The Vietnam War

The struggle against France for independence, 1945–54

  • After WWII ended in August 1945, Vietnam was liberated from Japanese occupation.

  • Ho Chi Minh declared independence in Hanoi, issuing the Declaration of Independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.

  • The Vietminh, led by Ho Chi Minh, aimed to:

    • Remove colonial French control

    • Establish a communist-led, unified Vietnam

    • Win the support of peasants through land reform and anti-feudal policies

  • France refused to recognise Vietnamese independence, leading to armed conflict: First Indochina War (1946–1954).

  • General Vo Nguyen Giap, Vietminh commander, employed:

    • Guerrilla warfare: ambushes, hit-and-run attacks, sabotage

    • Intelligence from peasants for strategic advantage

    • Mobilisation of local populations in rural areas

  • By the early 1950s, Vietminh shifted to conventional warfare, preparing for major battles.

  • Dien Bien Phu (March–May 1954):

    • French occupied a valley to provoke Vietminh into battle

    • Giap encircled the French, positioned artillery in surrounding hills, and cut off resupply routes

    • After 55 days, French forces surrendered

  • Consequences:

    • France lost its colony in Indochina

    • Triggered Geneva Conference (July 1954)

    • Vietnam divided at 17th parallel:

      • North Vietnam – communist under Ho Chi Minh

      • South Vietnam – non-communist

US policy and intervention, 1954–64

  • Geneva Conference (1954):

    • Aim: peacefully resolve Indochina conflict

    • Stated that Vietnam was to become an independent nation, formally ending 75 years of French colonialism

    • The former French colonies Cambodia and Laos would also be given independence

    • Outcome: temporary division at 17th parallel, elections planned for 1956 to unify Vietnam

    • Vietnam would be temporarily divided for a period of 2 years

    • Nationwide elections were scheduled for July 1956 and would be conducted under international supervision

    • The election result would determine the political system and government in the newly independent Vietnam

    • US and South Vietnam refused to hold elections, fearing Ho Chi Minh would win

  • Eisenhower and the Domino Theory:

    • US believed if Vietnam fell to communism, other SE Asian nations would follow

    • Justified US intervention and funding for South Vietnam

  • South Vietnam under Ngo Dinh Diem:

    • Anti-communist, authoritarian regime

    • Favoured Catholics, discriminated against Buddhists

    • Corrupt, relied on secret police

    • Implemented unpopular policies → growing Vietcong support

    • Land was retained by landlords which lead to an unequal distribution of land

    • 75% of land was own by 15% of landowners and some peasants own no land at all

    • Hundreds of millions of US dollars that were given to support the regime were stolen by Diem’s family, the army and the corrupt government officials

    • Diem also refused to honour 1956 election

    • Many ordinary peasants became disillusioned with the regime and attacked government officials and also formed a resistance movement call the National liberation front

  • North Vietnam under Ho Chi Minh:

    • Popular for land reform and nationalist stance

    • Strong communist control and clear goal of reunification

    • Land was taken away form rich landowners and landlords and divided up between peasants

    • The persecution of middle class citizens and preferential treatment such as better education, rations and positions in the army or as government officials for communists and anti French fighters

    • Brutal oppression of any opposition to Ho Chi Minh including non communist elements and anyone who collaborated with the French

  • National Liberation Front (NLF)/Vietcong:

    • South Vietnamese guerrilla force loyal to North

    • Used ambushes, tunnels, booby traps

    • Relied on support from local villagers

  • Ho Chi Minh Trail:

    • Network of supply routes through Laos and Cambodia

    • Enabled North to supply Vietcong in South despite US efforts

  • US strategies:

    • Measures in 1961:

      • A doubling of US aid to Demi’s regime in South Vietnam

      • The delivery of military equipment such as helicopters and APCs to the ARVN (south vietnam fighting force)

      • The use of napalm, highly flammable petroleum jelly used in bombs and flame throwers

      • Chemical defoliants to be sprayed on jungles where Viet Cong hid

      • The deployment of 400 green berets (US special military advisers)

    • Military advisors deployed

    • Strategic Hamlet Programme:

      • Relocated villagers to fortified areas

      • Intended to cut Vietcong support

      • Often alienated locals, increasing support for Vietcong

  • Fall of Diem (1963):

    • US-backed coup

    • Diem assassinated → South Vietnam destabilised

  • Resolution (January 1964):

    • North Vietnamese leaders declared an all out war on South Vietnam to defeat the ARVN before the US has time to dispatch significant ground troops

    • To support the VC tens of thousands of the NVA (North Vietnamese Army) were sent via the Ho Chi Minh trail

    • The Communists increased their grip on the central highlands and parts of the Mekong Delta

    • By mid 1964 half of all South Vietnamese peasants were under communist control

  • Gulf of Tonkin Incident (August 1964):

    • Alleged North Vietnamese attacks on US destroyers

    • Elite ARVN units started to conduct secret raids in North Vietnamese territory via the South China Sea

    • This increased tension and on August 2 North Vietnamese vessels fired on a US destroyer Maddox, no damage was done but the Johnson administration used the provocation to persuade Congress to pass the Gulf of Tonkin resolution

    • Gave the president the power to send unlimited combat units to Vietnam

    • Johnson immediately authorized US air strikes on Vietnamese ports and the Ho Chi Minh trail

    • Led to Gulf of Tonkin Resolution:

      • Gave Lyndon B. Johnson authority to escalate US involvement

  • Battle of Binh Gia (December 1964):

    • The VC attacked an ARVN battalion and their American military advisers badly near the strategic hamlet of Binh Gia, 20 miles south east of Saigon

    • The battle showed that the VC had learned how to use shelling to support engagement with the enemy at close quarters

Confrontation in the Vietnam War, escalation 1964–68

  • Conflict escalated into full-scale Second Indochina War.

  • Key US figures:

    • Lyndon B. Johnson – political escalation

    • Robert McNamara – war planning

    • William Westmoreland – military operations

  • US tactics:

    • Search and Destroy missions to eliminate Vietcong bases

    • Frequent body count focus, often misjudging success

  • Jungle warfare challenges:

    • Difficult terrain, hidden enemy

    • Harsh climate, disease

  • Operation Rolling Thunder (1965–68):

    • Following the gulf of Tonkin incident the US had already started retaliatory bombing of certain North Vietnamese installation

    • In March 1965 Johnson authorized a sustained aerial bombardment of North Vietnamese strategic sites and the aim was to target bridges oil refineries and factories to inflict as much disruption on the Communists as possible so that Le Duan would feel obliged to request a ceasefire

    • Extensive bombing of North Vietnam

    • Aimed to cut supply lines, reduce morale

    • Ultimately strengthened North Vietnamese resolve

  • Deployment of ground troops:

    • Johnson authorized the mobilization o 4000 American combat troops to land in South Vietnamese port of Dana to supplement the 23000 American advisors already in the country

    • Their aim was to firstly defend US bases and to bolster ARVN presence in the central highlands but the ARVN suffered such bad losses and desertions that in 1965 the US forces rapidly assumed the primary combat role against the communists

    • By the end of 1965, the number of US combat troops increased to 175000

  • Media and public perception:

    • First televised war, shocking graphic images

    • Shifted US public opinion against the war

  • Siege of Khe Sanh (Jan–Apr 1968):

    • US base surrounded by North Vietnamese

    • Heavy bombing used to hold position

    • Symbolic of intensity of conflict

  • Tet Offensive (Jan 1968):

    • Tough the VC occupied about half of South Vietnamese territory at the start of 1968, Le Duan was convinced that a co ordinated attack was needed to overrun South Vietnam and convince the US to leave

    • The Tet offensive was planed for Tet (Vietnamese new year) to catch the South by surprise

    • It wanted to lure ARVN and US troops away form cities with preparatory attacks in the countryside of I and II Corps in January

    • This could eliminate 20000-30000 enemy troops and would distract the enemy from the cities

    • They also wanted to annihilate a further 300000 ARVN troops and 150000 US troops with a coordinated and simultaneous attack on all towns and cities

    • The aim was to also inspire a popular uprising among the South Vietnamese, millions of whose would join the VC and fight against the ARVN

    • Nationwide surprise attacks across South Vietnam

    • Included Battle of Hue, extreme urban combat

    • Militarily repelled, but psychological victory for North

    • Showed US public that war was far from won

  • The Tet offensive success or failure:

    • Failure:

      • The pla failed to meet any of its key objectives

      • Though the VC occupied some towns, it failed to take the 2 most important cities, the attack on Saigon was easily repelled and in Hue in the North east the South’s second biggest city, the ARVN and US troops successfully flushed out any VC occupiers

      • The millions of defection to the communists side never happened, only a few hundred ARVN defected to the energy

      • Overall the North lost about 20000 dead, vital equipment and artillery and morale slumped

    • Success:

      • Around 48000 Vietnamese homes were damaged and half a million new refugees were created

      • The diversionary tactics at Khe San before te main attack succeeded in fooling General Westmoreland into thinking the VC were focused on the central highlands

      • American TV streamed the new daily updates of the fighting and this increased anti-war sentiment

      • The president and his advisors were heavily criticized for being ill prepared

Nixon and Ford’s policies – Vietnamisation, peace and Communist victory, 1969–75

  • Vietnamisation (1969):

    • Richard Nixon policy

    • Gradual withdrawal of US troops

      • Many Americans thought Vietnam was a mistake

    • South Vietnam expected to take over combat

    • Despite US troops withdrawal, the US poured in weapons and trucks to support South Vietnam

  • Secret bombings of Cambodia and Laos:

    • Attempted to disrupt Ho Chi Minh Trail

    • Over 20000 engineers and truck drivers died

    • The US bombed but the Viet Cong recovered very quickly

    • Created regional instability

    • However it was a big US defeat, only 55 of the original 600 men battalion survived

    • President Nixon however lied to the American public and feigned victory

  • Failure of Vietnamisation:

    • South Vietnam remained dependent on US support

    • Despite US Generals having set up camps to train all South Vietnamese soldiers, they were still too weak in combat to effectively defend themselves and fight against the experiences North Vietnamese

    • Weak army, low morale

  • Paris Peace Talks (1972–73):

    • Led by Henry Kissinger and Le Duc Tho

    • Officials from US and North Vietnam convened in Paris to discuss the terms of a ceasefire.

    • Le Duc Tho a member of the North Vietnamese politburo and Le Duan’s right man, came to the following agreement

      • A general ceasefire in respect of all fighting in Vietnam and US bombing of North Vietnam

      • Withdrawal of US military forces and removal of US air and ground bases

      • No US interference in the internal affairs of South Vietnam

      • The return of all American prisoners of war within 60 days

      • North Vietnam to respect the right of th South to self-determination

    • Signed by US, North Vietnam and South Vietnam on 27th of January 1973 and was called the Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam

    • Ceasefire agreement reached, US troops withdrawn by 1973

    • However South Vietnamese president Thieu only signed after Nixon assured him that:

      • The US would continue to provide financial and military aid to South Vietnam

      • The US would respond with overwhelming force to defend out Vietnam if the North broke the terms of the agreement and tried to forcibly re-unify Vietnam

  • Ford administration:

    • Refused further US military intervention

    • North Vietnam launched final offensive

  • Breaking of the ceasefire:

    • Both sides broke the ceasefire as soon as it was established

    • Both sides aimed to take as much territory as possible in what was known as the ‘war of the flags’

    • Hanoi built a highways right down to South Vietnam

    • 200-300 trucks started filing down with weapons etc

    • Nixon’s influence in the US was diminishing

    • Congress then voted to stop all military operations in South Vietnam

    • Within 18 months of the peace accords, South Vietnamese’s position was becoming more and more precarious

  • Fall of Saigon (April 1975):

    • In South Vietnam, 1 out of every 5 civilians was out of a job and conditions deteriorated

    • Thieu mistakenly created a sense of dependency upon a personal promise of Nixon which backfired

    • The ARVN often had to use less sophisticated weaponry and artillery and military vehicles had no spare parts

    • Inventory men were limited to 85 bullets a month and could only wheel 4 shells a day

    • Le Duran ordered a test attacked and they found out that the US did nothing to respond

    • North Vietnamese now undertook attacks on cities in the central highlands, 2 provinces have already fallen

    • Thieu ordered his troops to abandon the highlands as it was now impossible to defend the entire country with such as thinly spread army

    • Many South Vietnamese civilians had to flee from the communists as well

    • There would be evacuation plans through:

      • Boats at Saigon ports

      • Airlifts by commercial airline

      • Airlifts by military airplanes

      • Helicopters

    • Thieu resigned and he was shipped to Taiwan

    • North Vietnamese captured capital

    • Vietnam unified under communist government

Impact on civilians and US attitudes

  • Vietnamese civilians:

    • Millions killed, displaced, injured

    • Villages destroyed

    • Bombings and chemical warfare:

      • Napalm – incendiary bombs

      • Agent Orange – defoliant causing long-term health issues

  • US counter-insurgency:

    • Hearts and Minds campaigns largely unsuccessful

    • My Lai Massacre (1968) – hundreds of civilians killed by US troops

    • Phoenix Programme – assassination and interrogation of suspected Vietcong

    • Increased civilian resentment

  • Impact in the USA:

    • Anti-war protests in universities and cities

    • Media coverage exposed brutality

    • Public opinion increasingly critical

    • Fulbright Hearings (1971) – congressional investigation into US conduct

    • Social divisions between anti-war and pro-war groups

Timeline Summary

  • 1945 (Aug) – Ho Chi Minh declares independence → start of post-WWII struggle

  • 1946–1954 – First Indochina War → Vietminh vs France

  • 1954 (May) – Dien Bien Phu → decisive Vietminh victory

  • 1954 (July) – Geneva Conference → Vietnam divided at 17th parallel, elections planned

  • 1956 – Elections cancelled → division becomes permanent

  • 1963 (Nov) – Diem assassinated → political instability in South Vietnam

  • 1964 (Aug) – Gulf of Tonkin Incident → US escalates involvement

  • 1965 – First major US troop deployments → full-scale war begins

  • 1965–1968 – Operation Rolling Thunder → bombing campaign against North Vietnam

  • 1968 (Jan) – Tet Offensive → turning point, US loses confidence in victory

  • 1968 (Jan–Apr) – Siege of Khe Sanh → heavy combat, symbol of US struggle

  • 1969 – Vietnamisation begins → gradual US troop withdrawal

  • 1972 – Paris Peace Talks → ceasefire agreement

  • 1973 – US troops withdraw → South Vietnam left vulnerable

  • 1975 (Apr) – Fall of Saigon → North Vietnam victorious, reunification under communism