Introducing the Vietnam War

Learning TargetsExplain how the U.S. got involved in the

Vietnam War.Compare and contrast the U.S. and

NVA/Vietcong strategies.Predict the effectiveness of each plan.

Priming: A Soldier’s Experience

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1954: Geneva Accords--1954

Ho Chi MinhNgo Dinh DiemDivided at 17th parallel

Vietnam divided when French left North Vietnam - Ho Chi Minh & communist South Vietnam - Ngo Dinh Diem & anti-

communist

Growing Problems

1. Diem’s leadership of South VietnamRefused electionPersecuted Buddhists Overthrown and followed by unstable gov’ts

Growing Problems

• Add walls and moat• backfired

•80% of countryside supportedVietcong

2. Growth of the VietcongVietcong (VC) = communist guerillas in

S.Vietnam fighting the S. Vietnamese gov’t tried to fight with strategic hamlet plan(move

villagers for “protection”)

U.S. Aids South

By 1963, 16,000 American troops are Training in SouthVietnam

Eisenhower sent aid due to domino theory 1961: JFK follows with “military advisors”

Tonkin Gulf Resolution

August 2, 1964:

U.S. destroyer

Maddox attacked

in Tonkin Gulf

Tonkin Gulf Resolution

Senate Vote: 88 to 2

“to take all necessarysteps, including the useof armed force…”

Congress gave President Johnson (LBJ) war powers

Think, Pair, ShareExplain why the United States got

involved in Vietnam.Explain how the United States got

involved with Vietnam.Should the U.S. have involved

themselves in the conflict in your opinion?

American EscalationGeneral William Westmoreland, U.S.

Commander

American EscalationU.S. strategy: bomb North, ground troops in South1968: 538, 000 U.S. troops

Operation Rolling Thunder

643,000 tons of bombs

5 times Hiroshima

3 years

Air Force Chief of StaffLemey about bombingthem “back to the stoneAge.”

Bombing Raids of North Vietnam

Operation Rolling Thunder

Dealt with2,700 roads And tunnels

NVA actually increased supply

NVA Tung, “The bombsheightened rather than dampened our spirits.”

Focused on Ho Chi Minh Trail (supply line

for Vietcong and N.Vietnam)failed

Ground WarSearch and Destroy Missions: seek VC and

destroyed villagesJungle warfare, so defoliants used (Agent

Orange/Napalm)

NVA and VietcongCommander of NVA – Vo Nguyen Giap 1965: Strategy shift to guerilla tactics, Giap

against

NVA and VietcongTactics- tunneled base camps, booby traps,

and punji spikes.

Journal ReflectionCompare and contrast the U.S. strategies

with the NVA and Vietcong strategies in a double bubble.

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NVA & Vietcongstrategies

similaritiesdifferences differences

Think, Pair, SharePredict which side’s strategies will work

best - the U.S. Strategies or the NVA & Vietcong strategies. Why?

Khe SanhImportant for intelligence on Ho Chi Minh Trail40,000 NVA vs. 5,600 U.S. for over 2 mths.U.S. win,

shows NVA

resolve

Tet Offensive

100 towns and citiesAttacked; 12 air bases attacked

42,000Vietcong casualties

Massive attack by North on Vietnamese New YearMilitary victory for South/U.S.Morale victory for North