The Vietcong
History: Cambridge International GCSE The Twentieth Century (Option B), topic 5.3.7
The Increasing Threat of the Vietcong
The ARVN were too busy arguing about who should be the leader rather than working to defeat the VC, despite having five times more troops.
Johnson's aims
- After Kennedy’s assassination, Johnson became President.
- Johnson wanted to continue Kennedy’s goal of supporting a democratic South Vietnam.
- Johnson also wanted to stop communism from spreading.
- At the same time, Johnson hoped to avoid a larger war involving the USA.
Problems
- The ARVN had five times more troops than the Viet Cong.
- But the ARVN were more focused on leadership struggles than fighting.
- This made it harder to defeat the VC.
- On the other hand, the NLF were very well organised.
- The NLF used small, fast-moving cells of Viet Cong fighters.
Support
- China sent $100 million in aid to South Vietnam, using the Ho Chi Minh trail.
- The Southern government was still unpopular as it was seen as a puppet of the USA.
The VC
- The VC gained local support by introducing reforms and using propaganda.
- The VC began to attack more often and attacked more US military targets.
- Johnson increased the number of advisors in South Vietnam to 200,000.
Test yourself on The Vietcong
How much aid did China send to South Vietnam, using the Ho Chi Minh trail?