French Indochina —Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia

Policy of Containment —US policy to stop the spread of communism

Ho Chi Minh —Communist leader of North Vietnam

Domino Effect —The fear that if Vietnam fell to communism, so would the surrounding countries.

2nd September 1945 —Minh declared Vietnam a republic

Dien Bien Phu (1954) —Final Battle in which France was defeated, and left Vietnam

1954 Geneva Agreement —Split Vietnam along 17th parallel

South Vietnam leader who led a Pro-western Catholic state —Ngo Dinh Diem

Elections on unification planned —1955

Why were elections stopped? —Eisenhower feared a communist victory

Problems with South Vietnam —Anti Buddhist, corrupt dictatorship, tortured rivals, had to be propped up by $200 million of US aid a year

1963 Diem banned Buddhist holidays —Buddhist monks responded by suicide by fire in protest

Vietcong (National Liberation Front) —Communist guerilla group formed to oppose South Vietnam government

Southern Vietnamese Army —ARVN

Gulf of Tonkin Incident —2nd of August 1964, USS Maddox

Green Berets —JFK sent 15,000 US advisors to train ARVN

Diem replaced with —Duong Van Minh by CIA

Undeclared War with Vietnam —Johnson gained a resolution from Congress to launch

Ho Chi Minh Trail —A network of paths used by North Vietnam to transport supplies to the Vietcong in South Vietnam

Hearts and Minds Campaign —strategy by U.S. and South Vietnamese governments to gain support from Vietnamese people through social programs

Operation Rolling Thunder (1965) —Bombing campaign intended to win the war with minor US causalities, little effect on N Vietnam decentralised economy

US use of Chemical weapons —US airforce used napalm, and agent orange to clear thick forest

Effects of chemical weapons —Destroyed crops, caused cancer, and severe birth defects

Search and Destroy tactics —US would raid and destroy any village thought to be helping the VC, regularly killing civilians

Vietcong Terror Tactics —27,000 civilians executed for supporting or working with the SV government

My Lai Massacre —March 1968; U.S. soldiers destroy a South Vietnam village and kill an estimated 450 innocent civilians

Red Scare —fear that secret communists were working to destroy the American way of life

Tet offensive —a massive surprise attack by the Vietcong on South Vietnamese towns and cities in new year 1968, US embassy breached

Vietnamisation —Policy of handing over Vietnam War to ARVN

Long Telegram 1946 —Message sent by George Keenan to the US, argued Soviets would back down if the US showed force

Harry Truman —Became President when Roosevelt died in 1945

Truman Doctrine —1947 - Stated that the U.S. would support any nation threatened by Communism

Iron Curtain Speech 1946 —Churchill speech about communist and capitalist divide in Europe

China fell to communism after civil war —1949, Mao Zedong became new leader

Joe McCarthy —Winsconsin Senator that created a national witch hunt for socialist and communists inside the US post WW2

Greece and Turkey anti communist groups —First funded by Britain, then US provided $400 million, defeated communists by 1949

US hypocrisy in Greece —Supported military dictatorship

Marshall Plan —A United States program that provided $15 billion in aid for the reconstruction of Europe

OEEC —Organization for European Economic Cooperation, idea that war could be prevented by making countries dependent on other economies

Stalin reaction to Marshall Plan —Refused US aid, Eastern Europe recovered from WW2 much slower

4 zones of Germany —French, British, Soviet, and American

Original plan for Germany post WW2 —De industrialise and de nazify, keep weak to neutralise threat

Western Zones change in tactic —Rebuild Germany into an ally against communism with Marshall aid

West Berlin —Sector of Berlin that was under control of the US, British and French post WW2

24th June 1948 —Berlin Blockade begins

Berlin Blockade —Attempt by Stalin to starve out West Berlin by cutting off all its road and train links to the Western zone

Operation Vittles —Lasted from June 1948 to May 1949, 200,000 flights delivered 4,700 tonnes a day

NATO —North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, alliance against communism

Results of Blockade —Communism contained, west Germany joined NATO in 1955, victory for US

Flaws of Containment Policy —Too black and white, US would support anyone anti communist, hugely increased military spending

Korea division post WW2 —Divided along the 38th parallel

25th of June 1950 —North Korea led by Kim II Sung and backed by China, invades South Korea

The Pusan Pocket —South Koreans drove back into one small corner of the country

US response to North Korea invading South Korea —US led by General McArthur, led UN troops to re take Korea

October 1950 —Us pushed past the 38th parallel, China sent 250,000 men to invade North Korea, recaptured Seoul

Why did Truman fire MacArthur in 1951? —MacArthur wanted to use nuclear weaponry on China

Korea stalemate —Lasted from Spring of 1950 to 1953

Why did Truman not run for re-elections? —Blamed for Korean War dragging on, 50,000 US causalities, paid $20 billion a year, no clear win conditions

New President in 1953 —Eisenhower

July 1953 Armistice —Ceasefire between North and South Korea signed, 38th parallel demilitarised