Vietnam War American History

Indochina Southeast Asia France colonized this region for many years prior to World War II WWII very difficult for France

World War II in Indochina Japan pushes France out of Indochina (tension between USA and Japan) during WWII 1945 Japan is forced to leave Indochina

Declaration of Independence After Japan leaves, Ho Chi Minh (Communist) leads a celebration in Hanoi There they issued a Dec. of Ind. (9.2.1945) from all countries with an interest in Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh The founder and President of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (Communist North) Told the French that he could lose 10 men to their 1 and he would still win Communist that studied in Europe and in the United States

Post WWII (1945-1954) France goes back to try and regain power in Vietnam / Indochina War breaks out We help France, USSR and China help Ho Chi Minh

Dien Bien Phu (1954) French generals make one last stand at Dien Bien Phu, a valley surrounded by Vietnamese artillery. The United States guarantees American air support, but domestic political concerns prevent Eisenhower from fulfilling this promise.

1954 France decides that it can’t win the war and leaves Indochina They could not win Vietnamese popular support

Parallels to Korean War At a meeting in Geneva, Switz. Vietnam was split at the 17th Parallel North to be Communist / South not North led by Ho South led by Allies

Ngo Dinh Diem Led the American puppet government in South Vietnam We would not let the elections take place that were supposed to take place in 1956 We knew that Communism would win June 1963: Monks burn themselves in protest of Diem’s regime

Diem (cont.) Diem is assassinated in Nov. 1963 during a coup… just weeks before JFK We no longer supported him and let the military generals take over

NLF NLF stands for National Liberation Front Official name of Vietcong South Vietnamese opposed to Diem Before combat U.S. sends “advisors”

Gulf of Tonkin USS Maddox and Turner Joy pretend to be attacked by North Vietnamese Gives power to LBJ to go to war Used to start a full scale war 1964

Tet Offensive North Vietnam & Vietcong launch attack against USA targets (1968) Proved that the North Vietnamese still had strength

1968 Presidential Election President Johnson decides not to run Many Democrats enter the race including RFK RFK assassinated after winning the CA primary

Richard Nixon Wins the 1968 Election after promising to get the USA out of Vietnam 1969: Nixon announces his Vietnamization Policy Trade our troops with South Vietnam

1969 First Moon Landing JFK promised this in 1961 July 20, 1969 on TV Nixon had more than one speech in case bad things happen Neil Armstrong

End of Vietnam 1973: Cease-fire signed April 29, 1975: USA evacuates Saigon April 30, 1975: N. Vietnamese force S. Vietnamese gov. to surrender