Vietnam: Road to “The American War”

“It was patriotism, not Communism, that

inspired me.”Ho Chi Minh

Southeast Asia

Indochina:

In its broadest sense, Indochina includes most of Southeast Asia; In its strictest sense, it is a political distinction created by France to include its colonial possessions of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia (also known as French Indochina).

Timeline to War: 1945 (Sept. 2): Ho Chi

Minh, in the absence of both Japanese and French imperialists, declares Vietnam an independent nation, with a declaration modeled on our own.

1946: The French under President Charles De Gaulle return to Indochina with full military force, and with support of the U.S.

Question: Why would the U.S. support the re-colonialization of Vietnam in 1946?

Hint: What was going on in Europe at this time (1946)?

The Cold War! The U.S. needed French support for the Marshall Plan and NATO.

The First Indochina War (’46-’54) was fought by Cold War antagonists: U.S.S.R. and China supported

Vietminh. The U.S. supported France.

Related Vocabulary:

Vietminh: League for the Independence of Vietnam…nationwide

political movement against the French led by Ho Chi Minh.

Containment: U.S. foreign policy of committing political and

economic resources to stop the spread of Communism. (first articulated by George F. Kennan)

Domino Theory: Belief that Communism had to be stopped or it would

spread (like dominoes falling).

George F. Kennan

Timeline to War: First Indochina War

(1945-1954) ended with the Geneva Accords, which split Vietnam in two at the 17th parallel and recognized independence of Laos and Cambodia.

Critical battle of the First Indochina War was the siege of Dien Bien Phu: Vietminh utilized Chinese

artillery to defeat the French and essentially end their claims to Indochina.

Timeline to War: Geneva Accords:

A Communist government under Ho Chi Minh would control north.

A national government under Emperor Bao Dai and Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem would control south.

Capitals established in Hanoi and Saigon.

Elections would be held in 1956 with the aim of unification.

Timeline to War: 1956: Elections not held or

supported by U.S., which worked to solidify border and support the Diem regime in the south.

Eisenhower cited the “Domino Theory” as a rationale for not having elections (he feared that Ho Chi Minh would win) Communist’s notorious for rigging

“free” elections Uncle Ho was a popular leader,

even among those that did not support Communism.

Relevant Vocabulary:

National Liberation Front: The “Vietcong.” Communist movement in S.

Vietnam; guerrilla fighters loyal to Ho Chi Minh. NVA: North Vietnamese Army (loyal to Ho Chi Minh). ARVN: Army of the Republic of Vietnam (S. Vietnam)

allied w/ the U.S. and French.

Timeline to War: 1956-63: Both Eisenhower

and John F. Kennedy increased “advisors” to S. Vietnam.

Kennedy increased levels to about 16,000.

Kennedy ambiguous about U.S. intentions in Vietnam.

Cronkite interviewed Kennedy at Hyannis Port: Find the mixed message

(Cronkite-Kennedy Interview)

Timeline to War: 1964 – Critical Year! President Johnson dramatically

increases U.S. presence in SE Asia after “incidences” in the Gulf of Tonkin.

Johnson was embroiled in an election campaign and wanted to appear tough on Communism.

Tonkin Gulf video Tonkin Gulf Resolution amounts to a

declaration of war. Johnson unleashes “Operation

Rolling Thunder – large-scale bombing of N. Vietnam – in Feb. 1965.

1965 also marks the beginning of national prominence for the anti-war movement in the U.S.

Relevant Vocabulary: Escalation: An increase in the use of armaments; increase

in the scope of a conflict. Credibility Gap: The gap between reality and what politicians

and governments say about reality. Or, the gap between what L.B.J. was saying about Vietnam and what was actually happening there.

U.S. Forces Mobilize for the WarMore than 2.5 million Americans served in the Vietnam War.

On average, the soldiers who served in Vietnam were• slightly younger than the U.S. troops who fought in

Korea and World War II, and not as well educated.

•25 percent were excused for health reasons; •30 percent received deferments, or postponements of service.•College students were deferred, so men from higher-income families were less likely to serve. •A high percentage of combat soldiers were African Americans.•A draft lottery began in 1969; the draft ended in 1973.•3 percent of eligible men escaped the draft by either refusing to register or by leaving the United States.

U.S. “superiority” in the air war

Operation Rolling Thunder A bombing campaign over North Vietnam

Weapons of the Air War Agent Orange—defoliant, or chemical, that

destroys vegetation Napalm—jellied form of gasoline used to

create firebombs “Cluster bombs”—sprayed sharp metal

fragments when exploded

Hawks and Doves

Doves—people opposed to the war

Hawks—people who supported the war’s goals

Both criticized the war effort.

Hawks wanted more troops and bombing.

Doves opposed the war for many reasons.

What about the people?

• Pacification - “win the hearts and minds” of the South Vietnamese people.

• American forces in Vietnam faced many challenges.– Vietcong struck and then melted back into the jungle– Vietnamese peasants seemed peaceful during the

day, but at night aided or became Vietcong.– Vietcong knew the local geography.– Nearly impossible to tell the difference between a

Vietcong fighter and a civilian.

Tet Offensive

Main Communist offensive began on January 30, 1968, at the start of Tet, the Vietnamese New Year.

Some 84,000 Communist soldiers attacked 12 U.S. military bases and more than 100 cities across South Vietnam.

1968 Election

The Democratic Primary Fight

– Johnson announces he will not run for re-election.

– Vice President Hubert Humphrey entered the race and defended the administration’s policies in Vietnam.

– Senator Robert Kennedy also called for an end to the war and won primaries in Indiana, Nebraska, and California.

• Kennedy was shot leaving a Las Vegas hotel by Sirhan Sirhan, a Jordanian immigrant who didn’t like Kennedy’s support for Israel.

Republicans and Results

The Results• The election was very close—just 510,000 votes

separated Nixon and Humphrey.

• Nixon won 43.4 percent of the votes cast to Humphrey’s 42.7 percent.

• Nixon won 301 electoral votes to Humphrey’s 191.

• Wallace was one of the most successful third party candidates in U.S. history (46 electoral votes and 13.5 percent of the popular vote).

Laos and Cambodia

• At the same time, Nixon was secretly expanding the war.

• He ordered the bombing of Cambodia to disrupt the flow of supplies on the Ho Chi Minh trail.

• Concealed the air strikes from the American people—including members of Congress

• Sent U.S. and ARVN troops into Cambodia and into Laos to destroy North Vietnamese army bases

• Renewed bombing of North Vietnam

• Nixon hoped to force North Vietnam to seek peace.

Kent State

My Lai Massacre

• Troops under Lieutenant William Calley killed at least 450 men, women, and children in the village of My Lai.• No Vietcong were found in the village.

• The My Lai massacre was kept quiet at first, but former soldiers began talking about it.

• Calley was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison; he was paroled in 1974.

Pentagon Papers

• A collection of secret government documents that traced the history of U.S. military involvement in Vietnam since the Truman years

• Revealed that government officials had been misleading the American people about the war for years

• Daniel Ellsberg leaked the papers to the press.• Ellsberg concluded that few South Vietnamese

civilians supported the U.S.-backed government.

End of the war

Nixon tried to force North Vietnam to make peace concessions by ordering the so-called “Christmas bombings.”

An agreement was reached in January 1973.

Vietnam War’s Legacy

• Two years after U.S. troops were withdrawn, North Vietnamese troops invaded South Vietnam.

• After a short amount of fighting, South Vietnam surrendered.– The U.S. military rushed to evacuate Americans still working in Saigon.

– Some 130,000 South Vietnamese were also evacuated and flown to the United States.

• After two decades of “temporary” division, Vietnam was reunited under a Communist government.

• In 1975, Communist forces called the Khmer Rouge gained control of Cambodia.

– Vietnam forces invaded Cambodia in 1979, overthrew the Khmer Rouge, and occupied the country till 1989.

Tom Paxton: Lyndon Johnson Told the Nation

1965

I got a letter from L. B. J.It said this is your lucky day.It's time to put your khaki trousers on.Though it may seem very queerWe've got no jobs to give you hereSo we are sending you to Viet Nam

[Chorus:]Lyndon Johnson told the nation,"Have no fear of escalation.I am trying everyone to please.Though it isn't really war,We're sending fifty thousand more,To help save Viet nam from Viet Namese."

I jumped off the old troop ship,And sank in mud up to my hips.I cussed until the captain called me down.Never mind how hard it's raining,Think of all the ground we're gaining,Just don't take one step outside of town.

[Repeat Chorus:]

Every night the local gentry,Sneak out past the sleeping sentry.They go to join the old VC.In their nightly little dramas,They put on their black pajamas,And come lobbing mortar shells at me.

[Repeat Chorus:] We go round in helicopters,

Like a bunch of big grasshoppers,Searching for the Viet Cong in vain.They left a note that they had gone.They had to get down to Saigon,Their government positions to maintain.

[Repeat Chorus:] Well here I sit in this rice paddy,

Wondering about Big Daddy,And I know that Lyndon loves me so.Yet how sadly I remember,Way back yonder in November,When he said I'd never have to go.

[Repeat Chorus:]

Bibliography, on-line sources

http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/pentagon/pent12.htm Pentagon Papers related to early Vietnam policy

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/21/newsid_3894000/3894175.stm BBC article from 1954 with provisions and reactions from Eisenhower, Congress to Geneva Accords.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/rolling_thunder.htm http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/vietnam/antiwar.html http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,988162-2,00.html

biography of Ho Chi Minh http://www.history.com/media.do?

mediaType=All&searchTerm=Vietnam&action=search&showName=-1&x=7&y=2 History Channel’s index of Vietnam War video.