1. Unit 11 – Topic 4
Vietnam

2. Vietnam

3. Vietnam – Early involvement
War begins between French & Vietminh
1946
Vietminh beat the French
Vietnam split into 2 parts:
Communist North under Ho Chi Minh
Nationalist South under a corrupt dictator (Diem, supported by the US)
1954
Vietcong forms – pro-Communist rebel group in the South
1957
US keeps supporting anti-Communist South. JFK and then LBJ send $$ & advisors
Gulf of Tonkin resolution gives LBJ power to wage war & bombing begins
1965

4. The War Escalates Why can’t the US win easily? Refusal to surrender
Tactics of the Vietcong
US tactics make more enemies
Refusal to surrender

5. What problems did the US face in Vietnam?

6. What advantages did the enemy have?

7. How will US forces fight the VC (and NVA)? What will this achieve?

8. What effect will US tactics have?

9. What effect will US tactics have? On whom?

11. LBJ’s dilemma What was LBJ’s main problem? Why? Vietnam
War not going well
Thousands dead, little progress at stopping insurgency
Americans less supportive of war
Student movement & protests

12. How do US soldiers feel about the war?

13. How does the American public feel about the war?

14. Vietnam The enemy? USA’s advantages? VC’s advantages
Vietcong guerilla rebels
NVA troops
USA’s advantages?
Superior military
Air power/Naval power
$$$
VC’s advantages
“invisible”
Recruiting – US and South Vietnam gov’t despised
Reprisal helps the cause
Local assets/popular support
War of independence
Supply from NVA (Ho Chi Minh Trail)

15. Tactics
US forces:
Mixture of conventional (Army, Marines) and unconventional (SF, SEALS, CIA)
Search-and-destroy
Napalm/Agent Orange
Massive bombing of North VN
Strategic hamlets
VC:
Ambush/hit & run
Booby traps/mines/punji sticks
Bombings in urban areas
Snipers
Collaborate w/ NVA

16. War at Home Public Opinion? Divided, but increasingly anti-war Why?
High casualties, little political improvement
Low morale
Tet Offensive (enemy stronger than thought)
Media coverage – shown more accurately than previous wars
Student protests
Scandals (My Lai, Cambodia, etc.)
“If I’ve lost Cronkite, I’ve lost America.”
LBJ, 1968