The U.S. struggles against the Communist in Vietnam

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? The U.S. army and the Veit Cong were unfairly balanced because the Viet Cong had many more advantages than the U.S. had.

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? The Advantage of the Veit Cong and their tactics were crutial to winning the war because it made them almost impossible to defeat.

2. Now write up your answer. Use this structure:
a. The U.S. weaknesses were:
They didn't have the support of local population. Also the enemy knew where the American bases were and where to strike.
b. At the same time, the Communist strengths were:
Their tactics of Gurilla Warfare. They were able to blend in with ordinary civilians so the Americans never knew how close they were to their enemy. They were fighting on their home turf and had the advantage.
c. The U.S. forces did have some successes. For example:
The uses of the tactics of using chemical weapons, air raids, and search and destroy missions were effective in fighting the Veit Cong Forces but these tactics angered the Vietnemese population.
d. However, there were some major failures as well. Examples of these were:
The tactics used by the U.S. army angered the civilian population making them not want to help the Americans. They also had their bases while heavily fortified were in known positions and were able to attacked where easily.
e. The Viet Cong had some major successes, such as:
They were able to blend in with the civilian population and this let them attack the Americans at will and not have to reveil themselves till they attack. Their tactics of Gurrilla Warfare also terified the American soliders and lowered their moral. Also they wouldn't give up and would rather die than surrender.
f. However, they also suffered defeats, for example:
The Tet offensive failed miserably.
g. If I had to identify one major American weakness, it would be the tactics they had to use to fight the Viet Cong angered the civilian population because: this made the civilian population not want to help the Americans rout out the Viet Cong resistance Fighters and this also made them lose the support of the people and drove the people to help the Viet Cong.

h. The key Viet Cong strength was their Gurilla Tactics because: This form of attack made it nearly impossible for the U.S. army to fight the Viet Cong on their own terms they had to wait for the Viet Cong attack them.

The U.S. Enters the Vietnam War

1. Many neutral observers in Vietnam were critical of US policy. Explain why.
The U.S. mocked the Soviets when they held "free and unfettered" in Eastern Europe but the U.S. did the same thing in Veitnam.

2. Explain how US politicians would have defended their policies.
They Said they were keeping the free world from falling to the evils of Communism.

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.


(6) Assassination of JFK - Johnson becomes president No Direct Involvement
(2) Formation of South Vietnam Political Involment

(8) Gulf of Tonkin Incident Military Involvment escalted the problems
(7) Number of 'advisers' reaches over 11,500 Political Involvement
(4) JFK sends military advisers Political Involment
(9) U.S. Marines land at Da Nang Military Involvement Escalated the conflict
(10) U.S. stops elections in Vietnam Political Involvement
(5) U.S. supports South Vietnam government after army overthrow Diem Political Involvement
(3) Viet Cong attacks on U.S. and South Vietnam bases Military involement this increased U.S. involvement
(1) Viet Cong formed No Direct Involvement


4. Choose two events that you think were critical in getting the U.S. involved in a war in Vietnam. Explain
your choice.
The Two events that brought the U.S. into the conflict was The Viet Cong attacking South Veitnam and U.S. military bases and the Gulf of Tonkin incedents. These are the two main reasons because both were acts of aggression against the U.S. and it's ally and these actions would warrant military involvement.

The Cuban Missile Crisis

1. Kennedy described Wednesday, Oct. 24 and Saturday, Oct. 27 as the darkest days of the crisis. Use the information on page 350 to explain why.
Oct. 24 and Oct. 27 were the darkest days of the crisis because those were the days that the world almost broke out into war. Oct. 24 was when the Soviet ships almost ran the American blockade and almost came so close as to warrant shells to fly. Oct 27, was when an American U-2 spy plane was shot down in Cuban airspace and the president's advisors advised him to put together imediate military action.

2. Do you think that nuclear war was ever a possibility in this crisis?
I really don't think it was ever an option. Neither country wanted the entier destruction of the war on its hands. America and the U.S.S.R weren't stupid enough to think convetional warfare would demand a nuclear arsenal. The Soviets wanted to push the Americans and make them back down. The Americans wanted to show they wouldn't let the Soviets push them around.

3. Is Source 26 a Soviet or an American cartoon? Explain your answer by referring to the details in the cartoon.
I think it's an American cartoon for a few reasons. The first is that Khurshchev is sweating and that means his resolve in doing what he might is failing and therefore he is weak. The other reason is that J.F.K. isn't sweating and looks perfectly calm which means his resolve to do what must be done isn't wavering and this shows him as strong.

4. Using Source 27 list any evidence you can find for and against each of the explanations.
I think all the reasons could be possible except to defend cuba and to gain an upper hand in the arms race. The Soviets could be testing or making deals with the Americans. If the Americans backed down they would have to make some consceions to get the missles out of Cuba. This could also be a test because of the fact that putting nukes in America's backyard could be a test to trick them into attacking first and to give the Soviets a reason to fire. I don't think that it would be to defend Cuba because it really doesn't make any sence what so ever to defend a country with nukes when you could do it with conventional weapons. Also I don't think it was to get an upper hand in the arms race because America was so stupid to think at all it would be smart to start a nuclear war.

The U.S. Attempts to Contain Cuba

1. Why was Cuba so important to the United States?
It's industry and most businesses were owned by Americans. Also it was extremely close to America and had been a long time ally.
2. Why do you think the Americans chose to equip Cuban exiles rather than invading themselves?
They didn't want to get their hands dirty and risk all out war with the Soviets backing the cubans. This way it was a cival war and one that only involves the people.
3. Why did the invasion fail?
The Cubans had modern weapons and armored veichles like tanks and armored personal carriers. The rebels didn't have these.
4. Compare Source 17 on page 345 (in the Arms Race.pdf reading) with Source 24 on page 348. Describe how the Soviet Union missiles on Cuba changed the Cold War balance of power.
In Source 17 on page 345 the U.S. had both long range and short range missles aimed at the Soviets while the Soviets didn't have either. In Source 24 on page 348 the Soviets had both long range and short range nukes pointed at America and could desimate the country without a problem.