1. The Fighting and the End
Vietnam War Pt 2
The Fighting and the End

2. Official dates of war: 1964-1973 (we’re involved before that though)
War Escalates
Official dates of war: (we’re involved before that though)
Forces levels increase
By ,000 troops in Vietnam

3. Vietnamese Fighting Tactics
Guerilla warfare- non-traditional warfare like ambushes, surprise attacks, quick raids; used by Vietcong
Booby traps; mines; covered holes
Ho Chi Minh Trail- path from North Vietnam to South; ran through Laos and Cambodia
Used to get supplies to troops
Used roads, paths, tunnels, rivers; hard to detect

7. U.S. Fighting Tactics
Search and destroy – find enemies, destroy, get out
Operation Rolling Thunder – 3 year bombing campaign of North Vietnam
Goal to stop supplies and reinforcements; didn’t work

10. U.S. Fighting Tactics
Agent Orange- herbicide used to destroy forests to expose enemy; harmful to humans
500,000 deaths; 500,000 birth defects; affected American troops
Napalm- flammable, jellied gasoline used by US

14. U.S. Fighting Tactics
Agent Orange
Napalm
Search and destroy
bombing

15. Why did the U.S. forces have difficulty fighting the Vietcong?

16. 1968 - North Vietnamese offensive during Vietnamese New Year- Tet
Tet Offensive
North Vietnamese offensive during Vietnamese New Year- Tet
Viet Cong easily successful at cutting through South Vietnam; but ultimately failed
Tet Offensive: shattered illusion that US was “winning”
Changed the way many Americans viewed the war
Starts to turn public opinion against the war

18. Why did American support for the war change after the Tet offensive?

19. Nixon’s Decisions
Johnson decided not to run for second election b/c of Vietnam war
Nixon ran and won in 1968
His goal was “Peace with Honor”- to end war w/out embarrassment
Ordered heaviest bombing
Public made because they wanted de-escalation, not more fighting
Withdrew troops based on ideas of “Vietnamization”
Training South Vietnamese troops to replace US troops
Authorized secret bombing in Laos and Cambodia to disrupt North Vietnam supply lines – US public found out and were mad

20. What was the goal of Nixon’s Vietnam policy?

21. “Peace” Paris Peace Talks- Nixon wanted peace
By 1972, only 24,000 US troops in Vietnam
1973- heavy bombing to prevent North Vietnam from immediately taking over South Vietnam
1973- Agreement reached for US to leave
1975- Saigon (capital of S Vietnam) fell; South Vietnam surrendered
1 mill South Vietnamese fled country by boat; many came to America
Cambodia conquered by communist leader Pol Pot- murdered 1.5 mill Cambodians during genocide

24. What happened in Vietnam after US troops left?

25. 2 mill Vietnamese died during war
Effects of War
Cost of American lives
58,000 killed; 300,000 wounded
2,500 POWs or MIA
2 mill Vietnamese died during war
Some still die every year from landmines, bombs

26. Effects of War
War Powers Act- 1973: limited President’s (Executive Branch) ability to send armed forces to combat without Congress (Legislative Branch)
Wanted to limit the powers of the President given in the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
Restored balance of power
Pres has to notify Congress w/in 48 hours for operations longer than 60 days
Roy Benavidez – Texan of Mexican and American Indian heritage; earned Medal of Honor for his heroic actions in Vietnam

28. Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
Increases President's power
US involvement in the Vietnam War
War Powers Act
Limits President's Power

29. Why was the War Powers Act passed?

30. Prompted = lead to

32. BIG IDEA
How did the Vietnam War end?