US Involvement in Vietnam Flashcards
All 30 cards in this deck
What was the domino theory?
The belief that if one country in South-East Asia fell to communism, its neighbours would follow one after another, like falling dominoes.
Give one weakness of Diem's government in South Vietnam.
It was corrupt and unpopular — Diem was a Roman Catholic who persecuted the Buddhist majority.
What was the Strategic Hamlet Program?
A policy from 1962 of moving South Vietnamese peasants into fortified villages, ringed by ditches and mounds, to separate them from the Vietcong.
What happened to President Diem in November 1963?
He was overthrown and murdered in a coup by South Vietnamese generals, which the USA had approved; unstable governments followed.
True or false? Kennedy sent large numbers of US combat troops to fight in Vietnam.
False. Kennedy sent military advisers, Green Beret special forces, equipment and training; combat troops were sent under Johnson from 1965.
What was the Gulf of Tonkin incident (1964)?
North Vietnamese torpedo boats were reported to have fired on US ships in the Gulf of Tonkin, giving Johnson a strong argument for US military action.
What did the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (1964) do?
Congress authorised Johnson to 'take all necessary measures' against North Vietnamese aggression, so he could escalate the war without further approval.
What Vietcong attack in 1965 showed their increasing threat to the USA?
The attack on the USAF base at Pleiku, an example of more ambitious Vietcong operations, which Johnson answered with bombing.
What guerrilla tactics did the Vietcong use against US forces?
Ambushes, booby traps, hit-and-run raids and tunnel networks, while hiding among the civilian population.
What were Search and Destroy missions?
US patrols, often flown in by helicopter, that searched villages for Vietcong hiding places and destroyed them; they sometimes got out of control and burned homes.
What was Operation Rolling Thunder?
The huge US aerial bombardment begun in 1965 of North Vietnam and the Ho Chi Minh Trail, aimed at stopping supplies reaching communist forces in the South.
What was Agent Orange?
A chemical defoliant sprayed by US forces to strip jungle cover (Agent Blue destroyed crops); it antagonised the Vietnamese population.
What was the Tet Offensive (1968)?
A surprise communist attack during the Tet holiday on over 100 towns and cities, including Saigon, where a Vietcong squad reached the grounds of the US embassy.
Give one effect of the Tet Offensive on American opinion.
It shocked the public, who had been told the USA was winning, and led to larger anti-war protests and pressure on Johnson to begin peace negotiations.
True or false? The Tet Offensive was a military victory for the communists.
False. The communists were driven back with very heavy losses and the Vietcong was severely weakened, so most later fighting was done by the NVA.
What was Vietnamisation?
Nixon's policy of training and equipping the South Vietnamese army to take over the fighting so that US troops could be gradually withdrawn.
Give one reason Vietnamisation failed.
The South Vietnamese army lacked good leadership, training and morale, and still depended on US air support.
What was the Nixon Doctrine (1969)?
Nixon's statement that the USA would give allies money, weapons and training but they must supply their own troops, reducing US military commitments worldwide.
What did Nixon mean by 'peace with honor'?
His 1968 election pledge to withdraw US soldiers from Vietnam without the USA appearing to have been defeated.
Why did Nixon order the invasion of Cambodia in 1970?
To keep pressure on North Vietnam by destroying NVA safe havens and supply bases across the border.
What happened in the attack on Laos in 1971?
South Vietnamese troops, backed by US air power, invaded to cut the Ho Chi Minh Trail but were driven back, exposing the weakness of Vietnamisation.
Why did Nixon order the bombing of North Vietnam in 1972?
To put extra pressure on the North Vietnamese to accept peace terms.
Why did the USA and Diem refuse to hold the all-Vietnam elections due in 1956?
They were sure Ho Chi Minh would win and unite Vietnam under communism, so Diem, backed by Eisenhower, blocked the vote in the South.
What was the National Liberation Front (NLF), set up in 1960?
A South Vietnamese movement, backed by Ho Chi Minh, that fought a guerrilla war to remove Diem and bring in land reform. Diem and the USA called its fighters the 'Vietcong'.
How strong had the Vietcong become in South Vietnam by the end of 1964?
They controlled about 35% of South Vietnam and were kept supplied with men and weapons from the North along the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
True or false? It was later confirmed that North Vietnamese boats attacked US destroyers a second time on 4 August 1964.
False. Evidence later showed the second attack probably never happened, but Congress believed it had when it passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.
When did the first US combat troops arrive in Vietnam, and what was their job?
In March 1965, when about 3,500 Marines landed to guard US air bases from Vietcong attack.
Roughly how many US troops were in Vietnam by 1968?
About half a million, up from nearly 200,000 at the end of 1965.
What was napalm?
A US firebomb that spread burning jelly which stuck to skin and caused terrible burns. It killed and injured many civilians, including children, and pictures of its victims turned many Americans against the war.
When did Nixon begin withdrawing US troops from Vietnam, and when had they all left?
He announced the first withdrawal, of 25,000 men, in June 1969, when about 540,000 were there. The last US troops left in March 1973.