The Vietnam War1945 - 1975

Vietnam 1945 - 1954Area of SE Asia known as

Indochina, governed by France since late 19th cent.

Northern area undergoes communist revolution, led by Ho Chi Minh

Vietnam 1945 - 1954Communist forces (called the Viet Minh) fight

the French for 9 years; climactic battle fought at Dien Bien Phu

French surrender (go figure); burden falls to US to prevent communist expansion

Vietnam 1945 - 1954

Independent Vietnam declared; noncommunists, aided by US, set up Republic of South Vietnam, capitol in Saigon

Vietnam divided along 17th parallel

US Involvement in VietnamEisenhower sends $$ and advisors to build S.

Vietnamese Army, installs Ngo Dinh Diem

Diem, with Eisenhower and John Foster Dulles

US Involvement in Vietnam

Diem very unpopular with Vietnamese; why:

Catholic in land of Buddhists

French educated

Brutal against dissentersBuddhist monk protesting suppression of Buddhism in Vietnam

US Involvement in VietnamBy 1960, 17,000 advisors in Vietnam

JFK expands American presence, increases troop numbers and financial commitment; why?

Officers of Army of S. Vietnam

Advisors to S. Vietnamese Army

US Involvement in VietnamBy 1963, Diem govt. so unpopular JFK

decides to have him removed as president

S. Vietnamese Army officers stage coup, execute Diem outside of Saigon

Eventually replaced by Nguyen Van Thieu Wall on which Diem and family executed

US Involvement in VietnamJFK begins to reconsider commitment to

Vietnam, but assassinated Nov. 22, 1963

LBJ more committed to anti-communist South; reasons?

LBJ with Thieu, 1965

The Gulf of TonkinLBJ needs excuse to increase troop levels

August 2, 1964, N. Vietnam allegedly fires upon US warship in the Gulf of Tonkin

No definitive proof of attack

LBJ cites this as evidence of N. Vietnamese aggression

The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

LBJ asks Congress for authority to pursue war (a “blank check”); issues Resolution to expand involvement in war

Immediately expands number of troops, eventually to 500,000

US Troops in Vietnam2 mil troops served in Vietnam

Led by Gen. William Westmoreland

55,000+ killed in action

US Troops in VietnamMain opponents – North Vietnamese Army

(NVA) and South Vietnamese communists called Viet Cong (VC)

Much difficulty in fighting Viet Cong, due to guerrilla activity and ability to blend into society

1968 and the Tet Offensive By Jan. 1968, US

military promising a “light at the end of the tunnel”

Jan. 31: Viet Cong launch attacks all over S. Vietnam; televised in US

Attacked from sanctuaries in Cambodia and Laos

1968 and the Tet Offensive

Military defeat for VC, but televised battle turns American opinion against the war

Protests intensify

1968 ElectionWar protests and stress cause LBJ to decline

second term;

Nixon wins narrow election on promise to end war and reduce American commitment (the “Vietnamization” of the war)

Nixon and the WarNixon’s strategy is force NV to negotiate;

handled by Nat’l Security Advisor Henry Kissinger

1970 – began secret bombing of Cambodia; 1971 – expanded to Laos

Nixon and the WarReasons for bombings:

to end supply of Viet Cong from NVN through Laos and Cambodia

The “Ho Chi Minh Trail”

Nixon and the WarBombings kept from American

people for several months

Protests grow

Kent State, May, 1970

Nixon and the WarRelied less on ground troops

and more on massive bombing of the North

Strategy works; NV returns to negotiating

Operation Rolling Thunder

Nixon and the WarMain provisions of agreement

signed Jan. 1973:

Guarantee SVN independence from NVN

Return to 17th parallel

Return POWs/MIAs

End of US bombing

Senator John McCain, 5 years in POW camp

Aftermath of the War

One week later, North invades South, takes over Saigon, renames it Ho Chi Minh City

Agreement not meant to last; last Americans pull out on April 30, 1975

Aftermath of the WarVietnam unified under communist rule

1995 – Pres. Clinton recognizes nation of Vietnam; with help of Sen. McCain