AMERICAN RESPONSES TO THE VIETNAMESE
US Government approach to guerrilla warfare:
Because they were used to their undeniable strength being such an asset, the United
States was shocked at the effect that the Vietcong’s guerrilla warfare was able to have
on their mission in Vietnam. Research the approach the US government took to tackle
this issue and answer the following questions:
1. If the strategy of the Vietcong was ‘stealth’, what was the key strategy of the
Americans?
2. Explain the American bombing strategy during the Vietnam War. Be sure to
include the following:
a.
Name of key bombs used by the US military.
b.
Their ways of choosing targets.
c.
The effect on bombing on the Vietcong.
d.
The effect of bombing on the South Vietnamese civilians.
3. Describe the role of chemical weapons used by the US.
a.
What other names were given to ‘napalm’? What was it?
b.
How was this chemical delivered to targeted zones?
c.
What did napalm do to the human body?
d.
Why was the use of this chemical the target of so much criticism?
(Consider those most often affected by it).
On June 8, 1972, children and their families fled the village of Trang Bang down
Route-1, their bodies seared by napalm. The young girl screaming, in particular,
was etched onto the world’s mind by the photograph of Huynh Cong ‘Nick’ Ut,
an AP photographer.
AMERICAN RESPONSES TO THE VIETNAMESE
American troop Attacks on the Vietnamese:
American troops often treated the Vietnamese very severely. Explore the story of the
My Lai Massacre, which looks at the extremes of US troop behaviour and answer the
following questions:
1. Where is My Lai located? Is it near any
places of significance in Vietnam?
2. When did the My Lai Massacre occur?
3. The use of the word ‘massacre’ is a
distinct choice.
a. Define the word ‘massacre’.
b. What does this word imply
about the event that unfolded
in My Lai?
4. Describe the events of the My Lai Massacre. Be sure to include the following:
 The reason that the US troops had for being in My Lai.
 The actions that they took towards the Vietnamese people.
 Whether or not the Vietnamese affected were civilians or Vietcong.
 Numbers killed or injured.
 US leadership of the troops at the time.
 What the actions of the US troops were after the event.
5. What was the response of the US government to this event? What was the
response of the Vietnamese (north/south) to the event?
Useful Websites:
US Government approacheshttp://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1859.html
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/munitions/napalm.htm
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/VNchemical.htm
http://photos.codlib.com/2007/07/26/trang-bang-8672-the-napalm-girl/
Attacks on Vietnamesehttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/64344.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/special_report/1998/03/98/mylai/64640.stm
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/my_lai_massacre.htm
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,840403,00.html