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The Vietnam War: An Introduction

Mr. Eagen

Willow Canyon High School

IB: History of the Americas

What Do I Know About Vietnam and the American War in Vietnam???

� Write 10 Things You Know About

Vietnam and the Vietnam War:

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Where is Vietnam???

Southeast Asia

� Vietnam is in Southeast Asia

� Near Laos, Cambodia. Thailand, and parts of China

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Vietnam Facts

� 83 Million People

� Very Fertile

� Many Resources

� Hot and Wet

Climate

Religion in Vietnam

�Most People are Buddhist

�Strong Minority of Catholics

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Early History of Vietnam

�One of Few Asian Countries to Defeat the Mongols at the Time of Kublai and Genghis Khan.

�Victim of Chinese Colonialism

�Vietnam and China have not had a good relationship.

Vietnam and Resistance to Foreign Control

� Vietnamese Resistance to the Chinese

and Mongols is Typical to the History of

Vietnam

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Indochina and French Colonialism

� Ultimately Vietnam Gained

Independence from China

� Vietnam's independence ended in the mid-19th century, when the country

was colonized by the French Empire.

� Vietnam was part of the French

Colonial Empire in Southeast

Asia/Indochina

France and Vietnam

� Exploited Vietnam’s Resources

and People

� Introduced Catholicism

� Western Education

� French Language and Customs

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Vietnam and Imperialism

� Vietnamese will Strongly Resist Imperialism from:

� China

� Mongols

� French

� Japanese

� Many American Military and Political Leaders were Ignorant of this.

WW1/14 Points and Vietnam

� At the End of WW1 American President Woodrow Wilson Promised to end Colonialism

� A Young Ho Chi Minh Showed Up at Versailles Conference Hoping to Get Vietnamese Independence from France

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Nationalism

�Pride in your country.

�Desire for an independent homeland for your people.

Viet Minh

� Founded by Ho

Chi Minh

� Communist/Nationalist Group that Opposed the French and later

Japanese

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WWII

�At the Start of WW2, Vietnam and Much of Southeast Asia was still controlled by France.

�Vietnamese Resistance to France had started to grow.

Ho Chi Minh

� Leader of the Viet Minh

� Wants Independent Vietnam

� Opposes French, Japanese, and Americans

� Trains in China and USSR

� Helps Rescue Americans during WW2

� Communist or Nationalist

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Answer:

� Who was Ho Chi Minh?

� What was the Vietnam?

� What European Country Colonized

Vietnam?

� Who invaded Vietnam during

WW2?

Vietnam During WW2

� Invaded By Japan

� OSS/CIA Helps Train Viet Minh to

Fight the Japanese

� OSS Officials were strong

supporters of Viet Minh and

Vietnamese Independence

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Declaring Independence: Ho Chi Minh

� WW2 Ends and September 2, 1945 Ho Chi Minh Declares Vietnamese Independence

� Reads from US Declaration of Independence

Ho Chi Minh: Nationalist???

� Some See Ho Chi Minh’s

Declaration of Independence as

Evidence of Being a Nationalist

over Being a Communist and

Wanting to Have Relationship with

the US

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France Wants Indochina Back

� France Does Not

Recognize

Vietnamese

Independence

� France Reclaims

its Colony

What Should the US Do???

�Should the United States Support Vietnamese Independence or Help France Regain its Colonial Empire?

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Divided American State Department

� European Experts in American Government Support Backing France

� Asia Experts in American Government Support Backing Ho Chi Minh

� Feel he is Nationalist or “Asian Tito”

US Backs France

� Truman Administration, Followed by

Eisenhower Back the French

� Korean War

� Loss of China

� Idea of Monolithic Communism

� Cold War

� Strong France Helps Stop Communism in Western Europe

� Containment

� Ho Chi Minh and Viet Minh were more Communist than Nationalist

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First Indo-China War

� 1945-1954� France vs. Viet

Minh� French try to keep

Vietnam, Viet Minh Fight For Independence

� 70% of French Costs are Paid by US

Dien Bien Phu

� 1954

� Final Defeat of

the French by the Vietnamese

� French Surrender

and Lose

Indochina

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1954 Geneva Conference

� End Hostilities Between French and

Vietnamese

� Temporarily Divided Vietnam at 17th

Parallel until French Leave.

� Elections in 1956

Realities of Geneva Conference

� Dominated By Soviets and Chinese

� America Does not Directly Participate or

Recognize Results. US won’t Negotiate with Communist China.

� Americans Know Ho Chi Minh and Communists Will Easily Win Unification Election

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If Vietnam Goes Communist…

� Failure of Containment

� Domino Theory

� Fear of Monolithic Communist Alliance

of China, Vietnam, and USSR

South Vietnam

� Instead of Support Geneva Agreement

and Allowing Unification Elections and

Communist Victory the United States

Supports the Creation of Non-

Communist South Vietnam

� American War in Vietnam is fought to

keep South Vietnam Non-Communist

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John F. Kennedy and Vietnam

� Views Vietnam as Important to Cold War like Truman and IKE

� Begins Escalation of Troops

� Overall Picture unsure due to assassination

South Vietnam

�JFK Believed the Best Way to Stop Communists in Vietnam was to Build South Vietnam into a Nation

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Ngo Dinh Diem

� First Leader of

South Vietnam

� Nationalist but strongly anti-

Communist

� Catholic

Ngo Dinh Diem

� Strong Support from Eisenhower and Kennedy

� Massive Military and Financial Aid from US

� Brutal to Communists

� Upsets Buddhist Majority

� Brother and Sister in Law are unpopular

� Administration is very corrupt

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Assassination of Diem

� Assassinated in November 1963

� Kennedy either knew of plot and ignored it or

supported it.

� South Vietnamese Government Would Never Be Stable

� Increased American Involvement in South Vietnam’s Internal Affairs

Some Stats

� When IKE Left Office Less than 1,000 US Soldiers in Vietnam.

� At Time of Kennedy Assassination over 16,000 Soldiers in Vietnam

� 1969- 543,000

� Many of the Soldiers under JFK were Special Forces and under Johnson Regular Ground Troops will be introduced.

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Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

� North Vietnamese “Attack” on Two US Ships in the Gulf of Tonkin is Johnson’s Excused to Get Congressional Approval for Major Escalation in Vietnam.

Some Terms

� Hanoi-Refers to North Vietnamese Government

� NVA-North Vietnamese Army

� VC/Charlie-Viet Cong-Communist Rebels in South Vietnam

� ARVN-South Vietnamese Army

� POW-Prisoner of War

� MIA-Missing in Action

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Must Read

� Fallen Angels-Walter

Dean Meyers

� Fields of Fire and Lost

Soldiers by James

Webb

� Rumor of War-Phil

Caputo

� Faith of my Fathers-

McCain

Who Did America Fight in Vietnam?

� Viet Cong

� North Vietnamese Army

� Heavily Supplied from USSR via

China

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Johnson and Limited War

� Johnson is Afraid of Conflict Spreading to involve USSR and China.

� Strict Rules of Engagement� Limited Targets for US Troops and Air

Strikes� Areas of North Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos

North Vietnamese Communists Can Attack, Move Supplies From and Retreat and American Troops Can Not Go

North Vietnam

� North Vietnam wants a unified and

Communist Vietnam

� Want Americans Out

� One Vietnam

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Early American Support for War in Vietnam

� Americans Initially Supported War

in Vietnam

� Hit Song-”The Green Berets”

� Public is Told Troops will be home

soon and war is almost over

The Television War

� Vietnam is First War Heavily Covered by TV News.

� American Public See Daily Images of Casualties

� Public Begins to Turn Against the War

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Escalation

�Johnson Attempts to Limit the War while at the Same Time Constantly Increasing the Number of Soldiers in Vietnam

�Over 500,000 by 1969

Johnson and Negotiation

�LBJ would attempt negotiation at the same time he would scale back offensive operations in Vietnam

�North Vietnamese Take Advantage Of This

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Tet

� Tết, is the most important holiday in Vietnam. It is the

Vietnamese New Year Tet is the most popular festival in Vietnam.

� 1968 Cease Fire

Tet Offensive

� 1968

� Viet Cong Attack Every Major US Base in South Vietnam

� North Vietnamese Army Takes City of Hue and kills many inhabitants

� US Embassy Compound in Saigon is attacked

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Effects of Tet

� Major Military Victory for the US

� Viet Cong Devastated

� American Media Turns Against War

� American Public Turns Against War

� Political and Psychological Victory for North Vietnam

� President Johnson Will Not Seek Reelection

American Anti-War Movement

�Strong Anti-War Movement in the United States

�Becomes Stronger After 1968

�War Divides American Population

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Richard Nixon

� Elected in 1968

� Claims to Have A Secret Plan to

End the Vietnam War

Cambodia

� Was Neutral

� Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Would Use Cambodia as a Sanctuary

� US Troops Could Not Enter

� Cambodian Government is Powerless to Prevent Communists From Entering

� Bad History between Vietnam and Cambodia

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Nixon and Cambodia

� Supports Coup That Puts Strong

Anti-Communist Government in

Charge

� Secret Bombing and Invasion of

Cambodia

� Expands Conflict

Public Opinion, Vietnam, and Cambodia

�War is Illegal

�Public is Outraged at Expansion of Conflict

�Massive Protests

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Cambodia

� Bombing and Invasion Fails to

Make Significant Difference in War

� Cambodian Communists Go

Deeper into Cambodia

� Vietnamese Were Using Cambodia

to attack to kill Americans

Nixon and Ending Vietnam War

� Uses Combination of Increased

Bombing of North Vietnam and

Secret Negotiations

� Diplomacy with China and USSR

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Ending the War/Vietnamization

� Vietnamization-Nixon’s Plan

� Turn the War over the war South Vietnamese

� Train and Equip South Vietnamese to Fight the North

� US Troops Withdraw

� Last US Troops Leave by 1973

South Vietnam Betrayed???

� South Vietnam is Promised that the US Would Send Troops, Money, and Supplies if North Vietnamese Launch Massive Attack

� Nixon Resigns due to Watergate� Congress and American People Do Not

Support the Idea of Further Involvement

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1975

� North Vietnam Takes Over South

Vietnam

� US Does not Prevent

� Vietnam is Unified

� Vietnam is All Communist

Results of Vietnam War

� 60,000 Americans Killed

� US reluctant to use military power

� American public is divided

� Americans don’t trust government

� Vietnam is Communist

� Cambodia Falls to Communist

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Results in Cambodia

� Khmer Rouge/Cambodian Communist Take Power

� Pol Pot is Leader

� Killing Fields-Genocide of 1/3 of Cambodian Population by killed.

� Vietnam Invades and Occupies Cambodia to defeat Khmer Rouge.

Ticket Out the Door

� How was Tet a Turning Point in the Vietnam War?

� How did TV affect people’s view of the Vietnam War?

� What country did President Nixon Expand the Vietnam War Into?

� Which US President is associated with escalating the number of US troops in Vietnam?

� What year did the last US Troops leave Vietnam?

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Vietnam and China

� 1979 War Between Vietnam and China

� China improved relations with US after Nixon’s Visit

� Vietnam Moved Closer to USSR

� China Supports Khmer Rouge and is upset that Vietnam Defeats.

� China attempts to invade Vietnam to “teach lesson”

� Chinese leave after 1 month

� Vietnamese Put up much stronger fight than the Chinese expected