Download vietnam-war-important-terms

Vietnam War
PARTIES INVOLVED:
North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) – Supported by the
People’s Republic of China and the Soviet Union.
South Vietnam (the ‘State of Vietnam’ and later the ‘Republic of Vietnam’) –
Supported by the United States of America, Australia, New Zealand, Khmer
Republic, Thailand.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES:
South Vietnamese Army – Also known as The Army of the Republic of Vietnam
(ARVN)
Viet Cong – Also known as National Liberation Front [NLF], Victor Charlie [VC]
Vietnamese People’s Army – Also known as North Vietnamese Army [NVA]
VPA, Viet Minh
LZ – Landing Zone
IMPORTANT FIGURES:
Vietnamese:
Ho Chi Minh – Prime Minister from 1946 to 1955 and President from 1945 until
his death in 1969 of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam).
Le Duan – General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam and leader of
North Vietnam and later the unified Vietnam from 1969 until his death in 1986.
Ngo Dinh Diem – first President of South Vietnam.
Duong Van Minh – led the South Vietnamese Army under President Diệm and
was briefly leader of South Vietnam in 1963 and 1975. He was the last president.
American:
Dwight D. Eisenhower – 34th US President 1953-1961
John F. Kennedy – 35th US President 1961-1963
Lyndon B. Johnson – 36th US President 1963-1969
Richard Nixon – 37th US President 1969-1974
Gerald Ford – 38th US President 1974-1977
Australian:
Robert Menzies – Prime Minister of Australia 1949-1966
Harold Holt – Prime Minister of Australia 1966-1967
John Gorton – Prime Minister of Australia 1968-1971
IMPORTANT TERMS:
The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (August 7th 1964)
Gave President L.B Johnson authorisation for the use of ‘conventional’ military
force without a declaration of war and allowed for the rapid escalation of
military involvement in Vietnam.
‘Domino Theory’
Theory used to by the United States to justify the Vietnam War that speculated
that if one state in a region came under the influence of communism then the
surrounding countries would follow.
http://blogs.swa-jkt.com/swa/10583/tag/domino-theory/
Tet Offensive (launched on January 30th 1968)
Military campaign during the Vietnam War where the Viet Cong launched a
surprise attack on military and civilian command centres throughout South
Vietnam. Although the communist forces were defeated it was seen to be huge
boost to communist morale.
Operation Lam Son 719 (8th February-25th March 1971)
Military campaign conducted by South Vietnamese forces in Laos. US forces
provided logistical, aerial and artillery support but could not provide ground
troops, as US soldiers were not allowed to enter Laos. The campaign was
designed as a test to show that the South Vietnamese Army could handle itself
with minimal US assistance and boost South Vietnamese morale thereby
allowing for the withdrawal of US troops. The campaign was a disaster for the
South Vietnamese Army.