History GCSE paper vietnam research paper
Nag Ding Diem, the ruler of South Vietnam, refused to hold elections. Ho Chi Mini was a communist, who was purported by China. In 1 960, he set up the National Liberation Front (NIL) in South Vietnam, which started a guerrilla war to take over South Vietnam from Diem and his American backers. The Americans called the NIL guerrillas the Vetting, and supported Diem with military advisers and money. Dime’s government was made up of rich Christian landowners. It was corrupt and unpopular and persecuted the poor Buddhist peasants.
By 1 963, most of South Vietnamese rural areas were under Vetting control – the ARVADA (South Vietnamese army) could not defeat them. In 1 963, the US supported a military pop, which murdered Diem and put a military government in South Vietnam. In August 1964, sailors on the American warship LIES Maddox in the Gulf of Tonic claimed they had been attacked by North Vietnamese torpedo boats. The US Congress passed the Gulf of Tonic resolution, allowing the American President Lyndon B. Johnson to take direct military action in retaliation.
In February 1965, the Vetting attacked American air bases and killed American soldiers. President Johnson declared war against North Vietnam. Why did the US get involved? 1. Containment China had fallen to communism in 1949, and America had fought in Korea in 950-53 to contain the spread of communism. The US president, Lyndon B. Johnson, said: “l am not going to be the president who saw South-East Asia go the way China went. ” 2. Domino theory Americans believed that, if South Vietnam fell, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand – and then Burma and India – would follow.
President Johnson said: “If you let a bully come into your garden, the next day he’ll be in your porch, and the day after that he’ll rape your wife. ” 3. Raven’s weakness It was obvious the South Vietnamese could not resist communist infiltration by the Vetting without help. In 1 963, the American commander reported hat the ARVADA – the South Vietnamese army – were “ill-equipped local militia who more often than not were killed asleep in their defensive positions. US advisers believed that good government and an efficient, large-scale war would defeat the Vetting. 4. The US was attacked The North Vietnamese had attacked the ISIS Maddox in August 1964, and then killed US soldiers in February 1965. Johnson became convinced that action in South Vietnam alone would never win the war: “We are swatting flies when we should be going after the manure pile. ” Revision tip Create a aspidistra listing the four main reasons why the US got involved in Vietnam.
