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GEOGRAPHY APPLICATION: LOCATION CHAPTER 22 The Trail Directions: Read the paragraphs below and study the map carefully. Then answer Section 4 the questions that follow.

he Ho Chi Minh Trail developed from a net- ’s Inroads into Twork of existing hidden jungle paths. During the 1960s, it became the main route used by North

Vietnam to get troops and supplies into South CHINA Vietnam in support of the Vietcong’s fight against South Vietnamese troops and their U.S. allies. The NORTH trail was named for Ho Chi Minh, the leader of VIETNAM North Vietnam at the time. When North Vietnamese soldiers were wounded, they were

transported up the trail for treatment. r e v Gulf of Tonkin U.S. and South Vietnamese troops tried repeat- i

R g

edly to cut or destroy this lifeline. They drenched n

o LAOS

k the surrounding jungle with defoliants to kill trees e and other vegetation. This effort failed, and North M

Vietnam continued to use the trail. Invasion DEMILITARIZED ZONE (DMZ) The of early 1968 showed how of Laos determined North Vietnam was. The North Hue Da Nang Vietnamese and the Vietcong launched simultane- Ho Chi Minh Trail ous raids on provincial capitals and major cities THAILAND Quangngai throughout South Vietnam at the beginning of Tet, the lunar new year celebration. The U.S. Embassy Pleiku in Saigon was attacked, as were many other suppos- edly secure sites. The planning and coordination Quinhon

r e SOUTH needed to carry out such an action stunned v i VIETNAM Americans in Vietnam and in the . R

g

n The Tet Offensive, though not a North Vietnamese o k e Nha Trang victory in the sense that it captured territory or M inflicted great casualties, still caused many Americans to rethink their nation’s involvement in the . Saigon In 1971, South Vietnamese troops invaded Laos in an attempt to cut of the flow of men and sup- Ben Tre Gulf of Thailand Can Tho plies along the trail. Despite American air support, South China Sea the invasion was a disaster, and the South

Vietnamese army was defeated by North Major battles or actions Vietnamese forces. during the Tet offensive

The Ho Chi Minh Trail, along which more than U.S. and South Vietnamese troop movement 20,000 troops a month could be moved by 1967, 0 200 Miles was the key to keeping North Vietnam in the war Major North Vietnamese supply © McDougal Littell Inc. All rights reserved. until the United States tired of battle and contro- 0 200 Kilometers routes into South Vietnam versy and pulled out.

The Vietnam War Years 51 aran-0622-ir 11/15/013:05PMPage52 52 Name Interpreting Text andVisuals 6. Rereadthetextandthenlookatmapfornorthernmostsouthern- 5. WhatmighthavebeentheoutcomeofasuccessfulinvasionLaosin1971? 4. Describethe1971operationdirectedatinterruptingHoChiMinhTrail. 3. Accordingtothemap,abouthowmanymileslongwasHoChiMinhTrail? 2. WhatwasthepurposeofHoChiMinhTrail? 1. DescribethepathofHoChiMinhTrail. Unit Minh Trail playedintheattacks? most pointsofattackduringtheTet Offensive.WhatpartdoyouthinktheHoChi 6 , Chapter 22 The HoChiMinhTrail continued

© McDougal Littell Inc. All rights reserved.