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What was the nature of the Vietnam war?, - Coggle Diagram
What was the nature of the Vietnam war?
US (elephant)
tactics
Rolling thunder 1965 was a bombing operation in North Vietnam
Large scale continuous bombing in Vietnam.
Started after the VC had brought South Vietnamese army uniforms and bombed a bar frequented by US officers and had attacked a large American camp in February 1965.
67% percent of Americans approved of Rolling Thunder.
Intention was to secure US position in South Vietnam, demoralise Hanoi and revitalise Saigon
Mission was to find VC and kill them (search and destroy missions)
the traps from VC were frustrating and terrifying
Operation Pegasus, an operation to help the troops in Khe Sanh
14 month bomb of ho chi minh trail 1968
Win the men through force "grab them by the balls and their hearts will follow"
Most of the bombings were on south Vietnam rather than the North because they wanted to destroy the Ho Chi Minh trail and drive the VC out.
leader
Johnson felt pressure from the public and his advisers, and thought that by remaining in Vietnam, he was honoring Kennedy.
President Johnson also refused to declare war because he feared the involvement of the USSR and China.
Also sent large numbers of American troops to Vietnam.
General Westmoreland requested US Marines to protect the US bomber base at Danang.
Westmoreland deployed 6000 marines in Khe Sanh
Nixon elected US president 1968
Nixons Vietnamization, to slowly remove US troops from vietnam and to train south vietnames troops
Technology
The military tech was highly advanced such as helicopters and m16 rifles
War was seen as a helicopter war as US troops were highly dependent on the
Use of new technology such as cluster bombs that dropped bombies.
Use of agent orange to defoliate South Vietnamese jungles to make the enemy more visible.
Enviromental
Social
The average age of G.I's was 19 years old
On March 8 1965, the first 3,500 troops arrived in Vietnam → within a few months, 100,000 troops followed.
The Civilian government in South Vietnam was overthrown by the military in June 1965 which led to decreased government control of South Vietnam and decreased effectiveness.
US protests to stop the war 1969
The more Americans came in, the less the ARVN wanted to fight and therefore for US troops had to come to Vietnam to prevent the collapse.
From 75,000 to 125,000 troops in Vietnam
The US army treated the Vietnamese as sub-human.
"Whatever was moving was going to move on no more"
Fraggings: enlisted men tried to kill officers by throwing fragmentation grenades at them
The civilians in the US were also suffering. They started to protest in 1964. As the war continued, more anti-war feeling spread throughout the US.
North Vietnam (flea)
Tactics
Used booby traps to kill and capture US troops.
The troops don’t fight but rely heavily on the traps
VC used for guerilla warfare.
Use of this warfare frustrated the US troops who wanted more face on war.
The VC used tunnels to hide, shelter and regroup.It was a network that looked similar to an underground city.
The trail was also important as it had several branches where there were different types of accommodations.
The VC also used civilians to kill US troops. Some women would have grenades in their bras and the diapers of their babies.
The VC would evacuated from areas US troops would clear and would return soon after the Americans moved out.
The Tet offensive (1968)
January 1968 Hanoi broke the Tet holiday truce and launched a surprise offensive against South Vietnam.
PAVN and VC attacked cities and military installations.
The offensive caused extensive damage: 58,373 VC and PAVN, 4954 South Vietnamese military, 3895 Americans, and 14,3000 South Vietnamese civilians.
Technology
The North Vietnamese used rockets and bombs
The VC countered US air power with increasing supplies of Soviet and Chinese weaponry.
"Best air-defence weaponary in the world" (Wood)
The Vietnamese had AK47s and desperately wanted to kill the US troops.
Environmental
Use of agent orange to destroy foliage
Search and destroy missions which heavily impacted the ability to exploit the land.
Social
As village life had initially relied on communal work, it was much easier for Communism to integrate into their lives
During the 1968 Tet offensive the VC dragged people out of their homes and shot them, or buried them alive. (3000 bodies found).
Villagers gave guerillas food shelter and hiding places which turned US soldiers against the people they were supposed to be protecting.
When the US troops got to a village, they would be convinced that the VC were there and would treat the villager s badly.
US troops in My Lai (16 March 1968) beat and killed 347 unarmed civilians.
Impact on Saigon
it used to be a mix of French colonial and traditional Vietnamese architecture but the war changed everything
Hotels were transformed into brothels and there were more than 56,000 registered prostitutes.
The war brought the peasants to the city
American dollars changed the whole economy
The salary of the lowest ranking American was large by Vietnamese standards.
Vietnamese lost status and influence in the new dollar-dominated Vietnam.
in 1965 PAVN regiment clashed with the US army, 305 Americans and 3561 North Vietnamese dies.
Leaders
Ho Chi Minh - political unifying figurehead
Giap - military guerrilla war genius
North Vietnam waged a people's war: every man, woman, child was mobilised
In 1965 Johnson promised Ho economic aid if he would stop the war. Ho wanted unification
Foreign involvement
There was Chinese and USSR aid but the aid was not visible.
China and the USSR supplied trucks
VC pilots and anti-air gunners were trained in the Soviet Union (1964)
Soviet Advisors were stationed in North Vietnam (1964)
Extent of involvement is uncertain
Pre 1965: mainly Chinese support with trucks and artillery
Chinese are pushed out after Soviet involvement.
Post 1965: technical equipment and training comes from USSR (By 1868 3/4 of materials come from the USSR)