Containment in Vietnam
Activity One:
President Kennedy resisted sending combat soldiers to Vietnam and on a couple of occasions indicated misgivings about US involvement in the war. Nevertheless, by the time Kennedy was assassinated, the USA was much more deeply and directly involved in fighting the war in Vietnam.
In what ways did Kennedy broaden the USA’s commitment to Vietnam?
President Kennedy resisted sending combat soldiers to Vietnam and on a couple of occasions indicated misgivings about US involvement in the war. Nevertheless, by the time Kennedy was assassinated, the USA was much more deeply and directly involved in fighting the war in Vietnam.
In what ways did Kennedy broaden the USA’s commitment to Vietnam?
- Kennedy’s policy towards Communism – ‘Flexible response’ – Kennedy’s administration expanded the ways in which Communism could be fought
Expansion:
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Could the USA have withdrawn from Vietnam in 1963?
The US could’ve withdrawn from Vietnam as their attempts to contain Communism were very unsuccessful. Therefore, they could’ve avoided the whole situation and just observed. However, that would be against the concepts of document NSC-68 and therefore, in a way it can be argued that the US were stuck in Vietnam helping to contain Communism. The initial US attempts to stop the Vietcong were very unsuccessful. The use of Agent Orange and Strategic Hamlets Program only alienated the peasant population of Vietnam. Diem’s social and political reforms were very unsuccessful and caused more discontent. When Diem died in a coup in 1963, the problem was still not resolved.
All of these negative consequences caused by the US should’ve been a sign to them that staying in Vietnam wasn’t an option. They had caused more problems than what were previously there and therefore, should’ve left Vietnam alone instead of trying to manipulate everything because of the US disinterest in Communism.
The US could’ve withdrawn from Vietnam as their attempts to contain Communism were very unsuccessful. Therefore, they could’ve avoided the whole situation and just observed. However, that would be against the concepts of document NSC-68 and therefore, in a way it can be argued that the US were stuck in Vietnam helping to contain Communism. The initial US attempts to stop the Vietcong were very unsuccessful. The use of Agent Orange and Strategic Hamlets Program only alienated the peasant population of Vietnam. Diem’s social and political reforms were very unsuccessful and caused more discontent. When Diem died in a coup in 1963, the problem was still not resolved.
All of these negative consequences caused by the US should’ve been a sign to them that staying in Vietnam wasn’t an option. They had caused more problems than what were previously there and therefore, should’ve left Vietnam alone instead of trying to manipulate everything because of the US disinterest in Communism.
Activity Two:
Researching the following questions will help your understanding of the type of warfare that went on in Vietnam on both sides, and its effectiveness.
What were the characteristics of US strategy?
Researching the following questions will help your understanding of the type of warfare that went on in Vietnam on both sides, and its effectiveness.
What were the characteristics of US strategy?
- Bombing campaign
- Chemical weapons
- Land Campaign
Operation Rolling Thunder:
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- Supporters of this operation state that supply routes were successfully disrupted, however the NLF was still supplied from the North
- LBJ was advised that bombing wasn’t a strong tactic because there were so few factories
- Expensive operation – 75 bombs + 400 artillery shells cost $400,000
- Campaign didn’t stop supply routes
Agent Orange:
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Land Campaigns
Strategic Hamlet Policy:
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Search and Destroy:
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- The raids were based off poor information and innocent villages were targeted, inexperienced US troops walked into traps, civilian casualties were high, US became very unpopular
What problems did US soldiers face in their fight against the Vietcong?
Vietcong Guerrilla tactics:
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- US soldiers got stuck in booby traps set up by the Vietcong – Ranged from simple holes in the ground to metal spikes covered in poison or human excrement
- Booby traps are the result of 11% of US troops’ death and 17% of their injuries
‘Search and Destroy Missions’:
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Unfamiliar Terrain and Conditions:
- Intense heat – Made it harder to see, carry weapons and move quickly
- Use of tanks was impossible because Vietnam was covered in jungle, paddy fields and swamps – Had to switch to the use of helicopters
What impact did the bombing campaign have on North Vietnam?
Operation Rolling Thunder:
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- Vietcong in the night, would form crews and rebuild roads, bridges, communication systems and fix other damage caused by bombs
What were the characteristics of the guerrilla war fought by the Vietcong against the Americans?
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- Vietcong volunteers would go to the countryside to retrieve the scattered 20,000 tons of explosives to try to make new weapons
- Local Vietcong designed primitive weapons e.g. ‘Punji traps’ – Sharp spikes that were hidden in pits
Guerrilla Tactics:
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- Vietcong followed the ideas of Chinese guerrilla warfare
- Highest priority was put into forming safe base areas – Training grounds, logistics centres and headquarters
- Hiding their bases was another priority – Formed an underground network of tunnels that the Americans would struggle to find from their helicopters
Why were the Vietcong Successful?
Environment:
Environment:
- Vietcong were well concealed in the countryside thanks to forests, swamplands and jungles
- Vietnamese supply routes, especially the Ho Chi Minh trail, was undetected by the US and could constantly supply the Vietcong with supplies
- Vietcong were used to climate of Vietnam
Vietcong Uniform:
- US soldiers struggled to identify the difference between the North Vietnamese and the South Vietnamese
- Vietcong guerrilla fighters’ didn’t wear a proper uniform and wore similar clothes to regular common men in Vietnam
Underground Tunnel Network:
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Past Experiences:
- Vietnamese people were used to their country being at war
- Young Vietcong quickly learned how to live with few comforts and to sacrifice themselves for their country – Psychological advantage
- Vietcong training also required political instruction so that the young Vietcong were reminded that they were fighting for their countries freedom
How effective was the South Vietnamese army (ARVN?)
The ARNV wasn’t really effective as they continually required the support of the US to help them. Despite the funding by the US, the new weapons and the support of US troops, they weren’t strong against the Vietcong. The ARNV were used to conventional tactics and were out of place against the guerrilla warfare tactics of the Vietcong. The ARNV also failed to gain the support of the peasants in the same way the Vietcong had and were heavily connected to horrible tactics such as ‘Zippo Raids’ and ‘Operation Strategic Hamlet.’
- Financed by the US during the late 1950s – 1975
- 1954 formation of the ARVN, after the Geneva Agreement, the American Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG), commanded by Lieutenant General John O’Daniel, set up a modern military force that was funded by the US and aimed to defend South Vietnam against the North Vietnamese
- The army was required total US military support to stay in the war – US troops were needed to support the ARNV
- 1968 the ARVN had 250,000 troops armed with modern tanks and artillery – Consisted of South Vietnamese troops, US aerial support and if necessary, US naval support
- ARNV was structured very similarly to the US Army
The ARNV wasn’t really effective as they continually required the support of the US to help them. Despite the funding by the US, the new weapons and the support of US troops, they weren’t strong against the Vietcong. The ARNV were used to conventional tactics and were out of place against the guerrilla warfare tactics of the Vietcong. The ARNV also failed to gain the support of the peasants in the same way the Vietcong had and were heavily connected to horrible tactics such as ‘Zippo Raids’ and ‘Operation Strategic Hamlet.’
Activity Three:
What reasons does President Johnson give to justify US involvement in Vietnam?
What reasons does President Johnson give to justify US involvement in Vietnam?
- Need to keep a promise to give support to the citizens from the South of Vietnam – Support since 1954
- LBJ intended to keep the Vietnamese independence
- Need to strengthen world honor – Need to show any nation that they can count of us if they are ever attacked
- Leaving Vietnam would ruin ‘the value of America’s word’ – This would cause unrest, instability and ‘wider war’
- Domino effect – Communism will spread again if Vietnam become Communist – ‘Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further’
What evidence is there in this source that fighting in Vietnam was part of the wider Cold War conflict?
- LBJ expressing how if they leave Vietnam now there could be the consequence of the domino theory – We must try to contain Communism because we don’t want it to spread again
- Loss of ‘the value of America’s word’ – Connotations to ending of America’s isolation policy and the signing of document NSC-86, America needed to give aid to any country suppressing the consequences of Communist regime
- LBJ references to what happened in Europe and Russia becoming Communist and stating that they have to try to stop Communism in Vietnam because they’ve tried to stop in countless times in Russia, China and Korea
What are Chafé’s criticisms of the United States’ approach to the situation in Vietnam?
- That the US is still failing to realise that their isn’t just one form of Communism and that it all didn’t just come from Russia
- US paranoia towards Communism
Which parts of Johnson’s speech would provide evidence for Chafe’s criticisms?
- LBJ’s link for needed to help the South Vietnamese because they had supported the whites’ against the Red Armies in Russia – Shows how Russia is that start of all Communism and therefore the only reason why other countries switch to Communist regimes
- US paranoia is seen in Chafe’s attitude towards keeping US honor and ‘the value in America’s word’
Activity Four
What does the train engine represent?
The train engine represents the US economy.
Who is the man with the axe? What is he doing and Why?
The man with the axe is President Johnson. LBJ is cutting up the wood metaphorically and dividing American society and using it as fuel to power the train. He’s doing this so that he can continue the war against the North Vietnamese and contain Communism. LBJ is willing to put his own creation – the ‘Great Society’ on the backburner for the South Vietnamese.
What is the smoke from the train supposed to represent?
All the troops that the US needed to send to Vietnam to help win the war. The great society is being using as fuel and the hacking of the wood can illustrate to us that society was divided by whether or not they wanted US troops to be sent over to Vietnam this foreign country they don’t know anything about.
What is the overall message (refer back to the title of the cartoon?)
That the ‘great society’ of America – LBJ’s home war against social injustice and poverty, which led to the formation of the credibility gap. The credibility gap was the difference between what LBJ’s administration told the Congress and what actually was happening. The ‘Great Society’ was over.
What does the train engine represent?
The train engine represents the US economy.
Who is the man with the axe? What is he doing and Why?
The man with the axe is President Johnson. LBJ is cutting up the wood metaphorically and dividing American society and using it as fuel to power the train. He’s doing this so that he can continue the war against the North Vietnamese and contain Communism. LBJ is willing to put his own creation – the ‘Great Society’ on the backburner for the South Vietnamese.
What is the smoke from the train supposed to represent?
All the troops that the US needed to send to Vietnam to help win the war. The great society is being using as fuel and the hacking of the wood can illustrate to us that society was divided by whether or not they wanted US troops to be sent over to Vietnam this foreign country they don’t know anything about.
What is the overall message (refer back to the title of the cartoon?)
That the ‘great society’ of America – LBJ’s home war against social injustice and poverty, which led to the formation of the credibility gap. The credibility gap was the difference between what LBJ’s administration told the Congress and what actually was happening. The ‘Great Society’ was over.
Activity Five
How did US policy change towards the Vietnam War change under President Johnson?
How did US policy change towards the Vietnam War change under President Johnson?
- LBJ authorised ‘Operation Rolling Thunder’
- LBJ authorised the allowance of US troops into Vietnam
Do you agree that the war became Johnson’s war?
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Alternatively, do you agree more with Quagmire Theory?
- I agree with this theory
- It makes sense that the next President would just pick up with what the last one was working on and continue it
Activity Six
What arguments given in the Nixon Doctrine contradict Johnson’s arguments for involvement?
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- The Nixon Doctrine in a way stated that Asia needed to seek their own domination for the freedom of a nation, and that they couldn’t just depend on foreign aid to keep them going
- The doctrine also stated that the war was not capable of fixing anything because there was no true government that could really deal with the problems in Vietnam effectively
What does this show about the impact of Vietnam on American global Cold War policy?
- That the US had tried so hard to contain Communism and fight the North Vietnamese however, they were still somehow losing the war and therefore, the US needed to leave
- The impact of Vietnam was so negative for the Americans it destroyed them and made them think back on their policies towards the Cold War
Activity Seven
What happened at My Lai, and what effects did it have on American public opinion?
What happened at My Lai, and what effects did it have on American public opinion?
- 1968 was when the My Lai massacre happened except, the public weren’t informed about it until a year later
- Sparked widespread mistrust
- Massacre increased domestic opposition towards the US and their involvement in the Vietnam War
- Between 347- 504 men, women and children were killed
- Some victims were sexually abused, beaten, tortured, some bodies were found mutilated
- Embarrassment for American as the US military tried to cover-up the incident
- The US government also backed up the US military’s decision and therefore, the citizens of America also couldn’t trust their government
- General Westmoreland also congratulated the troops on their ‘outstanding job’
What does this massacre suggest about the attitudes and morale of American troops on the ground in Vietnam?
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Activity Eight
Why did Nixon need to end the Vietnam War?
Why did Nixon need to end the Vietnam War?
- The Tet Offensive - 1968 70,000 Communist troops launched a surprise attack an attacked over 100 cities in the South of Vietnam, including Saigon, it took the US and ARVN forces 11 to regain Saigon
- Communists were gradually pushed back with the use of machine guns
- High death rates of American troops
- Lost the trust of the whole of America
What did he mean by ‘peace with honour?’