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Case study 3: the war in Vietnam, 1961-1975 - Coggle Diagram
Case study 3: the war in Vietnam, 1961-1975
background to crisis
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as a result in 1950s the French fought a war against the Viet Minh, an organisation that wanted independent Vietnam
worried about the spread of communism in South East Asia, the USA supported the French finantially
in 1954 French lost to Viet Minh in the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, the defeat was formalized in the Geneva Agreement
the Geneva Agreement divided Vietnam into two zones at the 17th parallel, a northern zone governed by Ho Chi Minh and a southern zone governed by an anti-communist government led by Ngo Dinh Diem and said there would be elections to decide if to unify the country later on which never happened
why did US get involved
America was operating the policy of containment and scared of the domino effect so the USA supported Ngo Dinh Diem
South Vietnam were rich in tungsten, tin and rubber which were important resources the US could benefit from
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the Viet Cong
in 1959 Ho Chi Minh declared war to overthrow the South Vietnamese and unite Vietnam under communist rule with the support of Vietcong
were supplied through the Ho Chi Mihn Trail which ran through Laos and Cambodia and allowed for weapons and supplies to be secretly brought South from North Vietnam and China
Viet Cong were South Vietnamese supporters of the communist national liberation front, they were allied with the North.
They used guerilla tactics, operating from a network of tunnels and underground bases also used the cover of the jungle to their advantage
how the US got involved
the non-communist goverment of South Vietnam looked in danger of being overthrown by the communist-backed Vitecong guerillas
under presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy the US had given millions of dollars to prop up the French in Vietnam and had sent military advisers to support Ngo Dinh Diem's corrupt anti-communism government but none of that helped, force was needed
tactics for USA victory were heavy use of aerial bombing to destroy Viet Cong strongholds, chemical weapons such as napalm and Agent Orange used to destroy trees and jungle, useful hiding places. Search and destroy missions in which combat units would go out to locate Viet Cong weapon stores, bases and fighers and punish any villagers helping them
why did US lose war
military factors: the Viet Cong were too well organised, difficult to idenify and more experienced
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domino theory proved to be incorrect when Cambodia and Laos fell to communism but Thailand and Philippines not
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