Vietnamese War
Gunboat Diplomacy
Parked gunboats outside North Vietnam, waiting for an attack on Americans
Perceived attack on ships leads to bombing campaign, Rolling Thunder
Destroy Hanoi
Famous pilots shot down over Hanoi, including John McCain
Vietnamese Communist Forces divided into two groups
NVA
In uniform, official army
Vietcong
Civilian soldiers
Infiltrated the South
Just as effective as the official army
Mig 21's beat destroyed American aircraft, so America bumps up it's air force
Vietnam had poorly trained pilots
Ho Chi Minh Trail
Vietnamese carried supplies and moved South on the HCMT
Vietnamese confiscated abandoned French armament and used it against the Americans
Often, the armament was American made
Americans had no way to ascertain who was Vietcong or not
In response, U.S. develops CORDS
Phoenix Program
Quarantine and curfew suspected Vietcong village
Tried to monitor villages
Ultimately fails
Helga Herz
Anti-war activist who committed suicide in protest
Tet Offensive
Tet=Lunar Calender New Year, celebrated early Febuary
NVA/Vietcong launch an all out attack on the Americans and the South Koreans
U.S. wins, but loses many troops
500, the North Vietnamese 10,000
U.S. suspected attack would occur at Khe Sanh at DMZ
Main attack came from Vietcong in the South
Battle of Saigon
Vinh Moc Tunnels
Villagers carried supplies on a round boat to an island where NV army was waiting
War ends in 1975, but withdrawal begins in 1973
Total casualties
US: 60,000
Vietnamese: 1,000,000
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