Cold War Enquiry 4 - Confrontation and Cooperation (1963-1972)

By BowenOwen
  • Period: to

    Sino-Soviet split

    • 1959: USSR indirectly supported India in border dispute
    • 1960: Removed Soviet experts and no prototype atomic bomb
    • Kept Cuban missiles secret
    • 1964: refused to hand back Siberian land
    • NOV 1964: Malinovsky incident
    • FEB 1967: Military forces in Mongolia and E.Kazakhstan
    • 1958: bombed Quemoy and Matsu => provoke US
    • Criticised USSR nuclear policy
    • APR 1965: Refused Sino-Soviet-N.V. meeting
    • Rejected Soviet air base in Kunming
    • 196-69: Cultural Revolution
    • Border disputes with USSR
  • Period: to

    Operation Ranch Hand

    • Use of chemical defoliants to destroy crops and forest
    • Agent Blue and Agent Orange destroyed over 6 million acres of land

  • Czechoslovakia records first negative growth

    Traditionally a very strong economic member of the Soviet Union

  • Sino-American hotline (exact unknown)

    • Symbol of Sino-American cooperation after Cuban missile crisis
    • Not used until Six Day War in 1967

  • Moscow Test Ban Treaty

    • Influenced by NSC Net Evaluation Subcommittee (over 230mil casualties worldwide of nuclear war)
    • Ban on testing above-ground, underwater, or outer space
    • US gives up on-site inspections for underground testing
    • Signed by USA, USSR, and UK
    • Rejected by China and France
    • No bans on underground testing

  • LBJ becomes President

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    Johnson's initial Vietnam policy

    • December 1963 - Johnson introduces OPLAN 34A (covert action) to force Vietnam Worker's Party in Hanoi to desist without 'Americanisation'
    • Military 'advisors' in Vietnam 16,300 to 23,300
    • Continued counterinsurgency methods

  • International response to Johnson's Vietnam policy

    FRA's General Charles de Gaulle advocates for neutralism instead (S.Vietnam cuts all external links) Lack of international support delays US Americanisation
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    Gulf of Tonkin incident

    • 2 August: 3 N.Vietnamese boats fire torpedoes at USS Maddox in Gulf of Tonkin => US air support sink 1 boat and damage other 2
    • 4 August: LBJ orders bombing of N.Vietnamese naval bases
    • 7 August: Congress passes Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, allowing LBJ to do whatever he sees necessary without Congressional approval

  • China tests first nuclear weapon

    Project 596 at Lop Nur test site

  • Situation in Vietnam by the end of 1964

    • China and USSR agree to supply N.Vietnam and use Ho Chi Minh Trail (CN gave 80,000 guns in 1964; USSR gave MiG-21 jets and SAM systems)
    • NLF had permanent office in Moscow
    • PAVN (N.V. army) move down HCM trail
    • Vietcong strengthen control in S.V. like Mekong Delta
    • Low morale in ARVN (S.V. army) from low pay, poor conditions, and inadequate training
    • Rise in anti-American feelings in S.V. after bombing N.V. bases on 4 August

  • Attack on American camp in Pleiku

    • Vietcong attack US army barracks and helicopter base
    • begins Americanisation of Vietnam War
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    Operation Rolling Thunder

    • Bomb N.V. targets to destroy economy (ineffective due to agricultural economy and lack of industry; N.V. resupplied by China and USSR)
    • 643,000 tonnes of bombs on N.Vietnam
    • disrupt NLF and PAVN in S.Vietnam
    • 700,000 tonnes of bombs on S.Vietnam
  • Period: to

    First deployment of US troops in Vietnam

    • 8 March: first US combat troops deployed in Vietnam near Danang
    • LBJ announces escalation of US involvement on 28 July
    • End of July: 75,000 US troops in Vietnam

  • LBJ announces defence of Vietnam

    "We have a pledge to help South Vietnam defend its independence. I intend to keep our promise".

  • NLF announce 4-point proposal

    1. US troops withdraw in accordance with Geneva agreements
    2. Neither N.V. nor S.V. can enter military alliances with external states according to Geneva
    3. S.V.'s internal affairs must be settled by its own people
    4. Peaceful reunification of Vietnam must be negotiated by the people of the two zones

  • First major engagement in Vietnam

    • 14-18: Ia Drang Valley in the Central Highlands
    • 300 US dead v 2000-3000 N.V. dead but N.V. held position
    • N.V. General Vo Nguyen Giap seek alternative strategy to conventional warfare

  • Outer Space Treaty

    • Bans presence of any nuclear weapons in space
    • Response to tripling of US ICBMs and quadrupling of Soviet ICBMs from 1960-64
    • Response to US test of Starfish Prime in July 1962 (first hydrogen bomb detonated in space)

  • March on Washington

    100,000 people in Civil Rights protest
    Anti-war sentiment in US due to TV coverage - known as the 'living room war'

  • Prague Spring

    • JAN: Antonin Novotny replaced by Alexander Dubcek
    • APR: Action Programme (free press, speech, movement, economic enterprise; recognition of Israel, TUs and new associations e.g., Club K-231 and Club of Non-Committed Party Members => KAN)
    • JUN: WP countries conduct military exercises in Czechoslovakia as intimidation
    • Warsaw Letter
    • End of JUL: Dubcek and Brezhnev meet and USSR hope to cause split in CCP
    • Dubcek promised to change but didn't
    • 20-21 AUG: WP forces invade => 600 casualties
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    Tet Offensive

    • Coordinated attacks across major cities in S.Vietnam
    • 25,000 V.C. KIA and 5,000 captured
    • proved America's war of attrition was not working and grew anti-war sentiment
    • LBJ announces that he would not stand for re-election

  • My Lai massacre

    • US troops kill over 350 villagers (mostly women and children)
    • revealed a year later and Lt. William Calley charged with murder
    • broke belief that US = good
    • example of failure of US 'search and destroy' tactic
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    Beginning of Paris Peace Talks

    • 31 MAR '68: "we are prepared to move immediately toward peace"
    • MAR '68: North in defence mode after Tet and didn't want to look weak
    • MAY '68: first talks with US and Hanoi stall in over ceasefire of US bombing (LBJ reluctant)
    • OCT '68: Talks stall as S.V. protest NLF represents them
    • FEB '70: Le Duc Tho tells Kissinger Thieu must be replaced by representative gov with VC involved (Nixon is wary)
    • MAY '71: talks resume
    • OCT '71: stall over Thieu
    • OCT '72: N.V. relaxes position on Thieu

  • Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

    • Response to development of Soviet ABMs and US MIRVs
    • Nuclear states cannot share nuclear technology with non-nuclear states
    • Nuclear states cannot encourage non-nuclear states to develop nuclear weapons
    • Nuclear energy can still be used a fuel source
    • Signed by most UN states and UK, USA, USSR
    • France and China didn't sign until 1992 but adhered to the terms

  • Brezhnev Doctrine

    • Socialist countries have freedom to determine their version of Communism, but the Warsaw Pact has the right to intervene if the integrity of socialism is damaged
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    Nixon's policy of Vietnamisation

    • Reduce number of US troops in Vietnam (543k in JUN 1969, 156.8k in JAN 1972, 47k in JUN 1972)
    • Increase quality of ARVN with better pay, better conditions, new M-16 and more vehicles (ARVN from 82k in 1968 to 1mil in 1970)
    • Extend war into Cambodia and Laos

  • Zhenbao island conflict

    Soviet patrol ambushed in eastern USSR
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    War in Cambodia

    • 18 MAR 1969: OP Menu target areas used by PAVN and VC (430 tonnes)
    • MAR 1970: Lon Nol overthrows Prince Norodom Sihanouk and take Phnom Penh
    • APR 1970: ARVN and 20,000 US troops conduct cross-border raids into Cambodia

  • US 'artichoke strategy' (exact date unknown)

    • USA removes some trade controls and relaxes some travel restrictions to China

  • Xinjiang incident (day unknown)

    Western frontier of Xinjiang

  • Beijing talks (day unknown)

    Sino-Soviet talks did not convince Mao, so looked to build Sino-American relations

  • 4 students on strike killed by National Guard

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    Zhou Enlai secures victory in improving CN-US relations

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    War in Laos

    • 8 February 1971: OP Lam Son 719 provides air support for S.Vietnamese invasion
    • Aim to disrupt HCM Trail and prevent an invasion of S.Vietnam while US withdraws
    • 300,000 ARVN troops attack but forced to withdraw after only 3,000 casualties after orders from Thieu
    • only 1/2 of targets destroyed
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    Kissinger's visits to Beijing

    • July 1971: Visit to agree on Presidential visit and Sino-American meeting in early 1972
    • October 1971: Second visit to prepare for Nixon

  • China shifts away from dual confrontation

    • USSR is a bigger threat than USA

  • SALT I

    • Limit to number of ICBMs, SLBMs and ABMs
    • No limit to MIRVs or new weapons