Vietnam Turning Point: Tet Offensive, Jan. 1968

Vietnam’s History 1800’s Vietnam became a French colony (proved difficult to hold on to) After WWII, N. Vietnam became Communist and S. Vietnam was democratic. JFK sent troops (“military advisors”) to South Vietnam to keep it under control because Diem (South Vietnam’s leader) was about to lose power to the North via the Viet Cong (insurgents in S) As South Vietnam became more unstable, their leader Diem tightened controls on various factions including the Buddhist monks. These restrictions even forced some monks to demonstrate by burning themselves to death in Saigon!

Monks who set themselves on fire!

War Breaks out The U.S. invents a reason to intervene militarily and remove the leader Ho Chi Minh from power in the North Fear of the Domino Theory prompted LBJ to take action=CONTAINMENT! A U.S. destroyer was allegedly attacked in internat’l waters by N. Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin In 1964, Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution which gave LBJ the ability to take all necessary measures to prevent further aggression (wage war, but called it a “conflict.”)

Troops in Vietnam 1965-over 100,000 troops 1966- 360,000 troops As the years of war continued, the death toll rose as well

War Strategy Lyndon B. Johnson hoped the continual bombing and U.S forces would cause the Viet Cong to surrender within a year. Ho Chi Minh hoped to outlast the Americans by using guerrilla warfare to surprise U.S forces and make the U.S tired of war and incite dissention at home (which worked!) Problem: U.S. was in an unknown land fighting against unconventional forces

War… We were not winning or losing, up to 1968 the war had been bogged down fighting in the jungle. (“seek & destroy” missions) The Viet Cong had a system of underground tunnels where they planned ambushes The Vietnamese also had Soviet and Chinese support throughout the War

Tet Offensive Jan. 31-during the Vietnamese New Year (Tet) the communists led an all out attack in every major city in South Vietnam. Even though U.S. won the battle and turned the N. Vietnamese back, many casualties ensued and proved we were not close to victory or ending the war. The media portrayed this battle as a loss to the American public.

Home Front 1st war to be televised The continual media coverage of death and defeat lead to many organized antiwar protests (mostly young people) Huge anti-war protests took place outside of the Democratic national convention in 1968

Home Front

Political Consequences The war separated congress into the Hawks and Doves Escalating war cost LBJ his Great Society (anti-poverty programs) Dissent among the nation forced Johnson to 1) end bombing over N. Vietnam, 2) stop sending new troops and 3) withdraw from the 1968 presidential election

Nixon Nixon won the 1968 election because he promised to get out of Vietnam with a “secret plan”--Vietnamization At first, in 1969, troops are slowly removed, and by 1972 less than 60,000 troops remained, down from 540,000 in 1969. However, it is later discovered that in 1970, Henry Kissinger, Nixon’s National Security Advisor, planned to bomb the Ho Chi Minh trail in Cambodia and actually escalate the war.

Results Due to the continued fighting, more anti-war protests broke out Kent State Massacre in May 1970 left 4 dead 11 days later, 2 killed at Jackson State in Mississippi Congress even repealed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, but Nixon ignored it.

War Powers Act 1973 A major result of Vietnam was Congress establishing the War Powers Act. This took away the power of the president to start war Ironically, nearly every president since LBJ has initiated military conflict without specific Congressional approval.

Cease Fire The war took a great toll on the morale of Americans and the soldiers Kissinger met with North Vietnam in 1972 and prior to the election announced “Peace is at hand” Nixon won the election in 1972 by a landslide and ordered a cease fire in January 1973 after the “Christmas bombings” of N. Vietnam

South Vietnam Falls Two years after the cease fire, South Vietnam fell to the North, unifying the nation. The Containment policy failed; US lost the war. The consequences of war were staggering: $165 billion 58,220 dead 1,700 missing 300,000 wounded 2,000,000 Vietnamese dead In 1975, Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City) falls and the last American personnel are removed from the city by helicopter to ships anchored offshore. 20 years later, Pres. Clinton established diplomatic & trade relations with Vietnam.

The rush to get Americans and allies out of Saigon, April 1975…