Comprehensive Study Guide to the Vietnam War and Presidential Decisions

Origins of Conflict: France and Indochina ($1945$ - $1953$)

• Indochina Context: Region later known as Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.

• Post-WWII Ambitions: Indochina was a French colony. Following World War II, the region sought independence.

• Conflict Onset: France denied independence to the Vietnamese people, leading to an armed resistance.

• The Vietminh: Vietnamese freedom fighters led by the communist leader Ho Chi Minh.

US Strategic Interests and the Domino Theory

• Initial Stance: The US did not initially involve itself in the conflict, remaining out of the fighting from $1949$ to $1950$.

• Ideological Conflict: The US government found itself in a difficult position; it did not support French colonialism, yet it strongly opposed Ho Chi Minh’s communist ideology.

• Catalysts for Involvement: Two primary events shifted US support in favor of the French:

  • China became communist in $1949$.

  • The onset of the Korean War.

• The Domino Theory: A strategic foreign policy belief held by Presidents Truman and Eisenhower. It posited that if one nation in a region fell to communism, the surrounding countries would inevitably fall as well, much like a row of dominos.

The End of French Rule and the Geneva Accords ($1954$ - $1956$)

• French Defeat: France struggled to counter the Vietminh due to their effective guerrilla warfare tactics, which were difficult to defend against.

• Battle of Dien Bien Phu ($1954$): A decisive engagement where the French military was badly defeated by the Vietminh. This loss served as the catalyst for the French decision to withdraw from Vietnam entirely.

• The Geneva Accords ($1954$): An agreement established to end the hostilities between the French and the Vietminh.

  • Territorial Division: Indochina was divided into three independent countries: Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos.

  • Vietnam Partition: Vietnam itself was divided at the $17\text{th}$ parallel into two sections:

    1. North Vietnam: A communist regime led by Ho Chi Minh.

    2. South Vietnam: A pro-Western government led by Ngo Dinh Diem.

• Canceled Elections: The Accords called for national elections in $1956$ to unify the country under a single government. However, Ngo Dinh Diem refused to hold the elections, fearing a certain loss to the communists. This refusal set the stage for civil war, with the US increasingly involved.

Early Escalation and the Kennedy Administration ($1961$ - $1963$)

• The Vietcong (VC): A newly organized guerrilla army based in South Vietnam but supported by North Vietnam. They were highly effective at staging guerrilla attacks and proved difficult to defeat.

• Kennedy's Approach: Upon becoming President, John F. Kennedy felt the need to appear strong against the spread of communism. He responded by increasing the number of military advisors and the amount of aid sent to South Vietnam. He also pressured Diem to implement democratic reforms to gain popular support, though these efforts were largely ineffective.

• Diem’s Religious Persecution: Ngo Dinh Diem, a Catholic, actively persecuted the Buddhist majority in South Vietnam. This led to extreme protests, including Buddhist monks committing self-immolation (burning themselves to death) in public.

• Diem’s Downfall: On November $2$, $1963$, with tacit US approval, South Vietnamese generals overthrew and executed Diem. This event severely weakened the South Vietnamese government and forced deeper US involvement to maintain stability.

• US Leadership Change: President Kennedy was assassinated three weeks later, on November $22$, $1963$. Vice President Lyndon Baines Johnson (LBJ) assumed the presidency.

The Gulf of Tonkin and the Expansion of War ($1964$)

• The Incident: On August $2$ and August $4, 1964$, President Johnson reported to the nation that North Vietnamese ships had fired upon US destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin.

• Historical Caveat: A declassified study in $2005$ stated that the second incident on August $4$ never actually occurred.

• The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution: Passed on August $7, 1964$, this resolution authorized the President to ‘‘take all necessary measure to repel any armed attack against the forces of the US and to prevent further aggression.’’ This effectively gave Johnson a ‘‘blank check’’ to wage war without a formal declaration from Congress.

Nature of the Conflict: Tactics and Technology

• Vietcong Tactics:

  • Ambiguity: Vietcong fighters did not wear uniforms, allowing them to blend in with the local civilian population (making it impossible for US troops to distinguish between friend and foe).

  • Combat Styles: Utilization of ambushes, booby traps, and general guerrilla warfare.

• US Responses:

  • Search and Destroy: Missions designed to find the enemy and eliminate them in the jungle.

  • Napalm: A jellied gasoline that explodes on impact and sticks to surfaces; it is notoriously difficult to extinguish.

  • Agent Orange: A powerful chemical defoliant sprayed to destroy jungle foliage and strip the Vietcong of their natural cover.

• Combat Realities: By $1964$ to $1966$, the US increased troop levels. Despite initial confidence that the war would be ‘‘easy,’’ the resiliency of the VC and North Vietnamese Army (NVA) proved otherwise.

Casualty Statistics ($1961$ - $1968$)

• US Killed in Action (KIA):

  • $1961$ - $1965$: $1,864$

  • $1966$: $6,053$

  • $1967$: $11,058$

  • $1968$: $16,511$

• NVA Killed in Action (KIA):

  • $1961$ - $1965$: Unknown

  • $1966$: $71,473$

  • $1967$: $133,484$

  • $1968$: $208,254$

Resistance and the Ho Chi Minh Trail

• North Vietnamese Determination: The VC and NVA were willing to accept massive casualties and refused to surrender their homeland.

• US Constraints: The US refused to launch a full-scale invasion of North Vietnam to avoid a direct war with China.

• Ho Chi Minh Trail: A series of jungle supply paths used by the North Vietnamese to transport equipment and troops south.

  • Geography: The trail passed through Laos and Cambodia.

  • Political Limitations: Because Laos and Cambodia were officially neutral, President Johnson initially refused orders to bomb the trail, complicating US efforts to disrupt supplies.

Operation Rolling Thunder and the Home Front ($1965$ - $1968$)

• Expansion of Air War: Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara was a major supporter of expanding the conflict. In March $1965$, Johnson launched Operation Rolling Thunder.

• Objective: A sustained bombing campaign against North Vietnam intended to overwhelm the enemy and force them to stop supplying the Vietcong.

• The ‘‘Television War’’: Vietnam was the first war where combat footage was shown nightly on TV. While General William Westmoreland claimed the enemy was near defeat, news reports showed wounded and dying Americans.

• The Credibility Gap: This discrepancy between government reports and visual reality led to a ‘‘Credibility Gap,’’ where citizens found it difficult to believe the government.

• The Anti-War Movement:

  • Teach-ins: Students and teachers at colleges abandoned classes to discuss their opposition to the war.

  • Draft Protests: Young men burned their draft cards to protest being forced to fight in a conflict they opposed.

  • Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: King publicly criticized the war, pointing out that a disproportionate number of those fighting and dying were poor and African American.

• Hawks and Doves: By $1968$, public opinion was split. ‘‘Doves’’ wanted US withdrawal; ‘‘Hawks’’ wanted to remain and fight.

1968: The Turning Point

• The Tet Offensive: A massive surprise attack launched by the Vietcong on almost all major US airbases and South Vietnamese cities during the Lunar New Year.

  • Outcome: Military failure for the VC, but a psychological victory. It shocked the American public, who questioned how an ‘‘almost defeated’’ enemy could launch such an attack.

• Eddie Adams’ Photo: The famous photo of a general executing a Vietcong prisoner became an iconic image of the war. Adams later remarked: ‘‘The general killed the Viet Cong; I killed the general with my camera. Still photographs are the most powerful weapon in the world… they are only half-truths.’’

• Political Turmoil:

  • President Johnson announced he would not run for re-election due to the war’s unpopularity.

  • Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated by James Earl Ray in Memphis.

  • Robert Kennedy (Democratic candidate and JFK’s brother) was assassinated by Sirhan Sirhan after winning the California primary.

  • Riots broke out at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago as police clashed with protesters.

Nixon and the End of the War

• Election of $1968$: Richard Nixon (Republican) defeated Hubert Humphrey (Democrat) and George Wallace (Independent), promising to ‘‘bring us together’’ and end the war.

• My Lai Massacre: On March $16, 1968$, US soldiers killed between $347$ and $504$ unarmed civilians in South Vietnam. Public knowledge of this in $1969$ caused worldwide outrage and slashed domestic support.

• Vietnamization: Nixon’s strategy for ‘‘peace with honor,’’ involving the gradual withdrawal of US troops while turning combat control over to the South Vietnamese.

• Cambodian Invasion: Nixon expanded the war into Cambodia to destroy VC supply bases, sparking massive protests.

• Kent State University ($1970$): National Guardsmen killed four student protesters during a demonstration against the Cambodian invasion.

• Conclusion of Hostilities:

  • Paris Peace Accords: Signed on January $19, 1973$, establishing peace between the US and North Vietnam.

  • Fall of Saigon ($1975$): North Vietnamese forces captured the capital of South Vietnam, unifying the country under communism.

Legacy of the Vietnam War

• Human and Financial Cost:

  • Financial cost: over $150\text{ Billion}$.

  • Over $58,000$ American deaths.

  • Over $3\text{ Million}$ total Vietnamese deaths (military and civilian).

• Social Impact: Veterans often faced disrespect upon returning. Jan Scruggs (founder of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial) noted: ‘‘That was the feeling in the air that we were unclean.’’

• Political Impact:

  • Pentagon Papers: A leaked secret study revealed the government had lied to Congress and the public about the war.

  • War Powers Act: Legislation passed to limit the President's power, requiring congressional consent before sending troops into conflict.