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Task 3. Vietnam strategy folio.

A folio describing the contrasting strategies of the Americans and the Vietnamese.

The Americans and the North Vietnamese used very different strategies and tactics in the conflict.

Your folio must include the following:

  • A clear description of the overall strategy of both sides.

  • Analysis of the tactics employed by both sides.

  • Evaluation of the effectiveness of the tactics employed by both sides.

  • Use primary and secondary sources to elaborate on different perspectives of the conduct of war by both sides in the conflict.

  • Use suitable images to support your analysis.

To do: Compare and contrast the strategy and tactics of the two sides in the Vietnam War

Part 1. Strategy analysis. (150words)

Explain the key differences in how the Americans and Vietnamese approached the war.

You must reference sources and a map directly to explain the two approaches to strategy.

Part 2. Tactic analysis using annotated sources. (600 -700 words)

See below for an example of formatting your annotated sources.

Describe the main tactics of the two sides

  • Clearly describe the main tactics of both sides using sources / quotes to elaborate

  • Use examples to support your analysis. EG What does Rolling Thunder look like on the ground?

  • Evaluate the effectiveness of the tactic. EG How effective was search and destroy at ‘bringing the them to battle’.

    Sources guidelines

    Use 4–6 sources to describe the tactics of the two side. Including:

    ·         A minimum of 2 primary sources

    ·         A minimum of 1 secondary source

    ·         A newspaper cartoon

    Ensure that you consider the perspectives of both the US and the Vietnamese.

    For each source, include the following information:

    ·         Origin (who created it, when, where)

    ·         Perspective (viewpoint, bias, purpose)

    ·         Reliability and limitations

    ·         Key evidence (quotes or details)

    ·         Explanation of relevance to the inquiry question. (How does this source help answer your question)

Part 3. Evaluation question. In class (200 words)

Use evidence from your project to answer the following question.

Which side used the more effective strategy in the Vietnam War?

How to do the sources task.

Formatting your source analysis (Part 2.)

Source 1. US tactics in Vietnam. Bradford. Z. Army Press. 1972

On the contrary, the Army, albeit imperfectly, employed tactics in a way which was generally appropriate to the

situation—especially during the periods of large-unit combat—and suited to our own characteristics and assets. Indeed, in the

process of doing this, the Army developed a new and significant form of warfare. We would be wrong to attempt to redesign the

Army, or even a significant part of it, in an effort to compensate for assumed deficiencies in “counter-guerrilla” capabilities based on

our Vietnam experience.

Source 1. Analysis

According to Bradford the US army used appropriate tactics ‘albeit imperfectly’ stating that these tactics were applied form a position of strength and ‘suited to our own characteristics and assets’.

Etc.

Sources Analysis Guide

Don’t forget: Quote often and begin your response with name of the author, not the Source number. Put the source number in brackets at the end of the quote/paraphrasing.

For example:

This is supported by Jones who states that 'History students would be more popular at parties if they used this method.' (Source 3) 

More successful responses:

  • contain relevant evidence (quotes and observations) from sources when required.

Less successful responses

  • provide responses without reference to any evidence from the source

  • state that sources are limited without explaining why using evidence

  • do not assess the nature of sources clearly

  • do not explain how the nature and origin of the sources are a strength or limitation

  • do not include the source in the response.

Documents

How to answer source questions

Types of sources

Referencing Guidelines

When do you need an endnote/ footnote?

  • Quotes

  • Paraphrasing

  • Facts and figures

  • Images 

How to footnote

  1. The first time you footnote a book, article or document you need to list it in full as follows:

  2. Jones, E., A collection of inappropriate remarks made in the History classroom, Penguin, 2024, p.34

  3. If you quote from Inappropriate Remarks as your next quote you don’t write out the whole author/title again you simply use the abbreviation ibid., p#

  4. If you quote from the same source, same page it is simply ibid.

  5. If your next quote is from a different source, you need to write out full reference: author surname, initials, title in italics, publisher, year of publication, page number.

  6. If your next quote is again from Inappropriate Remarks, you simply put the author’s name and initials and the abbreviation op.cit., p#

Footnote samples

  1. Jones, E., A collection of inappropriate remarks made in the History classroom, Penguin, 2024, p.34

  2. ibid.

  3. ibid., p.38

  4. McKenzie, C.M., Please don't make me go back in there. A classroom memoir, Featherhead, 2019, p.11

  5. Jones, E., op.cit., p.59

Example reference list

Bibliography:

Aub.edu.lb.libguides.com. (2020). LibGuides: Lebanese Civil War: 1975-1991: Home. [online] Available at: https://aub.edu.lb.libguides.com/LebaneseCivilWar.

Badran, T., 2008. The Lebanese Civil War. MERIA: Middle East Review of International Affairs, 12(2), pp.MERIA: Middle East Review of International Affairs, June 2008, Vol.12(2).

Crawford, M. & Army Command General Staff Coll Fort Leavenworth KS School Of Advanced Military Studies, 2010. Civil War and Intervention: Lessons Remembered From the Lebanese Civil War and the U.S. Response.

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