By: William Torres

Vietnam War  Second Indochina war  Fallowed first Indochina war a) between communist (north) supported by communist allies b) against South Vietnam (supported by the U.S. (anti-communist nations)  Cold war a) military conflict b) in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia

Viet Cong  Vietnamese communist controlled front a) fought guerrilla war ( irregular warfare) (where they use ambushes and raids) b) U.S. and south Vietnamese relied on air superiority and overwhelming fire power c) search and destroy

Why the U.S entered war?  To prevent communist takeover  Strategy of containment  Combat units were deployed  U.S. ground forces were withdrawn (Vietnamization)  Fighting continued

Case-Church amendment  Passed by U.S. Congress  Prohibited use of U.S. military (after August 15,1973)  Unless president’s approval in advance

Capture of Saigon  Captured by North Vietnamese April 1975  Marked the end of the war  A year later North and South Vietnam were reunified

1949  France began it’s conquest of Indochina (in late 1850’s)  France completed pacification in 1893  Treaty of Hue a) 1884 b) basis of French colonial rule in Vietnam

 In W.W. II French were defeated by Germans  Meaning they became allies with German and Italian axis powers  French wanted and searched for power  But were resisted by ultimate power  Japanese

 This continued  Until Germans were forced out of France  French Indochina started secret talks with Free France  Japanese could not trust France any more

Independence Democratic Republic of Vietnam  Ho Chi Minh leader of Viet declared  Independence Democratic Republic of Vietnam  He began a speech paraphrasing the Declaration of Independence ( All men are created equal...)

 Major allies  United States  United Kingdom  And Soviet Union  All agreed land belonged to France  France did not have weapons, ships and soldiers to take Vietnam

 British troops would occupy the south  While Nationalist Chinese would move in from the North  When British landed they aided the French since there was not enough troops to take Vietnam themselves

Guerilla War  Viet Minh started a Guerilla war against the French  First Indochina war  War spread to Laos and Cambodia  Chinese communist aided there allies

U.S. Aides French  U.S. created MAAG ( Military Assistance and Advisory Group)  U.S. supplied small arms  U.S. spent $1 billion on the war and shouldered the war paying 80% of the war

 There were talks between Americans and French, and use of three Nuclear weapon was considered  There was Operation Vulture sending 60 B 29’s from U.S. bases  Supported by 150 fighters to bomb Viet Minh (commander Vo Nguyen Giap’s positions)

 U.S carriers sailed to the Gulf of Tonkin  According to Nixon the plan involved drawling up three tactical nuclear weapons for the French  Nixon, "We might have to put in American boys”

Battle of Dien Bien Phu  Marked the end of French involvement in Indochina  French Union garrison surrendered  Geneva Conference  French came to agreement with Viet Minh  Independence to Cambodia and Vietnam

Vietnam  Temporarily partitioned at the 17 th parallel  Civilians were free  Northerners (mostly Catholics) fled to the south  Frightened by communism

Propaganda  Using American Propaganda  Such as The Virgin Mary is heading South  U.S. funded $93 million for relocation program

Geneva Conference (1954)  Domino Theory – if one country fell all surrounding countries would also  By Eisenhower  Security of Cambodia and Laos were those that were threatened by overflow of communism in Vietnam

Insurgency in the South  Ho Chi Minh,”do not engage in military operations that will lead to defeat”  Be selective in your violence  If assassination is necessary  Use a knife, not rifle, bomb, or grenade use only a knife

Assassin  Make sure peasant know why killing has occurred  Armed propaganda

Assassination continues…  Le Duan was a communist leader that was working in the south  He returned to Hanoi  400 government officials were killed  Violence had increased greatly  20% of South Vietnam’s village chiefs were assassinated

John F. Kennedy’s Administration  John F. Kennedy won 1960 election  He took over despite warnings from Eisenhower

Green Berets  Special forces employed by Kennedy  Effective in brush fire war in Vietnam

South Vietnamese Military  Quality of South Vietnamese military remained poor a) bad leadership b) corruption c) political promotions  Guerrilla attacks rose

 Kennedy increased military assistance  John Kenneth warned Kennedy of the danger, we shall replace French as a colonial force  Government refused to undertake land reform  Farmers paying high rents

Nations’ Agreement  July 23, 1963 Fourteen nations signed agreement promising the neutrality of Laos  Including : People’s Republic of China, South Vietnam, Soviet Union, North Vietnam and United States

Coup and Assassinations  Diem was not able to defeat communism might make a deal with ho Chi Minh  Robert F. Kennedy stated  “Diem wouldn’t make even the slightest concessions and he was difficult to reason with”

 Protest broke out on ban of Buddhist flag  U.S. officials began discussing of regime change  United Stated Department in favor of encouraging coup  While defense Department favored Diem