcong used propaganda to unite Vietnam
  • The Vietcong had time since Vietnam was their country
  • They had local support through propaganda