In 1951 a seven mile stretch of hills running north and south, the cries of men dying could be heard along with the retort of artillery and machine gun fire throughout the valley. This location of such destruction was Heartbreak Ridge, located just north of the 38th parallel the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division along with its NATO allies were making a push to take the ridge and hills to prevent the North Koreans and their Chinese allies from invading South Korea again. The month long campaign to take Heartbreak Ridge would push the U.S. and her allies to the breaking point but their sheer determination and fortitude would see them through to the end and to victory. In 1951 the Korean War has turned into a stalemate along the 38th parallel where
(b) How far was President Kennedy determined to use military forces in South Vietnam in order to stop the spread of communism in Southeast Asia? There is two sides to each argument in this answer one side will show how determined Kennedy was to using military force and the other side would be to show how he tried to use other options. Firstly I am going to describe how I think that Kennedy was determined or willing to use military force. Firstly he started out by carrying on Eisenhower’s plans for guerrilla warfare by training the South Vietnamese army and giving them supplies and equipment to try and fight the war like that instead of using American troops even though he criticised Eisenhower’s soft defence against communism but still carried on with some of his plans. After the failure of that he introduced things such as the strategic hamlets (Agrovilles) which were villages that were surrounded by barbed wire and guarded by troops, to isolate National Liberation Front (NFL) guerrillas from political recruits and other responses.
Set in the Vietnam War, it begins with a focus on the training of a platoon of U.S. marines and continues to follow the service of Private Joker in his experiences in Vietnam as he goes about his service. Full Metal Jacket is a well paced film that studies the violence of war, portraying the physical as well as the mental dangers in a hyper realistic way. One overarching element that ultimately combines both of these films is their emotional poignancy. Both are highly engaging, yet thoroughly disturbing films. These are two demonstrations against war, revealing the subject in an ironic and undeniably negative light.
How far do you agree with the view that the origins of the Cold War in 1945 and 1946 owed much to ideological differences and little to personalities and conflicting national interests? The origins of the Cold War formed out of ideological differences as well as conflicting national interests such as an expansionist policy by the USSR and a clash of personalities between key leaders, such as Stalin and the new American President Truman. Furthermore, the use of the atomic bomb by the USA had caused mistrust between superpowers and led to heightened tensions causing for a Cold War. To a certain extent the mutual distrust and the ideological differences was a prime reason for the origins of the Cold War between the USSR and the Western allies. The USSR's need to 'defend it's national interests' and safeguard the empire from further attacks, especially after a loss of 20 million Soviet Citizens due to World War 2, caused them to station over 11 million Red Army soldiers to occupy Eastern Europe.
America was the most powerful country in the world in 1960 and they were fighting a country that was smaller than “Montana.” General Westmoreland, a World War II combat officer, positioned U.S. troops to fight head on and moved his troops like a chessboard. However there were no fixed objectives to fight or destroyed, the war could not be fought like it was in WWII. According to Rosenberg, “U.S. troops fought a jungle war, mostly against the well-supplied Viet Cong. The Viet Cong would attack in ambushes, set up booby traps, and escape through a complex network of underground tunnels.
1965, the ground war begins c. The North Vietnamese Army and the Viet Cong plan a major offensive 2. Vietnamese Lunar New Year “Tet” 1968 d. The North Vietnamese Army launch their attack e. Saigon f. The ancient city of Hue 3. Effects on the United States a. The United States military intelligence failure b. The Media brings the Tet Offensive to the American people c. Lyndon B. Johnson and General Westmoreland 4.
P: The US targeted industrial sites in order to dent the war supplies of North Vietnam and ultimately force North Vietnam to come to the negotiating table. E: This was attempted by the US with operation rolling thunder which began on 2nd March 1965 and ended on 1 November 1968. (Bircher page 16) A: This had some success for the Americans. This was because through this they were able to damage North Vietnam’s war effort by causing considerable damage to key industrial sites, which harboured many war supplies. Moreover, the Americans were able to keep the number of troops on the ground at a minimum level whilst still being able to attack the communist groups.
How far was President Kennedy determined to use military force in South Vietnam in order to stop the spread of communism in SE Asia? (24) President Kennedy was very determined to use the United States’ military strength in South Vietnam in order to stop the spread of communism in South East Asia. The US was the greatest military power at the time and so had the resources available to halt or stop the spread of communism by using military force. According to source C, Kennedy ordered the US Army Special Forces to the train the South Vietnamese Army in guerrilla warfare to overcome the threat of National Liberation Front (NLF) soldiers, who were excellent demonstrators of guerrilla warfare. Kennedy thought that in order to stop the communist soldiers, then the US and the South Vietnamese should use their own techniques in warfare in order to stop them.
Fighting conditions varied for the opposing sides. The Americans & the Australians had harsh fighting conditions compared to the Vietcong. The Vietcong belonged to the North Vietnamese Army, but lived in the South to the fight the Allies. They were highly trained in guerrilla warfare. This type of warfare involved setting booby traps, ambushes, and hit and run missions.
After the loss of 3 battleships on March the 18th, it was decided that the aid of the army would be required to defeat the forts that guarded the straits. This army had to fight in a very rugged, mountainous landscape and in horrible conditions. It was the planning behind these circumstances that greatly influenced the campaign and changed it from a planned “quick invasion”, to a bloody seven month struggle. Troops were landed on the shores of the Gallipoli peninsula in hopes to overrun the Ottoman defences that were preventing the Allied ships from passing through the Dardanelles. The maps provided for Allies were very misleading and didn't show the land effectively.