The Vietnam War

By: Michael Mahoney

Introduction

• Different names for the War

• Background of the War

• The beginning of the War

• The end of the War

The Vietnam War also known as…

• The Second Indochina War

• Vietnam Conflict

• The American War

About the Vietnam War

• The Vietnam War was a Cold War military conflict that happened in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.

• The war took place from November 1st, 1955 until April 30th, 1975 (when Saigon Fell).

Continued…….

• The Vietnam War followed the First Indochina War

• It was fought between:– The Communist North Vietnam

VS.– The government of South Vietnam

Help

• North Vietnam was supported by:– Communist Allies

• South Vietnam was supported by:– The United States– Other Anti-Communist Nations

Viet Cong

• Lightly-armed South Vietnamese communist-controlled common front– Fought a guerrilla war against anti-communist

forces in the region.

North Vietnamese Army

• Fought in a more conventional war

– At some points in the war, they committed large units into battle.

South Vietnamese Army

• Viet Cong

• The United States and the South Vietnamese forces heavily relied on air superiority and great firepower to conduct “Search and Destroy” operations.– Involved: ground forces, artillery and air

strikes.

The United States

• Entered the war to stop a communist takeover of South Vietnam as part of their wider strategy of containment.

• Military advisors arrived beginning in 1950.

• United States involvement escalates in the early 1960’s.– U.S. troop levels tripling in 1961, and again in

1962.

The United States

• U.S. combat units were sent out in 1965.• Operations spanned borders, with Laos and

Cambodia being heavily bombed.

• Involvement came to its climax in 1968 during the time of Tet Offensive.– After this, U.S. ground forces were withdrawn as part

of the policy “Vietnamization” – Ignoring the Paris Peace Accords (signed by all the

parties in January 1973), fighting continued.

The Case-Church Amendment

• Passed by the United State Congress.

• It prohibited use of American military after August 15th, 1973.– Unless the president secured congressional

permission in advance.

Background of the War to 1949

• France began its conquest of Indochina during the 1850’s.

• They completed the pacification by 1893.

• The Treaty of Hue formed the basis for French colonial rule in Vietnam for the next several decades.

• Viet Minh – common front, controlled by the Communist Party of Vietnam.

• Founded in 1941.

Background continued….

(Viet Minh)

Continued…

• During WWII the French were beat by the Germans in 1940.– For French Indochina, this meant that the

authorities became “Vichy French.”– Vichy French are allies of the German-Italian

Axis powers.– Scared that French authorities were not able

to be trusted, the Japanese army jailed all of the French on March 9th, 1945.

Continued……..

• 1944-1945, a deep famine struck northern Vietnam due to a mixture of poor weather and Japanese abuse.– One million people died of starvation.

August 1945

• The Japanese had been overcome and surrendered completely.

• In French Indochina, this formed a power vacuum as the French were still incarcerated and the Japanese military stood down.

• Into this vacuum, the Viet Minh entered and grasped power throughout Vietnam.– “August Revolution”– (in large part supported by the Vietnamese

residents.)

September 2nd, 1945

• Ho Chi Minh, the leader of the Viet Minh, confirmed the independent Democratic Republic of Vietnam.

January 1946

• Viet Minh won elections throughout central and northern Vietnam and began killing off enemy politicians..

March and November 1946

• By March 1946, the French landed in Hanoi.

• November 1946, the French ousted the Viet Minh from the city.– After this, the Viet Minh started a guerrilla war

against the French Union forces.– This started the first Indochina War..

War Spreads

• The war spread to Laos and Cambodia.

• The Viet Minh fight was a disadvantage, because of the lack of weapons.– This changed by 1949, because the Chinese

Communists had essentially won the Chinese Civil War.

– This meant they were free to provide help to the Vietnamese.

1950

EXIT

OF

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FRENCH

January 1950

• People’s Republic of China (PRC), noticed the Viet Minh’s Democratic Republic of Vietnam as the government of Vietnam.

• Non-Communist nations acknowledged the French-backed State of Vietnam in Saigon, led by Bao Dai.

June 1950

• The outburst of the Korean War persuaded many Washington policymakers that the Indochina War was an example of communist expansionism controlled by Kremlin.

People’s Republic of China (PRC)

• PRC military advisors began supporting the Viet Minh in July 1950.

MAAG

• MAAG – Military Assistance and Advisory Group.

• In September 1950, the United States created the MAAG to monitor French requests for aid, advise on strategy, and train Vietnamese soldiers.

• There were also talks between the French and Americans in which the possible use of three nuclear weapons was considered.

• U.S. carriers sailed to the Gulf of Tonkin, and exploration flights over Dien Bien Phu were conducted during the negotiations.

Battle of Dien Bien Phu

• The Battle of Dien Bien Phu marked the end of French participation in Indochina.

• On May 7th, 1954, the French Union stronghold surrendered.

Geneva Conference

• At the Geneva Conference the French negotiated an armistice agreement with the Viet Minh.

– Independence was established for Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam.

TRANSITION

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Transition Period

• Vietnam was momentarily partitioned at the 17th parallel.

• Civilians were to be given the chance to freely move between the two temporary states for a 300-day period.– Elections were held in 1956.– Catholics fled to the South.– Elections

• The Viet Minh left approximately 5,000 to 10,000 cadres in South Vietnam as a “politico-military substructure within the object of its irredentism.

• French soldiers leave Vietnam in April 1956.– PRC completed their exit from North Vietnam

around the same time.

In the South….

• Former Emperor Bao Dai’s State of Vietnam operated, with Ngo Dinh Diemas his prime minister.

June 1955

• In June 1955, Diem announced that elections would not be held.

April-June 1955

• Diem cleared the decks of any political resistance in the south by beginning military operations against the Cao Dai religious sect.

• In a referendum on the future of the State of Vietnam on October 23rd:– Diem rigged the poll supervised by his brother

Ngo Dinh Nhu and was recognized with 98.2% of the vote.

October 26th, 1955

• Diem declared the new Republic of Vietnam (ROV).

• Diem was president.

• The ROV was started largely because of the Eisenhower administration’s desire for an anti-communist state in the region.

1955- 1963

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Domino Theory

• Argued that if one country fell to communist forces, then all of the surrounding countries would follow.

• The Domino Theory was first proposed as policy by the Eisenhower administration.