History B Unit 2 Vietnam
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- Created by: Daniel Wright
- Created on: 12-06-12 18:35
Geneva Conference
agreed points
- Vietnam temporarilaly divided along 17th parallel
- North under control of Ho Chi Minh
- South under control of Diem
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US support
American support for Vietnam included:
- £1.6 billion and other aid between 1954 and 1960
- Sending advisors to 'prepare' for 1956 elections
- Backing Diem's refusal of the 1956 election in case communists won
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US involvement during Kennedy years
- The Viet Cong grew to 16000 members
The USA tried to counter by:
- Sending more advisors- 1962= 11000
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Guerilla Warfare
- Vietcong knew they couldn't beat USA in open conflict
- They would come out of hiding, would attack US equitment and personal and then retreated
- Convinced South Vietnamese citizens that USA were foreign invaders
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Guerilla Tactics
Ideal in jungle conditions, vietcong able to:
- Make booby traps
- Carry out ambushes
- Sabotage US bases and then disappear
- almost impossible to detect VC in villages
- Vietcong built tunnels underground to avoid air raids.
- US troops often killed by booby troops
- Vietcong had supporters in villages
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US Tactics
Operation Rolling Thunder
- Originally used after attack on US base, a massive bombing of North Vietnam
- Designed to destroy roads, railways and VC bases especially Ho Chi Minh trail
Hearts and Minds
- US spent money to help ordinary South Vietnamese people e.g. improving roads and schools.
- Worked in towns and cities but VC had strong influence in rural areas.
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US tactics continued...
Search and Destroy
- Used to flush out VC
- Used helicopters to land near villages in hope that VC did not have time to arm themselves
Not easy because:
- Hard to distinguish VC from civillians
- US soldiers found conditions very difficult
Agent Orange/ Napalm
Agent Orange-
- destroyed hundreds of thousands of herctares of jungle and crops
- exposure caused cancers, birth defects, etc. both vietnamese and US troops affected
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US tactics continued...
Napalm-
- incendiary weapond which contained petrol, chemicals and burned skin to the bone.
But all these tactics
- turned world opinion against USA
- alienated more south vietnamese people
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My Lai massacre
- US forces under command of William Calley entered village, they suspected it contained VC.
- In a few hours between 300 and 500 unarmed civilians killed, most woman and children as men away working.
- event was only known about when soldier gave account of it
- turned american opinion against the war
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Media coverage of War
- TV reported war fully in colour
- was first television war
- from start people opposed war
- most call ups were black
- others thought country was spending too much on the war
- My Lai massacre led to more protest
- Trial of William calley reinforced opposition
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Protest movement
- Burning draft cards- (the thing that call ups received), was a criminal offense to burn them
- Raiding draft board offices and burning records they had there
- demonstrations and protests
- war veterans held marches
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Kent State University
- Many university students opposed war
- students held demonstrations on campus's
- went on strike at university
- burned draft papers
- disrupted transport
- Kent state-
- 1,000 protested
- National guard called in
- originally used tear gas then bullets
- Four students killed and nine wounded
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fulbright hearing
- commitee tried to find a way for USA to end involvement in war
- more and more inhuman actions uncovered
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Tet offensive
- vietcong launched suprise attacks on 36 cities
- at one point they held US embassy
- in some respects was victory for USA but in long term had disastourous effect on attitudes of americans
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Vietnamisation
- US wanted out of war
- started to train south Vietnamese army to fight on its own using US supplies
- 400,000 US troops pulled out during 1969-71
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US bombing of the north, Laos and cambodia
- 1970- US troops entered cambodia to destroy ho chi minh trail
- Bombings caused destruction to ports, roads and railways and cities
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Paris peace conference
Agreements
- US armed forces would leave Vietnam
- US prisoners to be relased by North Vietnam
- Goverment of south vietnam continue in power but North allowed to stay in north controlled areas
- elections held in future to determine whether vietnam would unite or not.
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fall of Saigon
- In 1975 north attacked south
- Major south cities fell to north including Saigon
- Remaining US officials airlifted out from roof of US embassy
- civillians had choice of accepting communists or fleeing
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reasons for US defeat
Viet Cong strenghts
- Use of guerilla warfare and underground tunnels
- gaining support from people of south vietnam
- efficient supply line
- assistance from China and the USSR
- skillful propaganda
US weaknesses
- tactics that lacked clear planning
- uneunthusiastic troops
- inability tp deal with guerilla warfare
- alienating south vietnam
- difficulty with conditions
- wakness of the army of south vietnam
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