Air and Ground WarIdentify: Ho Chi MinhNgo Dinh DiemVietminhVietcong

Which forces made up the two opposing sides during the Vietnam War?U.S. military and South Vietnamese forces

vs. Vietcong and North Vietnamese

Essential Question: What strategies were used by the Americans and the Vietcong in the air and ground war?

The Air War 1965-1968The Air War 1965-1968

• N. Vietnamese attack American bases• Operation Rolling

Thunder: massive air strike in the North• Concentrated on Ho

Chi Minh trail• Use of defoliants to

expose enemy supply routes (Agent Orange)

Operation Rolling Thunder More bombs dropped on Vietnam than all the bombs dropped by the allies during WWII

U.S. army helicopter spraying Agent Orange

Effects of Agent Orange

Vietnamese babies deformed and stillborn after exposure to Agent Orange

A Vietnamese general exposed to Agent Orange

Napalm Fire

Napalm Burn Victims

Napalm: jellied form of gasoline used to destroy farms and forests

Cluster Bombs: spray sharp metal fragments

Carpet bombing: no intended target, cover large area

The Ground War 1965-1968

The Ground War 1965-1968• Search and destroy

missions• No territorial goals• Vietcong used guerilla

tactics and booby traps

• Who is the enemy? • Farmers by day;

guerillas at night.• Very patient

people willing to accept many casualties.

• The US grossly underestimated their resolve.

The guerilla wins if he does not lose, the conventional army loses if it does not win.

• Vietcong lived in complex tunnel systems under ground• Effective for

guerilla warfare

Vietcong Tunnel for tourists

Cassava diet

Punji stick traps: sharpened bamboo sticks hiding under foliage