سه شنبه ۲۰ شهریور ۰۳ | ۲۲:۴۰ ۸ بازديد
Name _____________________________________
Student Notes: A Short Summary of the Vietnam War
1. Why was Ho Chi Minh fighting the French? What was the name of his organization?
2. What happened at Dien Bien Phu?
3. How did the United States’ foreign policy relate to an increased presence in Vietnam?
4. What group organized resistance to Diem’s regime? List both names for the organization.
5. What was the Gulf of Tonkin resolution? Why was it passed? Why is it significant?
6. What was the purpose of Operation Rolling Thunder? Did it work?
7. What strategies did the United States use in Vietnam? Why did they believe they would work?
8. Why was the Ho Chi Minh Trail significant?
9. What was the Tet Offensive? How is it related to the Creditability Gap?
10. What was Vietnamization?
Student Notes: A Short Summary of the Vietnam War
Answer Key
1. Why was Ho Chi Minh fighting the French? What was the name of his organization?
Ho Chi Minh wanted to remove French control and influence from Vietnam, so the Vietnamese could rule themselves.
His organization was called the Viet Minh.
2. What happened at Dien Bien Phu?
The French were defeated by Ho Chi Minh’s forces and forced to leave Vietnam.
3. How did the United States’ foreign policy relate to an increased presence in Vietnam?
The Domino Theory stressed that if one nation fell to communism, the surrounding nations would also fall. Ho Chi
Minh was extremely popular in Vietnam after defeating the French and he probably would have won elections to
unifying the country under a communist government. To prevent Vietnam falling to communism under Ho Chi Minh,
the United States sent large amounts of aid and advisors. Eventually, this policy led to an increase in the amount of
US troops in Vietnam.
4. What group organized resistance to Diem’s regime? List both names for the organization.
The National Liberation Front consisted of supporters of Ho Chi Minh stationed in South Vietnam that carried out
various resistance activities. They are more commonly known as the “Viet Cong.”
5. What was the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution? Why was it passed? Why is it significant?
The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was a congressional authorization that allowed President Johnson to greatly expand the
war in Vietnam. It was passed in response to the Gulf of Tonkin Incident. It is significant because it greatly expanded
Presidential War Powers and allowed Johnson to escalate the war without oversight from Congress.
6. What was the purpose of Operation Rolling Thunder? Did it work?
The purpose of Operation Rolling Thunder was to bomb the N. Vietnamese into submission and to demonstrate to the
South Vietnamese that the US was serious about supporting its cause. It did not work, it actually strengthened the
resolve of the North and increase the number of people siding with Ho Chi Minh.
7. What strategies did the United States use in Vietnam? Why did they believe they would work?
One strategy was “Search and Destroy” – US troops would go into the countryside to find and kill Viet Cong members.
Another strategy was attrition – extend combat to inflict the most amount of enemies casualties thus forcing them to
surrender. They believed it would work because they felt that N. Vietnam’s economy could not sustain a protracted
war effort.
8. Why was the Ho Chi Minh Trail significant?
It allowed the North to resupply the Viet Cong in the South despite US efforts to stop the trail.
9. What was the Tet Offensive? How do you think it is related to the Creditability Gap?
A massive North Vietnamese surprise attack against various American and South Vietnamese targets. It was a
military failure for the North Vietnamese, but it helped turned American support against the war. Many government
officials issued reports that the North Vietnamese were on the brink of defeat, but the Tet Offensive proved they were
not.
10. What was Vietnamization?
President Nixon’s plan to withdraw U.S. troops gradually and hand over management of the war effort to the South
Vietnamese.
Time Line of the Vietnam War
By David Walbert, Learn NC
Teacher Note: Strips should be cut apart prior to class
1858–1884
Vietnam becomes a French colony, called Indochina.
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1930
The Indochinese Communist Party is formed. Ho Chi Minh is a founder.
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September 1940
Japan invades Vietnam.
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May 1941
Ho Chi Minh establishes the Viet Minh (the League for the Independence of Vietnam).
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September 2, 1945
Japan surrenders to Allied forces. Ho Chi Minh declares Vietnam an independent nation, the
Democratic Republic of Vietnam. But victorious France reassumes colonial authority.
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1946
The First Indochina War begins, as the Viet Minh begin fighting against French colonial rule. Over the
course of the war, they grow from small guerilla bands into a well-organized and equipped army.
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1950
China begins providing the Viet Minh with military advisors and weapons. In response, the United
States pledges $15 million in military aid to France.
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1954
The Viet Minh defeat the French army in the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, forcing the surrender of most of
the occupying troops. On July 21, France signs the Geneva Accord, a cease-fire that leads to the
peaceful withdrawal of French troops from Southeast Asia. Vietnam is temporarily divided between
North and South at the 17th parallel (17 degrees north latitude). The Viet Minh are to withdraw north
of the line, while troops supporting France are to withdraw to the south. Elections are to be held in
1956 to reunify the country.
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1955
On October 26, South Vietnam declares itself the Republic of Vietnam, with its capital at Saigon and
Ngo Dinh Diem elected president in rigged elections. Diem argues that South Vietnam was not a party
to the Geneva Accords, and cancels the 1956 elections. The North remains under the control of Ho’s
Communists, with its government at Hanoi.
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1956
The U.S. military begins training South Vietnamese forces.
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1957
Communist guerillas begin an insurgency in South Vietnam, assassinating more than 400 South
Vietnamese officials. Within a year, Communist forces have settled along the Mekong Delta.
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1960
The Hanoi government forms the National Liberation Front (NLF) in South Vietnam. Diem calls the
group the Vietcong.
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1963
Diem, a Catholic, has been intolerant of other religions and has tried to silence protests by Buddhist
monks. In response, monks protest by setting themselves on fire in public places.
In November, with the tacit approval of the U.S., members of the South Vietnamese military
overthrow Diem and execute him.
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1964
General Nguyen Khanh takes power in South Vietnam in another coup.
On August 2 three North Vietnamese boats allegedly fire torpedoes at the U.S.S. Maddox, a destroyer
located in
the international waters of the Tonkin Gulf. A second attack was alleged to have taken place on August
4, but government documents later showed that no second incident took place. On August 7, Congress
passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, authorizing President Lyndon Johnson to “take all necessary
measures to repel any armed attack against forces of the United States and to prevent further
aggression.”
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1965
The U.S. begins sustained bombing of North Vietnam, called Operation Rolling Thunder. The bombing
will continue for three years.
In March, the first U.S. combat troops arrive in Vietnam. By year’s end, more than 200,000 U.S. troops
are stationed there.
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1966
The first protests against the war are held, including a protest by veterans of World Wars I and II in
New York City.
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1967
Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara calls the bombing campaign ineffective. The U.S. launches
Operation Cedar Falls, a ground war effort involving 30,000 U.S. and South Vietnamese troops to
destroy Vietcong operations and supply sites near Saigon. They discover a massive system of
underground tunnels that had served as headquarters for the Vietcong.
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1968
In January, on the Vietnamese lunar new year (Tet), the North Vietnamese and Vietcong forces launch
an attack on one hundred South Vietnamese cities and towns. Within days, U.S. forces recapture most
areas. The “Tet Offensive” is a military defeat for Communists, but is a political victory, as Americans
begin questioning the U.S. military’s conduct of the war.
On March 16, U.S. soldiers kill hundreds of Vietnamese civilians in the town of Mai Lai.
His popularity plummeting, President Johnson announces that he will not seek re-election.
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1968 (cont.)
In July, General William Westmoreland, commander of U.S. forces in Vietnam, is replaced by General
Creighton Abrams.
Richard Nixon is elected President in November.
By December, U.S. troop levels in Vietnam reach 540,000.
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1969
President Nixon approves “Operation Breakfast,” covert bombing of Communist supply routes and
base camps in Cambodia. The bombing continues for 14 months without knowledge of Congress or the
American public.
Nixon’s Secretary of Defense, Melvin Laird, announces a policy of “Vietnamization” in which the U.S.
will gradually shift the burden of the war to the South Vietnamese army.
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1969 (cont.)
Ho Chi Minh dies on November 3.
On November 13, the American public learns of the Mai Lai massacre. The news further turns opinion
against the war. The Army has already charged Lietenant William Calley, who led the attack, with
murder. Calley will be convicted a year later.
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1970
On April 30, Nixon announces that U.S. troops will attack enemy locations in Cambodia. The news
sparks protests nationwide, especially on college campuses.
In May, Ohio National Guardsmen open fire on a crowd of student protesters at Kent State University,
killing four students and wounding eight others. Several of the protesters had been hurling rocks and
empty tear gas canisters at the Guardsmen.
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1972
The North Vietnamese cross the demilitarized zone (DMZ) at the 17th parallel to attack South Vietnam
in what will be known as the Easter Offensive.
Nixon announces further troop reductions.
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1973
On January 27, U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and Vietcong leader Le Duc Tho sign the Paris
Peace Accords, an immediate cease-fire that will allow for U.S. withdrawal. Kissinger and Le are
awarded the Nobel Peace Prize later in the year.
On March 29, the last U.S. troops leave Vietnam.
The U.S. Congress abolishes the draft in favor of an all volunteer Army.
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1974
North Vietnam announces a renewal of the war.
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1975
North Vietnam launches a massive assault on South Vietnam. President Gerald Ford announces that
for the U.S., the Vietnam War is “finished.” On April 30, South Vietnam surrenders to Communist
forces, and the last Americans evacuate Saigon.
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1976–1980
Vietnam is unified under Communist rule as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. The new government
imprisons as many as a million people without trial for supporting the previous regime. Thousands of
Vietnamese refugees, dubbed “boat people,” flee in crowded and rickety boats, hoping to be
permitted to reach other countries.
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1982
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C.
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1997
The United States and Vietnam exchange ambassadors for the first time since the war, beginning a
new era of cooperation between the two nations.
Name: ______________________________________
Vietnam – Illustrated Timeline Review
Event & Date Description/Significance of the Event
Afghanistan haunted by ghost of Vietnam
By Ed Hornick, CNN
Washington (CNN) -- While President Obama's war council deliberates its strategy toward Afghanistan, the
ghost of Vietnam is often invoked as a warning.
Afghanistan, U.S. and coalition forces have been fighting in Afghanistan for eight years, and until recently the
war had been overshadowed by the one in Iraq. In March, Afghanistan will become America's longest war,
surpassing the Vietnam War.
The Vietnam War, which cost 58,000 American lives, is the one most often invoked when U.S. troops are
committed overseas.
Although some say Afghanistan is "Obama's Vietnam," experts say there are several major similarities and
differences between the two wars.
Eric Margolis, a veteran journalist and former Army soldier who served during the Vietnam War, said the
biggest problem the United States is facing now -- as in Vietnam -- is fighting the mostly poor, rural insurgents
who live among Afghans.
"It makes it very difficult to drive [insurgents] out, because they can stay there forever. ... They're at home.
When we attack villages where they are, we kill a lot of civilians, causing an uproar and turning the people
more against us."
Steve Clemons of the nonpartisan New America Foundation said one of the factors in the Soviet-Afghan War --
which pitted the Soviet-backed Democratic Republic of Afghanistan with the Soviet military against the Islamist
Mujahideen Resistance -- was the brutal attacks inflicted on both fighters and civilians by the Soviets.
"[There] was the sense of outrage and grievance at some of the things that they had done and the triggering of
a deeply felt emotional antagonism to the Soviet effort to dominate and colonize Afghanistan among the
Pashtun."
He worries that if the United States fails to focus on a more humanitarian and diplomatic approach, Americans
will fall into the same trap the Soviets faced, which ultimately led to them leaving the country defeated.
"I think one of the things I'm concerned about is whether or not we're triggering those same kind of emotions
among the Pashtuns today. And believe me, the Pashtuns don't care whether they're [going after] Americans
or going after the Soviets. If you begin to threaten their own perception of their own independence, then you
turn Pashtuns into Taliban."
Peter Beinart, who recently wrote an article called "Bury the Vietnam Analogy" on TheDailyBeast.com, has said
there is a real sense of national identity for Afghanis that wasn't seen in South Vietnam.
"Afghanistan is a real country that Afghans generally believe in. They have an Afghan national identity. That
didn't exist in South Vietnam," he said, adding that the Taliban is much less popular in Afghanistan than the
Viet Cong was in South Vietnam.
In Vietnam, the Communists controlled the nationalist movement and had the nationalist legitimacy. The
Taliban, meanwhile, is not as organized as the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese army were.
But there is evidence the Taliban is changing, as shown by a series of recent well-coordinated attacks on
remote Afghanistan outposts.
Journalist Margolis also compared the government of Afghanistan to the government of South Vietnam.
"In both cases, the government of Saigon [South Vietnam] and Kabul [Afghanistan] are heavily influenced by
minorities. We have made our enemies [among] the ethnic majority in Afghanistan who are the Pashtuns --
pretty well cut them out of power."
The recent Afghanistan elections received worldwide attention for claims of fraud by the incumbent, President
Hamid Karzai, who reportedly won the election. After fierce international criticism, Karzai recently agreed to a
runoff.
Another difference between the two wars comes in terms of troop numbers, Beinart said.
"I think what's clear is that the resources we put in Afghanistan have been absolutely minuscule compared to
Vietnam and compared to Iraq. ... In 1968, we had over 500,000 U.S. troops in South Vietnam. We had up until
a couple of years ago only about 20,000 [in Afghanistan]. ... So what's clear is, we haven't made anywhere near
the kind of commitment to Afghanistan as we made to Vietnam."
In the past month, Obama's top commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, issued a report to the
president and the administration, outlining the problems facing the nation and what resources will be needed.
His prescription: more troops -- upwards of 40,000 by some estimates -- with the goal focusing on securing
Afghan towns and cities in certain areas.
A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll, taken October 16-18, showed 59 percent of Americans opposed sending
more troops into the country. The same poll found that 52 percent of Americans consider the war in
Afghanistan has turned into another Vietnam War situation, while 46 say it's not.
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