Transcript Vietnam War

Vietnam War
Origins of Vietnam War
French Rule in Indochina
• Before WWII the French had colonized
Indochina, (Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos).
• After the war the French tried to reclaim it’s
territory in Vietnam
• Vietnamese nationalists led by Ho Chi Minh
resisted the French
• Ho was a communist
America and the War
• The United States was against colonialism and
against communism
• The US wanted France as an ally in its efforts
to contain the Soviet Union
• Between 1950 and 1954 the US contributed
2.6 billion dollars to aid the French in Vietnam
• Containing the Vietminh or communist forces
in Vietnam became a national priority
The Domino Theory
• President Eisenhower continued Truman’s
policy in Vietnam
• Domino theory-if Vietnam falls to communism
then the other countries in the region are in
danger of becoming communist.
• The French lost their fight for Vietnam
• Peace Accords were signed in Geneva
Switzerland
The outcome of the Peace Accords
• France granted independence to Vietnam,
Laos and Cambodia. Vietnam was divided at
the 17th parallel into two countries North
Vietnam was controlled by Ho’s communist
forces and South Vietnam had an anticommunist government supported by the
United States.
• The accords called for free elections in 1956 to
unify the country
US aids South Vietnam
• SEATO was formed-goal was to contain the
spread of communism in South East Asia.
• North Vietnam was ruled by Ho Chi Minh.
• South Vietnam was ruled by the government
of Ngo Dinh Diem. He was very much for
nationalism and against communism.
However he was not a popular leader
The Politics of Vietnam
• Diem was an unpopular leader, he was
Catholic and most people in his country were
Buddhist. He even signed anti-Buddist
legislation into law.
• Because he thought he would lose to Ho Chi
Minh Diem refused to participate in the 1956
elections. Only the support of the United
States kept Diem in power.
Vietcong
• A communist rebel group in the South The
National Liberation Front committed themselves
to undermining Diem’s government. NLF guerrilla
fighter were called the Vientcong.
• They launched an insurgency: destroyed roads
and bridges, assassinated government officials.
Supplied by North Vietnam the Vietcong used hit
and run tactics to weaken Diems government.
Kennedy and Vietnam
• Elected in 1960 Kennedy took a more
aggressive stand against communists in
Vietnam.
• 1961-he sent Special Forces Troops to advise
the army of South Vietnam. (ARVN)
• 1963-more than 15,000 advisors were in
Vietnam
Diem loses power
• Americans plotted with anti-Diem generals to
overthrow Diems government.
• 1963 Diem was removed from power and later
assassinated.
• Three weeks after Diems fall from power
Kennedy was assassinated.
• Lyndon Johnson was sworn in as President
and was very anti-communist.
Monolithic View of Communism
• The view that all communists governments
were the same. Soviet Union, China and
Vietnam were one and the same.
• In reality the governments of these countries
were different
• LBJ knew that the American people expected
a victory in Vietnam.
Tonkin Gulf
• 1964-North Vietnamese Torpedo boats fired
on the American destroyer USS Maddox as it
patrolled off the coast of North Vietnam. The
Maddox was not hit and returned fire.
• Johnson ordered an airstrike against North
Vietnam. Johnson next asked Congress to
authorize the use of force to defend American
troops.
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
The resolution authorized the President to “take
all necessary measures to repel any armed
attack against the forces of the United States
and to prevent further aggression”
This gave Johnson tremendous war powers. It
allowed him to commit US troops to Vietnam
without going back to Congress to get a
declaration of war.
?
• How might this effect the balance of power in
government?
US Involvement Grows
• Operation Rolling Thunder- in response to a
Vietcong attack at Pleiku Johnson ordered a
bombing campaign against North Vietnam.
Johnson hoped this new campaign would
convince North Vietnam to stop reinforcing
the Vietcong in South Vietnam.
American tactics
• 6 million tons of bombs were dropped-more
than 3 times the tonnage dropped by all the
combatants in WWII
• Napalm-jellied gasoline dropped in large
canisters that exploded on impact, covering
large areas in flames. Hard to extinguish and
clung to everything it touched.
American tactics cont.
• Agent Orange- is a herbicide (destroys plants)
the US forces used it to disrupt the enemy’s
food supply and defoliate the countryside.
• Search-and-destroy missions- to kill as many
Vietcong guerillas as they could. .
• Some soldiers defended airbases.
• Used helicopters to ferry soldiers to remote
locations.
US involvement grows cont.
• As the communist forces continued to fight
the United States committed more troops to
battle them on the ground. Americans
assumed the primary military responsibility
for the war with South Vietnamese soldiers
serving a secondary role. US military and
civilian leaders hoped that the airstrikes along
with more troops on the ground would bring
the communists to the peace table.
An elusive and determined enemy
• Large scale battles were not typical of
America’s strategy in Vienam
• Ho’s military doctrine hinged on fighting only
when victory was assured, never fighting on
his opponent”s terms.
• Ho compared his tactics to the tiger and the
elephant
An elusive and determined enemy
• Ho Chi Minh’s tactics was to wear the enemy
down
• They travelled light carrying just a rifle and a few
handfuls of rice
• They dug tunnels to hide in during the day and
emerge at night to ambush American patrols
• The set booby traps that maimed and crippled
American troops
• The leaders of North Vietnam and the Vietcong
remained convince that if they could avoid losing
the war, the Americans would eventually leave
Costly and Frustrating war
• American stategy yielded limited results
• US bombers did disrupt North Vietnamese
industry and slow the movement of supplies to
the Vietcong.
• The communists did not sue for peace
• End of 1965 there were 184,300 US troops in
Vietnam and 636 soldiers had died in the war
• Three years later, there were more that half a
million US troops in Vietnam and the number of
American dead had risen to 30,000
Costly and Frustrating war
• Each year the war cost more American dollars
and claimed more American lives.
• Corruption was still a problem with the South
Vietnamese administration-they had little
support outside of the major cities.
• Although Americans won most of the larger
battles, they did not achieve a successful end to
the war.
• By 1967 the war had devolved into a stalemate
Patriotism, Heroism and Sinking
Morale
• The US did not try to gain territory in Vienam,
they did not invade North Vietnam or March on
the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi.
• The US was fearful of bringing the Soviet Union
and China into the war
• American forces supported the survival and
development of South Vietnam. Because South
Vietnam was besieged with Vietcong and their
North Vietnamese allies, US troops had a hard
time telling their friends from their enemies.
Danger on a new battlefield
• Although the US won numerous battles it could
not win the war outright.
• The Vietcong and the North Vietnamese avoided
significant engagements.
• Vietcong gunman would spring out of dense
foliage and attack with automatic rifles and
grenades and then disappear back into the
landscape.
• Much of this fighting took place at night which
reduced the effectiveness of American Planes,
artillary and troop tactics.
American Soldiers fulfill their duty
• American soldiers adapted to the conditions in
Vietnam and fought with the same intensity US
forces had shown in WWI and WWII.
• Many fought to prevent communism
• Some fought to protect Villagers in South
Vietnam and win their trust and respect
• Others fought because their country was at war
and they felt it was their duty. More than 58,000
US troops gave their lives for their country
Women in the War
• About 10,000 American Military women
served in the war. Most were nurses.
• Not only did they face dangers working close
to the front, they also had to cope with the
emotional toll of working with the injured and
dying soldiers and civilians.
Morale Declines as War Wears On
• As the war got longer Many Americans
questioned America’s involvement
• The earliest soldiers in Vietnam had been
volunteers, but by the end of 1965 most
American soldiers in Vietnam had been
drafted. They were not certain that preserving
the government in South Vietnam was Crucial
to American interests
The War Weakens the Economy
• The war strained the government finances
• President Johnson’s plan for a Great Society
called for enormous government spending to
eliminate poverty, improve education and
medical care and fight racial discrimination.
• Massive government spending lowered the
unemployment rate but caused inflation.
• Johnson was forced to raise taxes. Johnson had to
cut back on his Great Society program to pay for
the war.
Hawks and Doves
• Beginning in 1967, Congress and eventually
most of America divided into two camps
• Hawks-supported Johnson war policy.
Believed strongly in the containment of
communism and the domino theory, they
accepted the rising troop levels, escalating
costs and increasing number of battlefield
deaths. They believed it was a crucial front in
the Cold WAR.
Doves
• Doves-broke with Johnson’s war policy. A diverse
group of liberal politicians, pacifists, student
radicals, civil rights leaders. Doves questioned the
war on moral and strategic grounds. For them the
war was a localized civil war, not a vital Cold War
battleground.
• Senator J. William Fulbright, chairman of Senate
Foreign relations committee emerged as an early
leader of the Doves in Congress. In1967 and 1968
Fulbright held public hearings on the war,
providing a platform for critics of the conflict.