The Vietnam War

Colonial Rule• Vietnam will be

referred to as Indochina – a French colony started in the 1800’s

• During WWII the Japanese will take over this area!

Post-WWII• Vietnamese seize post-WW2

opportunity to declare independence from France

• Ho Chi Minh - Communist leader of the North Vietnam who organizes the revolution against the French!

Is that Colonel Sanders?

The 1st Indochina War1946-1954

• France still wants Vietnam as a colony– 60 years worth of investment…

• U.S. supports France’s attempt to defeat Vietnamese Communists– Truman Doctrine!

• 8 years of fighting: French lose Vietnam!!!

Confirming Our Fears• For communism to work,

what must happen??• Eisenhower fears the

Domino Theory = if one country fell to Communism, their neighbors would follow– Examples

a) Russian and the Soviets

b) China and Korea

The Split• The Geneva Convention

will split the country at the 17th parallel…– North Vietnam

• Led by Ho Chi Minh• Capital: Hanoi• Officially Communist

– South Vietnam• Led by Ngo Dinh Diem• Capital: Saigon• Officially Democratic

– *Backed by U.S.

The Beginning

• The North Vietnamese will arm and organize the Vietcong a North Vietnamese guerilla army aimed at uniting the country.– Begin attacking the South through sneak

attacks and assassinations of government officials.

Kennedy’s Response• Originally offers support to Ngo Dinh Diem

– This will change• Diem will start persecuting his own people, especially

Buddhists, a majority of the people

• We pull support, the S.V. Army assassinate Diem

Kennedy’s Death

• Kennedy will also be assassinated – We already studied this

• Lyndon B. Johnson will become president and increase our involvement.

Alliances at Work

• U.S. under Johnson continues to send weapons and supplies to South Vietnam

• China and U.S.S.R. supports North Vietnam with weapons and supplies.

The Gulf of Tonkin• Two reported attacks hit American

Destroyers in Gulf of Tonkin• Johnson responds by asking congress to

declare war.– We neglect to mention

that the US Destroyers were aiding S. Vietnamese soldiers

The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution• Allowed the president to “take all

necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression.”

• So…We are at war…

Vietnamese Combat • We will start with

Operation Rolling Thunder – a non-stop bombing campaign of North Vietnamese sites

• Many of these bombing campaigns will utilize Napalm a jellied gasoline that sticks to and burns anything it touches– And Agent Orange, a pesticide that was

dropped to reduce the amount of plants in the jungle…it has devastating mental and physical side effects on people.

Guerilla Warfare• The North Vietnamese fought using

Guerilla-style warfare– Smaller number of soldiers use mobility to

defeat larger armies.– Utilize Hit-and-Run tactics– Soldiers wear regular clothing to hide in

civilian populations– Defend the people not the land!

In Charge of the War

• General William Westmoreland – the ultra-positive, and in many ways liberal, leader given the task of winning the Vietnam War– Would claim that the U.S. never lost a battle.– Seen by many as ignorant of the actual issues.

Ho Chi Minh Trail• The trail was a supply route meant to

get weapons and peoplefrom North Vietnam to members of the Vietcong hiding in the South.

• Went through Cambodia and Laos

The Tet Offensive• Tet = Vietnamese New Year• Vietcong use holiday in January of 1968 to

surprise attack the South Vietnamese and Americans– Including the Massacre of between 3,000-6,000

civilians– NVA & Vietcong climbing over US embassy wall– Marines trapped inside base at Khe Sanh for 4

months!• U.S. and S. Vietnamese are able to eventually

stop the North

A Divided Nation…elsewhere

• Despite stopping the offensive public opinion in America had turned against the war– The United States will be split primarily into two

schools of thought on the war.• Hawks – people that supported the effort to stop

Communism in Vietnam• Doves – believed that the war wouldn’t be won and was

morally wrong!

Post-Tet

• Beginning in 1968 a stalemate had started– Neither side was really able to moved the

other– We chased the Vietcong around– They couldn’t go on the offensive

effectively…

Nixon Elected• Lyndon Johnson will choose not to run

again in 1968…as he has become incredibly unpopular

• Richard Nixon will become the 37th President– Promises “peace with honor”

• He will be responsible for the end of the war…

Nixon

The My Lai Massacre• Occurs in March of 1968 but not known

to the public until November of 1969• Lt. William Calley and his platoon will

open fire and murder everyone in a village of around 200 people.– He will later be charged for war crimes, but

only really serves house arrest…but this only infuriates the American public more...

End of the War• Beginning in 1970 peace talks would

begin– Both sides continue to fight through 3

years of negotiations• The Paris Peace Accords will finally be

signed January 27, 1973 and the U.S. will leave ending our involvement in the war.

Ongoing Civil War

• The war will continue in Vietnam until 1975

• Vietnam will eventually be united…under a Communist government from the North…

Costs of the Vietnam War in America ’65 - ’73• 58,000 Dead• 300,000 Wounded• $111 billion!!! (almost $700 billion now!)