1. Case Study: Vietnam How was a small country like Vietnam able to win a war
against the USA?
Pause to contextualise and put this on the board + where, when, who, what, why?
Position Vietnam War within the Cold War but also within the post-war anti-colonial national liberation struggles.
Essay Question

2. This section includes:
Background
1957 to 1965 – Struggle in Vietnam between the South Vietnamese army and the communist-trained rebels (Viet Cong)
1965 to 1969 – North Vietnamese-USA struggle
The war from the Vietnamese and USA perspective
The war as a world issue
1969 to 1975 – USA withdrawal from Vietnam
Conclusion: How the war is remembered today
(Refer to CAPS, p26)

3. Where in the World is Vietnam?
USA
Vietnam

4. Background
In the 19th century France colonised a large part of SE Asia including modern day Vietnam. (French Indo-China)
1941: Japan invaded and occupied SE Asia.
1941: Two communists / Vietnamese nationalists (Ho Chi Minh and Nguyen Vo Giap) set up Viet Minh (League for the Independence of Vietnam)
Viet Minh funded by the US.
Ho Chi Minh – 1890 – 1969: born into poverty, went to France in 1917 became a communist, founded the Indo-China Communist Party in 1930.