IB HL History Vietnam War (1954 - 1975)

Origins of Vietnam

Was under french rule from 1800s and 1940s

• french imposed significany political and cultural changes on Vietnamese Society

• A western-style education and roman catholicism

• most of the french settlers in Indochina were concentrated in the Southern third of Vietnam based around the city of Saigon

• Developing a plantation economy: export of tobaccco, indigo, tea and coffee for the wealth of France

Vietnamese Nationalism

French ignored increasing calls for Vietnamese self-government and civil rights

• A nationalism political movement soon emerged w/ leaders such as Ho Chi Minh fighting calling for independence

Japanese Occupation (1941-1945

• Japanese invasion of French indochina in 1941

• the natural resources in those nations were then exploited for the purposes of the Japanese Empires military campaigns

The Vietminh

• A communist and nationalist liberation movement-emerged under Ho Chi Minh

• they had a goal of independence from France and end Japanese Occupation

• Following the Millitary defeat of Japan in August 1945, the Viet Minh occupied Hanoi (N Vietnam) and proclaimed national independence on 2 septemebr

French Return August, 1945-1954

• the french sent troops to pacify Vietminh’s guerrilla campaign against french forces began soon after

• the resulting first Indochina lasted until 20 July 1954

truman doctrine

The policy was intended to stop the spread of communism during the Cold War. 

Key points

• The Truman Doctrine was a turning point in US foreign policy, marking a break from isolationism after World War II. 

• The doctrine was based on the idea of containment, which involved providing financial and military aid to countries threatened by the Soviet Union. 

• The Truman Doctrine was one of the first events of the Cold War. 

• The Truman Doctrine was implemented by providing aid to countries like Greece and Turkey. The US also worked to secure the withdrawal of Russian troops from Iran. 

US Involvement

• the US wanted France as an ally against the USSR in the Cold war

  • President Truman therefore decided to support french rule as they feared the communist ideas of the Vietminh

• The US contributed 2.6 billion dollars in aid from 1950 to 1954

• they would also send advisors to vietnam from this point

Dwight D Eisenhower (January 20, 1953 -1961)

was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe and achieved the five-star rank as General of the Army.

Eisenhower Doctrine

a Middle Eastern country could request American economic assistance or aid from U.S. military forces if it was being threatened by armed aggression

Battle of Dien Bien Phu (13 March - 7 May 1954)

• The French Had Established a Major base in the mountains of North Vietnam

• The Viet Minh, lasted 55 days w/ the french suffering over Killed: 2,293

  Wounded: 5,195

  Captured: 10,998

• forced to surrender

The Geneva Accords (April 26 - July 21, 1954)

victory at Dien Bien Phu allowed Ho Chi Minh to negotiate favorable position at the Geneva Accords

The Colonial administration ended and french Indochina was separated at the 17th parallel by the Vietnamese Demilitarized zone

communists controlled the North and government friendly to the US was established in the South

The Geneva Accords Key Provisions (April 26 - July 21, 1954)

• The accords established a Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between North and South Vietnam

• They called for free elections in 1956 to establish a unified Vietnam

• They required all foreign troops and weapons to withdraw from Vietnam

• They instructed North and South Vietnamese soldiers and militia to return to their home regions

• They allowed Vietnamese civilians to move to either the north or south

South East Asian Treaty Organization

• In 1954 the US and seven other countried formed SEATO to stop the spread of communism

• The treaty was signed in Manila, Philippines on September 8, 1954.

• The signatories were Australia, France, Great Britain, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand, and the United States.

• The treaty was created by Dwight D. Eisenhower and John Foster Dulles.

Temporary Partition Of Vietnam

• Ho Chi Minhs Democratic Republic of Vietnam in North

• Emperor Bao Dai’s State of Vietnam in S. Vietnam

Emperor Bao Dai (1940s - 1955

• initially wanted to modernize Vietnam but could not win over French support

• he was returned to vietnma in 1949 to allow Vietnamese sovereignty only if the fence could control their finance and defense

• during WII the french colonial regime excersized a firm control over french administration over Bao Dai

• was named the Play-boy emperor for his pleasure seeking ways

South Vietnam Referendum

A referendum was held in the State of Vietnam (South Vietnam) to determine whether the country was a republic or monarchy. It was primarily a contest between Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem, who proposed a republic, and former emperor Bảo Đại, who had abdicated in 1945 and at the time of the referendum held the title of head of state.

Although published counts showed Diem winning the election with 98.9% of the vote, the referendum was widely marred by electoral fraud. In the capital, Saigon, Diem was credited with more than 600,000 votes, although only 450,000 people were on the electoral roll,^[1][2] while Diem was also credited with receiving the votes of over 90% of registered voters in rural regions where opposition groups had prevented voting.

• the Geneva accords wanted nationwide elections

• but Diem Refused

Ordinance Number 6 11 Januray 1956

permitted the imprisonment of communists and others "dangerous to national defense and common security".[4] Diem's anti-communist repression reduced communist party membership in South Vietnam by about two-thirds between 1955 and 1959, but the repression also alienated many non-communists

Bernard Fall

a prominent war correspondent, historian, political scientist, and expert on Indochina during the 1950s and 1960s.

ordinance number 6 gave the Diem government "almost unchecked power to deal with the opposition--and the non-Communist opposition, least inured to clandestine operations, was hit hardest. The non-communist opposition to Diem came mostly at this time from the Cao Đài and Hòa Hảo religious sects and the Bình Xuyên criminal mafia.”[6]Ordinance

Temporary Mission ( 9 Februrary 1956)

Secretary of State John Foster Dulles with the concurrence of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the U.S. Department of Defense authorized a "temporary mission" of 350 additional American military personnel to South Vietnam to salvage about $1 billion in military equipment left behind by the French military, now departed. By the end of 1957, nearly all of these additional personnel had been assigned to MAAG to train the South Vietnamese army (ARVN).[5]: 97 

Opposition to Diem

-1957 saw the establishment of the Na

Senator JFK Speech (June 1956)

gave the keynote speech at a conference of the American Friends of Vietnam, headed by General John W. O'Daniel

Kennedy lauded the accomplishments of President Diem and described South Vietnam as "the cornerstone of the Free World in Southeast Asia.... This is our offspring—we cannot abandon it, we cannot ignore its needs."

• he opposed the election for in the Geneva Accords 1954 saying the elections would be subverted by the North Vientamese

Ordinance 47 August 17 1956

• made it against the law, upon penalty of death, to assist any organization defined as communist.

• Diem defined "Communist" as "all persons and groups who resorted to clandestine political activity or armed opposition to his government"

US Spending Januray 1957

The military budget for the government of South Vietnam in 1957 was projected to total $207 million dollars of which $187 million would come from the United States. Seventy percent of the U.S. assistance was spent paying the salaries of South Vietnamese armed force

National Liberation Front (1960)

a political and military organization in South Vietnam that fought for the overthrow of the South Vietnamese government and the reunification of Vietnam. The NLF was formed in December 1960.

• The NLF was sponsored by the Communist Party of North Vietnam.

• The NLF was formed in response to President Ngo Dinh Diem's repressive measures.

• The NLF was a coalition of southern forces, including politico-religious sects and student groups.

John F Kenedy in Office (1961)

• promised to be tough on communism

• he was invlolved in vietnam follwing the Bay of Pigs invasion to demonstrate American power in Asia

• wanted to stop the domino effect

Buddhist Crack down

• Diem imposed violent religous suppression against monks because of his catholic background

• monks burned themselves to deqth, protestors would organize against diems rule and us support

Overthrow of Diem (1963)

• november 1 1963: a group of generals overtook the government and organized a coup against the generals

Kenedy Assasinated (Nov 22 1963)

• 3 weeks after Diem’s murder kennedy was assiniated and Lyndon B Johnson Became president

  • he was determined to increase war effort and continue the fight against vietnam

Gulf of Tonkin Incident (August 1964)

The USS Maddox on patrol in the Gulf of Tomkin. Ignoring the difference pusshed the Tonkin Gulf resolution —> allowed the president to wage war against vietnam

Februrary 1965

first american troops sent to Vietnam

Destruction of Dongsue

• millitary outpost was destroyed with an elite S. vietnamese regiment —> LBJ became convinced that a strong millitary force is needed ing vietnam

Search and Destory Missions (1955)

The sending of plants, companies or large detatchment of US troops to locate and destroy communist units in the countryside commonly involved hiking out and settling an ambush in the busj. Done in the south to root out VC supporters and NLF supporters

Search and Destroy Missions Impacts (1955)

• drove more of the South Vietnamese to support the Vietcong

• led to economic devastation as they desroyed crop[s and forced relocation of farmers

• also destroyed school and other needed infrastructure

Also impacted US troops as casualties rose

also led to stress on military, supplies began to run out

• lots wounded and constant need for renforcments

Strategic Hamlets (1961 to 1963)

It was built by Diem to concentrate the rural population into more defensible positions where they could be easily protected and segregated from the Viet Cong. Tried to be used to gain loyalty from the rural South Vietnamese as in each strategic hamlet there would be a school, a hospital, electricity and some modern conveniences.

Impact of Strategic Hamlets

Vietnam

• impossible to tell which Vietnamese were to be protected and which to be excluded.

• popular discontent with the compulsory labor and frequent dislocations involved in establishing the villages, many strategic Hamlets soon had as many VC recruits in their walls as outside

• failed to stop insurgency or gain support from rural Vietnamese ==> alinated many and led to the growth of the Vietcong

Americans

• wasted resources

  • before the end of 1962, the Central Government was providing fund, administrative and technical skills, and material through the United States assistance program for the construction of strategic hamlets.

• loss confidence in President NGO Dinh Diem because he could not properly manage war and disoncent

• Diem Government unpopular the American officals confidence in Diem and embrace the direct intervention of US combat troops as a better means for defeating the communist in South Vietnam.

• It damaged the US reputation as it had reports for forced relocation, corruption and human suffering within these Hamlets and domestically created anti-war sentiments

Khe San (January 21,1968)

Khe Sahn Combat Base was a US Army and Marine Garrison near the village of Khe Sahn 14 miles south of the DMZ between North and South Vietnam.

On January 21 1968, artillery bombardment targeted the base from the North Vietnamese, resulting in a large American response deploying helicopter, cargo planes, and B2 Bombers, and Operation Pegasus to relieve the siege, which many critique as a distraction the Americans fell for, before the Tet Offensive.

Khe San Impacts (January 21,1968)

Vietnam

• the North Vietnamese attacked Khe Sahn and other locations to gain an advantage in any future peace negotiations.

• it is believed that the attack at Khe Sahn was just a distraction for the future Tet Offensive, to draw in American resources and distract

America

• The Americans poured in over 20,000 men to support the 40,000 besieged in Khe Sahn despite no offensive actually hitting the base, sucking up resources and manpower to relieve the siege only to have the base destroyed as the Marines withdrew from the position once it was relieved.

• Critics of the war questioned the decision to defend Khe Sahn as it had been withdrew from immediately after reliving the siege, there was no actual offensive on the base

• following the Tet Offensive was seen as just a distraction the Americans and Johnson administration had fell for, since Johnson had specifically ordered Khe Sahn be defended at all costs.

Tet Offensive (January 1968)

North Vietnamese and communist Viet Cong forces launched an attack against several targets in South Vietnam.

Aimed to break the stalemate in the country

The commander of the North Vietnamese military, Vo Nguyen Giap believed the alliance between the U.S. military and South Vietnamese military was weak, and would be broken by a surprise offensive.

The tet offensive officially began on January 30th: Viet Cong attacked 13 cities in South Vietnam

In total, there were over 120 organized attacks

The Tet offensive lead to the famous battle of Hue

Tet Offensive Impact (January 1968)

Vietnam

• It was a strategic success for the North Vietnamese forces, because their attacks on the South were successful, and caused heavy casualties for both the Americans and South Vietnamese

• Helped to build confidence within the militaristic abilities of the Northern-Vietnamese militaries and Viet Cong

• The Northern forces had however, suffered heavy losses and had not been able to maintain the territory they had gained during the offensive for a prolonged period of time

America

• The Americans had though before the Tet offensive that the end was near, but it proved that they still had a long road ahead

• It shook the confidence of the Americans to contain and push back against communism in the context of the Cold War

• requested 200,000 more troops to be sent to Vietnam as a result, which many Americans saw as an act of desperation (altered public support)

• The Antiwar Movement began to grow in the U.S., more people began to protest

My Lai Massacre (March 16th 1986)

The My Lai Massacre took place in March 1968 in the My Lai subdivision of Son My village, which had earned the nickname "Pinkville" due to its red markings on military maps, and was believed by U.S. forces to be a hotbed of Viet Cong activity. After months of casualties, Charlie Company, operating under the belief that civilians had left and that all remaining individuals were enemy sympathizers, was ordered to kill everyone in the area, resulting in the mass murder of between 300 and 500 unarmed civilians, along with the destruction of crops and livestock.

Impacts of My Lai Massacre

Vietnam

• Resulted in heavy losses for civilians, but had no real impact of any of the Vietnamese militaries

America

• The massacre heavily influenced the public's opinion about American continuation in Vietnam, and their support for the military

• William Calley, the army officer who had commanded the attack, was charged with crimes and sentenced to life in prison

Bombing of Cambodia (1967)

multiple North Vietnamese sanctuaries existed inside Cambodia near the border to Vietnam, supplying their forces and providing refuge to insurgents in South Vietnam

• The US would engage in cross border excursions into Cambodia despite protest and Nixon would order a secret bombing campaign of North eastern cambodia to try and destroy sanctuaries

• Sihanouk trying to preserve neutrality, tried to reestablish relations with the US but was overthrown in a US backed coup

• By April 1970 the US and South Vietnam were now free to enter Cambodia and destroy communist sanctuaries, whilst the communist fled deeper into cambodia assisting the Khmer Rouge in acquiring territories to oppose

Richard Nixon (1969)

Richard Nixon becomes president promsing the end of the Vietnam war.

Peace with Honor (January 23, 1973)

This phrase was coined by Nixon in his election campaign by promising 'peace' with honor in Vietnam, he wanted the US to leave but not look like they failed. In doing so, he wanted to place the onus on the South Vietnamese (reestablish proxy war) to defeat the communist forces, while pacifying Americans who felt that the US had no place in Vietnam.

Was eventually unsuccessful but tied back to broader Cold War policy of detente (or attempted to).

Vietnamization

• Henry Kissinger, the US negotiator and representative of the Viet Cong, met in Paris in 1969 to work on peace negotiations. In these negotiations, Nixon's plan to secure 'peace with honor' became clear. His policy was call Vietnamization which involved"

• the gradual withdrawal of US troops in South Vietnam

• an increase in the number of Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) troops to replace the US forces

• the Nixon Doctorine: which was a promise to supply US military equpment to support the ARVN instead of bring US troops

Impact of Vietnamization on Vietnam

The ARVNS forces grew from 820,000 in 1969 to 968,000 in 1970 and made Vietnamization look successful. However, it lead to some serious issues for the South Vietnamese, such as:

• the ARVNs forces suffered high casualities in conflict and their morale was low. This was because the ARVN was no adequately prepared to fight without US Support and was ineffective against the well organized Viet Cong. Essentially vietnamization weakened South Vietnamese Forces

• The economic & Social Collapse of vietnam without American Financial aid which resulted in inflation and

• Reduction of US military presence in Vietnam

• Troop withdrawal, from 500,000 to under 30,000 troops

• Provided military training to the south of Vietnam for them to expand their military and defense.

• Help led to the end of the war, as when the US removed their troops the North Vietnamese forces pushed through South Vietnam,and took over cities until ending the war by capturing Saigon.

• By the time Vietnamization was fully implemented public opinion in the US was overwhelmingly against the war.