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 that the war in Vietnam is wrong because its killing innocent civilians instead of the Vietcong. It is also a waste of our soldiers lives seeing we do not have good enough tactics to defeat the Vietcong effectily. Mia Laia
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.)
If we get the troops out of Vietcong we could save American lives. Yes we need to stop the spread of Communism, but we are killing more innocent people than we are killing Vietcong. IF the U.S was able to stop the threat posed by the communist Vietcong and defeat them effectily then it would be ok to be at war, but right now its a waste of our countrys people.
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.
Monks burning themselfs in protest of the war, the little girl without close on because of the agent orange, dead civilian bodies on the side of the road, American soldiers either wounded or dead because they were killed.
4. List some possible slogans for your poster.
"Stop the massacer! Think Peace Man"
"Dont kill your neighbors sons hubans ect. keep them home think peace"
Showing posts with label Vietcong. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vietcong. Show all posts
Thursday, May 6, 2010
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 turning point for the war becasue it was a disaster for the communist becasue they hoped the people of Souh Vietnam would rise up and join them, but they didnt. It was a turning point for the war because "it raised hard questions about the war in the USA." There were almost 500,000 Vietnam and the USA was spending $20 billion a year on the war. The US took back towns but becasue they were using lots of bombs and guns, in the process lots of civilians were killed, and the ancient city of Hue was destroyed.
2. Are Sources 51 and 52 making the same point about the My Lai Massacre?
Source 51 is shpwing how innocent boys from the US were taken and
used to kill thousands of people (a whole villiage.) The boys refer to their actions as Nazi, Killing just to kill. THe boys didnt want to go to Vietnam to be NAzis they wanted to get away from home and serve their country becasue it was the American Ideal.
Source 52 shows how the killings were "justified" as killing to get rid of an idea. But you cannot defeat an idea with guns. This source is making up excuses for the killings such as destroying communism, and they were there to kill "blobs pieces of flesh" which shows that the fact that they were killing meant nothing to them.
3. Why do you think it took 12 months for anyone to do anything about the massacre?
I think that it took 12 months for anyone to do anything about the massacre because the commanding officer lied about the event and the unit was praised. But later (1 year) the men who fought were problay shiped home and were able to tell their stories, which was then collected and made into the case by Ronald Ridenhour.
4. Why was the massacre so shocking to the American public?
The massacre was shocking to the American public because they could not believe that the Americans would killing innocent people like that. They thought that America was winning and was able to stop raiding as much. They saw the horrors inflicted apon the villagers by the US and were horrified that they could do such a thing.
The Tet Offensive was a turning point for the war becasue it was a disaster for the communist becasue they hoped the people of Souh Vietnam would rise up and join them, but they didnt. It was a turning point for the war because "it raised hard questions about the war in the USA." There were almost 500,000 Vietnam and the USA was spending $20 billion a year on the war. The US took back towns but becasue they were using lots of bombs and guns, in the process lots of civilians were killed, and the ancient city of Hue was destroyed.
2. Are Sources 51 and 52 making the same point about the My Lai Massacre?
Source 51 is shpwing how innocent boys from the US were taken and
used to kill thousands of people (a whole villiage.) The boys refer to their actions as Nazi, Killing just to kill. THe boys didnt want to go to Vietnam to be NAzis they wanted to get away from home and serve their country becasue it was the American Ideal.
Source 52 shows how the killings were "justified" as killing to get rid of an idea. But you cannot defeat an idea with guns. This source is making up excuses for the killings such as destroying communism, and they were there to kill "blobs pieces of flesh" which shows that the fact that they were killing meant nothing to them.
3. Why do you think it took 12 months for anyone to do anything about the massacre?
I think that it took 12 months for anyone to do anything about the massacre because the commanding officer lied about the event and the unit was praised. But later (1 year) the men who fought were problay shiped home and were able to tell their stories, which was then collected and made into the case by Ronald Ridenhour.
4. Why was the massacre so shocking to the American public?
The massacre was shocking to the American public because they could not believe that the Americans would killing innocent people like that. They thought that America was winning and was able to stop raiding as much. They saw the horrors inflicted apon the villagers by the US and were horrified that they could do such a thing.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
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 United States was much greater in size and power than the Viet Minh. The United States had new tech, money to support the troops, and the troops were trained for what they were going to do. The Viet Minh was small in size and had dated weapons.
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?
I think that the moral of the soldiers was the most important and how far the countrys were going to let this war go on. You can destroy an army, but you can never destroy an idea; I believe that the Viet Cong would keep fighting until they got what they wanted because each soldier was fighting for what they believed in. The U.S soldiers on the other hand wanted out, their moral was hurt from the Gurillia warfare, and they were not fighting for personal gain, they were there because their commanding officer told them to go.
a. The U.S. weaknesses were:
Their moral was hurt from theGureillia warfare. They didnt know how to win against them, becasue the armys blended in with the peasants. The U.S decided to use chemical weapons and bombs to find the Veir Cong, but this just upset the peaseants causing them to lean more to the communist side rather than with the U.S.
b. At the same time, the Communist strengths were:
The Communists were gaining "votes" from the people in the South becasue of the crule government of Diem, and what they saw the U.S doing to the civilians while looking for the Viet Cong. If the communists were to win in Vietnam then they could take over all of South East Asia.
c. The U.S. forces did have some successes. For example:
The U.S was able to put Diem in power, who was so anti communist that he was perfect for the position. The U.S was able to attack Communist forces in Vietnam after 1969. The bombings of Haiphong ( North Vietnams Captial) from 1970- 1972 allowed the US to bring negotiating up.
d. However, there were some major failures as well. Examples of these were:
In bombing raids the communists were only slowed down. The cost of the air raids were horrible Communists shot down about 14000 planes. The United States was also losing the support of the Vietnamese people becasue while looking for the Viet Cong they were destroying villages, and killing people with the bombs and chemical weapons.
e. The Viet Cong had some major successes, such as:
Making the U.S troops lose all their moral becasue of the Guriella warfare attacks on the camps at night. The Viet Cong also had the support of the peaseants/villagers. They helped them in the fields and were told to be curterous and respectful.
f. However, they also suffered defeats, for example:
The Viet Cong lost to the U.S becasue their supplies were heavly bombed, their weapons and numbers were far less than thoes of the U.S and the U.S was securing groung in Southern Vietnam to ensure that they would have land if the country went Communist.
g. If I had to identify one major American weakness, it would be [Lack of Tactic] because:
The U.S had everything it needed to win the war at the beginning. They had weapons, troops, support from the villagers etc. But because they didnt know how to adapt to the Guerilla Warfare they were being killed. They also needed to come up with a way to find the Viet Cong without risking the lives of villagers. This lost the U.S support from the villager and pushed them toward communism, it also wasted larger amounts of U.S money to support operations that were not succesful at all.
h. The key Viet Cong strength was [Gurilla Warfare and High Moral] because:
This tactic worked against the U.S forces it made them scared no matter where they were. The U.S also could not adapt to this method so the Viet Cong got a lot more out of it than they should have. The high Moral of the troops made it so they wanted to fight, and they would be willing to give their lives.
a) Were the armies finely balanced or was the balance strongly weighted to one side or the other?
The United States was much greater in size and power than the Viet Minh. The United States had new tech, money to support the troops, and the troops were trained for what they were going to do. The Viet Minh was small in size and had dated weapons.
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?
I think that the moral of the soldiers was the most important and how far the countrys were going to let this war go on. You can destroy an army, but you can never destroy an idea; I believe that the Viet Cong would keep fighting until they got what they wanted because each soldier was fighting for what they believed in. The U.S soldiers on the other hand wanted out, their moral was hurt from the Gurillia warfare, and they were not fighting for personal gain, they were there because their commanding officer told them to go.
a. The U.S. weaknesses were:
Their moral was hurt from theGureillia warfare. They didnt know how to win against them, becasue the armys blended in with the peasants. The U.S decided to use chemical weapons and bombs to find the Veir Cong, but this just upset the peaseants causing them to lean more to the communist side rather than with the U.S.
b. At the same time, the Communist strengths were:
The Communists were gaining "votes" from the people in the South becasue of the crule government of Diem, and what they saw the U.S doing to the civilians while looking for the Viet Cong. If the communists were to win in Vietnam then they could take over all of South East Asia.
c. The U.S. forces did have some successes. For example:
The U.S was able to put Diem in power, who was so anti communist that he was perfect for the position. The U.S was able to attack Communist forces in Vietnam after 1969. The bombings of Haiphong ( North Vietnams Captial) from 1970- 1972 allowed the US to bring negotiating up.
d. However, there were some major failures as well. Examples of these were:
In bombing raids the communists were only slowed down. The cost of the air raids were horrible Communists shot down about 14000 planes. The United States was also losing the support of the Vietnamese people becasue while looking for the Viet Cong they were destroying villages, and killing people with the bombs and chemical weapons.
e. The Viet Cong had some major successes, such as:
Making the U.S troops lose all their moral becasue of the Guriella warfare attacks on the camps at night. The Viet Cong also had the support of the peaseants/villagers. They helped them in the fields and were told to be curterous and respectful.
f. However, they also suffered defeats, for example:
The Viet Cong lost to the U.S becasue their supplies were heavly bombed, their weapons and numbers were far less than thoes of the U.S and the U.S was securing groung in Southern Vietnam to ensure that they would have land if the country went Communist.
g. If I had to identify one major American weakness, it would be [Lack of Tactic] because:
The U.S had everything it needed to win the war at the beginning. They had weapons, troops, support from the villagers etc. But because they didnt know how to adapt to the Guerilla Warfare they were being killed. They also needed to come up with a way to find the Viet Cong without risking the lives of villagers. This lost the U.S support from the villager and pushed them toward communism, it also wasted larger amounts of U.S money to support operations that were not succesful at all.
h. The key Viet Cong strength was [Gurilla Warfare and High Moral] because:
This tactic worked against the U.S forces it made them scared no matter where they were. The U.S also could not adapt to this method so the Viet Cong got a lot more out of it than they should have. The high Moral of the troops made it so they wanted to fight, and they would be willing to give their lives.
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