45 Questions
Between 1946 and 1954 France tried to regain its former colony in Indochina.
True
US involvement in Vietnam was largely down to concern over the ‘domino effect’ in South East Asia.
True
The French in 1954, were defeated by the Viet Cong.
False
President Truman committed US ground troops to assist France
False
In 1954 the Geneva Accords divided Vietnam along the 17th Parallel
True
The North Vietnamese government, led by Ho Chi Minh, declared the country to be a socialist state in 1954
True
Elections were planned for 1956, but were not held
True
From 1954, North Vietnam was led by NGO Dinh Diem (non communist) South Vietnam by Ho Chi Minh (a Communist)
False
NGO Dinh Diem was a highly popular and democratic leader of South Vietnam.
False
The National Liberation Front (NLF) formed in 1960 - it organised and led the Viet Cong.
True
The non- communist government of South Vietnam looked in danger of being overthrown by the communist-backed Vietcong guerrillas.
True
JFK is associated with escalating US involvement in Vietnam
False
President Eisenhower sent 1000 military advisers to South Vietnam and $1 billion in financial aid
True
President Johnson is associated with escalating the war in Vietnam.
True
Congress passed The Gulf of Hanoi Resolution to give Johnson the authority to commit US troops to South Vietnam
False
Operation Rolling Thunder cost the USA $900 million
True
The US believed Operation Rolling Thunder would need 3 months before it succeeded
True
By 1967 the US had 485,000 troops in Vietnam
True
Operation Rolling Thunder was a massive US bombing campaign of VC bases in South Vietnam
False
The strategic hamlet programme was a popular strategy with the South.
False
In a poll of the American people in 1965, 60% believed the US was not ‘wrong’ to get involved.
True
The VC was a Guerrilla insurgent force that fought alongside the North Vietnamese army against the South.
True
The Vietcong was aided and supplied by communist North Vietnam and its leader Ho Chi Minh.
True
The US search and destroy missions were a highly effective strategy in combatting the VC.
False
The US reluctantly resorted to using Napalm against suspected VC strongholds.
False
The US bombing campaign failed because the bombs often fell into empty jungle, missing their targets.
True
The My Lai Massacre of 1968 severely damaged America’s reputation and undermined support for the war at home.
True
The US bombing campaign never fully disrupted the Ho Chi Minh trail.
True
The TET offensive of 1968 was a huge military success for the North and the VC.
False
The TET offensive of 1968 was a major psychological blow for the US and South Vietnam.
True
Walter Cronkite’s view on the war had a major impact on the US people.
True
Richard Nixon won the 1968 election on platform of ‘win the war in Vietnam’
False
Nixon introduced a policy known as Normalisation in a speech on 25th July 1969
False
Nixon’s foreign policy in the ongoing Cold War was one of ‘detente’
True
Vietnamisation meant building up the capacity of the armed forces of South Vietnam until they could take responsibility for their own defence.
True
As part of Vietnamisation, Nixon escalated the bombing campaign in North Vietnam to disrupt the Ho Chi Minh trail and hit Vietcong bases in neighboring countries.
True
Peace Talks began in Paris in January 1973
True
Leading the talks for the USA was diplomat, Henry Kissinger
True
Nixon mounted bombing raids on North Vietnam in order to force the North Vietnamese to sign the peace accords.
True
Within 2 years of the ceasefire (agreed at Paris in 1973) Saigon fell to the communist north.
True
In military terms, the US policy of containment was a success in Vietnam.
False
The policy of containment had failed politically.
True
The policy of containment had failed in the propaganda war of the Cold War.
True
The War in Vietnam had cost the US $100 billion.
True
The leaking of the Pentagon Papers in 1972 defended US decision making in Vietnam
False
Study Notes
- In a speech on 25th July 1969, President Nixon introduced a policy called Vietnamisation, or the Nixon Doctrine.
- Vietnamisation involved building up the military capabilities of South Vietnam and its allies to enable them to take over the defense of their own countries.
- As part of Vietnamisation, the USA began the process of withdrawing troops from Vietnam while strengthening the South Vietnamese army.
- Simultaneously, Nixon escalated the bombing campaign in North Vietnam.
- The bombing campaign aimed to disrupt the Ho Chi Minh trail and hit Vietcong bases in Laos and Cambodia to pressure the North Vietnamese into negotiating after peace talks broke down from early 1969.
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