Miss S Jones – GCSE – Cuba and Vietnam Revision notes
How effectively did the USA contain the spread of communism?
The Cuban Missile Crisis and the Vietnam War
THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS
Background:
 Large island 160km from Florida.
 American ally.
 Americans owned most of the business and had a large naval base there.
 American recreation ground.
 1959 – after three year guerrilla campaign – Fidel Castro overthrow the American-backed dictator Batista.
 Pro-Communist state – in its own ‘sphere of influence’ – test to containment.
Early Attempts:
 1959-1961:
- Cuba and USA avoided confrontation.
- Castro took over US owned businesses but let the USA keep naval base.
- Assured Americans in Cuba that they were safe.
- Said he wanted to run Cuba without interference.
- 1960 – receiving arms from Soviet Union – US spies knew this.
 January 1961:
- USA broke off diplomatic relations with Cuba.
- Cuba expected an invasion.
- US didn’t invade but it was clear they wouldn’t tolerate a Communist state in their ‘sphere of influence’.
 April 1961: Bay of Pigs:
- President Kennedy supplied arms, equipment and transport for 1400 anti-Castro Cuban exiles to invade
Cuba.
- Landed at the Bay of Pigs.
- Met by 20,000 Cuban troops armed with modern weapons – invasion failed disastrously.
- Castro captured and killed them all within days.
- Cuba and Soviet Union – failed invasion meant that the USA was unwilling to get directly involved in
Cuba – Khrushchev was scornful of Kennedy’s attempt to eradicate Communism from Cuba.
- Encouraged spread of Communism – showed Kennedy’s weakness – also made Castro and Khrushchev
suspicious of US policy.
Soviet Union:
 1962 – after Bay of Pigs – announces it’s supplying Cuba with arms.
 Cuba has strong army – thousands of Soviet missiles, patrol boats, tanks, radar vans, missile erectors, jet
bombers, jet fighters, Soviet technicians to maintain weapons.
 USA – alarmed – ready to tolerate conventional arms but not nuclear missiles.
 US Intelligence Department believed that it was too risky for the USSR to dare to do this.
 September – Kennedy warned USSR that he would do whatever he had to to prevent Cuba becoming an
offensive military base – i.e. a nuclear missile base.
 USSR assured the USA it had no intention of doing so.
October Crisis:
 14th October 1962 – American U-2 spy plane flew over Cuba – photos of missile sites in Cuba.
 Evident that they were nuclear missile sites being built by the USSR.
Miss S Jones – GCSE – Cuba and Vietnam Revision notes
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More photos confirmed this.
Some were already supplied with missiles – others were waiting for them.
Experts said that most of the sites would be ready to launch missiles in 7 days.
American spy planes reported that 20 soviet ships were headed for Cuba carrying missiles.
Kennedy’s options:
1. Do nothing – still had greater nuclear power and could destroy the Soviet Union so they would
probably never use the missiles in Cuba, but the USSR had lied about the missiles – Kennedy had
issued a warning and to do nothing would be seen as weakness.
2. Surgical air attack (air attack to destroy the bases themselves) – it would destroy the missiles but
it may not destroy the sites completely which would risk a counter attack, the attack would kill
Soviet soldiers causing a retaliation and this would be seen as immoral without a warning.
3. Invasion of Cuba by air and sea – this would get rid of the missiles and Castro and the American
forces were trained for this, but it would guarantee a Soviet response.
4. Diplomatic pressures (get the UN or other body to intervene) – it would avoid conflict but if the
USA was forced to back down it would be seen as weak.
5. Blockade – It would show the USA’s seriousness but wouldn’t be a direct act of war. It would put
the burden of war on Khrushchev and would make him the aggressor. The USA had a strong navy
and could take other options if this didn’t work. However, it wouldn’t solve the main problem of the
weapons already on Cuba which could be used within a week and the Soviet Union might respond by
blockading Berlin.
Kennedy decided to blockade Cuba. Called on Khrushchev to withdraw their missiles.
Khrushchev sends a letter saying that Soviet ships won’t observe the blockade. He doesn’t admit that
there are nuclear weapons in Cuba.
24th October – blockade begins – first missile carrying ships (accompanied by a Soviet submarine) approach
the blockade zone. Then, suddenly, the 20 Soviet ships closest to the zone turn around. Photographs show
that work on the missile bases is still proceeding rapidly, though.
Khrushchev admits to having weapons in Cuba (in a letter) for defensive purposes, and says that if the US
remove the blockade and assure that they won’t attack Cuba then the destruction of the missile sites
would be a different question.
Khrushchev sends another letter saying that, in fact, the condition for removing the missiles is that the
US removes its missiles from Turkey. The US doesn’t accept this.
An American U-2 plane is shot down over Cuba and the pilot is killed. Kennedy is advised to launch a reprisal
attack on Cuba.
Kennedy decides to delay the attack and ignores the second Khrushchev letter, accepting the terms
suggested by Khrushchev originally. He says that if the Soviet union don’t withdraw an attack will follow.
Why did the Soviet Union place nuclear missiles on Cuba?
 To Bargain with the USA – could remove them in return for American concessions.
 To trap the USA – wanted them to find them and be drawn into a nuclear war.
 To defend Cuba.
 To test the USA – see how strong they really were – whether or not they would stand up to them.
 To get the upper hand in the arms race – concerned about the missile gap between the USSR and USA.
Outcome:
 Cuba remained Communist and highly armed but nuclear missiles were withdrawn with UN supervision.
 Khrushchev had an improved reputation in his country and claimed a personal victory – that Cuba remained
an ally so close the USA. The fact that he had been forced to back down was soon forgotten as his role as
a peacekeeper was highlighted.
 The Cuban missile crisis helped to thaw Cold War relations between the USA and the USSR. Now they
were more willing to take steps to reduce the risk of nuclear war. In 1963 they signed the Nuclear Test
Ban Treaty to limit tests of nuclear weapons.
Miss S Jones – GCSE – Cuba and Vietnam Revision notes
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USA – crisis affected anti-Communist opinion – critics of containment wanted USA to invade Cuba but the
Cuban crisis highlighted the weakness of their case. Such intervention wasn’t worth the high risk.
Communist Cuba was an inconvenience but a nuclear war would be the end of civilisation.
THE VIETNAM WAR
Origins of the conflict:
 Viet Minh – led by Ho Chi Minh who had studied Communism in the USSR – controlled the north of the
country by the end of WW2.
 Entered city of Hanoi in 1945 and declared Vietnamese independence.
 French tried to take control of Vietnam (it had been theirs previously) – most sympathised with the Viet
Minh (as Ho Chi Minh kept quiet about wanting a Communist Vietnam)
 However in 1949 Communists took over in China – helped Viet Minh.
 Americans saw Viet Minh as puppets of the Chinese Communists.
 Feared Communist plan to dominate South East Asia.
 Gave $500 million a year to French war effort and helped them set up a non-Communist government in the
south of the country.
 War lasted from 1946-54 – Viet Minh’s guerrilla tactics made them impossible to defeat.
 Tied up 190,000 French troops in hit-and-run raids, causing 90,000 French casualties.
 French raids against peasant villages raised support for Viet Minh.
 1954 – Dien Bien Phu – well armed force of French paratroopers defeated:
- 3000 French dead and 8000 died in captivity.
- Viet Minh forces defeated French in open battle with the help of weapons from the USSR and China.
- A small state had defeated a rich European state with effective leadership, tactics and determination.
- 1954 peace conference in Geneva – country effectively divided into North and South Vietnam until
elections could be held to decide its future.
Why did the USA become involved?
 USA prevented elections because they feared the Communists would win.
 Eisenhower convinced that the USSR and China were trying to spread communism throughout Asia.
 Domino theory – if Vietnam fell to Communism others would follow.
 Determined to resist the spread of Communism.
What did they do?
 1955 – Americans helped Ngo Dinh Diem to set up the Republic of South Vietnam – he was bitterly antiCommunist and was willing to imprison or exile Communists.
 Treated peasants with no respect – came from landlord class.
 Showed little respect for the Buddhist religion of most peasants – was Christian.
 His regime was corrupt.
 Appointed members of his family/supporters to positions of power – refused to hold elections.
 Americans concerned by his actions – Dulles said ‘We know of no one better’.
 US gave around $1.6 billion to his regime in the 1950s.
 1963 – Diem overthrown by his own army leaders – governments that followed were equally corrupt but still
received US support.
 Increased support for the Communist-led Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam (the Viet Cong) –
included South Vietnamese opponents of the government and large numbers of Communist North
Vietnamese taking orders from Ho Chi Minh.
 Peasants who didn’t support the Viet Cong faced intimidation and violence.
 Started guerrilla war against South Vietnamese government.
 Used Ho Chi Minh trail to send reinforcements and supplies to guerrilla fighters.
 Fighters attacked South Vietnamese government forces, officials and buildings, making the countryside
unsafe for the government, and also attacked American air force and supply bases.
Miss S Jones – GCSE – Cuba and Vietnam Revision notes
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1962 – Kennedy sending military personnel (calling them ‘advisers’) to fight the Viet Cong.
1963-4 – tension between North and South increased as did American involvement.
Kennedy said he wouldn’t enter war unsure of his aims and how to get out again.
Assassinated in 1963 – successor Lyndon Johnson was more prepared to go to war.
1964 – North Vietnamese patrol boats fired at US ships in the Gulf of Tonkin.
Congress passes Tonkin Gulf Resolution – gave Johnson power to take whatever measures needed to
prevent further aggression.
8th March 1965 – sent US marines and troops to Da Nang – they were at war.
Viet Cong and Guerrilla tactics:
 Early 1965 – had 170,000 troops supplied with weapons from China and the USSR.
 Outnumbered by South Vietnamese army and American allies.
 Viet Cong would fall in open warfare.
 Ho Chi Minh – veteran of Chinese guerrilla war and guerrilla war against the Japanese and French in
Vietnam
 Tactics:
- The enemy attacks, we retreat.
- The enemy camps, we raid.
- The enemy tires, we attack.
- The enemy retreats, we pursue.
 Guerrilla warfare – nightmare for Americans:
- Didn’t wear uniform – hard to distinguish from peasants.
- Worked in small groups.
- Didn’t have known bases/headquarters.
- Attacked then disappeared into jungle/villages/tunnels.
- Aimed to wear down the American troops both physically and mentally – very effective – American
troops in constant fear of ambush/booby traps.
 Viet Cong aimed to get peasants’ support.
 Polite and helpful – helped in the fields at busy times.
 Also ruthless and used intimidation and fear.
 Waged campaign of terror against employees of South Vietnamese government.
 1966-71 – 27,000 SV civilians killed by Viet Cong.
 Never gave up.
US Tactics:
 Bombing:
- 1965 – Operation Rolling Thunder – bombing raids on industrial and military targets – trying to force Ho
Chi Minh to negotiate – failed to do this.
- Continued until 1972 – bombed North and South Vietnam as well as targets in Cambodia and Laos.
- US dropped more bombs on Vietnam than the allies did in the whole of WW2 on Germany.
- Damaged NV war effort and disrupted supply lines.
- Could still attack even though they were reducing soldiers from 1969.
- 1970-2 – did help to persuade the North Vietnamese to negotiate.
BUT
Air power couldn’t defeat the communists.
- VC still operated supply lines – estimated that even when bombing was heaviest most supplies could still
get through.
- Very expensive – 14,000 US and SV planes shot down.
- Killed South Vietnamese as well as North Vietnamese.
 Chemical weapons:
- Agent Orange – defoliate jungles where guerrillas were hiding. Used 82 million litres – very harmful to
the body.
- Napalm – destroyed jungle – could burn right through to the bone.
Miss S Jones – GCSE – Cuba and Vietnam Revision notes
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- Agent Blue – sprayed on crops to stop VC growing food.
Strategic Villages/Hamlet Project:
- Uproot village populations away from areas controlled by VC – deny them local support.
- Merely angered local population and increased the popularity of communists.
Search and Destroy:
- Established secure bases in the countryside in the South and launched search and destroy raids from
helicopters.
- Raids killed VC.
BUT
- Often based on inadequate intelligence.
- Inexperienced US troops often walked into ambushes.
- Innocent villages were mistaken for VC strongholds.
- Civilian casualties were very high.
- Made US and S Vietnamese very unpopular – popularity of VC increased.
The Tet Offensive (1968):
 Tet – Vietnamese New Year.
 VC attack over 100 cities in SV including US embassy in Saigon.
 Failure – thought people would rise up and throw US out but didn’t.
 US pushed Viet Cong back – superior weapons and technology.
BUT
 Success for VC – cameras see US embassy taken over – US public (sending taxes/men) see that they can
never win the war and are losing.
 Public opinion against the war not just in America – anti-war protests, chant outside Whitehouse, ‘Hey, Hey,
LBJ, how many kids did you kill today?’.
 US had gone into one of the VC towns and destroyed all the temples – turns public opinion.
 Demonstrations and sit-ins at universities – 4 shot dead in Kent State University (Ohio) at a demonstration
by the National Guard.
My Lai Massacre (1968):
 Search and destroy mission in My Lai – told there was a VC HQ there with 200 VC guerrillas.
 Told that the villagers would have left for the market as it was a Saturday – many under the impression
that they had to kill everyone in the village.
 16th March – arrive in My Lai – in four hours 300-400 civilians were killed – old men, women, children.
 Officers and men praised – said that all but 20 killed had been VC guerrillas.
 12 months later – letter arrived at Washington saying that this was wrong.
 Investigation – photos of the massacre published.
 Lieutenant Calley – officer in the company – on trial for the murder of 109 people.
 Charged with murder of 22 civilians and in 1969 was sentenced to 20 years hard labour but was released in
1974.
 Army placed all responsibility on him – claimed he wasn’t acting under orders.
 His senior officers were cleared.
 Shocked US public – Nov. 1969 almost 700,000 anti-war protesters demonstrated in Washington DC –
largest political protest in American history.
Ending
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the war:
Tet Offensive – Johnson saw that the war couldn’t be won militarily.
Reduced bombing campaign – instructed officers to being negotiating for peace.
March 1968 – peace conference in Paris began.
Johnson didn’t stand for re-election – admission of failure.
Republicans and Democrats both promising to end the war.
Trying to get out of it without it looking like defeat.
Nov. 1968 – Nixon elected.
Miss S Jones – GCSE – Cuba and Vietnam Revision notes
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1969-73 – he and his National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger worked to end US involvement in Vietnam.
Not easy – question of how to contain Communism hadn’t gone away (what had got them into the war in the
first place).
Didn’t want to be seen to hand Vietnam to Communists.
Used range of strategies:
- Pressure on the USSR and China – seemed there would be war between USSR and China so both tried
to improve relations with USA. 1970 – Nixon began Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) with the
USSR to limit nuclear weapons. Tried to get Moscow to persuade NV to end the war. Started to
improve relations with China – asked them to encourage NV to end the war too.
- Peace negotiations with NV – early 1969 – regularly negotiated with NV peace negotiator, Le Duc Tho.
- Vienamisation of the war effort – replacing his troops as he withdrew with SV troops.
- Bombing – increased bombing campaigns against NV to show strength. Invaded VC bases in Cambodia
(caused worldwide outrage, even in USA).
1972 – NV launched major offensive but didn’t conquer SV.
1973 – all Americans left Vietnam. Made peace with them.
April 1975 – SV taken over by NV – still Communist today.
Consequences of the War:
 Environmental: Chemical warfare:
- Damaged crops – food shortages.
- Destroyed 5.4 million acres of forest areas and the species living there.
- Poisoned streams/rivers.
 US Troops:
- Drug addiction – Hard drugs available easily in Vietnam – heroin use by US troops at 30%.
- Confusion and bitterness – not welcomed home like after WW2 – difficulty adjusting to civilian life.
- Stress – post traumatic stress.
- Cancer – some soldiers who handled Agent Orange developed cancer.
 Vietnamese citizens:
- SV citizens had levels of dioxin (poison) from chemical warfare – 3x as high as US citizens.
- Unexploded mines and bombs – death of adults and children for years after.
- Napalm – horrific burns, disfigurements – often civilians caught in crossfire affected.
 Vietnamese society:
- Morals:
 Fighting – peasants driven into shanty towns near US bases – poverty, prostitution and drug
abuse common.
 US forces supplied with luxuries – created huge black market with SV govn. officials.
 Buddhist priests protested about the effects of American presence in Vietnam in the late
1960s.
Refugees:
 5 million SV displaced from their homes. Towns and villages in N and SV devastated by bombing
and ground fighting.
 Vietnam took over 20 years to start recovering from the war.
 Poverty, Communist policies and the hope of a better life led thousands of Vietnamese to
become ‘boat people’ in the late 1970s onwards.
 Tried to sail to Malaysia and Hong Kong in makeshift boats.
 Many went to the west (mainly US).
 At least 50,000 drowned or were murdered by pirates.
 Mid 1990s – USA ends trade ban with Vietnam and the World Bank was finally allowed to invest
in the country.