1. The Vietnam War

2. Vietnam, Laos, & Cambodia = formerly the French colony of Indochina
Anti-colonial war with France:
Ho Chi Minh = leader of independence movement in Indochina starting in 1945
French tried to reclaim Indochina after being driven out by the Japanese during WWII
French defeated at Dien Bien Phu in 1954
Geneva Peace: Vietnam divided
Ho Chi Minh led northern Vietnamese gov’t
Ngo Dinh Diem led southern Vietnam (with U.S. support)
division was supposed to be temporary, with elections to reunify the country to follow

3. corrupt leaders in South Vietnam failed to make needed reforms
War of Two Vietnams:
corrupt leaders in South Vietnam failed to make needed reforms
Northern leaders played on dissatisfaction of South’s population, sending in bands of Vietcong guerrillas against the government
U.S. pledged continued aid to S. Vietnam
National Liberation Front (NLF) organized in 1960: Vietcong would receive military aid from China & USSR.
Quang Duc immolates himself to protest the policies of the Ngo Dinh Diem regime against Buddhists.

4. American Involvement
1962: 4,000 American soldiers in Vietnam
August 2, 1964: U.S.S. Maddox (destroyer) attacked by three N. Vietnamese PT-boats in the Gulf of Tonkin
U.S. planes then bombed Vietcong PT-boat bases
Bay of Tonkin Resolution: gave the President (LBJ) power to “take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the U.S. and to prevent further aggression.”(President could have a war without Congress declaring one)
by 1968: U.S. forces > 500,000 men

5. Justification for the war
“Hawks” (those “for” war) believed the U.S. needed to contain communism
domino theory: if S. Vietnam became Communist, then one after another of the countries of SE Asia would be taken over
U.S. believed it had to demonstrate the credibility of its promises to aid friendly nations against communist aggression
Opposition to the war
“Doves” (those against war) protested by demonstrating, picketing, burning draft cards, & blocking the transport of war supplies

6. Vietcong attacked numerous capitals in South Vietnam, including Saigon
Tet Offensive:
Tet, the festival of the Asian lunar new year, usually was the occasion for a formal cease fire, but on Jan. 30, 1968 the N. Vietnamese attacked S. Vietnam.
Vietcong attacked numerous capitals in South Vietnam, including Saigon
Vietcong proved they could set up an attack that would hit all major cities
they knew they were probably going to die; wanted to wear out or embarrass the U.S
U.S. won the military part of the war, but the attack made people in America question involvement in the Vietnam War
Communists suffered staggering losses
Nguyen Ngoc Loan, the national police chief of South Vietnam, shoots a man suspected of being a Vietcong sympathizer.

7. 1968: LBJ called a halt to bombings in 90% of territory of N
1968: LBJ called a halt to bombings in 90% of territory of N. Vietnam & invited the Vietcong to talk
July 1969: talks began in Paris
Nixon began withdrawal of troops & announced his Vietnamization program
eventual withdrawal of all U.S. ground forces
replace American troops with those of S. Vietnam

8. End of 1969: over 100,000 troops withdrawn
widespread opposition increased due to hardcore drug use by American troops, S. Vietnamese atrocities, & massacres of civilians by American soldiers
war became increasingly unpopular
saw images on TV of horrific war scenes
Pentagon Papers = Dept. of Defense official Daniel Ellsberg leaked to the press information that the government had lied about their progress in the war
Nixon secretly extended the war into Cambodia & Laos--ordered bombing raids on communist bases & supply lines in 1969
Kim Phuc fled from an accidental napalm attack on her village by S. Vietnamese airplanes. She had stripped off her burning clothes as she ran.
March 1968: In the My Lai massacre, American combat troops killed 347 Vietnamese women, old men, & children.

9. Vietnamization continued throughout 1970-73
1972: only 24,200 Americans left in Vietnam
But even as #s decreased, bombing of Vietnam & Cambodia increased--tried to end war by escalating it
Pressure mounted in Congress to cut off funds for the continuation of bombing
August 1973: deadline to cut off money
April 30, 1975: S. Vietnam surrendered to N. Vietnam
End of the war:
Communists controlled Laos
Communists overran Saigon in 1975 & renamed it Ho Chi Minh City
Vietnam reunited under communism
Cambodia fell to communism (brutal Khmer Rouge led by Pol Pot)
1.2 m Vietnamese dead, over 57,000 Americans dead
U.S.’s longest war; dropped 3x more bombs than in WWII