VIETNAM, 1946-75 (the 10,000 Day War) 30 year war that included France, GB, China, USSR, USA, Vietnam, Korea, Japan, etc….

PHASE 1 - A WAR OF COLONIAL INDEPENDENCE AGAINST THE FRENCH 1860-1954 Vietnam had been a French colony under the name of French Indochina (along with Cambodia and Laos) Vietnam began to fight for its independence from France during WW II (when France was preoccupied with European conflict) The Vietnamese revolutionary leader was Ho Chi Minh, a Communist Ho received support from both the USSR and “Red” China. Formed the “Vietminh”. President Truman helped France in order to maintain a Cold War alliance against the Soviets. France acquired Indochina during the colonization/imperialism stage of World History prior to WWI. However at the end of WWII, colonization was going away as countries were becoming independent. The United States supported decolonization/independence however, they didn’t want to break any ties as they we were fighting communism. Truman aided France between 1950-1954 with $2.6 billion in order to prevent Ho Chin Minh from taking over Indochina.

This colonial war raged from 1946-54, culminating in the French defeat at Dien Bien Phu Fr. decided it wanted out and called a peace conference in Geneva, Switzerland (attended by France, Vietnam, the US, and the USSR) The decision partitioned Vietnam into a communist North led by Ho and a “democratic” South Vietnam led by Ngo Dinh Diem @ the 17th parallel. The outcome clearly reflected the US policy of containment with respect to Soviet communist expansionism. (SEATO) The US (under Ike) had come to see South Vietnam as a “domino” that they couldn’t afford to lose so continued efforts to prevent a communist victory. The first American troops hit land in Vietnam in 1961 to support the ARVN against the Vietcong. SEATO (Southeast Asia Treaty Organization) which is similar to NATO! ARVN (Army of the Republic of Vietnam) Kennedy determined that S. Vietnam needed new leadership so he forced out Ngo Dinh Diem

PHASE 2 – AMERICAN ESCALATION AND MILITARY INVOLVEMENT This phase originated with “Ike” and JFK but was intensified under LBJ The U.S. never formally issued a declaration of war, but after the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, where 2 American destroyers were apparently fired upon by the North Vietnamese, Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolutions (August 1964) Imagine that you are members of Congress at the time of the Tonkin Gulf crisis. How would you have responded to the incident? What factors would have entered into your decisions. How do you feel about the Gulf of Tonkin resolution? Do you feel Congress should have told Johnson to back off (strongly disagree)? Do you feel Congress could have continued to allow money to be sent, but no troops (somewhat disagree)? Do you feel Congress should have declared war (strongly agree)? Do you feel that Congress made the right decision (somewhat agree)?

Initial Combat (1965-1967) Without an official Congressional declaration of war, LBJ begins pumping forces into NAM in 65’ LBJ believed a monstrous US military presence could tame the situation long enough to establish a capable government and ARVN – called “Operation Rolling Thunder”

Tactics: ELEPHANT VS TIGER NVA/VC Guerilla Warfare: the ability to “Fight Another Day” at a place and time of choice. The VC avoided large-scale engagements, replacing them with hit and run tactics. A long war would destroy morale, patience, and extend length of the war. Ho’s strategy was to only fight a battle that could be won. “If the tiger stands still, the elephant will crush it. But if the tiger keeps moving and occasionally jumps on the elephant to take a bite of it, the elephant will slowly bleed to death.”

Tactics: ELEPHANT VS TIGER USA War of Attrition: Destroy the enemy before ti can replace itself. Search and Destroy: Large-scale ground operations killing and destroying villages of all those supporting the VC. “No villages, No Guerillas.” Kill Counts: Success of a leader was based upon how many enemies were killed under his command. Heavy Bombings: Focused on supply lines, especially the 250-mile Ho Chi Minh Trail running from the N. and S. Humpin’ the Boonies: Small platoons of soldiers would make contact with the enemy. Instead of fighting them head on, they would call in a barrage of bombs, helicopter gunships, missiles, and artillery shelling. March of 65 the US hammered N. Vietnam and VC occupied S. Vietnam with massive airstrikes. Between 65-73, the US dropped 6mill tons of bombs total! Napalm and Agent Orange became a popular choice for the US – Napalm was a jellied gasoline that instantly exploded on impact, covering large areas with flames. Agent Orange is an herbicide used to kill plants and was sprayed at very heavy quantities.

The war definitely turned against the US in 1968, when the NVA’s General Giap began the Tet Offensive a surprise offensive on a major Vietnamese holiday that saw attacks all over the country, including in Saigon itself Ongoing US casualties and losses saw an increase in antiwar sentiment on the American Home Front.

Including the American atrocities at My Lai The usage of weapons like napalm and Agent Orange, which devastated the environment (and the people)

This was intensified after the Kent State Massacre The Counterculture gathered momentum (Hippies, Flower Children, etc.), protests became widespread and began to polarize the nation This was intensified after the Kent State Massacre National Guardsmen opened fire on student protestors in Ohio, killing four.

Increasingly the American people came to perceive the “Credibility Gap”, i.e. they no longer believed that LBJ was telling them the truth about events in the war In 1968, Republican Richard M. Nixon was elected on a platform of “Peace with Honor”

Nixon wanted the South Vietnamese to play a greater role in the war, a policy he labeled Vietnamization Yet, he continues carpet bombing Hanoi and orders a secret invasion of Cambodia He relied on the diplomacy of Henry Kissinger to achieve peace and/or an American withdrawal US leaves in 1973

PHASE 3 – VIETNAMESE CIVIL WAR, 1973-75 The NVA easily defeated the South by 1975; Nixon promised aid but by 1975 Nixon was embroiled in the domestic Watergate Crisis. He was called a “lame duck” 1975 – the US abandoned its embassy in Saigon, which was renamed Ho Chi Minh City in the newly unified and communist Vietnam