VIETNAM

INDO-CHINA WAR 1946 – 1954 Geneva Convention 17 th Parallel: South Vietnam is a French state (independent but tied to France) under Diem and supported by US: Republic of Vietnam North is under Ho Chi Minh/Communists: Democratic Republic of Vietnam

VIETMINH  Revolutionary army who fought for the independence of Vietnam from France

NVA AND VC  Vietcong (National Liberation Front):  South Vietnamese insurgents who wanted to overthrow Diem’s corrupt government  Not all were Communists; many were peasants with no political links  NVA: North Vietnamese Army: The army of North Vietnam; supported Vietcong  VC were the initial “enemy”, but later in war the NVA became a bigger player

DIEM FALLS… SOUTH IS VULNERABLE  Country is ripe for civil war  North Vietnam wants country to be unified (as Communist)  Lack of strong leadership  Popular support for land reform being implemented in NV  Peasants hopeful for more reforms

GULF OF TONKIN  1964 USS Maddox “attacked” twice in the Gulf of Tonkin  Leads to the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER  Johnson orders post Gulf of Tonkin  Bombing air raids over North Vietnam  3 years  Targets lines of communication/transportation  Ultimately not very effective

DA NANG IT ALL…  First Marines sent to Da Nang  Number of troops ramps up: up to 200k; 500k by ‘67  War escalates - This was SUPPOSE to be quick and easy…

IRON TRIANGLE  VC built tunnels to transport supplies and personnel without being detected  Site of VC activity  US finds in ‘67 and tries to bomb, but not completely successful  Bombing isn’t working – the VC is not breaking

THIS WAS A DIFFERENT KIND OF WAR  Booby Traps  Land mines  Guerrillas hiding everywhere  Ambushes

TET OFFENSIVE1968  “Tet” is the Vietnamese holiday  Had previously been a ceasefire day  South Vietnam and US caught completely off guard  Wave of attacks: - early in the morning  80k troops  Over 100 cities/towns  Well orchestrated

TET LEADS TO HUE  Allies suffer losses due to the surprise, but quickly regroup  Mass casualties on VC and NVA  Battle of Hue: 1 month long  US regained territory  Served as a wakeup call that VC and NVA were not giving up and were capable of an attack like Tet  US CIA and Military Assistance of Command couldn’t agree on number of insurgents massacre/videos

PACIFICATION  US Policy to “Pacify” the villagers  “ Counter-insurgency” – Chain reaction  Combination of fear and appeal to people  VC uses the population for recruits with promises of land reform  VC also use threats of terrorism  To overcome, US wants to cutoff the VC access to the population  Drive out guerrillas  Train the people  Resurrect local police  Having established security and freed the people from the fear of retribution, programs need to be developed to capture public support

MY LAI MASSACRE: 1968 US Charlie Co. 11 th Under directive of Lt. Calley massacre est. 500 civilians and covers it up

BACK HOME  PROTESTS!!!  Anti-war rallies  Teach Ins  Public is becoming more and more aware of situation  Public support of war declines with awareness  Confused  Fed up – When is this going to end?  Expensive eature=youtu.be

PUBLIC OPINION CORE (Congress On Racial Equality) declares that the war is a burden on minorities due to the draft

The cartoon says “Me?... I’m only on my way to save democracy in Vietnam!” What is ironic about this?

What is this saying about protestors?

What does this represent? What is the US trying to do?

What is this cartoon saying about the Vietnam war? Johnson has his hand on his holster that says “Atomic War”.

What are these saying about the war? Do the cartoonists think that the US had intentions of just getting in and out of Vietnam?

What is this saying about Containment?

What is the cartoonist saying about how the war was being presented to the public? What is really happening?