1. Vietnam War 1946-54 1961-1975

2. Background  Indochina-peninsula southwest of China and east of India

3. Indochina War 1946-1954  France (colonial power) vs. “Vietminh” (League for Vietnamese Independence)

4. WWII  Japan had occupied French colonies in Indochina  Vietminh (League for Vietnamese Independence) aimed to drive out Japanese  Led by Ho Chi Minh (Communist)

5. Ho Chi Minh

6. With defeat of Japan in 1945, declares Democratic Republic of Vietnam, which France refused to recognize

7. 1946 – after WWII  French troops arrive in North Vietnam  Ho’s “Viet Minh” guerrillas begin to attack the French  Engage in battle with French forces until 1954 victory

10. Guerrillas wore no uniforms and infiltrated villages

11.  China backed Ho Chi Minh  America backed the French

12. Result  Geneva Convention on the Far East, 1954  Major powers agree to divide Indochina into four states 1. Ho Chi Minh to rule Communist North Vietnam 2. Non-Communist rule in South Vietnam (Vietnam divided at 17 th parallel)supported by U.S. 3. Laos 4. Cambodia Foreign troops left, Vietnamese to hold free elections within 2 years and reunite under government of their choice

13. Partition of Vietnam - results  Cut off North Vietnam from rice supplies in Mekong Delta  Many Vietnamese living under governments they resented  Leader of south Vietnam – Ngo Dinh Diem (anti-Communist Roman Catholic, corrupt and tyrannical)  Buddhist peasants hated him  He did nothing for land reform

14. 1957  Communist guerrilla army organized (National Liberation Front) to wage war on Diem  Called for a free, unified Vietnam  Diem asked the US for help  Communist countries supported the North, while non-Communist countries supported the south

15. N.L.F. aka Viet Cong (Communists)

16. US involvement  Gave aid and training to the South to fight against the Viet Cong  Wanted to stop the advancement of the Communists  15000 US troops and well-trained South Vietnamese failed to defeat the Vietcong who ambushed and raided from hide-outs  1963, South Vietnamese army officers, tired of Diem’s poor leadership and encouraged by the CIA, staged a revolution and killed Diem

17. American Fears  Many different South Vietnamese governments followed, each supported by US  US viewed this as containment of communism  Wanted to avoid more communist takeovers of Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, India, Pakistan (“domino theory”)

18. JFK Restricted U.S. involvement to advisers and military supplies to the south

19. Escalation  July 1964 – South Vietnamese boats attack north of 17 th parallel  North Vietnamese torpedo boats respond by sinking two American destroyers in Gulf of Tonkin…  Not officially at war yet, the U.S., under president Lyndon Johnson, sends more troops and conducts massive bombings on industries and supply routes in the North  They used Gulf of Tonkin incident as excuse to massively increase America’s role in Vietnam war

20. “Operation Rolling Thunder” U.S. under Lyndon Johnson  Massive bombing campaign of North Vietnam – Aims -demoralize the North Vietnamese -stop communist North Vietnam from supporting Viet Cong in South Vietnam without having to deploy U.S. ground forces into N. Vietnam -destroy N. Vietnam’s infrastructure -stop flow of materials and men into S. Vietnam

22. Impasse  More US troops didn’t prevent invasion from the North  US citizens watched every night on TV  Saw inability of US troops and images of Vietnamese civilians suffering  Constant US bombing of the North’s villages Napalm attack

24. Vancouver Sun cartoon, 1969 “They’re friendly…take cover!”

29. Tet Offensive  Vietcong’s offensive in Jan-Feb 1968  Fighting intensified; Vietcong beaten back  40,000 VC dead vs. 4,000 U.S. & S. Vietnamese dead  Turned U.S. public opinion against the war  Brought war into southern cities  Military aid poured into South by US, into North by USSR & China http://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war- history/videos/tet-offensive-surprises-americans

30. My Lai massacre (1968)

31. http://www.history.com/topics/vietnam- war/my-lai-massacre/videos

32. Lyndon Johnson didn’t stand for re-election- 1968  Richard Nixon (Republican) won using platform of “Vietnamisation”  - promised withdrawal, yet sent more troops

33. American Withdrawal- “Vietnamization”

34. By 1972  Only 47,000 U.S. troops left in Vietnam  Withdrawal of U.S. troops gave Nixon massive majority  1973 –ceasefire agreed with VC and North Vietnamese  Agreement: U.S. to remove all troops; Communist forces would not extend control beyond areas they already occupied  TRICKED!  Communist forces – final push on Saigon

36. Anti-war movement

38. Draft-dodgers  http://www.history.com/topics/vietnam- war/vietnam-war-history/videos/dodging- the-draft http://www.history.com/topics/vietnam- war/vietnam-war-history/videos/dodging- the-draft

39. The End  1969 –- Peace talks in Paris begin  1973 –- cease-fire reached  American troops left South Vietnam, but fighting continued  1975-last of the Americans were airlifted out, Viet Cong took over Saigon, renamed it Ho Chi Minh city  1976 – Vietnam officially reunified and Communist

40. Death Toll  Perhaps 1 million VC, North Vietnamese soldiers, and civilians  600,000 South Vietnamese soldiers/civilians  Over 50, 000 U.S. troops

41. Reasons the U.S. lost  U.S. public outrage over killing of civilians  Hostile environment for the Americans (jungles)  Communists – vital backing of Soviets & China  Communist forces- committed to their cause, high morale; American troops - disillusioned