A little bit of background……. Vietnam A little bit of background…….

Vietnam Vietnam used to be a colony of France.

Vietnam It fought for it’s independence from 1945 to 1954, finally winning it in 1954. It is divided into 2 parts, North and South. Sound familiar?

Korea…..maybe…..

Yes! Just like Korea! The North was Communist, the South Was Capitalist.

Diem He is the leader of South Vietnam (capitalist) He says that communists are out to get the South! With the help of the C.I.A., he rounds up anyone he thinks is a communist and puts them in jail.

N.L.F. National Liberation Front Group formed by North Vietnamese to unify Vietnam

N.L.F. American military advisors tell Pres. Kennedy that the N.L.F. is bad and they need to be taken out

Kennedy He sends some military “advisors” to South Vietnam to help Diem.

1960-1964 America steadily increases its military presence in Vietnam Many in South Vietnam are mad at Diem, think he is corrupt. Monks set themselves on fire!

Ouch!

What happened to Diem He is thrown out of government by South Vietnamese Generals and killed.

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution On August 4, 1964 President Johnson told America that the U.S. Navy was attacked by the N.L.F. (North Vietnamese, Viet Cong)

Turns out…… History has shown this attack never happened.

But….. But Nothing! America thinks it happened, so it did! Congress passes legislation to increase troops. A draft is instituted.

How the war was fought….. The Viet Cong were the military of the N.L.F. They operated out of South Vietnam. In 1965 they were ordered by the North Vietnamese to begin Guerilla tactics This means they engaged in “hit and run” attacks

Tunnels The Viet Cong made over 200 miles of tunnels underground. This allowed them to escape the American Military easily, as well as launch surprise attacks.

Helicopters The dense jungle of Vietnam made it difficult to move around. Often troops were transported by helicopter.

The Air War Fighting was so difficult on the ground that America began an air war, called “Operation Rolling Thunder.” We dropped thousands of bombs on North Vietnam.

Agent Orange This was a deadly chemical the United States used to burn down the forests. They dropped on especially dense areas that the Viet Cong were concentrated in.

Agent Orange

Agent Orange It contained a deadly chemical called dioxin. This was especially good for burning forests. It was also very deadly to humans. It got in the water and food supply and caused many birth defects.

End of the War The war was very unpopular at home in the USA. By 1972 it looked like we were involved in another stalemate (just like Korea) President Nixon begins peace talks

Paris Peace Accords Signed January 27, 1973. Says USA will pull out of Vietnam, leave South Vietnam on their own. South Vietnam finally falls to North Vietnam in 1975.

Casualties USA- 58,119 killed, 153,303 injured Viet Cong, North Vietnamese- 1.1 million killed, unknown injured.