HIS 452 FINAL EXAM REVIEW

My Lai

1968, in which American troops had brutally massacred innocent women and children in the village of My Lai, also led to more opposition to the war.

William Westmoreland

American commander in South Vietnam that assumed command from 1964-1968. Basic goal of 1965- Achieve what S. Vietnam government had been unable to do: Contain and defeat the insurgency and essentially buy time for South Vietnam government to establish a stable state. Strategy: decided on the basic plan of attrition which in a sense was the idea of inflicting heavy damage and continuously throwing troops at N. Vietnam to wear them out and accelerate this collapse.

Operation Rolling Thunder

Begin in February 1965, involved air force and naval aircraft. Limitations on what US forces could do to prevent USSR or Communist China intervention. Two main goals of naval and air force aircraft: 1) Isolate war in S. Vietnam and cut off supplies from N. Vietnam 2) Inflict sufficient pain in N. Vietnam to force them to come to the negotiating table, represented a form of coercive diplomacy. 4 stages of Operation Rolling Thunder: 1) Spring/Summer 1965- initial phase, targets were military facilities. Gradual increase in # of raids, gradual move northwards in raids, bombing pauses to elicit N. Vietnamese reaction. 2) Summer 1965-Spring 1967: focused on N. Vietnamese transportation system (bridges, ferry crossings, roads, railways, petroleum depots). US forces attack targets of opportunity (moving trains, trucks, etc.) Tight restrictions implemented by Johnson on specific bombing targets, American aircraft COULD NOT fly within 30 miles of Chinese border or in or around Hanoi or Haiphong (important port cities, could hold Chinese freight ships). By 1967, there are no apparent effects of this operation on N. Vietnam. 3) Spring 1967-Spring 1968: Johnson agrees to widen list of targets and loosen restrictions on bombing campaign, US forces begin to hit power plants and explosive facilities. Still no effect on Hanoi/N. Vietnam and the rate of supplied troops and supplies increases. 4) April-November 1968: Operation being scaled back. Bombing ensues only in places South of 19th parallel; area where Ho Chi Minh trail begins going southwards. Johnson begins to get peace negotiations going after the TET Offensive; Robert McNamara states that air bombardment of N. Vietnam will simply not work.

Antiwar Movement

By 1967, anti-war movement is clearly underway. College campuses remained as an important center for movement: Chasing war recruiters off campus, attempt to abolish university ROTC's, Youth Rebellion. 1st real mass demonstrations begin to take place and most people participating are the educated middle class; not a unified movement/organization.

NLF forces

Composed of southern Vietnamese, three different types: 1) Village guerillas- peasants by day, guerillas by night. Platoon sized units (dozen people), only operated in their local area. Small-scale tasks (planting booby traps, small ambushes, assassinate local leaders) 2) District guerillas- company sized units (80-100+ people), involved in operations lasting multiple days 3) Main Force NLF Units- composed of full-time soldiers, operating in battalion sized units (several hundred troops). Operate in an entire province or region, much better equipped, "most potent force of NLF" Recruit soldiers from village and district guerilla units, End of 1965: 100 Main Force units, 250,000 Village and District Guerillas Main Goal of NLF: Drive South Vietnam government out of the country, create liberated zones, and produce shadow government to rival South Vietnamese gov and eventually take it over.

Ia Drang Battle, 1965

First battle of the 2nd Indochina War, took place in October/November 1965. Fought by America's 1st cavalry division, opposed by 3 regiments of the N. Vietnamese army. Both sides claimed victory, but the casualty report favored the Americans. Estimated 300 US troop deaths and 1.500 N. Vietnamese casualties

"Teach-in"

First developed in March 1965, these were events in which students and faculty stressed concern for the US involvement in Vietnam.

John Stennis

First elected to the Senate in 1947, Stennis distinguished himself as an informed student of foreign affairs. During the 1960s Stennis served as chair of the Senate Preparedness Investigating Subcommittee, providing him with a platform from which to critique American diplomacy and military policy. After Pres. Lyndon Johnson escalated American military intervention in Vietnam in 1965, the senator took an increasing interest in the administration's management of the conflict. In 1967 Stennis's subcommittee held a series of hearings crafted to highlight policy differences between the Joint Chiefs of Staff and secretary of defense Robert McNamara as well as provide committee members the opportunity to demand a more vigorous use of military power. Frustrated by the administration's adoption of a limited-war paradigm as well as its apparent lack of progress toward victory in the conflict, Stennis decried Johnson's application of graduated military pressure on the ground in South Vietnam and his restrictions on American air power in North Vietnam.

Hollywood and Vietnam

Hundreds of Hollywood movies have documented the Vietnam War. Some are very powerful in educating the general public and younger generations about the war. However, there is a risk that they may be made giving a false representation of events, or even misleading. Every year at the end of April America remembers the fall of Saigon and TV networks show a myriad of documentaries, television shows and movies about the Vietnam War such as Apocalypse Now, The Quiet American, Full Metal Jacket, The Deer Hunter and Platoon. The Deer Hunter, made in 1978, tells the story of three Russian-American workers who journey to Vietnam and are taken prisoner by the Communist Viet Cong troops. The Vietnamese force the prisoners to gamble, playing the game Russian roulette. The prisoners eventually escape, but have become addicted to the game and seek out the game at illegal gambling dens. One of the ex-prisoners ends up committing suicide from the experience. Some believe that the movie trivializes what happened in Vietnam and is an insult to the plight of the Vietnamese and American soldiers who fought in the war. When the film was originally released it did cause a lot of controversy, particularly there is no evidence that the Viet Cong even played Russian roulette. Apocalypse Now, meanwhile, is another movie applauded by the film industry in America. However, some believe it is a prejudiced portrayal of Vietnam during the war. Using the backdrop of European colonization, the movie follows a man called Kurtz and his rule over the local people and is based on the Joseph Conrad novel, Heart of Darkness. The movie version showcases warfare and its destructive nature. One scene shows Kurtz talking about a group of Viet Cong soldiers who he watched cut off the arms of children, who the US had paid and provided polio vaccinations for. But it is unclear whether anything like this ever happened. Therefore many critics suggest that again this film trivializes and does not stick to the truth of a war that killed more than two million people, the Thanhnien News reports. The central theme of the movie tries to show empathy or similarities between humans no matter where they are from. The director, Oliver Stone's movies are said to be more near the truth than any of the others. These include Platoon, Born on the 4th of July, and Heaven and Earth. However the young, naïve characters portrayed in these movies are also widely criticized.

Paris Peace Accords

Jan. 27, 1973 cease-fire agreement where the US agreed to withdraw their troops from South Vietnam This intended to establish peace in Vietnam and an end to the Vietnam War. It ended direct U.S. military combat, and temporarily stopped the fighting between North and South Vietnam.

US Limited War strategy

Johnson wanted to limit US intervention in the Vietnam war initially by keeping everything quiet and non-controversial. He doesn't want the war to affect his Great Society Domestic Programs. From a foreign policy perspective, Johnson is worried about the Chinese intervening into the conflict (He doesn't want another Korea or WWIII for that matter). As a result, Johnson doesn't permit US ground troops into Laos, Cambodia, or North Vietnam and restricts the bombing campaign in N. Vietnam.

Easter Offensive

Major invasion of S. Vietnam launched by North Vietnam forces in March of 1972, involved 120,000 troops and 600 tanks. Purpose: (1) Damage ARVN troops and help NLF regain strength in S. Vietnam countryside (2) North Vietnam wanted to lift the pressure coming from its Communist allies Perhaps, Richard Nixon's triangular policy was coming in to play here

Draft Resistance

Majority of early protests were peaceful and legal, however there were some illegal tactics that arose: Draft Resistance- campaign for young men to avoid conscription, this took place as burning of draft cards & claiming conscientious objector status

Watergate and Vietnam

Meanwhile, South Vietnam lost its guarantor of the Paris Peace Accords. Nixon's resignation was such a serious blow for South Vietnamese government who had already endured a 50% aid reduction due to the increasing political difficulties in the U.S. during 1973-1974. The Congress who had forbidden any further U.S. intervention in Indochina in July 1974 continued to reject additional $300 million aid request of President Ford in March 1975 even when South Vietnam was on the verge of collapsing. Apparently, the Watergate Scandal had indirectly contributed heavily to the rapid collapse of South Vietnam in early 1975 and the eventual fall of the country on April 30.

Paris peace negotiations

Negotiations in 1970-1971 between the US and North Vietnam reached a stalemate; neither side was willing to compromise their positions.

Khe Sanh

News reports of the Battle of Khe Sanh consistently referred to the struggle as another Dien Bien Phu, but in reality the U.S. and South Vietnamese enjoyed a much stronger position than had the French. In addition to a fleet of helicopters and cargo planes that could resupply and reinforce the besieged Marines, they could rely on the heavy bombing capacity of the B-52 fighter planes, which dropped close to 100,000 explosives on the hills surrounding Khe Sanh over the course of the battle. Though U.S. officials expected a full-scale attack by North Vietnamese forces on the base, it never came, and in March Westmoreland ordered Operation Pegasus, a joint Army, Marine and ARVN ground advance that relieved the base and ended the siege by mid-April, after some 77 days. The U.S. military presence at Khe Sanh began in 1962, when Army Special Forces built a small camp near the village, located some 14 miles south of the demilitarized zone (DMZ) between North and South Vietnam and 6 miles from the Laotian border on Route 9, the principal road from South Vietnam into Laos. U.S. Marines built a garrison adjacent to the Army camp in 1966. In the fall of 1967, the People's Army of North Vietnam (PAVN) began to build up its strength in the region, and U.S. officials began to suspect that Khe Sanh would be the target of an attack. General William Westmoreland, commander of the U.S. Military Assistance Command in Vietnam (MACV), believed that Vietnamese Communist forces had targeted Khe Sanh as part of a general effort to seize South Vietnam's northernmost regions and put themselves in a stronger position prior to any future peace negotiations. Khe Sanh was essentially a diversionary attempt to launch the TET Offensive.

"Decent interval" thesis

Nixon & Kissinger were both willing to let S. Vietnam fall to Communist N. Vietnam as long as it didn't damage US credibility or their own for that matter. They concluded that S. Vietnam would fall upon US withdrawal of troops from Vietnam; If S. Vietnam fell in a decent amount of time (1-2 years) after US withdrawal, they would achieve an honorable peace.

"Peace with honor"

Nixon and Kissinger realize that they cannot just withdraw troops from Vietnam, as this would sour relations with South Vietnam and their allies. They shifted their focus on getting out of the war as long as US credibility is not damaged, believed they could get an honorable peace deal within 6 months; doesn't happen for another 4 years due to noncompliance of North Vietnam to negotiate.

Cambodia Incursion

Nixon announced that the war was ceasing and Communism was weakening. He was secretly bombing Cambodia in March of 1969, and then announced to the public in April of 1970 that he was dispatching thousands of troops to destroy the bases in Cambodia. This was aimed at damaging enemy units and supply lines (Ho Chi Minh trail). This led to many campus demonstrations, and 4 students killed by the Ohio National Guard at Kent State University.

Operation Linebacker

Nixon unleashed U.S. air power against the North, mined Haiphong Harbour (the principal entry point for Soviet seaborne supplies), & ordered 100s of U.S. aircraft into action against the invasion forces & their supply lines. Critical in stopping the Easter Offensive, N. Vietnam suffers heavy losses

"Madman" theory

Nixon's foreign policy technique in which other countries were led to believe that Nixon was insane and would do things unpredictably, such as press "the button" at any moment.

PAVN/NVA forces

Northern Vietnamese troops sent to South Vietnam via the Ho Chi Minh Trail, 60,000 troops by 1965. Conscript army (ages 18-25 men were available to serve for duration of the war); organized trained and well equipped soldiers. Regular uniforms and ranks, compensate for deficiencies in armed technology by utilizing guerrilla tactics. Objectives: attack strategic enemy strongholds, plans to strike and retreat quickly against the enemy, nullifies US advantages such as air support. Fought in isolated, sparsely populated areas so they weren't able to mingle and blend in with South Vietnamese civilians like NLF forces were. Strategy: use guerilla tactics to attract American troops to unfavorable environment/terrain, their job was to work as a screen for the NLF.

"Stab-in-the-Back"

One example from America is the wingnut idea that the US would have won the Vietnam War if it weren't for the dirty hippies and liberal media destroying our troops' morale. If we had just sung the national anthem loud enough and waved our flags hard enough, victory could have been ours! Ultra-batshit publishing house Regnery Publishing manages to one-up this theory with its Politically Incorrect Guide to Vietnam, which claims that the US actually did win and the true history is just being covered up by liberal history professors!

Vietnamization

President Richard Nixons de-Americanizing strategy for ending U.S involvement in the vietnam war, involving a gradual withdrawl of American troops and replacement of them with South Vietnamese forces. American ground troops pulled out: 1968: 542,000 troops 1972: 70,000 troops Provided more supplies, aircraft to South Vietnam's forces

Selective Service/Draft

Provided the rest of US manpower second to only volunteers. Possessed certain exemptions for particular groups/social classes of people (educational deferments for men attending college). Local Draft Boards were responsible for selection and order in which people were called up, Window of men from ages 18-26 could be selected. 1969- Local Draft Board system dropped as source of selection, replaced with lottery system. It was much more clearer whether you would be drafted or not. Biggest inequality of the draft system: social and economic circumstances/affiliation. Wealthier families were more able to exploit loopholes of the draft system (education deferments and personal medical doctors prescribing medical ailments exempting men from service).

ARVN forces

Quality of ARVN officer corps: ARVN is created from force leftover that fought with French against Vietminh. Many senior level officers had fought with the French and some were born as French citizens, so this brought questions regarding legitimacy of South Vietnamese patriotism. Promotion in military corps based on political considerations not on competence. Corruption: South Vietnamese government corruption lead to corruption of their military. Reasons for this: Low salaries, high inflation Temptation created from mass sums of US currency, materials, and luxury goods entering South Vietnam. US estimated that 10% of cash revenues ended up in people's pockets and 25% of materials aided ended up as private property. Phases of ARVN Development: 1) 1955-1965: Founding of ARVN, US advisers wanted to create a sizeable, modern army. Their job was to defend a direct Northern Vietnamese attack but US advisers didn't account for guerilla warfare/counterinsurgency. 2) 1965-1968: US enters war and takes over task of fighting in the TET Offensive. ARVN sidelined for most part in the fighting. ARVN was left with the duty of pacify and police relatively secure areas in S. Vietnam while the US took on regular NLF and PAVN units. This took a toll on ARVN morale, as they viewed themselves as secondary units. 3) 1986-1973: US draws down their forces and beefs up the ARVN. Provides ARVN with better equipment, technology, and airfare. However, years of neglect had taken their toll. The ARVN view themselves an inferior and believe they cannot fight NLF/PAVN forces on their own.

Doi Moi

Reform Modernization Program implemented by N. Vietnam in the mid-1980s to boost the economy Means "New Change" Consisted of 5 parts: (1) Communist party would maintain power (2) Government starts to permit more of a market economy (capitalist policies) (3) Vietnamese withdraw from Cambodia (4) Cooperate with the US government to track down remains of American military personnel (5) Allowed foreign companies to invest in Vietnam

Nguyen Van Thieu

South Vietnam's president at the end of the Vietnam War; wasn't particularly pleased with the initial ceasefire agreement because of the fact that North Vietnam forces would remain in S. Vietnam after US de-escalation from the war.

Lam Son 719

South Vietnamese army forces invade southern Laos. The mission goal was to disrupt the communist supply and infiltration network along Route 9 in Laos, adjacent to the two northern provinces of South Vietnam.The operation was supported by U.S. air power (aviation and airlift) and artillery (firing across the border from fire bases inside South Vietnam). Observers described the drive on North Vietnam's supply routes and depots as some of the bloodiest fighting of the war.

"Search & Destroy"

Tactic implemented by Westmoreland in his strategy of attrition. The main objective was to find, uproot, and eliminate large force units: particularly PAVN and main-force NLF troops. The key to success in these missions was mobility of troops and significant firepower

"Boat People"

The North Vietnamese defeated South Vietnam and took control in 1975. Consequently, they became one of the poorest countries in the world in the late 1970s and early '80s. As a result, thousands of Vietnamese flee the country in boats in an attempt to escape via the South China Sea. 750,000 eventually end up in the US but just as many die trying to escape via storms, pirates, disease, etc.

War commemoration in Vietnam

The Vietnamese government portrayed the Vietnamese War as a glorious heroic struggle to create a more equal and independent society led by the Vietnamese Communist Party Annual commemorations: Annual Celebration of Liberation Day of Saigon- includes veterans of the wars against the French and Americans "Heroic Mother"- given to women who had lost three children during the wars against the imperial aggressors; they received medals, appeared on stamps, included in celebratory events and commemorations of the war

Tet Offensive (1968)

This proved to be a mistake, as on January 31, 1968—a date celebrated as the lunar new year, or Tet—some 70,000 North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces launched a coordinated series of fierce attacks on more than 100 cities and towns in South Vietnam. Known as the Tet Offensive, this aggressive operation aimed to break Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) forces, inspire rebellion among the South Vietnamese population against the regime in Saigon and drive a wedge between South Vietnam and its powerful ally, the United States.

Gerald Ford and Vietnam

Tulane Speech- to dwell too much on America's failure in Vietnam was too self-defeating. "Vietnam Syndrome"- reluctance of the American public to resist American military intervention in foreign affairs

Triangular Diplomacy

Upon Nixon entering office in 1969, he and his closest foreign adviser, Henry Kissinger, wanted to disengage from the situation in Vietnam. Nixon contended that the communist world consisted of two rival powers — the Soviet Union and China. Given the long history of animosity between those two nations, Nixon and his adviser HENRY KISSINGER, decided to exploit that rivalry to win advantages for the United States. That policy became known as triangular diplomacy.

Revisionism in the 1980s

Vietnamese government softens its approach on celebrating communist victory Museum opened in 1975 in Ho Chi Minh City, "Exhibition House for U.S. and puppet crimes" Renamed as the War Remnants Museum to convince tourists to come and visit the country. Vietnam leaders want to keep vietnamese memory of the war alive but at the same time make money off of foreign tourists to boost the economy

Vietnam War tourism

War Remnants Museum, Cu Chi Tunnel Networks reopened to American public to tour and visit. Both of these kept the Vietnamese memory of the war alive but at the same time makes money off of foreign tourists.

William Calley

a lieutenant who's unit began shooting and killing unarmed civilians at My Lai. he later maintained that he was following orders, but many of the soldiers present did not participate in the massacre.

J. William Fulbright

along with journalist, this Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, turned against the war and in January 1966 began to stage highly publicized and occasionally televised congressional hearings to air criticisms of it.

Fall of South Vietnam

fell to communist north in 1975- American troops were evacuated- America "lost" the war and lost a lot of respect

Battle of Xuan Loc

last major battle of the Vietnam War was here. Fought between April 9-21 1975 and ended when the town of Xuan Loc was overrun by the NVN 4th Army Corps.

Phoenix Program

security program implemented by the CIA in 1968 using South Vietnamese and US Special forces. Goal: to eliminate Vietcong Infrastructure (VCI) Program Very controversial back in the United States, viewed as an assassination program associated w/ killing Vietnamese civilians Many NLF cadres acknowledge that the Phoenix program was successful in effecting their sphere of influence

Jimmy Carter and Vietnam

stated that the US needed a fresh start after the war in Vietnam but that they should also draw on lessons learned from the war in moving forward. First president to address the taboo/reluctance of talking about the Vietnam War. Interview w/ Playboy magazine: publicly declared the war as a mistake and his policies reflected this.

"People's War"

strategy employed by North Vietnamese during the Vietnam War against US forces. They attempted to nullify superiority of the enemy by the use of guerilla warfare. By effectively using right tactics of a lesser force against a bigger force it could lead to victory. Drew off of Mao Zedong's strategy of a people's war in China in its civil war Objectives were to harass the enemy, fatigue them, and then launch decisive attacks. In this scheme, insurgents start off w/ a lesser force than the enemy and counter this by mobilizing the population and garnering support. They fight a protracted war and don't face the enemy head on at first.

"Accelerated Pacification"

strategy implemented by Deputy Creighton Adams who replaced William Westmoreland as MACV in Vietnam. Instead of American forces chasing an elusive enemy over the countryside, American forces would focus on protecting populated areas and ultimately denying the enemy to populated areas.

Christmas Bombing

the heaviest and most destructive air raids of the entire war on North Vietnam, civilian casualties were high Forces N. Vietnam back to the negotiating table by US hands, after initial terms on a peace deal had fallen through.