The Vietnam War
The Domino Theory: The fear that if one Southeast Asian nation fell to the communists, the others would too
Background
1800’s: The French forcefully colonized much of Indochina.
Ho Chi Minh: Head of the league of independence of Vietnam, AKA Vietminh
1954: The Vietminh free Vietnam from French rule after a war. Dien Bien Phu was the deciding battle
3/1954: The Geneva Accords divide Vietnam near the 17th parallel.
Vietnam Policies
JFK sent money and 16,000 military advisers to South Vietnam to support Diem’s government but Diem repressed the people of South Vietnam, leading to protests.
When Diem, a Catholic, bans the Buddhist flag and represses protestors, opposition increases.
11/1963: Diem gets overthrown. The US government knows about it and doesn’t stop it.
The new government in South Vietnam was unsuccessful.
The Vietcong (Communist guerillas in the south) and the National Liberation Front (their political group) rebelled.
Decision
The Communists Attack
LBJ announced that North Vietnamese torpedo boats had attacked US ships in the Gulf of Tonkin on 8/2 and 8/4, 1964.
8/7: Congress passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which gives LBJ complete control over American involvement in Vietnam.
Fighting the War
Communist: North Vietnam and Viet Cong
vs
Democratic: USA and South Vietnam
The battlefield conditions favored the North Vietnamese/VC heavily
They used the following to their advantage:
Jungles
Swamps
Geographical challenges
The people
The Ground War
The Viet Cong lacked sophisticated equipment, so they got creative.
Some tunnel systems had running water, electricity, hospitals, weapon storage, and stores.
The Air War
3/1966: The Americans introduce the B-52 bomber and saturate bomb North Vietnam.
Operation Rolling Thunder: A relentless 3-year bombing campaign authorized by LBJ.
Agent Orange: A herbicide used to kill leaves in jungles and expose Viet Cong hiding places.
Napalm: A jelly-like substance that splatters and burns uncontrollably.
The War from 1965 to 1968
After winning re-election in 1964, LBJ gradually escalated the war effort.
1965: North Vietnamese troops transport supplies to South Vietnam on the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
→ Hundreds of miles of tunnels are built. The NVA/VC will not give in to the Americans.
Meanwhile in the USA
Debates break out between hawks and doves
Hawks: Supporters of the war
Doves: Those who opposed the war
War Escalates
The Tet Offensive
1/30/1968: Major offensive launched by the VC and North Vietnamese
Cities (including Saigon), towns, and American military bases in South Vietnam are attacked for weeks
For the communists, the Tet Offensive was a military failure, but a psychological victory.
It is a turning point in the Vietnam war.
The Battle of Hue
Anyone associated with the enemy (including minor officials, teachers, civil servants, employees of Americans, military personnel, and doctors) was slaughtered by the communists.
Between 3,000 and 5,000 are killed.
The My Lai Massacre
A US infantry group gets word that the small South Vietnamese village of My Lai was sheltering 250 VC members.
They find women, children, and old men.
At the command of the lieutenant, a horrific massacre ensues.
350-500 villagers are killed.
The Vietnam War in the US
Late 1960s: Baby boomers are now graduating high school and the generational gap is widening
Students speak up
A free-speech movement started in the 1960s, and young people led the way.
Teach-ins: Teachers gather and make public statements about the war.
Draft Resistance
Conscientious objectors: Those who opposed fighting the war on moral or religious grounds.
Deferment: Official postponement of the call to serve
1967: Many claim physical disabilities and or leave the country.
Re-election 1968
After Tet, most Americans opposed the war.
LBJ loses support from the Democratic Party.
Nixon’s Plan
The Paris Peace Talks began in 6/1968 but did not produce an agreement
9/1969: Nixon announces his plan of Vietnamization (Gradually removing American forces and replacing them with South Vietnamese soldiers) but also orders secret bombing raids in Cambodia and Laos.
War Spreads to Cambodia
4/1970: Nixon announces that the USA and ARVN are going to clear out VC camps in Cambodia.
This resulted in a civil war in Cambodia and a new wave of protests in the USA.
Nixon Calls for Law and Order
Protests were getting more violent in the USA.
Nixon referred to the Americans who quietly supported the USA as the silent majority.
Clash at Kent State
KSU students gather to protest the invasion of Cambodia.
They break windows and burn down the Reserve Officers Training Corps building.
The governor of Ohio calls the National Guard.
4 students died and 9 students were wounded.
Withdrawing the Troops
3/1972: Nixon orders the largest campaign of the war.
1/1973: The USA, ARV, VC, and North Vietnam sign a peace agreement in Paris.
Terms:
USA must withdraw within 60 days
All prisoners of war must be released
End military activity in Cambodia and Laos
The 17th parallel remains until unification
The Aftermath
North and South Vietnam fight for 2 more years.
4/1975:L Saigon falls. The South Vietnamese are defeated.
Vietnam is united under communism.
Cambodia and Laos fall.