(Fatec) The Vietnam War, a symbol of the resistance of the Vietnamese people, submitted the American military forces to their most resounding defeat. For the Vietnamese, the American presence in Southeast Asia only replaced the colonialist forces of:
a) France
b) England
c) Netherlands
d) Belgium
e) Germany
question 2(UFMG-adapted) Between 1961 and 1973, a total of 57,939 Americans died in the Indochina conflict, the longest and most costly foreign war in US history. The US Air Force dropped a tonnage of bombs on Vietnam, more than three times what was dropped on Germany during World War II.
(KEYLOR, William R. The twentieth-century world; an international history. New York:Oxford University Press, 1996. p. 375).
Considering the Vietnam War, it is correct to say that:
a) the conflict was motivated by the US government's intention to prevent the spread of communism in Southeast Asia.
b) the Americans strongly supported their government's actions in Vietnam and expressed dissatisfaction when their troops were withdrawn there.
c) the Vietnamese who faced the US army fought in difficult conditions, as they did not have external support.
d) the withdrawal of US troops and the subsequent defeat of local pro-Western forces led to the division of Vietnam.
e) the US invasion of Vietnam led the Soviets to build a wall in Berlin out of fear that an invasion of East Berlin would happen.
question 3
About US participation in the Vietnam War, tick the incorrect alternative .
a) during the conflict, the United States used chemical weapons such as Agent Orange, which caused serious environmental problems in the region.
b) American interference was aimed at preventing communists in North Vietnam from seizing power in the country and preventing communism from spreading across Southeast Asia.
c) the entry of the United States into the conflict took place after the alleged North Vietnamese attack against the American vessel USS Maddox.
d) the American exit from the conflict took place after the final defeat in the Battle of Dien Bien Phu.
e) it is estimated that over the course of the conflict around 58,000 American soldiers died.
question 4Read the statements below:
I. The United States used the Tonkin Gulf Incident as a pretext to enter the war.
II. The president responsible for leading the US exit campaign was President Jimmy Carter.
III. Before the war, Vietnam was divided into North Vietnam and South Vietnam with Hanoi and Saigon as capitals, respectively.
IV. American troops withdrew from Vietnam in 1975, when they were definitively defeated by the Viet Cong with the invasion of Saigon.
Regarding the statements answer:
a) I, II, III are true.
b) I, III and IV are true.
c) only II is true.
d) I and III are true.
e) II and IV are true.
answers Question 1Letter A
The Vietnamese regarded the Americans as invaders, just as they had regarded the region's former settlers:the French. The two wars fought in the region (Indochina War and Vietnam War) are seen by the Vietnamese as the same conflict fought in two distinct stages (against the French and Americans, respectively) and with common objectives:the guarantee of their independence and the expulsion of the invaders and consequent reunification of the country.
Question 2Letter A
The entry of the United States into the conflict aimed solely and exclusively to prevent the communists from taking control of the country. The United States had viewed with fear the growth of communism in the region since the Chinese Revolution of 1949. During the Indochina War, the Americans had supported the French and, with their defeat, began to interfere directly to prevent the growth of communists in Vietnam.
Question 3Letter D
The battle that took place in the village of Dien Bien Phu was fought between Vietnamese guerrillas and French troops occupying the city in 1954, during the Indochina War. This event, therefore, has nothing to do with the American exit from the conflict in 1973. The US exit from the war in Vietnam took place with great popular pressure for the withdrawal of American troops from the conflict because of its long duration and high number of dead.
Question 4Letter D
The entry of the United States was based on the alleged attack on the USS Maddox, in what became known as the Gulf of Tonkin Incident (I). The American president who was responsible for the country's exit from the conflict was Richard Nixon, in 1973, and this happened due to popular dissatisfaction with American participation in the conflict (II and IV). The fighting took place between North Vietnam and South Vietnam which had been divided in 1945 after World War II and had the cities of Hanoi and Saigon as capitals, respectively (III).