CONFLICT IN INDOCHINA: 1954-79

PRELIMINARY TOPICS TO BE STUDIED

Background to the conflict: 1941-54

·  The French in Indochina.

·  The Japanese occupation of Vietnam and the origins of the Vietminh.

·  The return of the French and the outbreak of the First Indochina War.

·  The Vietminh’s war against the French and the defeat at Dien Bien Phu.

·  The Geneva Conference.

HSC TOPICS TO BE STUDIED

Indochina after the French

·  consequences of the Vietnamese victory against the French

·  consequences of the Geneva Peace Agreement for the Vietnamese people to 1964

·  political, social, economic and military developments within North and South Vietnam

Assess the importance of the Geneva Peace Agreement to developments within North and South Vietnam to 1964. (2009)

Assess the consequences of the Vietnamese victory against the French for Indochina in the period 1954-1964. (2007)

Evaluate the view that North Vietnam’s determination to spread communism in Indochina caused the failure of the Geneva Peace Agreement by the 1960s. (2004)

The USA and Indochina

·  political and social issues in Indochina by 1960

·  nature and development of US policy towards Indochina

·  impact of direct US military involvement in Vietnam and the consequences for Vietnam and Cambodia

To what extent was US involvement responsible for the ongoing conflict in Indochina in the period 1954-1979? (2008)

Evaluate the view that an inability to separate nationalism from communism dominated US policy towards Indochina in the period 1954-1968. (2006)

To what extent was nationalism a cause of conflict in Indochina in the period 1954-1968? (2006 sample paper)

Discuss the significance of the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin incident in the growth of US intervention in Vietnam in the period 1954-1968. (2003)

Explain why the United States sent advisors and ground troops to Vietnam in the period between 1961 and 1968.

Assess the importance of anti-communism in shaping the policies of the United States towards Indochina between 1954 and 1979. (2002)

Evaluate the effectiveness of the South Vietnamese Government in maintaining power until 1968. (2000 Sample paper)

The Second Indochina War

·  nature and effectiveness of the strategy and tactics employed by the North Vietnamese Army and the National Liberation Front, and by the South Vietnamese and the USA

·  impact of the 1968 Tet Offensive

·  impact of the war on civilians in Indochina

·  impact of the spread of the Vietnam War to Cambodia

·  nature and significance of anti-war movements in the USA

·  the defeat of the South Vietnamese forces

To what extent were the anti-war movements in the United States responsible for communist victory in the Second Indochina War? (2009)

Evaluate the view that the impact of war on civilians in Indochina was responsible for communist victory in the period 1968-1979. (2008)

Assess the significance of the 1968 Tet Offensive as part of North Vietnam’s strategy in achieving victory in the Second Indochina War. (2006)

Account for the communist victory in the Second Indochina War. (2006 sample paper)

To what extent were anti-war movements responsible for the American decision to withdraw from Vietnam in 1973? (2005)

Evaluate the view that US intervention was primarily responsible for the suffering of villagers in South Vietnam and Cambodia. (2005)

To what extent were the Vietcong responsible for the withdrawal of the US from Vietnam and the eventual defeat of the South Vietnamese forces in the period 1968-1975? (2004)

Evaluate the effectiveness of the strategies and tactics used by soldiers in Vietnam between 1960 and 1975. (2002)

Evaluate the success of the Tet Offensive in the success of communism in Indochina between 1968 and 1979. (2001)

Assess the contribution of the media in determining the outcomes of war in Indochina from the overthrow of Diem to the withdrawal of US troops from Vietnam in 1975. (2001)

Evaluate the success of the North Vietnamese Government in achieving dominance in Indochina by 1979. (2000 Sample paper)

Pol Pot’s Regime

·  rise to power of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia

·  nature, aims and methods of Pol Pot

To what extent was the rise of power of Pol Pot’s regime a consequence of the spread of the Vietnam War to Cambodia? (2007)

Assess the impact the spread of conflict from Vietnam had on Cambodia in the period up to 1979. (2003)