VIETNAM WAR

1955-1975
 FRANCE

Controlled Indochina since the 1850s

The French maintained control of their colonies
until World War II, when the war in the Pacific led to
the Japanese invasion of French Indochina in 1941.
the French were forced to surrender control of French
Indochina to Japan.
Viet Minh Common Front (VM)
Founded 1941
Sought independence from France
Controlled by the Indochinese Communist Party
Fiscally supported by the U.S and Chinese Nationalist Party in
order to fight against the Japanese occupiers
Vietcong
guerillas
Japanese Occupation
The natural resources of Vietnam
were exploited for the purposes of
the Japanese Empire's military
campaigns.
 HO CHI MINH

Communist leader
of the Viet Minh
Organized
resistance against
the foreign
occupiers
 POST JAPAN

August Revolution
After the Japanese surrender, The VM forces moved into
the major cities and took control of the public buildings
and weapon caches.
Allied Forces declared the territory belonged to
France.
Divided Vietnam at the 16th Parallel
North Vietnam- Chinese Nationalists
South Vietnam- British forces
EXIT OF THE FRENCH 1950-
1954
342 US TROOPS (54)
 FIRST INDOCHINA WAR

Viet Minh, with the support of the Soviet Union,

occupied Hanoi and proclaimed a provisional
government, which asserted national
independence.
France sent troops to pacify the Vietnamese
liberation movement and to restore French
colonial rule.
French vessels bombarded the port city of
Haiphong, which started Viet Minh's guerrilla
campaign against French forces
 US INVOLVEMENT

Domino Theory
China and the Soviet Union supported the govt in Hanoi
The British, French, and US supported the State of
Vietnam in Saigon
The possible consequences of the loss [of Indochina] are
just incalculable to the free world.
~Eisenhower
Military Assistance and Advisory Group
Training, financial, equipment support
The U.S. contributed $2.6 billion in aid between 1950 and
1954.
 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
May 7, 1954 France sued for peace
 The Geneva Accords
The French setback at the Siege of Dien Bien Phu
allowed Ho Chi Minh to negotiate a ceasefire
from a 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
Ho Chi Minh
US friendly government in South Vietnam
Ngo Dinh Diem
 SEATO

In 1954, the US and seven other

countries formed the Southeast Asia
Treaty Organization (SEATO) to stop
the spread of communism in
Southeast Asia
The US was thus able to provide
economic and military aid to South
Vietnam
 NGO DINH DEIM

Leader of South
Vietnam Govt
Tried to eliminate
political opposition
October 26, 1955
After a referendum
South Vietnam was
declared an
independent state.
Republic of Vietnam (ROV)
Policies
Buddhist monk Thich Quang Duc burned himself to death at a busy intersection
in downtown Saigon to protest against the persecution of Buddhists by the
government of South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem in 1963
 HO CHI MINH TRAIL

The transport system

that ran from NV to
the ROV through the
neighboring
territories of Laos
and Cambodia.
It provided support
for VC in the form of
manpower and
materials,
 KENNEDY 61-63
US TROOPS- 3,205 (61)16,793 (63)
 DIEMS ASSASSINATION

In 1961, President Kennedy sent Special Forces

(Green Berets) to advise the South Vietnamese Army
(ARVN)
Cable 243
The CIA planned a military coup to overthrow Diems regime
November 2,1963 Diem and his brother were overthrown
and assassinated
Chaos ensued in the country and the new
government was seen as puppets for the US.
The US continued to embed troops at every level of
the Vietnamese Army.
 JOHNSON 63-69
US TROOPS- 23,310 (64)549,500 (69)
 GULF OF TONKIN INCIDENTS

August 1964: In response to American and South

Vietnamese espionage along its coast, North
Vietnam launched an attack against the U.S.S.
Turner Joy and the U.S.S. Maddox
The first attack occurred on August 2, 1964.
The US Navy reported that a second attack
occurred on August 4, but authorities (2005)
concluded that no second attack ever took place.
 GULF OF TONKIN RESOLUTION

Gave the US President

broad powers to conduct
military operations in
Southeast Asia w/o
declaring war.
to take all necessary
steps, including the use of
armed force, to assist any
member or protocol state
of the Southeast Asia
Collective Defense Treaty
requesting assistance in
defense of its freedom.
 US ESCALATION

With his new powers, Johnson authorized an

extensive bombing campaigns on North Vietnam
Operation Rolling Thunder
LeMay- Were going to bomb them back into the Stone
Age.
The US increased its ground forces to protect US
assets in SV.
Gen. William Westmoreland
Army chief of staff
Became the public face of the war
His primary objective was to use US military
technological superiority to defeat the Vietcong
 OPERATION RANCH HAND

The defoliation
program to remove
the jungle landscape.
Agent Orange
This deadly chemical
cocktail, containing
dioxin, killed off
millions of acres of
jungle to try to weaken
the North Vietnamese
forces.
 TET OFFENSIVE

In 1968, things had gone from

bad to worse for the Johnson
administration. In late January,
North Vietnam and the
Vietcong launched coordinated
attacks against major southern
cities.
The United States pushed back
the offensive and won a
tactical victory.
American media coverage
characterized the conflict as a
defeat, and U.S. public support
for the war plummeted
 NIXON 1969-1972
US TROOPS- 335,790 (70)24,500 (72)
 MY LAI MASSACRE

A serious blow to U.S. credibility came with the

exposure of the My Lai Massacre (March 1968).
Covered up at the time and only discovered by a
tenacious journalist, this involved the killing of
400 men, women and children by US troops.
 VIETNAMIZATION

Nixon's started a plan called Vietnamization.

This strategy brought American troops home
while increasing the air war over North Vietnam
and relying more on the South Vietnamese army.
(ARVN)
 DTENTE

The easing of tensions btwn the Soviet Union and

the US.
Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT)
 US DE-ESCALATION

Jan 1970 Nixon begins American US troop

withdraw
Oct 1972 Beginning of peace talks
December 1972Operation Linebacker II
 1973-1975
R E D U C T I O N O F U S S U P P O RT
 PARIS PEACE ACCORDS

After secret negotiations between U.S. emissary

Henry A. Kissinger and North Vietnamese.
A cease-fire was finally signed in January 1973,
known as the The Paris Peace Accords and the
last U.S. military personnel left Vietnam in March
1973.
The defense of Vietnam was left up to the ARVN
 FALL OF SAIGON

From March 1973 until the fall of Saigon on April

30, 1975, the ARVN tried to save the South from
political and military collapse.
Communist forces violated the Paris Peace Accord
and attacked and captured the presidential
palace in Saigon, ending the Vietnam War and
creating the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
Operation Frequent Wind
Boat People