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The Vietnam War
French Indochina
French Indochina included Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos and was ruled by the French until Japan took control during WWII.
After WWII, the Japanese lost control of French Indochina.
The Viet Minh were Vietnamese people who wanted Vietnam to become an independent country.
Ho Chi Minh was their leader. He was a communist, but his goal was independence, not the spread of communism.
Southeast Asia
Vietnam is divided
In 1954, Vietnam was divided into a northern and southern section, with the North supported by the USSR and China, and the South supported by the US.
This was supposed to be temporary until elections were held in 1956 to decide the fate of a united Vietnam.
Ngo Dinh Diem was the leader of South Vietnam
He opposed communism but his government was corrupt
For this reason, many South Vietnamese supported the Viet Cong
Ngo Dinh Diem
Ho Chi Minh ruled North VietnamHe had supporters in South Vietnam called Viet Cong
Most of these Viet Cong were communists, but some simply supported overthrowing Diem’s government
The US decided that the elections planned for 1956 would probably result in a loss for Diem’s loss and a win for Ho Chi Minh, so the elections never happened.
Ho Chi Minh
The Domino Theory
In the 1950s, President Eisenhower proposed the Domino Theory
If one county fell to communism, its neighbors would alsoHe used this argument to support the idea of intervening in Vietnam
Lyndon JohnsonAt first, the US played an advisory role in South Vietnam
Trained soldiers to fight the VC and army of North Vietnam
Gulf of Tonkin ResolutionAugust 1964—North Vietnamese forces attack US ships in the Gulf of Tonkin
Congress passes the Gulf of Tonkin resolution to allow LBJ freedom to do whatever he sees as necessary in Vietnam
Numbers of US troops sent to Vietnam increases dramatically
LBJ being sworn in on Air Force One following JFK’s
assassination
Ho Chi Minh Trail
The North Vietnamese used the Ho Chi Minh Trail to get supplies to VC in South Vietnam
The trail ran through the neighboring countries of Laos and Cambodia
Ho Chi Minh
The Tide Turns
In 1968, the North Vietnamese attacked the South in an incident known as the Tet Offensive
Tet is the celebration of the Vietnamese New Year
US/South Vietnamese forces had taken a break from the fighting to allow celebrations and the NVA used the opportunity to attack
Although the North Vietnamese did not make any great gains, popular opinion turned against the war.
LBJ’s Legacy
LBJ decided not to run for reelection in 1968 due to the unpopularity of the war.
He was succeeded by Richard Nixon, who negotiated an end to the war in 1973.
Fighting officially ended April 30, 1975, when the capital of South Vietnam, Saigon, fell to communist forces.
Fall of Saigon
Elsewhere in Asia
Cambodia falls under the control of the Khmer Rouge, a communist organization led by Pol Pot.
Millions will die in the Killing Fields of Cambodia in the 1970s and 1980s.
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