HISTORY IGCSE CONTENT - 20TH CENTURY OPTION - USA CONTAINING COMMUNISM: VIETNAM WAR

IGCSE CONTENT
USA CONTAINING
COMMUNISM
VIETNAM WAR
HOMEWORK
8

CAMBRIDGE IGCSE – USA CONTAINING COMMUNISM – MR. D
More lessons on the YouTube channel - MR D HISTORY
INTRODUCTION
To understand why America got involved in Vietnam and why America
lost the war.

1. HO CHI-MINH
In 1954 the French gave up trying to hold on to their empire in Indo-
China. Vietnam had been part of this empire.
It was divided into two. North Vietnam was under the communist
government of Ho Chi Minh.
South Vietnam had a government that was friendly to the West.
There was supposed to be an election in 1956 to choose a
government for the whole of Vietnam.
The Americans were against the election taking place because they
thought the communist would win.
They were afraid that if Vietnam became communist, other states
would follow (the domino effect).

REASONS WHY AMERICA
GOT INVOLVED IN VIETNAM

2. VIETCONG
The Vietcong (communist guerillas) fought to overthrow the
government of South Vietnam.
They were helped by North Vietnam, which sent supplies down the
Ho Chi Minh Trail.
In 1955 the Americans started to support the government of the
South.
In 1961 Kennedy increased this support by sending military advisers.
Johnson had to fight an election in 1964 to remain President and a
tough policy towards the communists in Vietnam would go down
well with the electors.

3. THE INCIDENT THAT SPARKED THE WAR
In 1964 an American destroyer was attacked by North Vietnamese
patrol boats.
This persuaded Congress to support the sending ogf more troops to
Vietnam.
In 1964 President Johnson sent 23,000.
By 1967 there were 500,000 troops in Vietnam.

WHY AMERICA LOST THE WAR?

1. THE TACTICS USED BY THE VIETCONG
The Vietcong used guerilla tactics.
They rarely fought large battles.
They lived off the land and dissapeared among the ordinary people,
waiting to strike when the time was right.
They used booby traps and ambushes.
They knew the countryside and could melt away into it.
The Americans could not tell who were innocent villagers and who
were Vietcong.
Many of the villagers supported and hid the guerillas.

Viet Cong soldier
stands beneath
a Viet Cong flag
carrying his
AK-47 rifle.

TET OFFENSIVE
In January 1968 the communists launched the TET OFFENSIVE.
They attacked Saigon and hundreds of other towns in South Vietnam.
They were eventually driven back, but it sent a major shock through
the American government.
The generals requested more troops.
When the news filtered out in America there was a public outcry.
Johnson announced he would not run for the presidency again and
in May 1968 peace talks began in Paris.

2. THE TACTICS USED BY THE AMERICANS
The Americans were fighting in a foreign country they did not know or
understand.
They were easy targets.
They fought a different kind of war to the Vietcong.
They depended on technology: bombers, gunship, heavily armoured
troops.
The methods used by Americans – bombing villages, search-and-
destroy missions, chemicals like napalm – lost them the support of the
Vietnamese villagers.
It gradually became clear that America would not win a military victory.

TIP
The Americans did not adapt their tactics to the conditions in South
Vietnam.

OPPOSITION TO THE WAR IN AMERICA
As the war dragged on and the number of American casualties grew,
so did opposition to the war.
At first this was limited to students who had been drafted into the
army.
As more and more parents received the news that their sons were
dead, opposition spread.
By 1968 over 36,000 Americans had been killed.
Americans could see on TV what was happening.

NIXON
Nixon was the new president and he promised to reduce the number
of Americans fighting in Vietnam.
In 1969, he ordered the bombing of Cambodia, where the Vietcong
had established some of their bases.
The anti-war protests in America grew.
Events like the shooting of four demonstrators at Kent State
University and the massacre of Vietnamese civilians at My Lai made
matters worse.
The scale of the opposition to the war made it impossible for Nixon
to continue American involvement.

VIETNAMISATION
Nixon began to pull troops out and started a policy of Vietnamisation
(the South Vietnam army fighting the Vietcong by itself).
In 1973 a ceasefire was agreed, but the fighting continued.
In 1975 North Vietnam and the Vietcong had conquered South
Vietnam and united the country under communism.
This Vietnamisation was another example of the Domino Theory,
which influenced American thinking over Korea.

HOMEWORK “101”
1. Give two reasons why American invovement in Vietnam increased.
2. State two ways in which the tactics of the Americans differed from
those of the Vietcong
3. Name three reasons why American public opinion turned against
the war.
4. Explain the term Vietnamisation.

HOMEWORK “101” - answer
1. Give two reasons why American invovement in Vietnam increased.
Choose from: the Domino Theory; fear of communism spreading; the
threat to the government of South Vietnam; Johnson trying to win votes
in the election; the attack of the American destroyer.
2. State two ways in which the tactics of the Americans differed from
those of the Vietcong.
Choose from: use of technology; search-and-destroy missions; heavy bombing; use of
napalm.
3. Name three reasons why American public opinion turned against
the war.
Choose from: high American casualties; the war was dragging on and going badly; the
terrible scenes seen on television; the My Lai massacre; the killing of students at Kent State
University.
4. Explain the term Vietnamisation.
To hand over the military effort to the South Vietnamese and help them to defend
themselves. Withdrawal of most American troops.

HISTORY IGCSE CONTENT - 20TH CENTURY OPTION - USA CONTAINING COMMUNISM: VIETNAM WAR

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HISTORY IGCSE CONTENT - 20TH CENTURY OPTION - USA CONTAINING COMMUNISM: VIETNAM WAR