The Vietnam War

Vietnam War

• The Vietnam War grew out of the long conflict between France and Vietnam.

• Vietnam had long been a colony of France

• Japan invaded during world war II

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/05/vietnam_35_years_later.html

• Following the defeat of Japan in ww2, France again took control until the communists rebels succeeded in taking over the country

• However, France managed push the communists north following a bloody conflict.

• A truce was finally and Vietnam was split into communist north and democratic south

Ho Chi Minh

• He was the leader of the communist groups in Vietnam called the Vietminh and Vietcong.

• He wanted Vietnam to rule itself and be communist

• Communist China and Russia sent money and arms to Ho Chi Minh and the Vietminh.

Build up to war

• After Vietnam was split into North and South elections were meant to be held to decide who would rule the country

• They didn’t go ahead in the South because the USA thought Communism would win. Instead they backed the unpopular leader Diem.

• This angered Ho Chi Minh who now tightened his grip over North Vietnam. In 1957 he wanted to reunite Vietnam using the Vietminh and Vietcong (South Vietnam communist supporters) to attack the South Vietnam Government and its supporters.

Why was the US involved in Vietnam at all?

• They believed that Ho Chi Minh was communist and due to “Communist Containment” and their belief in the “Domino Theory”, Truman sent a few military advisors, Eisenhower sent more.

• No president wanted to be the one to lose against communism. Kennedy sent more advisors and weapons to the South Vietnamese army who didn’t want communism in their country.

The war itself up to 1963

• The communist Vietnamese were carrying out a guerrilla war in the jungle and mountains.

• This didn’t suit the techniques of the US. He agreed to have Diem killed as he was very unpopular.

USA tactics in the War• Operation Rolling Thunder

Bombing N. Vietnamese towns to destroy morale

• Search and Destroy

Looking for the Vietcong in villages. If Vietcong presence was suspected, the village was destroyed

• Napalm

A fluid that burns through almost anything. The Americans hoped it would hit Vietcong bases. In fact, it often hit civilians.

• Agent Orange

Chemical that destroyed crops and trees making it easier to fight in the jungle. Attacked the human body and led to birth defects

Vietcong tactics

• Booby traps were cheap and effective

• Aimed to kill and injure Americans

• Spikes covered in excrement

• Tunnel system

• Ho Chi Minh trail

Ho Chi Minh Trail

• A jungle path

• 60 tonnes a day carried to the Vietcong in the south.

• Essential to Vietnamese Victory

The War in America

• The Vietnam War had a major impact on everyday life in America as people became angry with the war.

• Since there were not enough volunteers to continue to fight a protracted war, the government instituted a draft(compulsory signing up)

Anti-War Protests

• Protests erupted on college campuses and in major cities at first, but by 1968 every corner of the country seemed to have felt the war's impact.

Kent State

• At Kent State in Ohio, four students were killed by National Guardsmen who were called out to preserve order on campus after days of anti-Nixon protest.

The Tet Offensive

• By 1968, things had gone from bad to worse for the Johnson administration. In late January, North Vietnam and the Vietcong launched coordinated attacks against major southern cities.

• These attacks, known as the Tet Offensive, were designed to force the Johnson administration to the bargaining table.

A Secret Plan to End the War

• Negotiations began in the spring of 1968, but the Democratic Party could not rescue the presidency from Republican challenger Richard Nixon who claimed he had a secret plan to end the war.

• Nixon's secret plan involved a process called “Vietnamization.” This strategy brought American troops home while increasing the air war over North Vietnam and relying more on the South Vietnamese army for ground attacks.

The Paris Peace Agreement

• In early January 1973, the Nixon White House convinced South Vietnam that they would not abandon them if they signed the peace accord.

• On January 23 an agreement was signed. The south was to fall to communism within 3 years

Results of Vietnam war:

1. Massive death & destruction & returning veterans drug problems2. Huge cost of $112 bn – could have been much better spent3. Communist Containment in ruins – Vietnam, Laos & Cambodia are all soon communist4. US military morale at low point & US wary of any international involvement for next 20 years5. Leaked Pentagon Papers showed just how much Johnson’s administration had misled the public

The Fall to Communism

• From March 1973 until the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975, the South Vietnamese army tried desperately to save the South from political and military collapse.

• The end finally came when North Vietnamese tanks rolled south along National Highway One.

• On the morning of April 30, Communist forces captured the presidential palace in Saigon, ending the Vietnam War.