Chapters 29 pages Chapter 31 pages

Vietnam Veterans Memorial 1:24 min.

Vietnam #1 Reading Quiz 1) Who was Ho Chi Minh? 2) Who was Ngo Dinh Diem? 3) What was Dien Bien Phu? 4) What did the Geneva Accords of 1954 do? 5) What religious group burned themselves alive in opposition to Diem? 6) What is the nickname of the National Liberation Front? 7) What happened to Diem? 8) What did Kennedy do to support South Vietnam?

Vietnam and World War II By 1940 Japan had conquered French Indochina. The Vietnamese resistance leader by 1945 was Ho Chi Minh Ho would lead the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1945 However, the French began to demand the return of their former colonies and replace Ho with a puppet government In 1948, the French re-installed Bao Dai as head of state of Vietnam, which now comprised of central and south Vietnam.1948 Ho Chi Mihn Emperor Bao Dai

French in Indo-China :57 min.

Ho Chi Minh and the Viet Minh begin to fight the French. The U.S regard Ho Chi Minh as communist and move to support the French The French struggle was going badly. The turnover of French governments left France unable to prosecute the war with any consistent policy. France was increasingly unable to afford the conflict in Indochina. Chinese communists meanwhile increased help to Viet Mihn

U.S Involvement in French Indochina War- Truman President Harry Truman began covertly authorizing support for the French in their attempt to retake Indochina, giving money and supplies in an effort to suppress the rebellion, and in July 1950 he announced publicly that the U.S. was doing so.Harry Truman1950

America and the Vietnam War 5:26 min.

U.S Involvement in French Indochina War- Eisenhower U.S. begins to help the French with money and arms Eisehower asks for $60 million in aid to French The U.S. is paying for 80% of the war between the French and the Vietnamese communists. Former General Dwight D. Eisenhower became President of the United States and first advanced the so-called domino theory, warning that if America did not support France in stopping the Communists in Indochina, all of the Eastern, India and Southeastern Asia would fall to the "Communist Bloc".Dwight D. Eisenhower President of the United States

Dien Bien Phu- "57 Days of Hell". Began March 13, 1954 Fought near the village of Dien Bien Phu in northern Vietnam and became the last battle between the French and the Vietnamese in the First Indochina War.Dien Bien PhuVietnam After seven years of bloody conflict, the French made their last stand at Dien Bien Phu, where they were engaged by the forces of General Vo Nguyen Giap. But contemporary military tactics were unable to defeat successive human wave attacks and the subsequent siege of the base; the French were defeated with devastating losses Dien Bien PhuVo Nguyen Giaphuman wave attacks At least 2,200 members of the 20,000- strong French forces died during the battle. Of the 100,000 or so Vietnamese involved, there were an estimated 8,000 killed and another 15,000 wounded, almost half of the attacking force.

Geneva Conference The on July 21, 1954 recognized the 17th parallel as a "provisional military demarcation line" temporarily dividing the country into two states, Communist North Vietnam and pro- Western South Vietnam.July parallelCommunistNorth Vietnam WesternSouth Vietnam The Geneva Accords promised elections in 1956 to determine a national government for a united Vietnam. However only France and the North Vietnamese government (DRV) signed the document. The U.S. and the government in Saigon refused to abide by the agreement, believing that the election would result in an easy victory for Ho Chi Minh. Emperor Bao Dai from his home in France appointed Ngo Dinh Diem as Prime Minister of South Vietnam. With American support, in 1955 Diem used a referendum to remove the former Emperor and declare himself as president of the Republic of Vietnam1956Bao DaiNgo Dinh Diem Thus the competition for the whole of Vietnam began; Diem's military was unable to prevail in the civil war which escalated, as a result of international intervention, into the Vietnam War.civil warVietnam War

Kennedy and Indochina Laos and the coalition government (Pathet Lao) Problems in Vietnam 1956 National Elections- Geneva Accords Civil War President Diem Government Opposition- many groups, Buddhists, Communists all joined the NLF- National Liberation Front (“Vietcong” nicknamed by Diem) Overthrow of Diem- “Coup”, and military junta. Kennedy sending supplies, money and advisors (16,000 by 1963.)