1. Origins of the Vietnam War
Chapter 22-Supplemental Presentation

2. French Rule Late 1800’s-1940’s
French imposed significant political and cultural changes on Vietnamese society.
They pushed for a Western-style education and placed an emphasis on Roman Catholicism
Most of the French settlers in Indochina were concentrated in the southern third of Vietnam based around the city of Saigon.
Developing a plantation economy: Exporting tobacco, indigo, tea and coffee as a source of wealth for the France

3. Japanese Occupation Japanese invasion of French Indochina in 1941.
France surrendered French Indochina (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia) to Japan.
The natural resources of Vietnam were exploited for the purposes of the Japanese Empire's military campaigns.

4. The Viet Minh-1941
French ignored increasing calls for Vietnamese self-government and civil rights.
Soon after a nationalist political movement soon emerged, with leaders such as Ho Chi Minh fighting calling for independence.
Ho Chi Minh was a communist and his nationalist liberation movement set a goal for complete Vietnamese independence from France and Japan.
Following the military defeat of Japan in August 1945, the Viet Minh took control and occupied Hanoi (North Vietnam) proclaiming their national day of independence on September 2nd, 1945.

5. The French Return
1945 France sent troops to pacify Vietnamese liberation movement and to restore French colonial rule.
On 23 November 1946, French vessels bombarded the port city of Haiphong, and the Viet Minh's guerrilla campaign against French forces began soon after.
The resulting First Indochina War lasted until 20 July 1954.

6. U.S. Involvement
The U.S. wanted France as an ally against the USSR in the Cold War
President Truman therefore decided to support French rule.
Feared Communist ideas of Vietminh
The U.S. contributed $2.6 billion in aid between 1950 and 1954.

7. Dien Bien Phu
The French established a major base in the mountains of North Vietnam
The Viet Minh, led by General Giap, surrounded the French garrison
The siege lasted 55 days, with the French suffering over 15,000 casualties
The French were forced to surrender France wanted peace

9. The Geneva Accords
Victory at Dien Bien Phu allowed Ho Chi Minh to negotiate favorable position at the Geneva Conference of 1954.
The colonial administration ended and French Indochina was separated at the 17th parallel by the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone.
Communists controlled North Vietnam, and a government friendly to the US was established in South Vietnam

10. Temporary Partition of Vietnam
Ho Chi Minh's Democratic Republic of Vietnam in North Vietnam and Emperor Bao Dai’s State of Vietnam in South Vietnam
1955, S Vietnam's PM, Ngo Dinh Diem, overthrew Bảo Đại and proclaimed himself president of the Republic of Vietnam.
The Geneva Accords mandated nationwide elections by 1956 for Vietnam to unite
Diem refused to cooperate with the rulings of the Accords

11. Opposition to Diem
1957 saw the establishment of the National Liberation Front (NLF), a communist organization dedicated to a united Vietnam
NLF guerilla fighter was known as Vietcong, or VC
Diem, a Roman-Catholic, signed anti-Buddhist legislation that angered Buddhists

12. U.S. Involvement
In 1961, President Kennedy sent Special Forces (Green Berets) to advise the South Vietnamese Army (ARVN)
By 1963, more than 15,000 U.S. advisers were in Vietnam

13. Overthrow of Diem
Opposition to Diem continued to grow as his cruel policies against Buddhists increased
President Diem was ultimately overthrown and executed in 1963
Unfortunately his reign was followed by corrupt military regimes
Due to this constant change in leadership and political instability, the communists began to gain ground in South Vietnam

14. Tonkin Gulf Incident
On August 2, 1964, North Vietnamese gunboats attacked the American destroyer USS Maddox
This incident prompted President Johnson to order airstrikes on North Vietnam
He also asked Congress to authorize the use of force to defend U.S. troops

15. Tonkin Gulf Resolution
Congress passed the Tonkin Gulf Resolution
This allowed the President to use military force without declaring war
President Johnson was now able to escalate the war without going back to Congress for a formal declaration of war.

17. Section 2- U.S. Involvement and Escalation

18. Johnson Increases US Involvement
At first the American public seemed to support U.S. Involvement in Vietnam
U.S. troops go to fight alongside South Vietnamese
Johnson was initially opposed to sending ground troops into Vietnam
“I am not about to send American boys 9 or 10,000 miles away from home to do what Asian boys ought to be doing for themselves.”

19. Strong Support For Containment
Despite his opposition to sending troops in March of 1965, he finally began sending tens of thousands of troops to fight in Vietnam
His close advisors, Robert McNamara (Secretary of Defense) and Dean Rusk (Secretary of State) pushed him towards this decision
In 1965, 61% of Americans supported the war, while 24% opposed it

20. The Troop Buildup Accelerates
By the end of 1965, the U.S. government had sent more than 180,000 Americans to Vietnam
American commander in South Vietnam General William Westmoreland (served in WWII and Korea), continued to request more troops
Westmoreland was not impressed with the South Vietnamese soldiers (Army of the Republic of Vietnam)
By 1967, 500,000 US troops were in Vietnam

21. Fighting in The Jungle
The U.S. believed its superior technology and weaponry would lead to a quick victory over the Vietcong
Vietcong used guerrilla warfare along with hit and run tactics
Due to their knowledge of the land this gave them a strategic advantage which helped make up for their lack of high powered weaponry
The also used covert spies, booby traps and hidden land mines

22. An Elusive Enemy
The Vietcong lived amongst the people, so it was hard to tell who was friend or foe
Although our biggest disadvantage was we didn’t know the layout of the land
The Vietcong also had elaborate networks of tunnels
The tunnels were burrowed deep and often connected villages. They could withstand airstrikes, help them launch surprise attacks and then disappear.
“The more the Americans tried to drive us away from our land, the more we burrowed into it.”-Leader of the Vietcong

25. Vietcong Underground Tunnels

26. Punji Stake Trap

27. A Frustrating War of Attrition
General Westmoreland’s strategy was to conduct a war of attrition designed to destroy their (the V.C.) morale and wear them down
He also introduced the idea of a “body count” to encourage his men and discourage the enemy
This meant showing images of the dead Vietnamese soldiers/civilians
The U.S. viewed Vietnam as a military struggle and a battle of ideologies while the Vietcong viewed the Vietnam War as “a battle for their very existence”.

29. Effects of Agent Orange
Fighting in the Jungle
The Battle for “Hearts and Minds”
U.S. wants to stop Vietcong from winning support of rural population
Weapons for exposing tunnels often wound civilians, destroy villages
Napalm: A gasoline-based bomb that sets fire to jungle
Agent Orange: A vegetation killing, toxic chemical
Search-and-destroy Missions move civilian suspects, destroy livestock and property
U.S. troops uproot civilians with suspected ties to the Vietcong and burned their villages
Villagers fled to cities or refugee camps
Effects of Agent Orange

30. Spraying Agent Orange

31. Napalm Explosion

32. Fighting in the Jungle
As time wore on the morale American troops drastically sink
Many soldiers are frustrated with guerilla warfare and the brutal jungle conditions
However, their failure to make substantial headway against enemy becomes the prevailing issue
Some soldiers believed in the cause, but many soldiers were legally required to fight a war they did not support
As a result many soldiers turned to alcohol and drugs

33. The Early War at Home
Due to the rising cost of the Vietnam War the Great Society suffered
The war was costly and the U.S. economy suffered
The inflation rate jumped to 5.5%
Johnson asked for a tax increase to help fund the war and check inflation
Congress agreed, but only if the funding for Great Society programs were reduced by six billion dollars
By 1967 America was now split 50/50 on the war
America’s youth would soon begin protesting the war
Living Room War-Combat footage appeared on the nightly news souring many Americans on a daily basis
Quoted body count statistics which continued to divide many American’s

34. Mounting Credibility Gap
Credibility Gap-An apparent difference between what is said or promised and what happens or is true.
Civilians at home constantly questioned if what the government was reporting was really what was happening
Americans saw images on TV that did not match up with the optimistic gov. report
Fulbright Hearings-Arkansas Senator J. William Fulbright televised a series of hearing in which the Johnson administration defended their Vietnam policies between 1966 and 1971.