Transcript Vietnam War - Mrs. Stratton's IB 20th Century World History

Vietnam War – Part I
French Indo-China
French Indo-China
(Vietnam, Cambodia,
and Laos) had been
part of the French
Empire since the late
19th century
 During WWII, Japan
occupied the country
 The Viet Minh, was
organized in 1941 in
order to resist
occupation

Viet Minh
 They
were led by Ho Chi Minh and the
Communists
 They were armed by the Americans to
fight the Japanese
 At the end of the war, Ho Chi Minh
declared Vietnam an independent
country, but the French wouldn’t let go
 Hostilities broke out between the
French and the Viet Minh in 1946
FDR’s Policy In Indochina



Recognized that colonialism
was doomed in Vietnam and
that the U.S. should identify
with the forces of nationalism
in Asia
Regarded the French as “poor
colonizers”
He pressured France to
relinquish its hold over
Vietnam and advocated
placing Indochina under
international trusteeship in
preparation for independence
French Indo-China
In November 1946, the French ordered Ho
Chi Minh’s government to leave Hanoi
 When they refused, the French bombarded
Hanoi and Haiphong, killing 6,000
 Ho and the Viet Minh were forced into a
war for independence
 The French, wishing to keep control of the
rice and rubber of the south, set up Bo Dai
as a puppet

Truman’s Policy In Indochina


Truman scrapped the
trusteeship plan due to the
Sovietization of Eastern
Europe and communism in
Asia after 1949
Ho appealed to the U.S.
for support, but by 1950,
he committed aid and
military advisors to the
French in Vietnam
Outside Assistance in Vietnam
The Viet Minh fought a guerilla war
 The Communist Chinese supported the
Viet Minh with arms and equipment
 The Americans began to help the French
with money, equipment, and advisers

Eisenhower’s Policy In Indochina
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“New Look” defense policy called for sharp
reductions in American ground forces
They were reluctant to commit American
combat troops to SE Asia (“no more
Koreas”) and agreed that France must
continue to bear the burden
Continued aid would depend on detailed
and specific information about French plans
to ensure an aggressive strategy
By 1954, the U.S. was funding 80% of the
war
Dien Bien Phu
By 1954, the French
had lost control of the
countryside
 The French were
decisively defeated in
1954 when a French
army was surrounded
and forced to
surrender in a 50-day
siege in Dien Bien Phu

Reasons for the French Defeat
Ho and the Viet Minh had the support of the
people
 The Viet Minh were masters of guerilla
warfare
 From 1950, the Viet Minh were supplied by
China
 The French were war-weary and failed to run
the war effectively
 The French were experiencing problems in
other parts of the world

Significance of the Indo-China War

The war was seen by the Americans as a
proxy war (when opposing powers use
third parties as substitutes for fighting
each other directly):


Ho Chi Minh was the Soviets
French were the Americans
Geneva Peace Conference
A peace conference was arranged in 1954
 USSR, UK, France, USA, China, and IndoChina were there

Geneva Peace Conference

The terms of the Geneva Agreement of 1954
were:
 Laos and Cambodia were to be independent
 Vietnam was to be temporarily divided into
two states at the 17th parallel
 Ho Chin Minh’s government was recognized
in the north
 An American puppet regime under Ngo
Dinh Diem was set up in the south
 In 1956, elections were to be held throughout
Vietnam, after which it was to be united
Lack of Support for Diem
Since Diem had begun ruling South
Vietnam in 1954, he lacked support:

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He imprisoned people who criticized his
government
Filled many government positions with
members of his own family
U.S. money that was supposed to go to
economic reforms went to the military
and corrupt officials
Lack of Support for
Diem

Diem was a Catholic in
a largely Buddhist
country
 For
example, he passed
laws banning the
celebration of the
Buddha’s birthday
He was seen as an
American puppet
 He blocked demands
for land reform, which
was being carried out in
the north under Ho

Below: Self-immolation; the
S. Vietnamese First Lady
reacted by saying “Let them
burn and we shall clap our
hands”
Going Against the Geneva Convention
In 1955, Diem refused to make
preparations for the promised elections
 The U.S. supported him, since they
expected that Ho would win any genuine
elections overwhelmingly

National Liberation Front (NLF) or Viet
Cong
In 1960, groups formed the
NLF, otherwise known as the
Viet Cong to the Americans
 They demanded a democratic
coalition government which
would negotiate a peaceful
union of Vietnam
 When this was refused, a
guerilla war began in the
south, waged by the Viet
Cong
 Advisors first were sent over

JFK’s Policy In Indochina
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Felt that the administration would lose face if they
negotiated in Vietnam and didn’t take military
action (would be repeat of China in 1949)
Expressed deep concern about simultaneously
having major obligations in Europe and SE Asia
Settled between negotiation and troops by
sending aid and a limited number of advisors (this
would actually enlarge the U.S. role and
commitment in Vietnam)
Was preoccupied with Cuba at first
Had interest in troop withdrawals
Causes of the War
Containment worked in Europe (Greece,
Turkey, and Berlin) & with Korea
 North Korea’s invasion of South Korea
confirmed U.S. suspicions that the Soviets
sought to conquer all of Asia
 SE Asia provided 90% of America’s rubber,
75% of its tin, and 27% of its oil
 We had to replace the French and were a
world power, so we needed to help South
Vietnam retain its freedom
 America felt its prestige was on the line, so it
did not want a defeat in Vietnam

Causes of the War
Americans viewed Vietnam as the key to
keeping SE Asia out of communist hands
(domino theory)
 The Truman administration had been under
fire for “losing” China and felt compelled to
hold the line somewhere else
 People believed that destiny had singled out
the U.S. to defend and spread the
democratic ideal
 The U.S. believed the Vietnamese were
inferior and could beat them with superior
technology

Attempting to Gain Support
America tried to involve her
allies, but only Australia,
New Zealand, Thailand, and
the Philippines ever sent
troops
 Local peasants were moved
into “fortified villages”
where they could be
controlled by the ARVN
(South Vietnamese Army).
They were, in effect,
concentration camps

Increasing American Involvement In
Vietnam
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By his death, Kennedy had
ordered 15,000 American men
and equipment to Vietnam
Kennedy realized that Diem
would never reform
The U.S. told the South
Vietnamese military that they
wouldn’t object to a coup
Military Government
The coup worked, but the
death of Diem lead to
unstable generals ruling the
country
 The new military government
bickered among themselves
and failed to direct the South
Vietnamese army effectively
 Ho Chi Minh and the North
Vietnamese aided the Viet
Cong throughout the struggle
