Vietnam War

Domino Theory

“If South Vietnam falls to the Communist, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Burma, India and Pakistan would also fall like dominos. The Pacific Islands and even Australia could be at risk”.

Truman Doctrine

• “to help free peoples to maintain their free institutions and their national integrity against … totalitarian regimes.” The truman doctrine played a significant role in the context of the Vietnam War. It outlined the US commitment to supporting free nations resisting communist aggression, a principle that directly influenced US involvement in Vietnam. The doctrine, along with the domino theory, shaped US policy for decades, leading to interventions in various conflicts, including the Vietnam War. 

Geneva Peace Accords

The Geneva Peace Accords, signed by France and Vietnam in the summer of 1954, provided for the temporary partition of Vietnam at the 17th parallel, with national elections in 1956 to reunify the country.

National Liberation Front(NLF)

• It brought together Communists and non-Communists in an umbrella organization that had limited, but important goals 

• Anyone could join as long as they opposed Ngo Dinh Diem and wanted to unify Vietnam. 

Tet Offensive

• In late January, North Vietnam and the NLF launched coordinated attacks against major southern cities.

• These attacks were designed to force the Johnson administration to the bargaining table.

Antiwar Protests

• Many anti-war activists supported the NLF’s claims.
  

•  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.

Vietnamization

a U.S. foreign policy during the Vietnam War, implemented by President Nixon, aimed at gradually withdrawing American combat troops and transferring the responsibility of fighting the war to South Vietnamese forces.

Types of protests by Buddhist Monks

• The result was massive protests on the streets of Saigon that led Buddhist monks to self-immolation (burning self to death).  

• The pictures of the monks engulfed in flames made world headlines and caused considerable consternation in Washington.

Gulf of Tonkin Incident

After a supposed North Vietnamese raid on two U.S. ships in the Gulf of Tonkin, the Johnson administration argued for expansive war powers for the president.

• gave the president broad war powers. 

What did President Ngo Dinh Diem do his people didn’t like?

• He used the help of the CIA (through Operation Phoenix) to identify those who sought to bring his government down and arrested thousands. 

• He passed a repressive series of acts known as Law 10/59 that made it legal to hold suspected Communists in jail without bringing formal charges. 

Communist strategies to get the US out

guerilla warfare tactics, avoiding large-scale engagements and targeting US military and civilian installations

Operation Rolling Thunder

• In early 1965, the NLF attacked two U.S. army installations in South Vietnam, and as a result, Johnson ordered sustained bombing missions over North Vietnam. 

• The bombing missions, known as “Operation Rolling Thunder,” caused the Communist Party to reassess its own war strategy

Use of Napalm

• napalm bombs – the latter causing dreadful burns to thousand of innocent civilians.

Agent Orange

• When “Rolling Thunder” failed to break down the jungle cover the USAF started “Operation Ranch Hand” – the defoliation program, using Agent Orange. 

  • This deadly chemical cocktail, containing dioxin, killed off millions of acres of jungle to try to weaken the Vietcong – but left a horrendous legacy in Vietnam.

Bombing of Laos and Cambodia

The U.S. bombing campaigns in Laos and Cambodia during the Vietnam War were massive, with Laos being the most heavily bombed country in history per capita, and Cambodia experiencing significant aerial bombardment. These campaigns involved the deployment of vast quantities of ordnance, causing widespread destruction, civilian casualties, and long-term environmental contamination.

Year America leaves Vietnam

The United States officially withdrew its combat troops from South Vietnam on March 29, 1973.