Vietnam Revision Notes US Tactics Against Guerrilla Warfare 1. Operation Rolling Thunder began February 1965.

. In August 1964 US claimed its ships had been attacked in the Gulf of Tonkin. This was their excuse for starting the operation. Over 7,000,000 tonnes of bombs were dropped. 2. US forces attempted to win hearts and minds of the South Vietnamese people. They did so through programmes where food aid was given to the people. This was to get as many people on their side against the Viet Cong. 3. Search and destroy missions search villages for traces of Viet Cong. If any signs were found, the village would be burnt down and all the inhabitants killed. 4. Use of napalm and Agent Orange as defoliants. This gave the Viet Cong less cover and Napalm was also used to burn villages with and force Viet Cong out into the open. North Vietnamese Tactics 1. Guerrilla tactics ambush US soldiers when least expecting it. 2. Underground tunnels and camps that were booby-trapped against the US troops. 3. Booby-traps in the forest consisting of pits, sharpened sticks and mines. This kept US troops alert. 4. Supplied from the North by the Ho Chi Minh trail, which ran through Laos and Cambodia. 6000 tons of supplies were given from China each day. Growing Opposition to War 1. By 1967, 160 soldiers were being killed each week. 2. People in the US saw the atrocities committed by US troops on the news My Lai in 1969. This angered them and made them want the war to be ended. 3. Most soldiers were drafted in due to conscription and werent fighting for a cause that they believed in. 4. People felt that more money was being spent on the war than of the wellbeing of people at home in the US. 5. Student protests Kent State University National Guard shot 4 dead. End of War 1969 Peace talks with North Vietnam Nixon began to withdraw US forces in 1969 but didnt want the North Vietnamese to notice so thus stepped up Operation Rolling Thunder. He also announced the policy of Vietnamisation making sure the ARVN could defend the country on its own.