Vietnam war
- Created by: lauryntaylor
- Created on: 29-12-14 15:13
View mindmap
- Vietnam war
- Why did america get involved
- French had been driven out after paid 500 million to keep Vietnam in empire and set up a provisional government in South
- Stop further communist success
- Domino theory that if South Vietnam should become communist so would Cambodia, Laos, Burma, India
- Stop communism
- Golf of Tonkin incident
- July 1964. 2 American ships attacked by North Vietnamese gunboats in national waters.
- Initially to support Diem government from Buddhist uprising
- Dime was an American Catholic who was to be believed a safe leader for the South. But refused monks to raise flags for the Buddhas birthday whee a monk set himself alight
- He became hated worldwide through news and became power obsessed. He made southern capitalist turn north communist. He was later assassinated .
- Dime was an American Catholic who was to be believed a safe leader for the South. But refused monks to raise flags for the Buddhas birthday whee a monk set himself alight
- Once involved they could keep escalating war to defeat Vietcong
- Background of Vietnam
- french controlled as part of empire but during ww2 lost to Japanese control
- during Geneva agreement of 1954.
- Communist North controlled by previous teacher Ho Chi Minh
- Under Ngo Diem capitalist South
- Vietcong South Vietnamese communists against Vietminh. North communists
- during Geneva agreement of 1954.
- french controlled as part of empire but during ww2 lost to Japanese control
- NVA and Vietcong
- Key principles
- -always retreat when enemy attacks
- Attack when enemy camps
- Attack when enemy tires and peruse when enemy retreats
- Tactics
- Booby traps, pungji sticks with poisons
- Staying close to belt, blending in with locals in black pyjamas
- tunnel system , Ho Chi Minh trial 600 miles long, 50 miles wide. Some into Laos and Cambodia to gain supplied for north to South.
- Contained hospitals , supplied meeting centre, fake routes with booby traps
- Staying close to belt, blending in with locals in black pyjamas
- Bicycles
- Code of conduct
- Be polite, fair, do not damage crops, return anything borrowed, do not flirt with women
- These made the Vietcong popular with the ordinary people so they could stay with them. Also offered to work as part of community to gain support and shelter
- Be polite, fair, do not damage crops, return anything borrowed, do not flirt with women
- Key principles
- America involvement
- hearts and minds
- To win over locals, Americans built roads, schools, hospitals for Vietnamese. Poured money to improve quality of life . Success in towns and cities less in countryside where Vietcong were strongest
- Tactics
- Agent organge
- Napalm
- Hueys
- Migs and SAMs
- Cluster bombs, small shrapnel pellets
- Green berets, special operations
- Search and Destroy
- Soldiers inexperienced called cherries, had 1 year of duty each
- beleived body count measured success so killed civilians
- hearts and minds
- Media coverage
- North Vietnam
- Controlled and censored
- Poor but brave soldiers fighting usa
- Conveyed no bad Vietcong
- America
- Weren't censored like the world wars and were realistic no bias view
- TVs radio newspaper magazines music often disturbing and repeated
- Turned against the USA. Asia and Europe not favouring war media
- Lyndon loosing votes
- Did media damage u.s more than Vietcong ?
- Yes
- 1968 zippo raids horrified t.v watchers
- Many watched the Tet and saw a credibility gap. Between what the government was saying and what the TVs showed
- 71' lieutenant valley convicted for my Lai. 80% dissaprived of him but 20% said he'd done the right thing
- Striped U.S. soldiers of any moral right. Not seen as heros but baby killers. Loss of morale at home and army
- Girl burning from napalm realised horrific U.S. strategy
- Watched when ngoc loan exectuted expected Vietcong without trial
- no
- Americans made up their own minds
- Vietcong caught close to belt so could not bomb without hitting own men
- Vietcong used tunnels to ambush search and destroy missoi
- Vietcong mingled with population so made it difficult to find enemy this led to inadequate knowledge for the zippo raids and my Lai
- Tet offensive of 68, 84000 Vietcong troops attacked and captured many cities such as the u.s embassy in Saigon
- They worn down Americans through persistence
- Only 1/4 of reports contained images of Dead bodies and before 1968 were pro usa
- Yes
- North Vietnam
- Protest movement
- Student
- Student Rights Protestors
- 1965 Vietnam Day Committee
- organised a teach in, at university of California, attended by 30,000.
- first to burn their draft cards(conscription cards given to US men) in protest
- Anti Vietnam protest movement
- had a "hippy" feel to it Christians began to assist. Oct 100,000 anti war\ protestors marched to Lincoln memorial and attacked by police and there were 647 arrests.
- 1965 Vietnam Day Committee
- violence
- other voices
- My Lai Massacre
- Small hamlet in son my.
- March 68 a unit of soldiers called the Charlie company were sent on the search and destroyed my Lai was told to be a v.c fortress and have 200 guerrillas.
- Leaflets had been dropped warning non v.c to flee so soldiers were ordered to kill everything
- Met no opposition But killed gang ***** and had "c" carved into their chest
- In 4 hours 400 civilians killed, women , children, old men . No v.c found only 3 weapons.
- Treated as a success as only 20 civilians killed the rest v.c.
- Many said the were accepting orders from Lieutenant Calley and was charged with the massacre. Sentenced 20 years. Then only did 3 years.
- Why did the first platoon massacre the villagers of my Lai?
- Under orders. Told v.c would be there, racist attitudes towards Vietnamese, desire to revenge for fallen friends, poor and young officers, poor leadership, frustration as could not find the enemy, inability to communicate with villagers, body count measured success.
- Why did the usa lose the war
- Tet offensive
- New year holiday and there was a direct military attack on the south in 68. Americans became unpopular and even peasants ready to drive them out. ARVN unable to resist.
- 84,000 Vietcong troops attacked cities and towns, and captured US embassy in Saigon and took 25 days to recapture, 3000 civilians died due to americans. General Westmorland pulled back 15 battalions but didn't have an effect in Saigon.
- Credibility Gap
- The difference between what the government tells people and what the people actually believe
- Results of TET
- Americans won
- 45,000 Vietcong killed, Vietcong destroyed in South Vietnam, Vietcong morale fell where some considered surrendering, ARVN didn't crumble, peasants maintained on their side.
- Nva won
- Three major offensives, ARVN taken by surprise, captured us embassy, town of Hue captured, president Johnson didn't stand for re election, us public lost faith in the war, large scale of destruction in the south
- Americans won
- Nixon
- Vietnamization, left Vietnam on their own, he became popular, less body's back in bags and left arvn fighting.
- Madman theory, to use a nuclear bomb to strike north, causing them to retreat like ww2.
- Henry Kissinger having peace talks with North Vietnam.
- Madman theory, to use a nuclear bomb to strike north, causing them to retreat like ww2.
- Vietnamization, left Vietnam on their own, he became popular, less body's back in bags and left arvn fighting.
- Fall of saigon
- Problems were economic america had pumped $2 billion into war, now the u.s had left their economy collapsed. Thief asked for more aid and the U.S. Reduced it. 75, the North attacked and the ARVN Collapsed and began retreating. Thieu resigned and 75' troops taken quickly by helecpo tee out of saigonwhen attacked again.
- 60000 supported of Thieus government killed, 30000 sent for re education, in next 15 years half a million people tried leaving by boat and drowned. Half a million went to live in America. Vietnam became poorest country for next 20 years.
- Problems were economic america had pumped $2 billion into war, now the u.s had left their economy collapsed. Thief asked for more aid and the U.S. Reduced it. 75, the North attacked and the ARVN Collapsed and began retreating. Thieu resigned and 75' troops taken quickly by helecpo tee out of saigonwhen attacked again.
- Tet offensive
- Consequences of the War
- Social
- Birth defects in babies due to American chemicals
- 58,000 U.S. soldiers killed
- High rate in drug addiction d
- Increase in scuicide
- 2 million Vietnamese killed d
- Economical
- War cost america $120 billion
- Vietnamese could now not sell goods to UsA
- Vietnam even poorer than before
- Enviromental
- large amounts of forest destroyed due to defoliants
- Crops and animals destroyed
- Social
- Why did america get involved
Comments
No comments have yet been made