1. The Vietnam
War:Course and
Conduct
LO: To analyze the tactics used by both sides in
the Vietnam War

2. Recap
Match each event/concept from last lesson to
its definition/explanation
It is a race against the other groups

3. Question 1
• A poor feudal nation had beaten a great
colonial power . . . It meant a lot; not just to
us but to people all over the world.
• Viet Minh commander Vo Nguyen Giap
commenting on the victory over ______
in 1954. What best goes in the gap?
C) The United States
D) Western Powers
E) The French
F) The United States and the French
G) Dien Bien Phu

4. Q2:Hypothesis: Vietnamese Guerrilla Tactics
were effective against modern nations in a war.
Which set of facts best supports?
1. The French lost 3000 dead in the battle and 8000 more died in
captivity.
2. The Viet Minh forces had defeated the French in open battle with
the help of modern weapons from the USSR and China.
3. A small Asian state had defeated a rich European state through a
combination of effective leadership, the right tactics and sheer
determination (for example, at Dien Bien Phu, the equipment and
supplies for the 40,000 Viet Minh soldiers were carried by hand by
peasants).
4. At the 1954 peace conference held in Geneva, the country was
effectively divided into North and South Vietnam until elections
could be held to decide its future.
A) 1 and 2 B) 1 and 4 C) 2 and 3 D) 3 only

5. Q3 - Robert McNamara, US Defence Secretary, explaining in 1964 why he
supported the policy of sending US troops to Vietnam.
• “First is the simple fact that South Vietnam, a member of
the free world family, is striving to preserve its
independence from Communist attack. ii) Second, South
East Asia has great significance in the forward defence of
the USA. iii) For Hanoi, the immediate object is limited:
conquest of the south and national unification. iv) For
Peking, however, Hanoi’s victory would only be a first
step towards eventual Chinese dominance of the two
Vietnams and South East Asia and v) towards exploitation
of the new strategy in other parts of the world.”
• Hypothesis: Domino Theory explains best the strategic
rationale behind American involvement in Vietnam.
Which items from McNamara’s remark best support this
hypothesis?
• A) i and ii B) ii and iii C) iv and ii D) ii, iv, v E) i and iii F)
another combination

6. Main Points: US Tactics
Strategic Hamlets
Search and Destroy
Bombing: Use of Chemical Weapons
What do their tactics reveal about their
response to their enemy and the nature of their
own society?

7. Main Points: Vietcong
Tactics
Guerrilla Warfare
Underground tunnels
Use of peasant population
What do their tactics reveal about their society
and how they reacted to US tactics?

8. Key Points
• Gulf of Tonkin
• US troops arrive
• Operation Rolling Thunder (bombing of
North Vietnam)
• Make sure you have concrete facts you can
use for any question that comes up