Write an explanation AND cite a source which shows the importance of the following six factors:
1. US military tactics in Vietnam
The US military tactics in Vietnam was important in the war because there tactics were very different from the vietam tactics. the vietnam tactics were geruilla and the US tactics were more traditionally fighting. The united states had things like guns, tanks, and also alot of poisonis gases. The military fought unfairly though because the poison killed alot of inocent people. the US military could not get used to the geruilla warfar of the vietnam. "what kind of war was the vietnam war"
2. The unpopularity of the South Vietnamese regime
The unpopularity of South Vietnamese regime was another factor why the US lost the Vietnam war. The US had supported Diem. Diem was a extreme anti-communist who showed little to no respect to the Buddhist religion. Buddhist presists would protest and set themselves on fire. America still supported Diem. The unpopularity of the south vietnamese regime was the reason why the Viet Cong was formated. Source 33.
3. The experience of the Viet Cong and the inexperience of the American soldiers
The united states was used to regular fighting with guns. The viet Cong was used to geruilla warfar and fighting unfairly. The viet cong had tunnels and they were so used to there own land and the United States was not used to the Viet Cong land. Not knowing the land made the united states very inexperiences in fighting the Viet Cong because they were put into booby traps. The united states was very inexperiences also because the soldiers they had were very young and didnt know any better they to get into traps and get killed. "Viet Cong and Geruilla Tactics."
4. Domestic opposition to the war in the U.S.
During the Vietnam war the american public was not in favor of the united states being in Vietnam. Many people were opposed to war and many anti-war protests were formed. Pictures of children screaming and crying were leaked out to the united states. Also, the My lai Massacre was shown also. This shociked the american public and the united states public did not want the US soldiers in the war anymore. The loss of the support from american public made the united states army think about leaving vietnam and this made them lose the war. Source 42/50.
5. Chinese and Soviet support for the Viet Cong
The Chinese and Soviet supported the Viet cong. China and the soviet union supplied weapons to vietnam. This was very helpful to the viet cong. China did not want the united states to be in vietnam. The soviet union was also supporting the viet cong. They both wanted to spread communism and the united states didnt. The vietcong had more support then the united states did. The us had support from south vietnam but they did not do much. The united states did alot of the work when south vietnam sat back.
6. 'But did they really lose?' Summarize the argument put forward in Source 57, and your view on it.
In source 27 it is saying that the united states didnt really loose. The source is saying that the united states did a awesome job fighting and they didnt loose with military. The Tet 68 was a major turning point because alot of things went wrong then. The Source is making up excused saying that the united states was going against alot of things falling and they couldnt do anything about it. I do not agree with this source because i do believe that the united states did really loose. The united states played the war poorly and the Viet Cong did a much better job when fighting.
Showing posts with label Vietnam_War. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vietnam_War. Show all posts
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Vietnam War Opposition
You are an opponent of American involvement in Vietnam. Use the evidence in this chapter to begin formulating ideas to make a poster or a leaflet putting forward your views. You will work on this in class on Friday. You can include stories and images from pages 353-61. However, you must also include an explanation that will convince the supporters of containment that the policy is not working in Vietnam. OPTIONAL: Instead of opposing the war, you can support it. Feel free to make a COUNTER-ARGUMENT that the war is necessary to contain Communism.
1. Note all of the reasons why you feel the war in Vietnam is wrong.
I believe the Vietnam war is bad because we are trying to contain their government and communism. The united states is scared because there is communism in vietnam and they want to try and contain it by using war. The war is a media war and most of all americans can see what is happening in the war. The americans can see people burning themselves, people being shot, children being shot and things being blown up. The massacre in vietnam was also very wrong and it showed that the Vietname war was even more wrong to begin with. Many innocent people were murdered by careless and inexperiences young soldiers.
2. Note what you re trying to achieve with this poster. (e.g. to convince people to write to their Congressmen to get the troops out.)
With this poster i am trying to convince congress and the population of the US to get the troops out of vietnam.
3. List possible images for your poster. Think about: background (e.g. destroyed villages); the central image (e.g. picture of a young soldier); whether you will need words to explain your image.
Pictures of children, camps, geruilla warfar people, clothing, fire, guns, tunnels, us troops, vietnam troops, Ho chi minh, villages, mY lai massacre.
4. List some possible slogans for your poster.
-The young and the "innocent"
-Children in Vietnam
-Killings
-Childish
1. Note all of the reasons why you feel the war in Vietnam is wrong.
I believe the Vietnam war is bad because we are trying to contain their government and communism. The united states is scared because there is communism in vietnam and they want to try and contain it by using war. The war is a media war and most of all americans can see what is happening in the war. The americans can see people burning themselves, people being shot, children being shot and things being blown up. The massacre in vietnam was also very wrong and it showed that the Vietname war was even more wrong to begin with. Many innocent people were murdered by careless and inexperiences young soldiers.
2. Note what you re trying to achieve with this poster. (e.g. to convince people to write to their Congressmen to get the troops out.)
With this poster i am trying to convince congress and the population of the US to get the troops out of vietnam.
3. List possible images for your poster. Think about: background (e.g. destroyed villages); the central image (e.g. picture of a young soldier); whether you will need words to explain your image.
Pictures of children, camps, geruilla warfar people, clothing, fire, guns, tunnels, us troops, vietnam troops, Ho chi minh, villages, mY lai massacre.
4. List some possible slogans for your poster.
-The young and the "innocent"
-Children in Vietnam
-Killings
-Childish
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Vietnam War Turning Points
1. Why was the Tet Offensive a turning point? Explain your answer.
The Tet offensive was a considered a turning point in the war because the Viet Cong fighters attacked over 10-0 cities and other military targets. They tried to capture the US embassy in Saigon. They had the US and South Vietnamese force in Saigon for two days. In Many ways the Tet offensive was a disaster for the Communists. They hoped that the people of south Vietnamese would rise up and join them but they didn't. However, the Tet offensive proved to be a turning point in the war because it raised hard questions about the war in the USA. There were questions like why had the communists been able to launch a major offensive that took US forces by complete surprise. Ad there were many civilians killed and the ancient city of Hue was destroyed, was this right?
2. Are Sources 51 and 52 making the same point about the My Lai Massacre?
Source 51 was written Ronald Ridenhour and he is saying that it was a mistake that what happened at My Lai. He is basically sticking up for the soldiers saying that they had never been away from home before and they have never served before. he is saying that they were so excited that they were sticking up0 for there country and thought they were doing good. He is saying that they didn't mean to slaughter the villages, women and children.
Source 52 Is saying that they did the right thing by slaughtering these houses, children and mothers. They say it isn't bad because they were trying to destroy communism. They weren't there to kill men, they were there to kill intangible ideas.
These two sources have entirely different ideas.
3. Why do you think it took 12 months for
anyone to do anything about the massacre?
I think it took 12 months for anyone to do anything about the massacre because the soldiers and the US saw it as a good thing and were praised. But, 12 months later, a letter arrives in the offices of 30 leading politicians and government officials in Washington. It was written by Ronald Ridenhour, an American soldier who had served in Vietnam and personally new alot of the soldiers. He had evidence, he said, of "something rather dark and bloody:" that had occurred in my Lia. He recounted in detail all the storied he had been told about what had taken place and asked congress to investigate.
4. Why was the massacre so shocking to
the American public?
The massare was so shocking to the american public because they were aware of what was actually happening in vietnam. The war was a media war and the US could see everything that was happening. They could see people getting shot, burning themselves, children screaming for their lives. It was very shocking for them to see because they never got to before.
The Tet offensive was a considered a turning point in the war because the Viet Cong fighters attacked over 10-0 cities and other military targets. They tried to capture the US embassy in Saigon. They had the US and South Vietnamese force in Saigon for two days. In Many ways the Tet offensive was a disaster for the Communists. They hoped that the people of south Vietnamese would rise up and join them but they didn't. However, the Tet offensive proved to be a turning point in the war because it raised hard questions about the war in the USA. There were questions like why had the communists been able to launch a major offensive that took US forces by complete surprise. Ad there were many civilians killed and the ancient city of Hue was destroyed, was this right?
2. Are Sources 51 and 52 making the same point about the My Lai Massacre?
Source 51 was written Ronald Ridenhour and he is saying that it was a mistake that what happened at My Lai. He is basically sticking up for the soldiers saying that they had never been away from home before and they have never served before. he is saying that they were so excited that they were sticking up0 for there country and thought they were doing good. He is saying that they didn't mean to slaughter the villages, women and children.
Source 52 Is saying that they did the right thing by slaughtering these houses, children and mothers. They say it isn't bad because they were trying to destroy communism. They weren't there to kill men, they were there to kill intangible ideas.
These two sources have entirely different ideas.
3. Why do you think it took 12 months for
anyone to do anything about the massacre?
I think it took 12 months for anyone to do anything about the massacre because the soldiers and the US saw it as a good thing and were praised. But, 12 months later, a letter arrives in the offices of 30 leading politicians and government officials in Washington. It was written by Ronald Ridenhour, an American soldier who had served in Vietnam and personally new alot of the soldiers. He had evidence, he said, of "something rather dark and bloody:" that had occurred in my Lia. He recounted in detail all the storied he had been told about what had taken place and asked congress to investigate.
4. Why was the massacre so shocking to
the American public?
The massare was so shocking to the american public because they were aware of what was actually happening in vietnam. The war was a media war and the US could see everything that was happening. They could see people getting shot, burning themselves, children screaming for their lives. It was very shocking for them to see because they never got to before.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
The U.S. struggles against the Communist in Vietnam
Step 3: in each row of column 3, draw some scales to show which way the balance falls for this quality. Did the USA or the Viet Cong have the advantage?
1. Now think about the overall picture - how the strengths and weaknesses work together.
a) Were the armies finely balanced or was the balance strongly weighted to one side or the other?
Looking at the data and seeing the scales from one side to the other, the balance was even. Both sides were very strong and both had advantages and disadvantages.
b) Which quality was most important in determining who won the war? Was one feature so important that being ahead in that area meant that other advantages or disadvantages did not matter?
Good soldiers really helped them because most soldiers died because of inexperience and then either side didn't have strong soldiers. Also, effective statics helped them win the war because the bombs really helped but i do not believe that there was one feature that was so important that being ahead in the area meant that it was a advantage. Both had really good come backs and knew how to fix what had happened.
Stage 3: Explaining your conclusions
The failure of the U.S. army to beat the Communist in Vietnam was the result of its own weaknesses and Viet Cong strengths.
2. Now write up your answer. Use this structure:
a. The U.S. weaknesses were:The Search and Destroy tactics. This was their weakness because the US and Vietnamese Population had hatred. the bombing tactics did little to no damage to the communists. The soldiers for the US were walking into booby traps and were fearful. The US did kill some viet cong fighters but there were more problems that the US was doing. The fighters walking into booby traps, them killing Innocent people, destroy towns.
b. At the same time, the Communist strengths were: Their motivation to keep fighting and not giving up. After the US had bombed them they did not give or did they show that they wanted too.
c. The U.S. forces did have some successes. For example: The united states had good supplies and equipment. They had air crafts, bombs and very good soldiers. "Agent Orange", which is a spray that burns many things, got rid of alot of guerrilla fighters. This was good for the US because it was getting ride of them and the Viet Cong didn't have much of anything like it.
d. However, there were some major failures as well. Examples of these were: The My Lai Massacre. This was in March 1968 and a few young American soldiers called "charlie Company" started a search mission. They had been told that in My Lai there had been viet cong head quarters and 200 guerrillas. The solders were ordered to destroy House, dwellings, and live stock. They were under the impression that they were to kill everyone in the villages. Between 300-400 people were killed mostly women, children, and old men. There were no viet cong found.
e. The Viet Cong had some major successes, such as: The war being more of a "media war" fell in the favor of the Viet Cong. There had been horrible pictures and videos and it fell in their favor because many Americans were turning against the war and this was just making their minds more clear about the war being bad.
f. However, they also suffered defeats, for example: They did not have any support from other soldiers. the viet cong didn't have support from 10000 other experiences soldiers which really hurt them in the long run because they needed them.
g. If I had to identify one major American weakness, it would be [My Lai Massacre] because: This really showed that America was so obsessed with trying to find the viet cong and communists and they put all this effort in to just hurt innocent people. This really hurt them because they were doing very well and then the inexperience of other soldiers really showed that the US was a bit weak.
h. The key Viet Cong strength was [The Soldiers] because: These soldiers did not give up one bit. They were determined to try and fight the US and they were being slaughtered down but they did not give up. They were bombed, there families were killed and much other things and they had the courage to not let the US beat them down.
1. Now think about the overall picture - how the strengths and weaknesses work together.
a) Were the armies finely balanced or was the balance strongly weighted to one side or the other?
Looking at the data and seeing the scales from one side to the other, the balance was even. Both sides were very strong and both had advantages and disadvantages.
b) Which quality was most important in determining who won the war? Was one feature so important that being ahead in that area meant that other advantages or disadvantages did not matter?
Good soldiers really helped them because most soldiers died because of inexperience and then either side didn't have strong soldiers. Also, effective statics helped them win the war because the bombs really helped but i do not believe that there was one feature that was so important that being ahead in the area meant that it was a advantage. Both had really good come backs and knew how to fix what had happened.
Stage 3: Explaining your conclusions
The failure of the U.S. army to beat the Communist in Vietnam was the result of its own weaknesses and Viet Cong strengths.
2. Now write up your answer. Use this structure:
a. The U.S. weaknesses were:The Search and Destroy tactics. This was their weakness because the US and Vietnamese Population had hatred. the bombing tactics did little to no damage to the communists. The soldiers for the US were walking into booby traps and were fearful. The US did kill some viet cong fighters but there were more problems that the US was doing. The fighters walking into booby traps, them killing Innocent people, destroy towns.
b. At the same time, the Communist strengths were: Their motivation to keep fighting and not giving up. After the US had bombed them they did not give or did they show that they wanted too.
c. The U.S. forces did have some successes. For example: The united states had good supplies and equipment. They had air crafts, bombs and very good soldiers. "Agent Orange", which is a spray that burns many things, got rid of alot of guerrilla fighters. This was good for the US because it was getting ride of them and the Viet Cong didn't have much of anything like it.
d. However, there were some major failures as well. Examples of these were: The My Lai Massacre. This was in March 1968 and a few young American soldiers called "charlie Company" started a search mission. They had been told that in My Lai there had been viet cong head quarters and 200 guerrillas. The solders were ordered to destroy House, dwellings, and live stock. They were under the impression that they were to kill everyone in the villages. Between 300-400 people were killed mostly women, children, and old men. There were no viet cong found.
e. The Viet Cong had some major successes, such as: The war being more of a "media war" fell in the favor of the Viet Cong. There had been horrible pictures and videos and it fell in their favor because many Americans were turning against the war and this was just making their minds more clear about the war being bad.
f. However, they also suffered defeats, for example: They did not have any support from other soldiers. the viet cong didn't have support from 10000 other experiences soldiers which really hurt them in the long run because they needed them.
g. If I had to identify one major American weakness, it would be [My Lai Massacre] because: This really showed that America was so obsessed with trying to find the viet cong and communists and they put all this effort in to just hurt innocent people. This really hurt them because they were doing very well and then the inexperience of other soldiers really showed that the US was a bit weak.
h. The key Viet Cong strength was [The Soldiers] because: These soldiers did not give up one bit. They were determined to try and fight the US and they were being slaughtered down but they did not give up. They were bombed, there families were killed and much other things and they had the courage to not let the US beat them down.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
The U.S. Enters the Vietnam War
1. Many neutral observers in Vietnam were critical of US policy. Explain why.
Many neutral observers in Vietnam were critical of the US policy because the Americans were not reducing their fear in Communism. The US was in a costly war in Vietnam which put a massive question mark over the policy of containment. The US was sending a good amount of money as well as many soldiers into Vietnam without any real reason. They were bombing helpless people and that it another reason why many neutral observers in Vietnam were critical of the US policy.
2. Explain how US politicians would have defended their policies.
The US politicians would have defended their policies because they believed if Vietnam fell into Communism, than so would alot of Asia. Americans saw what was happening with communism as the "Domino Theory". If Vietnam fell into communism the US feared that alot of other Asian countries would too like, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Burma and maybe even India might fall for communism also. America wanted to do anything that could to prevent communism from spreading. The troops invading Vietnam showed their ignorance tho of the region of Vietnam, and the people.
3. The following events are not listed in correct date order. Place them in the correct chronological order. (Write the year inside the parenthesis, i.e. (1965). Then note the reason for each U.S. action, and how it brought the U.S. into deeper involvement in Vietnam.
The reasons you can choose from are: No direct involvement; financial support; political involvement; military involvement. Also, note what events triggered the increased involvement.
(1954) U.S. stops elections in Vietnam-the US stopped elections in Vietnam because they feared the spread of communism. They feared that the domino theory would come into play and the US was scared of what would happen if it kept growing. The US was getting involved with the viet gov by stopping elections
(1955) Formation of South Vietnam- the Americans helped Ngo Ding Diem to set up the Republic of South Vietnam. They supported him because he was bitterly anti-communists and he was prepared to imprison or exile communists. He refused to hold elections, even for local councils. North and South were slip into two countries because of the constant fighting and disagreement between communists and anti communists. The US split them so it would stop communism from spreading and making sure that more contries stayed nationalized.
(1960) Viet Cong attacks on U.S. and South Vietnam bases- the viet cong attacked American air force and supply bases as well as the south Vietnamese gov buildings, forces and officials. The involvement was triggered by the formation of the viet cong and their ideas of communism.
(1960) Viet Cong formed-started a guerrilla war against the South Vietnamese government. These fighters attacked South Vietnamese government forces, officials and buildings, gradually making the country side unsafe for government forces. They attacked American air force and supply bases.
(1962) Number of 'advisers' reaches over 11,500-president Kennedy was sending military personnel, "advisers" to fight the Viet Cong. The tension between north and south vietnam increased and so did American involvement. However, Kennedy was determined that the US would not "blunder into war, unclear about aims or how to get out again"
(1962) JFK sends military advisers-JFK sent military personnel or "advisers" to Vietnam to fight the Viet Cong. It was a sign that viet cong was strong and and US assistance was in need.
(1963) Assassination of JFK - Johnson becomes president-His successor, Lyndon Johnson, was more prepared than Kennedy to commit the USA to a full-scale conflict in Vietnam to prevent the spread of Communism. President Kennedy was not as prepared as Johnson and was more hesitant that Johnson also.
(1963) U.S. supports South Vietnam government after army overthrow Diem- the US supported south Vietnam government because they were anti communist. Although they didn't have the best leaders they had no one better. His decisions were not working and he was soon kicked out.
(1964) Gulf of Tonkin Incident-North Vietnamese patrol boats opened fire on US ships in the Guld of Tonkin. The US congress passed the TOnkin Guld Resolution. The resolution gave Lyndon Johnson the power to "take all necessary measure to prevent further aggression and achieve peace and security". that meant that he could take the US into a full scale war if necessary, and it soon was the case. America was not at war in Vietnam.
(1965) U.S. Marines land at Da Nang-US marines, combat troops rather than advisers, came ashore at Da Nang. America was at war in vietnam. North Viet patrol boats opened fire on US ships.
4. Choose two events that you think were critical in getting the U.S. involved in a war in Vietnam. Explain
your choice.
The Gulf of Tonkin incident- This was critical in getting the US involved in war because Northern Vietnamese people and ships were fighting against the US. Lives were now being worried about and at risk but also being threatened. Johnson had to do something and congress agrees to take desperate measures to conserve peace. They went to war and this was a big step for why US got involved in the war in Vietnam.
JFK sending troops into Vietnam also was another big step in why the US got involved with war in Vietnam. JFK sending the army into Vietnam to fight the Viet Cong just sends "war". The fighting became more and more because people were dying and there was more fighting. A war eventually happened because of it.
Many neutral observers in Vietnam were critical of the US policy because the Americans were not reducing their fear in Communism. The US was in a costly war in Vietnam which put a massive question mark over the policy of containment. The US was sending a good amount of money as well as many soldiers into Vietnam without any real reason. They were bombing helpless people and that it another reason why many neutral observers in Vietnam were critical of the US policy.
2. Explain how US politicians would have defended their policies.
The US politicians would have defended their policies because they believed if Vietnam fell into Communism, than so would alot of Asia. Americans saw what was happening with communism as the "Domino Theory". If Vietnam fell into communism the US feared that alot of other Asian countries would too like, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Burma and maybe even India might fall for communism also. America wanted to do anything that could to prevent communism from spreading. The troops invading Vietnam showed their ignorance tho of the region of Vietnam, and the people.
3. The following events are not listed in correct date order. Place them in the correct chronological order. (Write the year inside the parenthesis, i.e. (1965). Then note the reason for each U.S. action, and how it brought the U.S. into deeper involvement in Vietnam.
The reasons you can choose from are: No direct involvement; financial support; political involvement; military involvement. Also, note what events triggered the increased involvement.
(1954) U.S. stops elections in Vietnam-the US stopped elections in Vietnam because they feared the spread of communism. They feared that the domino theory would come into play and the US was scared of what would happen if it kept growing. The US was getting involved with the viet gov by stopping elections
(1955) Formation of South Vietnam- the Americans helped Ngo Ding Diem to set up the Republic of South Vietnam. They supported him because he was bitterly anti-communists and he was prepared to imprison or exile communists. He refused to hold elections, even for local councils. North and South were slip into two countries because of the constant fighting and disagreement between communists and anti communists. The US split them so it would stop communism from spreading and making sure that more contries stayed nationalized.
(1960) Viet Cong attacks on U.S. and South Vietnam bases- the viet cong attacked American air force and supply bases as well as the south Vietnamese gov buildings, forces and officials. The involvement was triggered by the formation of the viet cong and their ideas of communism.
(1960) Viet Cong formed-started a guerrilla war against the South Vietnamese government. These fighters attacked South Vietnamese government forces, officials and buildings, gradually making the country side unsafe for government forces. They attacked American air force and supply bases.
(1962) Number of 'advisers' reaches over 11,500-president Kennedy was sending military personnel, "advisers" to fight the Viet Cong. The tension between north and south vietnam increased and so did American involvement. However, Kennedy was determined that the US would not "blunder into war, unclear about aims or how to get out again"
(1962) JFK sends military advisers-JFK sent military personnel or "advisers" to Vietnam to fight the Viet Cong. It was a sign that viet cong was strong and and US assistance was in need.
(1963) Assassination of JFK - Johnson becomes president-His successor, Lyndon Johnson, was more prepared than Kennedy to commit the USA to a full-scale conflict in Vietnam to prevent the spread of Communism. President Kennedy was not as prepared as Johnson and was more hesitant that Johnson also.
(1963) U.S. supports South Vietnam government after army overthrow Diem- the US supported south Vietnam government because they were anti communist. Although they didn't have the best leaders they had no one better. His decisions were not working and he was soon kicked out.
(1964) Gulf of Tonkin Incident-North Vietnamese patrol boats opened fire on US ships in the Guld of Tonkin. The US congress passed the TOnkin Guld Resolution. The resolution gave Lyndon Johnson the power to "take all necessary measure to prevent further aggression and achieve peace and security". that meant that he could take the US into a full scale war if necessary, and it soon was the case. America was not at war in Vietnam.
(1965) U.S. Marines land at Da Nang-US marines, combat troops rather than advisers, came ashore at Da Nang. America was at war in vietnam. North Viet patrol boats opened fire on US ships.
4. Choose two events that you think were critical in getting the U.S. involved in a war in Vietnam. Explain
your choice.
The Gulf of Tonkin incident- This was critical in getting the US involved in war because Northern Vietnamese people and ships were fighting against the US. Lives were now being worried about and at risk but also being threatened. Johnson had to do something and congress agrees to take desperate measures to conserve peace. They went to war and this was a big step for why US got involved in the war in Vietnam.
JFK sending troops into Vietnam also was another big step in why the US got involved with war in Vietnam. JFK sending the army into Vietnam to fight the Viet Cong just sends "war". The fighting became more and more because people were dying and there was more fighting. A war eventually happened because of it.
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