UMGUNGUNDLOVU DISTRICT

GIT GRADE 12 REVISION

DATE: 23 August 2022

Venue : Kharina Secondary

School
Presenter: SP Dhlamini
From
Mconjwana High School.
EXTENSION OF THE COLD WAR:
FOCUS ON VIETNAM IN THE 1960s

HOW A
SMALL
COUNTRY
LIKE
VIETNAM
WAS ABLE TO
DEFEAT USA?
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The background information should
extensively focus on the reasons for the
American involvement in the Vietnam war.

Domino theory should be critically

discussed.

The crucial role played the Ho chi Minh trail

in the Vietnam war should be explained.
 Summary of vietman essay or a
spider web or plannery.
1. Safe village system
2. Tonkin Gulf resolution
3. Operation Rolling Thunder
4. 'Tet Offensive
5. Guerilla war and Tunnel complexes
6. Operation ranch hand
7. Search and Destroy
8. Mai Lai Massacre
9. Role of Media
10. American response – Withdrawal of
soldiers
 The essay should have the
following
Argumentative essay
1. Must have good introduction
that takes a line of argument.
2. Paragraphs must support the
line of argument.
3. The last part of the essay must
be a conclusion which must tie
up the line of argument.
 Let us look at how would go about
answering the essay question.
First
(unpack the question by underlining the key words.
Refer to the underlined words in the question).
*Second
You should take a line of argument which states ‘to
the great extent’, or ‘’to some extent’ and
demonstrate how you intend backing up your line of
argument.
*Third
Write down as many reasons or pieces of evidence
to develop your argument. Refer to PEEL below for
clues on how to develop your essay.
Let look at how to write good
essay
Your essay should have the following pillars.
1. A learner must make a point or take a line of
argument.
2. Explain your line of argument.
3. Provide evidence to back up your line of
argument.
4. Every paragraph must have a link.
5. The essay must have logic and coherent.
Point _______________________
Explain ______________________
Evidence______________________
Link_________________________
ESSAY QUESTIONING
 ‘Explain to what extent’……..
 ‘Do you agree’……………
 ‘Critically discuss’……….

 The introduction must first respond to the question

that has been asked.

 To the greater extent/to a larger extent

 This paper will agree/One would agree/This essay
will agree
 It is a fact/it is true/undoubtedly true/without a
doubt without a question one would agree.
TYPES OF QUESTIONS
 ESSAY 1
 Explain to what extent the tactics and strategies that the Viet Cong used
against the United States of America's army were successful in
containing the spread of Capitalism in Vietnam between 1965 and 1975.
 Use relevant evidence to support your line of argument. [50]
 ESSAY 2
 It was largely the military tactics that the United States of America's
(USA's) army used against the Vietcong which contributed to its inability
to win the war in Vietnam in the early 1970s.
 Do you agree with this statement? Use relevant historical evidence of
the war in Vietnam to support your line of argument. [50]
 ESSAY 3
 All the military might of the United States of America's army could not
defeat a small nation of Vietnamese peasants.
 Critically discuss this statement in the context of the military strategies
that both the United States of America and the Vietcong used in Vietnam
between 1963 and 1973. [50]
 Essay Question
Explain to what extent the tactics
and strategies that the Viet Cong
used against the United States of
America's army were successful
in containing the spread of
Capitalism in Vietnam between
1965 and 1975.
Use relevant evidence to support
your line of argument.[50]
 INTRODUCTION
 To a greater extent the tactics and strategies that the Viet

Cong used against the United States of America's army were

successful in containing the spread of Capitalism in Vietnam

between 1965 and 1975. This essay will focus on the

strategies that were used by the United States of America

which was the safe village system, Gulf Tonkin of resolution

and operation Rolling Thunder. Furthermore it will elaborate

on Operation Ranch Hand, and it will further explain on the My

Lai Massacre. This paper will also focus on the role played by

the media and will also focus on the creative and diplomatic

strategies that were used by the Vietcong in fighting back

against USA which is the Tet offensive and the guerilla

Background
The United States of America became
heavily involved in Vietnam because they
feared the Domino theory, which said that
if one country falls to communism then all
the neighbouring countries would fall to
communism. The Americans came up with
the policy of containment to stop the
spread of communism, which were different
strategies that were implemented.
Furthermore the Ho chi Minh trail played
a crucial role in the war because the
Vietcong moved from the N.V to the S.V
through Hochi Minh trail to transport
 Safe village system of 1962 was the first strategy used
by the South Vietnamese government with USA support. Rural
peasants were placed in specially protected villages where they
would be safe from Vietcong troops and their influence. The
safe village system was not successful because it often
involved people being forcibly removed from villages and
placed elsewhere. Vietnamese practiced ancestral worship and
felt unhappy having to leave their ancestors behind. Peasants
supported the VC because of promises of land when the enemy
was defeated. In return, peasants provided the guerrillas food,
shelter and a place to hide. The Vietcong occupied many of the
strategic hamlets and captured the peasants’ weapons. Safe
village system was abandoned in 1963 . As tension between
North and South increased, the USA became heavily involved,
especially after Viet Cong began to attack American supply
bases.
 (LOA)__________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
______________
 USA’s policy changed in Vietnam after 1963 when J.F. Kennedy
was assassinated and Lyndon B. Johnson took over as the new
American president. In 1963, the Vietcong managed to take over
40% of the rural areas of South Vietnam. South Vietnamese
governments did not last very long. The country had ten different
governments within two years of the removal of Diem. The Vietcong
appeared to have the upper hand and had over 100,000 active
fighters in the South. The very survival of Vietnam was now at stake.
Communism seemed on the verge of spreading throughout south-east
Asia. President Johnson believed that war could be won quickly
with an increase in American involvement. Johnson used an incident in
the Gulf of Tonkin as an excuse to bomb Vietnam. American
destroyers were said to have been fired upon by North Vietnamese
torpedo boats. The US Congress passed a special motion called the
Tonkin Gulf Resolution in 1964 which gave President Johnson the
right to commit USA to a full-scale war in Vietnam. Over half a million
American troops were sent to the war. He assumed that the Vietcong
were controlled by Ho Chi Minh and he decided to bomb North
Vietnam by destroying ports, bases and supply lines in the hope that
support from the North, China and USSR would end. Now Cold War
was developing into a hot war.
 (LOA)__________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________
 One of the military strategies used by USA against
North Vietnam wa Operation Rolling Thunder in
1965. This was a bombing offensive against North
Vietnam. The aims were: To end North Vietnamese
support for the Vietcong by destroying ports, bases and
supply lines. To do this without committing American
troops to the war on the ground. This policy was a
failure but the USA continued to bomb the North heavily
throughout the later 1960s. Bombing was also used
extensively against the Vietcong in the South.
 (LOA)___________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
______
 The surprise attack launched by North Vietnam and
Vietcong to Americans was called The 'Tet Offensive
in 1968. Tet is a religious festival. During Tet there was an
agreement of ceasefire. In January 1968 (during Tet
festivities) the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese launched a
surprise attack on about 100 cities and towns. They even
entered Saigon and captured the American embassy for six
and half hours. These attacks were well planned and
coordinated. The Americans South Vietnamese government
was surprised by attack but fought back Tet Offensive is
regarded as a turning point in the Vietnam War, because
even though Viet Cong losses were high, but USA’s
commitment to the war changed Although the Americans
and South Vietnamese fought back, they were shaken by the
attacks. The attack showed that the Vietcong could strike in
the heart of American-held territory and had badly affected
American military morale.
 (LOA)_______________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
 Vietcong used Guerilla War and Tunnel Complexes to
fight American army. The Vietcong guerrillas operated in
small groups and carried few weapons. They launched surprise
attacks and disappeared into the jungle. It was difficult for
Americans to identify Vietcong among the peasants. Vietcong
made use of underground tunnels, from tunnels they could
make a quick hit and run attacks and disappear into the
tunnels again. American soldiers lived in fear of ambushes and
booby traps set up by the Vietcong. The Viet Cong (VC)
effectively used the tunnel system to reach the outskirts of the
city without detection. The narrow tunnels made it difficult for
the much bigger American soldiers to crawl into them. This
proved to be hard for Americans to be able to defeat Vietcong.
 (LOA)_________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_________________________________
 Operation Ranch Hand was another American
military strategy. This was a campaign by USA to
bomb the Ho Chi Minh trail to try to stop the supply of
weapons from North Vietnam. USA also used a chemical
defoliant called Agent Orange to destroy the vegetation
that hid the supply routes, causing lasting environmental
damage. Americans also sprayed herbicide called Agent
Blue over crops to deprive the guerrillas of food. Agent
Blue - polluted the land, which remained infertile for
years. Americans also used napalm – a substance that
burns with an intense heat. Napalm produces a thick gel
that attaches itself to the skin and burns through to the
muscle and bone. This operation failed because the most
victims were the innocent people including children.
 (LOA)___________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
___________________________________
America also got involved in a military
strategy known as Search and Destroy
Policy which lasted up until 1968. The
purpose of this American policy was to find
an enemy and destroy him. The problem,
however, was that it was hard to identify the
enemy from the locals. This policy was a
failure because Vietnamese lookalike,
innocent civilians were often victims of the
bombs while rebels escaped. It became a hit
and miss policy.
(LOA)________________________________________
______________________________________________
_________________________________________
 The last US military got involved in what became known
as My Lai Massacre in 1968. American troops were frustrated
by events of the Tet Offensive. In March 1968 an American
platoon attacked a Vietnamese village known as My Lai. The
Americans were told that there were Vietcong fighters in this
area. The platoon launched an attack on the village killing
anybody who tried to escape, raping women, slaughtering their
cattle and burning their houses. After the attack, it was seen
that there was no evidence of any Vietcong in My Lai. The
soldiers were under pressure from their superiors to raise body
count and many in their units had been killed by enemy sniper
fire, booby traps and mines. The number of people killed at My
Lai village is estimated at 400 but only three of those killed were
identified as Vietcong members.
 (LOA)___________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_______________________
 American public responded negatively to this event.
Americans were shocked and horrified by the scenes of the My
Lai massacre. The shame of the horror demoralized the
American troops. Anti-war movement became stronger in
America. Anti-war movements were led by civil rights activists.
Students burnt their draft cards in protest. Anti- war protests
took various forms namely anti-war music, protest marches,
bumper stickers that read ‘Make love not war’
 Moreover this event suggested to the American public that the
war could not be won. It increased criticism of American
involvement The brutal scenes of the gruesome war were
televised. The Tet Offensive had an extremely negative impact
on public opinion in the USA. Many Americans become
convinced that USA was losing the war and there was an
increased pressure on the USA government to withdraw. On the
streets of America, the chant of the demonstrators was ‘Hey,
hey LBJ, how many kids did you kill today?’ After the Tet
Offensive, the number of demonstrators against the war
increased.

 (LOA)____________________________________________________
After a much pressure from American public
and the failure to defeat the Vietcong. The
American army started to gradually withdraw in
Vietnam from 1969. Under President Nixon, the
ceasefire was agreed upon by the USA, North and
South Vietnam and the Vietcong. The last
American troops left Vietnam in 1973. Vietnam
was unified under Communist rule which marked
the failure of the policy of containment in 1975.
(LOA)____________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
_______________
CONCLUSION
Conclusion should sum up the main points
of the essay and the line of argument.
You should not introduce new ideas to the
conclusion.
Conclusion should be brief.