Transcript Vietnam War - Modern World History

Vietnam War:
The Beginning of the War
1957-1973
France loses control of Indochina
• At the end of WWII, the French attempted
to regain their control of Indochina.
• Ho Chi Minh led the Vietminh League—a
group that fought to rid Vietnam of the
Japanese during WWII.
French Defeat
“For every ten men you
kill, we will kill one of
yours. And it will be
you who will have to
give up in the end.”
–Ho Chi Minh
• In 1954 the French
were suffered a major
defeat at Dien Bien
Phu—16,000 French
soldiers were
imprisoned.
• Peace was settled in
in Geneva
Switzerland. (a.k.a.
the Geneva Accords)
Geneva Accords
Two Accords (agreements):
1. Two separate Vietnamese governments were
formed by the division of the 17th parallel.
North: Communist—led by Ho Chi Minh
South: Anti-communist—President Ngo Dinh
Diem.
2. Division is only temporary until free elections
that were to be held in July 1956.
Domino Theory
The United States feared that with the spread of
communism to China and now North Vietnam
that the rest of Southeast Asia would shift to
communism.
If Indochina falls, Thailand and Burma would be in
extreme danger; Malaya, Singapore, and even
Indonesia would become vulnerable to the
communist power drive.
--John Foster Dulles
U.S. Secretary of State
Development of Vietcong
President Ngo Dinh Diem in the South did little to
gain the support of the people, while Ho Chi
Minh was beginning a program of land
distribution in the North.
Frustrated communist guerrillas—Vietcong—
began to revolt against Diem in the South. This
group was able to gain control of large areas of
the countryside in the South.
Eisenhower’s Response
October 23, 1954
The purpose of this offer is to assist the Government of
Vietnam in developing and maintaining a strong, viable
state, capable of resisting attempted subversion or
aggression through military means… It hopes that such
aid, combined with your own continuing efforts, will
contribute effectively toward an independent Vietnam
endowed with a strong Government. Such a Government
would, I hope, be so responsive to the nationalist
aspirations of its people, so enlightened in purpose and
effective in performance, that it will be respected at
home and abroad and discourage any who might wish to
impose a foreign ideology on your free people.
Kennedy’s Response
December 14, 1961
The United States, like the Republic of Vietnam, remains
devoted to the cause of peace and our primary purpose
is to help your people maintain their independence. If the
Communist authorities in North Vietnam will stop their
campaign to destroy the Republic of Vietnam, the
measures we are taking to assist your defense efforts
will no longer be necessary. We shall seek to persuade
the Communists to give up their attempts to force and
subversion. In any case, we are confident that the
Vietnamese people will preserve their independence and
gain the peace and prosperity for which they have
sought so hard and so long.
Death of Diem
• As the Viet Cong gained strength the
United States backed a “coup” with
Vietnamese generals to get rid of the weak
President Diem. He was overthrown and
killed in 1963.
• This plan backfired as the new leaders
lacked the support of the people as Diem
had.
Gulf of Tonkin
• The United States Congress was presented with two
events that occurred in the Gulf of Tonkin that led to an
escalation of the United States involvement in Vietnam.
– On August 2, 1964 three North Vietnamese patrol boats fired and
missed at U.S. destroyer (Maddox). The U.S. successfully hit
the boats in retaliation.
– August 4, 1964, the same destroyer believed it was under attack
once again. (This was later investigated and found to be the
result of weather conditions and nervous sailors.)
• Regardless, on August 5, 1964 President Johnson
appealed to Congress to pass a resolution that would
allow for U.S. involvement in Vietnam.
Tonkin Gulf Incident
President Johnson's Message to Congress
•
August 5, 1964
•
Our policy in southeast Asia has been consistent and unchanged since 1954. I summarized it on
June 2 in four simple propositions:
•
1. America keeps her word. Here as elsewhere, we must and shall honor our commitments.
•
2. The issue is the future of southeast Asia as a whole. A threat to any nation in that region is a
threat to all, and a threat to us.
•
3. Our purpose is peace. We have no military, political, or territorial ambitions in the area.
•
4. This is not just a jungle war, but a struggle for freedom on every front of human activity. Our
military and economic assistance to South Vietnam and Laos in particular has the purpose of
helping these countries to repel aggression and strengthen their independence.
Joint Resolution of Congress
•
H.J. RES 1145
August 7, 1964
•
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in
Congress assembled,
•
That the Congress approves and supports the determination of the President, as Commander in
Chief, to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United
States and to prevent further aggression.
The fighting
• The U.S. struggled to win on the ground.
They were bombing and destroying the
homes of the South Vietnamese in the war
against North Vietnamese and the
Vietcong.
• As the bombings destroyed the farmlands,
the war became largely unpopular with the
South Vietnamese. As a result the U.S.
turned to air power to fight the war.
Events that shaped perspectives
• Tet Offensive
• January 31, 1968
• Launched by the
Vietcong during
the Vietnamese
holiday of Tet.
• The U.S.
struggled against
the attacking
Vietcong
Tet Offensive
• 50,000 North Vietnamese and Vietcong
are believed to have died.
• 52,000 taken prisoner
• 2,600 U.S. and South Vietnamese killed
and 12,000 wounded.
• Americans realized that they were not
winning this war.
My Lai Massacre
1968
• U.S. troops
slaughtered more
than 300 Vietnamese
villagers during an
attack on a suspected
Vietcong camp.
Battle of Hamburger Hill
• This victorious battle
cost the lives of 46
soldiers
• The “victorious”
troops would then be
withdrawn from this
site.
Use of Chemical Warfare
Withdrawing from Vietnam
• As the war grew unpopular amongst the
South Vietnamese it continued to grow
unpopular amongst the Americans.
• In 1969 President Nixon began
withdrawing United States troops from
Vietnam. He also directed his attention
towards the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
Ho Chi Minh trail
• The Ho Chi Minh trail had been the supply route
for the Vietcong and the North Vietnamese
soldiers in South Vietnam. President Nixon
ordered secret bombings of this trail. The U.S.
also sent in the best military support to give last
ditch efforts in Vietnam.
• In the Spring of 1975, the North Vietnamese led
a massive attack on South Vietnam. Within six
weeks they capture the capital of Saigon,
renamed Ho Chi Minh City.
The Boat People
The cruel treatment of the communist North
caused 1.5 million to flee the land.
200,000 died at sea, 700,000 refugees
settled in the United States, as well as
Canada.
The Four Tigers
• The civil war and the communist
challenges we have seen in Asia did not
completely wipe out the region. Some
economies in the region were able to
experience tremendous growth.
• These newly-industrialized countries
(NIC’s) were known as the Four Tigers:
China, Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea.