Journal (03-04)
Recall: What is containment? What are some examples of containment that we’ve studied so far?
The Vietnam War
Part I: Background to the War
in Vietnam
Post-World War II Vietnam
• Prior to World War II à Vietnam was part of French Indochina • During W.W. II àVietnam
Japanese colony
• After W.W. II à Nationalist Ho Chi Minh declares Vietnamese independence
U.S. Response
• Communism OR Anti-Colonialism?
• Two events galvanized U.S. support of French:
1. the fall of China to communism (1949)
2. the Korean War (1950) • These two events convinced U.S.
officials that communism was spreading throughout Asia, so Truman authorizes military aid to French.
Ho Chi Minh
U.S. Response
• By 1954, U.S. paying for 3/4ths of
French war costs in Indochina. • In 1954, Eisenhower articulates domino
theory:
• If Vietnam falls to Communism, so too will other Southeast Asian nations.
You have a row of dominos set up, you knock over the first one, and what will happen to the last one is the certainty that it will go over very quickly Asia, after all, has already lost 450 million of its peoples to the Communist dictatorship, and we simply can t afford greater losses. - Quoted in
America in Vietnam
Back in Indochina
• Vietminh – independence movement led by Ho Chi Minh against foreign occupation • Vietnminh victory at Dien Bien
Phu is turning point (1954) à
began French withdrawal from Indochina
• Geneva Accords (1954) - Peace
Geneva Accords
• Divided Vietnam at 17th parallel
• North – Vietminh; Ho Chi Minh, Communist • South – pro-Western; Ngo
Dinh Diem
• Elections should be held in 1956 to reunite country. • Predict: Will they happen? If
Part II: From Advisors to
“Conflict”
Ngo Dinh Diem
•
Corrupted election (1955) -98% (?)
•
Roman Catholic – 10% of
population, church owned 90% of
land
•
Prison camps for some political
opponents
•
Religious suppression of Buddhists
(70% of population)
Assassinations
JFK Diem
LBJ s War
President Lyndon Baines Johnson
Gulf of Tonkin Incident
Two Ships attacked by Northern Vietnamese
1. Aug 2, 1964 2. Aug 4, 1964
Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara’s reflections from Fog of War.
What happened at the Gulf of Tonkin that increased American involvement in Vietnam?
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
• Constitution provides that only Congress can declare war • It was like Grandma s nightshirt—
it covered everything • Two Senators objected • “I believe that history will record
we have made a great mistake...We are in effect giving the President war-making powers in the absence of a declaration of war. --Senator Wayne Morse (Oregon) • Airstrikes begin
Escalation of the War
“We cannot be defeated by force of arms…We will stand in Vietnam.” – President Johnson
Operation Rolling Thunder (1965) • Bombing campaign against targets
in North
• By end of 1967 – 800 tons of bombs dropped per day (success?) • Also used defoliants/chemicals
(napalm, Agent Orange)
Difficult Conditions
for U.S. Soldiers
Tropical Climate
Guerilla warfare
The landscape (rugged jungle)
Escalation of the War (and frustration)
•
You can kill ten of my men for every one I
kill of yours, but even at those odds, you
will lose and I will win.
--Ho Chi Minh
(earlier warning to the French)
Tet Offensive
• The Tet Offensive (Jan. 30, 1968— the turning point in the war) • Tet = the Vietnamese New Year à
suspend fighting? • 85,000 Vietcong and North
Vietnamese attacked over 100 southern bases, villages, cities (Saigon too), military bases, and the American Embassy simultaneously. • Tet Offensive was a failure
militarily, YET it was a victory…
Tet Offensive
The turning point in Vietnam
It was a failure for the communists, but…it shook American confidence in the Vietnam war.
Tet Offensive
Americans watched the Tet Offensive and learned: • No part of South Vietnam is
safe (embassy, Saigon?)
• Credibility gap (trust
government?) à“I thought we were winning the war. What the hell is going on?
Tet Offensive
Due Wednesday (tomorrow)
Read “Hmong Involvement in Vietnam”
•
Pre-read the text.
•
Preview the questions.
•
Highlight or mark the text as you come
across relevant information.
•
Respond to the questions when you
finish reading.
Journal (03-04
What is the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution and
why was it important?
When finished:
•
Also, pull out completed “Hmong
Involvement
…
” reading. I’ll stamp.
•
Pull out notes from yesterday. Prepare
Clarification
Vietminh – Nationalist
communists in the
North
Part III: Getting Out of
Vietnam
Pull out notes from yesterday.
Prepare to continue and complete.
Also, pull out completed “Hmong
Involvement
…
” reading
From LBJ to Nixon s War
Vietnamization
Vietnamization
• Turnover responsibility of war to Southern Vietnamese troops --gradual U.S. withdrawal • Result of Tet
The Secret War
• Cambodia and Laos previously been off-limits
• Vietminh had been using Laos and Cambodia (Ho Chi Minh trail) • Attack these countries à destroy supply
lines and military bases
• Secretly the CIA had been operating in Laos since JFK
• Recruited Hmong people to oppose pro-communist Laotian government
The Secret War
• U.S. withdraw = Hmong persecution • Hmong are still persecuted today • 1970 – Laotin communist leader ousted
by pro-American Laotians • Nixon responded by making earlier
attacks on Laos public ( no big deal, we were aiding an allied nation )à
public outraged (again)
Peace
• January 27th, 1973 – cease fire announced
• U.S. agrees to withdrawal forces, dividing line remains, and release of POWs
War Ends
South Vietnam Falls
• January, 1975 – Vietminh attackSouth Vietnam
• “America can gain regain the sense of pride that existed before Vietnam. But it cannot be achieved by refighting a was that is finished as far as America is concerned.” – President Gerald For • April, 1975 – helicopter flights • April 30, 1975 –Saigon falls to Vietminh à Vietnam becomes communist, led by Ho Chi Minh • Domino effect? Not exactly…
Why did the U.S. Fail?
Remember: Goal was an independent anti-communist Vietnam
1. Vietnamese History: Had been fighting for independence for 2,000 years. Why would they all of a sudden stop? 2. Ineffective leadership in South Vietnam (Diem & others
perceived as puppets)
3. Decline in American domestic support for the war (not just the radicals in the antiwar movement. Even Walter Cronkite!!!)
4. poor political and military strategiesà Conventional war tactics didn t work. Also, can military solve a political problem?
5. Wars of occupation are proving to be futile.
Legacy
• 58,000 U.S. soldiers dead • 300,000 U.S. soldiers injured • 1 mil. Vietnamese soldiers dead • Vietnamese civilians?
• PTSD
• American citizens - cynicism and distrust of leaders