Development & Impact of the Cold War:
The Vietnam War
The Vietnam War
"Everything depends on the Americans. If they want to make war for 20 years then we shall make war for 20 years. If they want to make peace, we shall make peace and invite them to tea afterwards."
North Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh, December 1966
A long and costly-armed conflict, the Vietnam War pitted the communist regime of North Vietnam and the Viet Cong (allies from South Vietnam), against South Vietnam and its principal ally, the United States. The war itself can be traced back long before 1954 through conflict within the region dating back to the mid-1940s. The rise of Ho Chi Minh and his communist Viet Minh party in North Vietnam during this time and the continued Cold War tension between the two global superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union after World War II, eventually made this war inevitable. The peak of U. S. Involvement in the war was in 1969 when more than 500,000 U.S. military personnel were involved in the Vietnam conflict. This led to growing opposition to the war in the United States, which led to tense and bitter divisions among Americans, even both before and after President Richard Nixon ordered the withdrawal of U.S. forces in 1973. By 1975, Saigon fell to communist forces, ending the Vietnam War. The country was finally unified as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam the following year.
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To put everything into perspective: more than 3 million people (including 58,000 Americans) were killed in the Vietnam War; more than half were Vietnamese civilians.
Task 1: The Causes of the Vietnam War
Instructions:
Instructions:
- Read the following sources: pages 60-71 "History - 20th Century World: The Cold War (purple text)", pages 353 to 365 of the text "Modern World History (blue text)", "The Americans in Vietnam.pdf", "The Vietnam War.pdf", "The War in Vietnam.pdf" and ""Vietnam.pdf".
- Complete the following spider-diagram (in a clockwise direction) by identifying the underlying causes of the Vietnam War (see below).
Johnson ordered retaliatory bombing north of the Demilitarized Zone along the 17th parallel that divided North and South Vietnam. “Operation: ROLLING THUNDER”, a gradually intensifying air bombardment of military bases, supply depots, and infiltration routes in North Vietnam, began.
By 1965, U.S. aircraft flew 25,000 sorties against North Vietnam, and that number grew to 79,000 in 1966 and 108,000 in 1967. Annual bombing tonnage reached almost a quarter million by the end of 1967. Targets expanded to include the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos and factories, farms, and railroads in North Vietnam. |
From the beginning of the bombing, American strategists debated the effectiveness of air power in defeating a political insurgency in a predominantly agricultural country. Despite the American bombs, dollars, and military advisers, the Vietcong continued to inflict heavy casualties on the ARVN (South Vietnamese Army), and the political situation in Saigon grew worse. By June 1965, there had been five governments in the South since Diem’s death, and the newest regime, headed by General Nguyen Van Thieu and Air Marshall Nguyen Cao Ky, inspired little confidence. To stave off defeat, 150,000 more U.S. troops were deployed to take the ground offensive in the South. Marine and army units began offensive unit operations—"search and destroy" missions. On 28 July, Johnson announced that 50,000 U.S. troops would go to South Vietnam immediately. By the end of the year, there were 184,300 U.S. personnel in the South.
Task 2a: Warfare Tactics
Instructions:
Instructions:
- Read the following sources: pages 60-71 "History - 20th Century World: The Cold War (purple text)", pages 353 to 365 of the text "Modern World History (blue text)", "The Americans in Vietnam.pdf", "The Vietnam War.pdf", "The War in Vietnam.pdf" and ""Vietnam.pdf".
- Complete the following table by distinguishing the war strategies between USA and Vietnam during the Vietnam War (see below). Feel free to use pictures and diagrams from outside sources (or Internet) to help you make this task more effective.
1968
The decisive year was 1968. In the early morning of 30 January, Vietcong forces launched the Tet Offensive, named for the Vietnamese holiday then being observed. In coordinated attacks throughout South Vietnam, the Vietcong assaulted major urban areas and military installations in an attempt to spark a popular uprising against the Saigon regime and its American backers. Heavy fighting ensued for three weeks, some of the most brutal at Hué. The United States claimed victory because no cities were lost and thousands of casualties were inflicted upon the attackers. Indeed, the Vietcong lost so many soldiers that thereafter the VPA (Vietnam People’s Army) took over much of the conduct of the war. The Tet Offensive, however, was a great strategic gain for North Vietnam and its southern adherents. U.S. and ARVN (South Vietnamese Army) losses were high, and the fighting generated thousands of refugees that further destabilized the South. Most importantly, as a result of the massive surprise attack and the pictures from Saigon, the U.S. press and public began to challenge the Johnson administration's assurances of success and to question the value of the increasingly costly war.
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"Who is the enemy? How can you distinguish between the civilians and the non-civilians? The same people who come and work in the bases at daytime, they just want to shoot and kill you at nighttime. So how can you distinguish between the two? The good or the bad? All of them look the same."
Private Varnado Simpson, a U.S. soldier from Charlie Company of the 23rd Infantry Division, 1969 |
Over 14,000 Americans were killed in action in Vietnam in 1968, the highest annual U.S. death toll of the war. In April and May 1968 the largest ground operation of the war, with 110,000 U.S. and ARVN troops, targeted Vietcong and NVA forces near Saigon. However, the worst was yet to come. On 16 March 1968 (although not revealed in the press until 6 November 1969), the U.S. army committed one of the worst war crimes of the conflict. Under the command of Lieutenant William Calley, American infantrymen massacred some 500 unresisting civilians, including babies, in the village of My Lai. The atrocities committed shocked the entire United States to the core. Demonstrations and protests against and for the end of the war became unprecedented throughout the country.
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Q. So you fired something like sixty-seven shots?
A. Right. Q. And you killed how many? At that time? A. Well, I fired them automatic, so you can’t- You just spray the area on them and so you can’t know how many you killed ‘cause they were going fast. So I might have killed ten or fifteen of them. Q. Men, women, and children? A. Men, women, and children. Q. And babies? A. And babies. Partial transcript of the Mike Wallace interview with Paul Meadlo in which he describes his participation in the massacre. |
"It is why I’m old before my time. I remember it all the time. I’m all alone and life is hard. Thinking about it has made me old … I won’t forgive as long as I live — think of the babies being killed, then ask me why I hate them."
My Lai survivor, interviewed by British television
My Lai survivor, interviewed by British television
Task 2b: Tet Offensive & My Lai Incident
Instructions:
Instructions:
- Read the following sources: pages 60-71 "History - 20th Century World: The Cold War (purple text)", pages 353 to 365 of the text "Modern World History (blue text)", "The Americans in Vietnam.pdf", "The Vietnam War.pdf", "The War in Vietnam.pdf" and ""Vietnam.pdf".
- Complete the following table by describing and distinguishing the importance of the following events during the Vietnam War (see below).
The End of the War
Johnson's failure to rally the public around the commitment in Vietnam led to the growth of the largest and most effective antiwar movement in American history. Beginning in 1966, through mass demonstrations, petitioning, teach-ins, electoral politics, civil disobedience, and countless other individual and collective forms of protests, millions of Americans challenged administration policies. When the Communists launched their seemingly successful nationwide Tet Offensive on 30 January 1968, most Americans felt that they had been deceived by their own government. That widespread public disaffection led to Johnson's decision on 31 March 1968 not to escalate further and not to stand for reelection. He also faced serious challenges for the nomination from antiwar senators Eugene McCarthy (D-Minn.) and Robert F. Kennedy (D-N.Y.).
President Richard Nixon, elected in November 1968, sought an exit strategy that would leave US credibility intact. In June 1969 he announced a policy of "Vietnamization" – training and equipping the South Vietnamese military to enable the US to reduce troop numbers. Over the following three years, more than 500,000 soldiers were withdrawn.Ho Chi Minh died in 1969, but his successor Le Duan continued to fight. The communists launched another major offensive in 1972, but were turned back by massive US airpower.
Slow and convoluted talks were held in Paris from 1969. Punctuated in 1972 by an intense eight-day US bombing campaign targeting Hanoi, the negotiations eventually produced a peace deal in January 1973. Under the agreement, US forces would leave and South Vietnam would have the right to determine its own future.
President Richard Nixon, elected in November 1968, sought an exit strategy that would leave US credibility intact. In June 1969 he announced a policy of "Vietnamization" – training and equipping the South Vietnamese military to enable the US to reduce troop numbers. Over the following three years, more than 500,000 soldiers were withdrawn.Ho Chi Minh died in 1969, but his successor Le Duan continued to fight. The communists launched another major offensive in 1972, but were turned back by massive US airpower.
Slow and convoluted talks were held in Paris from 1969. Punctuated in 1972 by an intense eight-day US bombing campaign targeting Hanoi, the negotiations eventually produced a peace deal in January 1973. Under the agreement, US forces would leave and South Vietnam would have the right to determine its own future.
Task 3a: Vietnamization and the Role of the US Presidents in the Vietnam War
Instructions:
Instructions:
- Read the following sources: pages 60-71 "History - 20th Century World: The Cold War (purple text)", pages 353 to 365 of the text "Modern World History (blue text)", "The Americans in Vietnam.pdf", "The Vietnam War.pdf", "The War in Vietnam.pdf" and ""Vietnam.pdf".
- Complete the following table by describing what "Vietnamization" is and the role of American presidents during the entire Vietnam War conflict (see below).
Task 3b: The Impact of the Vietnam War and the Effectiveness of America's Containment Policy in Asia
Instructions:
Instructions:
- Read the following sources: pages 60-71 "History - 20th Century World: The Cold War (purple text)", pages 353 to 365 of the text "Modern World History (blue text)", "The Americans in Vietnam.pdf", "The Vietnam War.pdf", "The War in Vietnam.pdf" and ""Vietnam.pdf".
- Complete the following table by identifying the impact of the Vietnam War (on the US, Vietnam and course of the Cold War) and assessing the effectiveness of America's Containment Policy in Asia (see below).
the_vietnam_war.ppt | |
File Size: | 7578 kb |
File Type: | ppt |
Exam Questions
Paper 2: Topic 1 - Causes, Practices and Effects of War
May Exams
Paper 2: Topic 5 - The Cold War
May Exams
November Exams
Paper 3 Questions
Paper 2: Topic 1 - Causes, Practices and Effects of War
May Exams
- To what extent did foreign involvement affect the outcome of either the Spanish Civil War, or the Vietnam War? (TZ2 May 2009)
Paper 2: Topic 5 - The Cold War
May Exams
- Compare and contrast the role of two leaders, each chosen from a different region, in the development of the Cold War between 1953 and 1964. (TZ1 May 2010)
- Compare and contrast the significance of leaders in two Cold War conflicts, each chosen from a different region, between 1950 and 1963. (TZ2 May 2010)
- Analyse the role of Vietnam in the development of the Cold War between 1964 and 1975. (TZ1 May 2011)
- How significant was Vietnam in the development of the Cold War? (TZ2 May 2011)
- In what ways, and with what significance, did either Kennedy or Reagan influence the development of the Cold War? (TZ1 May 2012)
November Exams
- In what ways, and for what reasons, did the Vietnam War affect superpower relations? (Nov 2006)
- How effective was the United States policy of containment up to 1962? (Nov 2007)
- For what reasons, and with what results for East-West relations, did the superpowers become involved in the affairs of one of the following: Korea; Vietnam; the Middle East? (Nov 2007)
- In what ways, and with what results, did the US implement the policy of containment in Asia between 1950 and 1975? (Nov 2008)
- Compare and contrast the impact of two of the following leaders on the Cold War: Mao; Castro; Kennedy. (Nov 2011)
Paper 3 Questions
- “The history of European cooperation between 1957 and 1975 was harmonious and successful.” To what extent do you agree with this statement? (Nov 2006)