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The Vietnam war Vietnamese Stragies - Coggle Diagram
The Vietnam war Vietnamese Stragies
Outbreak of War - Gulf of Tonkin Incident
Watch this video for a brief history on the Gulf of Tonkin:
https://www.britannica.com/video/215760/History-Gulf-Tonkin-incident
● On 2 August 1964, North Vietnamese patrol boats attacked the USS Maddox, an American destroyer in the Gulf of Tonkin.
● Johnson announced to the US Congress that American ships were attacked by hostile forces, and it was necessary to take decisive action in reply.
● The US Congress reacted by passing the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, giving Johnson the power to 'take all necessary measures to prevent further aggression and achieve peace and security'.
● This time, US marines and combat troops, instead of advisers, were deployed to engage in battle in Vietnam.
● The Gulf of Tonkin Incident marked the escalation of American involvement in South Vietnam, which led to direct US military intervention 🡪 The incident escalated into a full-scale war, pitting American and South Vietnamese forces against North Vietnamese forces.
● On 8 March 1965, 3500 US marines, combat troops rather than advisers, came ashore at Da Nang. America was at war in Vietnam.
Strategies to Fight the Vietnam War (Viet Cong)
● In early 1965 the Viet Cong had about 170,000 soldiers.
● They were well supplied with weapons and equipment from China and the USSR, but they were heavily outnumbered and outgunned by the South Vietnamese forces and their US allies.
o The Communist forces were no match for the US and South Vietnamese forces in open warfare. In November 1965 in the La Dreng Valley, US forces killed 2000 Viet Cong for the loss of 300 troops.
Guerilla Warfare
● Ho Chi Minh changed tactics to guerilla warfare 🡪 believed that superior forces could be defeated by guerrilla tactics.
o Retreat when the enemy attacks; raid when the enemy camps; attack when the enemy tires; pursue when the enemy retreats.
● Guerrilla warfare was a nightmare for the US army.
o Guerrillas did not wear uniform.
o They had no known base camp or headquarters.
o They worked in small groups with limited weapons.
o They were hard to tell apart from the peasants in the villages.
o They attacked and then disappeared into the jungle, into the villages or into their tunnels
o The aim of guerrilla attacks was to wear down the enemy soldiers and wreck their morale.
o Very effective: US soldiers lived in constant fear of ambushes or booby traps.
Support from Civilians
● Ho knew how important it was to keep the population on his side.
o The Viet Cong fighters were expected to be courteous and respectful to the Vietnamese peasants.
o They often helped the peasants in the fields during busy periods.
o BUT the Viet Cong could be ruthless - they were quite prepared to kill peasants who opposed them or who co-operated with their enemies.
o They also conducted a campaign of terror against the police, tax collectors, teachers and any other employees of the South Vietnamese government.
o Between 1966 and 1971 the Viet Cong killed an estimated 27,000 civilians.
Commitment + Continuous Access to Supplies
● The greatest strength of the Viet Cong fighters was that they simply refused to give in.
o The Viet Cong depended on supplies from North Vietnam that came along the Ho Chi Minh trail. US and South Vietnamese planes bombed this constantly, but 40,000 Vietnamese worked to keep it open whatever the cost.
o The total of Viet Cong and North Vietnamese dead in the war has been estimated at 1 million - far higher than US losses 🡪 a price that Ho Chi Minh was prepared to pay.
o Whatever the casualties, there were replacement troops available.