The Indochina Wars, 1954-79

Young & Kent: International Relations since 1945

South Vietnam 1954-61Ngo Dinh Diem’s Regime: - October 1955, Emperor Bao Dai

deposed- Diem is Catholic, authoritarian, backed by landlords and relying on military- Alienates Buddhists, ethnic minorities, peasants, liberals

US involvement: - counter-insurgency expert Edward Lansdale helps Diem into power- $1 billion military aid under Eisenhower- July 1959, two US advisers killed

Diem and the Communists• US sees Diem as both anti-colonialist

(opposed French) and anti-Communist• 1956-59 Diem’s anti-Communist

campaign seems successful• 1959-61 sees Communist revival:

– North recovers from war with French– North supported by China and USSR– Le Duan presses for guerrilla war– December 1960: National Liberation Front

formed– February 1961: Military wing created

Kennedy and Vietnam• Seems to escalate US involvement

– Number of advisers up from 685 in Jan 1961 to 17,000 in Nov 1963

– US support ‘strategic hamlets’– Ap Bac (January 1963) shows weakness of

South Vietnamese army

• But there are limits to this– Attention focused on Laos crisis in 1961– Accepted neutralization of Laos in 1962– No US combat troops in Vietnam– Talked of lower troop levels before

assassination

Johnson’s First Year• Johnson focused on US

– Election year: poses as peace candidate– Not a foreign policy expert– Dream of ‘Great Society’

• Vietnam commitment remains– Kennedy’s Vice-President– Key advisers support war– Instability after overthrow of Diem– Gulf of Tonkin Resolution in August

• November 1964: President in own right by a landslide

‘LBJ’s war’?• Was President forced into war?

– Anti-Communist tradition: containment– Previous commitments to South Vietnam– McNamara, Bundy and Rusk– Pressure from military– Withdrawal would mean South collapses

• Or did he choose to fight– Truman let China fall in 1949– North Vietnam communist in 1954– Kennedy avoided war in Laos– Ball, Mansfield oppose escalation– President has final decision

1965: America enters the war

• February, Operation ‘Rolling Thunder’– McNamara and Bundy press for US action– Sparked by Pleiku attack– Sustained bombing of North– Partly to boost morale of South

• July, large deployment of combat troops– ‘Rolling Thunder’ did not deter North– Peace talks unlikely: North demands NLF

political programme and end of bombing– First US combat troops sent in March

The War in 1965-67• Military campaign

– Conventional versus guerrilla war– Westmoreland’s attrition policy fails– Difficulties for US in fighting such a conflict

• Peace feelers– Numerous initiatives– But US want South Vietnam independent– While Communists want reunification

• International attitudes– USSR, Eastern Europe and China back North– US fears Chinese intervention if North invaded– Limited allied help for US

Tet 1968• 30-31 January, widespread attacks • A defeat for Communists?

– Around 35,000 front line troops killed – No uprising in South

• Or for the US?– Many feel war ‘unwinnable’– Reject request for large troop increase

• LBJ’s 31 March announcement– Restrict bombing of North– Renew pressure for peace talks– Pulls out of Presidential election

US Policy under Nixon 1969-72

• Reject escalation or withdrawal• Military policies:

– US troop withdrawals please US public– ‘Vietnamization’ makes up for US troops– Tough action to intimidate North: secret

bombing of Cambodia– Invasions of Cambodia and Laos

• Political-diplomatic steps:– Improve relations with USSR and China– Paris peace talks– Secret Kissinger talks with North

Achieving US withdrawal 1972-73

• Spring 1972, situation still uncertain:– US troop withdrawals reduce pressure on

North to make concessions– Election year for Nixon– North launches major offensive

• So what factors helped bring a deal?– ‘Spring Offensive’ fails– Détente and Opening to China progress– Key US concession: ‘ceasefire in place’– ‘Christmas bombing’

Paris Accords: January 1973• ‘Peace with Honour’?

– Survival of the Thieu regime– US prisoners of war released– US can re-supply South Vietnamese forces

• Or only a ‘decent interval’ until South Vietnam collapses?– US troops leave– No North Vietnamese withdrawal– ‘National Liberation Front’ given legitimacy– Conflict in Cambodia/Laos goes on

The Collapse of South Vietnam

• Internal weaknesses– War in South Vietnam not ended in January

1973– Inflation, lack of economic resources– Unpopular regime, low morale– Poor leadership: Thieu abandons northern

provinces after North attacks (March 1975)

• US weaknesses– Popular opposition to re-involvement– Congress forces end of US support for

Cambodia (August 1973)– Watergate, fall of Nixon

Falling Dominoes?

• 1975: apparent collapse of pro-US position in Southeast Asia– 16 April: Khmer Rouge take Phnom Penh– 30 April: Fall of Saigon after Thieu flees– 9 May: pro-US ministers thrown out of

government in Laos

• But this collapse is limited– Ford takes military action over ‘Mayaguez’

seizure– Pro-US regimes survive beyond Indochina:

Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines

Communist Divisions 1975-79

• Rising Chinese-Vietnamese tension- historic rivalry: fear of Chinese power- Soviets influence in Vietnam after reunification: Nov 1978 friendship treaty- maltreatment of Chinese minority in Vietnam- December 1978: Vietnam invades Cambodia; China backs Pol Pot

• February-April 1979: punitive Chinese invasion of Vietnam

Reconciliation

• September 1988: Vietnamese troops withdrawn from Cambodia

• May 1989: Deng and Gorbachev hold first Sino-Soviet summit since 1959

• September 1989: Chinese-Vietnamese border reopened

• November 2000: Clinton becomes first President to visit reunified Vietnam