Getting Into Vietnam

Where the heck is Vietnam?

Vietnamese Nationalism For years, Vietnam had been ruled by somebody else – China controls it, France rules it as a colony, and Japan controls it during WWII. Eventually, NATIONALISM spreads in Vietnam. The people want to rule themselves. Led by a man named HO CHI MINH, a Vietnamese nationalist group known as the VIETMINH is formed in the early 1940s.

The French take back over… After WWII, the defeated Japanese give up Vietnam. Vietnam declares itself independent, but France wants it back as a COLONY. They set up a new French government in 1949. The Vietminh fight back, so France asks the U.S. for help.

Why does the U.S. care? The U.S. is interested in Vietnam, and they decide to support French involvement because of the DOMINO THEORY – the belief that if one country falls to Communism, all the others around it will too.

Dien Bien Phu The Vietminh used GUERRILLA style fighting tactics. They would ambush, then escape. The French have trouble fighting against this. On May 7, 1954, the Vietnamese town of DIEN BIEN PHU falls to the Vietminh. FRANCE DECIDES TO GET OUT.

Geneva Accords At the GENEVA ACCORDS, Vietnam is divided at the 17th Parallel. North: Communist, ruled by Ho Chi Minh and the Vietminh South: Non-Communist, ruled by Ngo Dihn Diem The U.S. stays in Vietnam to try to help out the non-Communist South Vietnamese

“I love the smell of napalm in the morning…”: The U. S “I love the smell of napalm in the morning…”: The U.S. Gets Deeper into Vietnam

The Vietcong Ho Chi Minh and his followers create the VIETCONG – a Vietnamese guerrilla army supported by N. Vietnam that fought S. Vietnamese forces. Ngo Dinh Diem needs more and more U.S. help to hold off the Vietcong (or VC). Diem, as it turns out, wasn’t a popular guy. He disliked BUDDHISM and tried to keep his people from worshiping that way. *Repressive Dictator Eventually his military generals decide to overthrow him – DIEM IS NO LONGER IN CHARGE OF S. VIETNAM. The government becomes less stable. (The US approves this assassination and the CIA encourages it.)

This is rather hardcore This is rather hardcore. You really have to dislike Ngo Dinh Diem to do this…

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution As Diem gets overthrown, LBJ becomes president. He doesn’t want to look SOFT ON COMMUNISM. On August 2, 1964, the U.S.S. Maddox is blown up in the Gulf of Tonkin by the N. Vietnamese. LBJ says the U.S. must respond with force, and Congress lets him with the GULF OF TONKIN RESOLUTION – which lets the president send troops into conflict for an unlimited amount of time. ESSENTIALLY, NOW THE PRESIDENT CAN DECLARE WAR.

ESCALATION As the 1960s roll on, more and more troops are sent to Vietnam. In 1965, there are 180,000. In 1966, there were 360,000. This rapid troop increase is known as ESCALATION. OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER sets up a prolonged bombing campaign of North Vietnam.

NOT PLAYING BY THE RULES The VIETCONG gains an edge against U.S. troops by: Using AMBUSH RAIDS where they would escape back into the jungle. NOT WEARING UNIFORMS so that they look like Vietnamese civilians. TRAPS set in dense jungles. Eventually the U.S. uses NAPALM and AGENT ORANGE to burn away the jungle cover.

HO CHI MINH TRAIL North Vietnam gets supplies to the Vietcong by sending them through other countries like LAOS and CAMBODIA. This becomes known as the HO CHI MINH TRAIL. Since the U.S. wasn’t at war with these guys, they couldn’t stop it. CHINA and the U.S.S.R also provided help. Despite this, LBJ wouldn’t call for an all-out attack on N. Vietnam – he worried it might get CHINA involved. Because of this, it makes the war hard to win.