WHIB Vietnam

Countries in Indochina

Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos

Climate of Indochina

• Rainy season, May - October

• Hot

• Humid

Who colonized Indochina?

France

Most important colony in Indochina

Vietnam

French Indochinese Union

• 1893

  • Merger of Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos

Chinese Revolution of 1911

Replaced emperor with Republic of China

French Protectorate in Indochina

• 1887-93

• Local leaders as figureheads

• FR actually in control

Divide and Rule

French strategy of playing colonies against each other

Sino-French War

• 1884-5

• French wins

• Gained North Vietnam

Main Products of French Indochina

• Rubber

• Mining

When did China control Vietnam?

111 BC - 939 AD

Impact of Chinese control of Vietnam

Gave Vietnam wariness of Chinese control

Phan Dinh Phng

• Vietnamese revolutionary

• Lead 1885-95 revolt in VN

French Cochinchina

French colony in Southern Vietnam, part of French Indochina

1916 Cochinchina Uprising

• Revolt against FR in southern VN

• Part of the uprising intended to free the mystic Phan Xich Long from prison

• Failed

Cao Dai

• Religion founded in 1921, split apart in 1946

• Militarily active in both Indochina Wars

Vietnamese Nationalist Party

• Started as a publishing house, which failed due to French censorship

• Party founded 1927

• Modeled on the Kuomintang of China

• Assassinated colonial leaders

• Led Yen Bai mutiny

• Declined after Yen Bai mutiny

Bazin Assassination

• 1929

• Done by Nationalist Party of Vietnam

• Alfred Bazin was a hated labor recruiter

• Led to crackdown on Nationalist Party, many of its leaders were arrested

Yen Bai Mutiny

• 1930

• Vietnamese soldiers in the French army mutinied

• Failed when other Vietnamese soldiers did not join in

• Led to executions of Nationalist Party leadership

Formation of the Viet Minh

• 1941

• Founded by Ho Chi Minh and the Indochinese Communist Party

• Political Leader: Ho Chi Minh

• Military Leader: Vo Nguyen Giap

WWII in Vietnam

• Started as a French-administered territory of Japan

• 1940: FR allows Japan to station 30k troops in VN

• 1945: Japan, fearing FR betrayal, ousts FR and allows Bao Dai to declare (nominal) independence

• 1945: Viet Minh lead August Revolution

Bao Dai

• Emperor of Vietnam, 1913-45

• French puppet, then Japanese puppet (nominally as the Empire of Vietnam)

• Abdicated in 1945 August Revolution

• Chief of State for State of VN

1945 Vietnamese Famine

• Causes:

  • Flooding (compounded by dike damage after US bombing)

  • French price ceilings on rice (farmers did not make enough to buy new rice)

  • 140k Japanese troops eating the rice

  • US airstrikes on infrastructure

• Viet Minh encouraged attacking Japanese granaries, gained popularity

People’s Revolutionary Committees

Groups created during the 1945 famine by the Viet Minh. Took over local administration during and after the August Revolution

August Revolution

• 1945, immediately after Japanese surrender in WWII

• Against Empire of Vietnam and Empire of Japan

• Led by Viet Minh

• Resulted in declaration of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam

• Smooth victory in northern VN, but faced challenges in more diverse south

  • Large divisions in south as the Cao Dai, Hoa Hao, and Trotskyists were active there

US Support for August Revolution

• Done by Office of Strategic Services (CIA precursor)

• “Deer Team” trained Viet Minh fighters

• Airdropped weapons and ammo

Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV)

• North Vietnam

• Governed by the Viet Minh

• 1945 (August Revolution) - 1976 (end of 2nd Indochina War)

• Opposed FR-backed State of Vietnam

1946 North Vietnamese Elections

• Many parties were barred from participating

• 2 opposition parties: Viet Quoc and Viet Cach

• Misinformation

• Viet Minh won majority

Causes for Vietnamese resistance to French rule

• History of resisting foreign rule (Chinese rule until 938)

• Vietnamese paid for development of French interests

• The French required taxes to be paid in currency, but Vietnam was largely subsistence farming

• Forced labor by French

• French monopolies

Corvée System

• System of forced labor for a certain number of days each year

• French used it in Vietnam to construct infrastructure

French Monopolies in Vietnam

• Salt, opium, and alcohol

• Provided 44% of budget in 1920

Impact of French Opium Monopoly

Gave French an interest in continuing opium use

First Indochina War

• 1946-54

• GB refused to recognize the DRV

• FR overthrew local DRV government in Saigon

• US provided aid to FR

• Spent a year as an insurgency-style war, before escalating into conventional warfare

• Ended after Battle of Dien Bien Phu

• Ended with VN split into North and South VN

• DRV vs FR, Cao Dai, Hoa Hao, and Binh Xuyen

Battle of Dien Bien Phu

• 1954 battle at Dien Bien Phu

• Viet Minh (led by Vo Nguyen Giap) vs FR (w/ US support) and State of VN

• Viet Minh hauled artillery to the battle

  • Dug tunnels to hide artillery while not firing

• FR relied on airdropped supplies

  • Believed Viet Minh had no anti-air guns (they were wrong)

• Viet Minh initially planned an assault, but canceled it and switched to siege tactics

  • Destroyed FR positions w/ artillery

• Battle ended with a massed charge by Viet Minh

• Triggered Geneva Conference

Geneva Accords

1954 accords splitting Indochina

Hoa Hao

• Religion founded in 1939

• Incorporates elements of Bhuddism

• Founded by Huynh Phu So

• Fought in both Indochina Wars

Hyunh Phu So

Founder of Hoa Hao

Death of Hyunh Phu So

• Assassinated by the Viet Minh after they realized he would not join them

• Led to decline of Hoa Hao’s political and military power and factionalism in Hoa Hao

• Caused Hoa Hao to join FR in 1st Indochina War

Binh Xuyen

• Criminal organization

• Initially fought against FR in 1st Indochina War

• Switched sides when Bao Dai named non-communist armies independent armies in the national army and gave a rank to its leader Bay Vien

Bay Vien

Leader of Binh Xuyen during the 1st Indochina War

State of Vietnam

• 1949-1955

• FR-controlled until 1954

• South VN

• Chief of State: Bao Dai

Domino Theory

Theory that if one east Asian country became communist, the rest would

Republic of South Vietnam

Succeeded State of Vietnam in 1955 after Geneva Accords

Ngo Dinh Diem

• President of South Vietnam from 1955 to 1963 (when he was assassinated)

• Catholic

  • Favored Catholics, leading to conflict with Buddhists

• US-backed

• Removed emperor Bao Dai

• Corruption in his family

  • His brother Can was involved in rice smuggling and the opium trade

• Eliminated private armies (Cao Cai, Hoa Hao, Binh Xuyen) at great expense

• Suppressed opposition - Had right to ban candidates from elections

Phan Quang Dan

Opposition leader under Diem. Allowed to run in 1959 elections, but arrested after victory

Authoritarianism under Diem

• Newspaper could not publish independent candidates’ names or policies

• No political meetings with more than 5 people

• Candidates threatened with charges of conspiracy with the VC, a capital offense

Land Reform in North Vietnam

• 1954-6: Executed 13k+ landowners

• Collectivized farms

  • Largely unsuccessful

• Attempted industrialization

Viet Cong

• Officially the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam

• Allied with the Viet Minh

• Created by Viet Minh in 1960

• Active in South VN

• Intentionally left peasants untouched while fighting SVN

ARVN

Army of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam’s army)

• Large

• Low morale

• Corruption

• Dependent on US aid

• Ill-prepared for counter-insurgency

South Vietnamese Economy

• Poor

• Large landowners

2nd Indochina War alternate name

Vietnam War

2nd Indochina War Years

• Start: 1955

• First major US deployment: 1965

• US leaves: 1973

• War ends: 1975

Ho Chi Minh Trail

Road network running from North to South that let the VM supply the VC

Strategic Hamlets

• 1962

• Relocated peasants into villages to isolate them from communist influence

• Ran by Pham Ngoc Thao, who was actually a communist agent and deliberately made the plan fail

• Failed, alienated peasants

Pham Ngoc Thao

Communist sleeper agent who ran the Strategic Hamlet program in south VN.

1960 South Vietnamese Coup Attempt

• Failed

• Caused by politicization of the military

• Diem trapped inside his Independence Palace, but stalled until relief troops arrived

1962 Independence Palace Bombing

Failed attempt to kill Diem

Ngo Dinh Nhu

• Diem’s brother who had no official position, but had immense power

• Led Xa Loi Pagoda Raids

• Killed in 1963 coup.

Xa Loi Pagoda Raids

1963 raids by ARVN special forces on Buddhist pagodas. Orchestrated by Diem’s brother Nhu

Cable 243

• 1963

• Followed the Xa Loi Pagoda Raids

• US wanted Nhu out of power

• Gave permission for a coup if Nhu was not removed

1963 South Vietnamese Coup

• Diem and his brother Nhu assassinated

• US-backed

• Allowed by Cable 243

• Established military junta

Buddhist Crisis

1963 unrest by Buddhists, ended with 1963 coup

Thich Quang Duc

Buddhist monk who burned himself to death during the Buddhist Crisis

1964 South Vietnamese Coup

• Ousted junta

• Bloodless

• Led by disgruntled generals

• Surprised US, but portrayed positively by media

Land to the Tiller Act

South VN land redistribution program in early 1970s

SEATO

South East Asia Treaty Organization, fought in 2nd Indochina War

Gulf of Tonkin Incident

• 1964

• Confrontation between US and VM

• US falsely claimed a second incident occurred

• Led to Gulf of Tonkin Resolution and escalation of the war

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

1964 US resolution supporting US involvement in 2nd Indochina War

Operation Rolling Thunder

• 1965-8

• US bombing campaign

• Intended to boost South VN morale and hurt VM’s capability to support VC

• Countered when VM received Soviet anti-air defenses, such as surface-to-air missiles

US Search and Destroy Tactics

• Seal off areas and saturates them with troops

• Failed

• Hurt civilians

Australian Counterinsurgency

• Provided civic programs and aid

• Effective, but limited in scope

MiG-21s in 2nd Indochina War

• Soviet interceptor aircraft

• Given to VM in 1967

• Countered Operation Rolling Thunder

Cambodian Campaign

• VM and VC had bases and troops in Cambodia

• 1970 campaign

• US and ARVN operations in Cambodia

• Mostly failed

Battle of Khe Sanh

• 1968 siege (5 months)

• VC attacked a US base meant to block Ho Chi Minh Trail

• Technically a VC victory, but they took 10-15k KIA

• Distracted from buildup to Tet Offensive

Tet Offensive

• 1968 VC offensive

• Massive and widespread

• Tet (the new year) is a time of truce

• ARVN held out until reinforced by US

• “Failed,” as VC attempted conventional warfare

• Turned US opinion against the war and led to peace talks

Reasons for Low US Morale

• VC had placed many traps

• Increasing casualties

• Growing drug use

• Increase in fragging (killed unpopular officers with a frag grenade)

• Increase in desertion

My Lai Massacre

• 1968

• 400-500 civilians dead

• Grew VC support

General William Westmoreland’s Requests

• 200k more troops

• Attacks on Cambodia and Laos

• Rejected

Peace Talks in 2nd Indochina War

• 1968-1973

• US stops bombing in 1968 but resumes in 1971 to encourage negotiation

Nixon in 2nd Indochina War

• Took office 1969

• Planned to withdraw

Vietnamization

• US plan to make South VN self-sufficient

• Nixon’s withdrawal plan

• Failure

1972 VC & VM Change in Strategy

Switched to conventional warfare

1975 Spring Offensive

• Final VC campaign

• Victorious

• Chaotic South VN retreat

Maoism

Marxist for developing nations

People’s War

Maoist military strategy for protracted war. Adapted by Vo Nguyen Giap

3 Stages of People’s War

1. Preparation

2. Guerrilla warfare

3. Conventional warfare, capture geographic and political objectives

M14

• Standard issue US rifle from 1957-67

• Heavy and long → unwieldy

• Wooden stock swelled in Vietnamese jungles → hurting accuracy

• Could fire full auto, but unusable when doing so due to recoil

• Replaced by M16

• Outclassed by AK-47s

M16

• US standard issue rifle after 1967 (including M16A1)

• Replaced M14

• Lighter than M14, no wooden parts

• Military version of the AR15

• Mass-produced

• Unreliable during early use

AK-47

• Supplied to North VN by USSR

• Standard VC rifle

• Cheap

• Outclassed M14s

• Superseded by AKM (also used in 2nd Indochina War, though less often)

Cambodian-Vietnamese War

• 1978

• Vietnam vs Khmer Rouge (led by Pol Pot)

• Vietnam stopped Cambodian Genocide

Sino-Vietnamese War

• 1979

• Vietnam vs China

• Response to Cambodian-Vietnamese War

  • China wanted VN out of Cambodia

• ~1 month long

• Harmed relations between the 2 countries

Reeducation in Vietnam

300k South Vietnamese sent to reeducation camps

Cong An

Vietnamese secret police

Art & Literature in Post-Reunification Vietnam

• Pre-1975 works banned to counter western influence

• New works commissioned by government

• Government controlled media

Collapse of the USSR

• 1991

• USSR was biggest trade partner

Religion in Post-Reunification Vietnam

• Only state-run churches allowed

• Land seized from Protestant Montagnards and Hoa Haoists

Boat People

• 1975-90

• 1M+ people left on boats

• Used so many boats it hurt the fishing industry

• 1990: Ended when gov allow emigration

Demographics of Post-Reunification Vietnam

• 90% same ethnic group

• 80% rural peasants

Elections in Post-Reunification Vietnam

• Elected legislature

• Candidates chosen by Communist Party

• Had experienced leaders

Centralized Economy Post-Reunification

• 1975-85

• Heavy industry and state-owned farms

• Businesses nationalized