Label on the map provided:1) Dien Bien Phu

2) Hanoi3) Saigon

4) DMZ – Separating the two halves of North & South Vietnam5) Cambodia

6) Laos7) Thailand

8) China

The Vietnam War, 1964-1975• Vietnam was a French colony before WW2• Japan took control, then was defeated in

WW2 and the French returned in 1945• Ho Chi Minh declared Vietnam’s

independence the same year• In 1950, the U.S. pledges military aid to help

the French in Vietnam• In 1954, President Eisenhower outlines the

Domino Theory

The Vietnam War, 1964-1975

• French were defeated by communist forces under Ho Chi Minh in 1954 at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu and leave Vietnam by 1956

• Vietnam was divided into two with the communists controlling the northern half of the country

• The southern half of the country was ruled by anti-communist dictator Ngo Dinh Diem

The Vietnam War, 1964-1975

• As South Vietnam’s President, Ngo Dinh Diem

• Cancelled 1956 elections to unite the North & South

• Was supported by Eisenhower with financial aid, then with military advisors

• Was assassinated during an army coup in 1963

The Vietnam War, 1964-1975

The Vietnam War, 1964-1975• U.S. military advisors grew to 16,000 by the

time JFK was assassinated• When President Johnson took office, he

ordered an additional 10,000 advisors to Vietnam

• In 1964, LBJ announced that U.S. ships had been attacked in the Gulf of Tonkin

• Congress approved a resolution giving Johnson the power to take “all necessary measures” to protect U.S. forces

The Vietnam War, 1964-1975

The Vietnam War, 1964-1975• LBJ orders targets in North Vietnam bombed,

called Operation “Rolling Thunder”• By March 1965, there are more than 100,000

troops in South Vietnam; by 1968, over 500,00 soldiers

• U.S. had overwhelming numbers and military superiority against the Vietcong and North Vietnamese Army (NVA)

The Vietnam War, 1964-75• The U.S. military had numerical and

technological superiority, but it had some disadvantages:

• Fighting in a civil war, it was hard to tell friend from foe• Conventional military tactics didn’t work in jungle

terrain• There were conflicts between politicians who wanted

to contain the war and military leaders who wanted to expand the war• The lack of clear objectives and declining public support

demoralized American soldiers

Friend or Foe?

Jungle Fighting

Political-Military Dispute

Loss of Public Support