The Vietnam War: 1954-1975

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The Vietnam War 1954-1975

• The War Unfolds

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VIETNAM - Beginnings

• The United States entered the Vietnam War to
  defeat Communist forces threatening South
  Vietnam.
• You have a row of dominoes set up, you knock
  over the first one, and what will happen to the
  last one is the certainty that will go over very
  quickly.
• President Dwight D. Eisenhower (1954)

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What events led to the war between North Vietnam
and South Vietnam?

• End of World War II - Japanese occupation of
  Vietnam ended
• French Indochina - A French colony that France
  tried to regain control of after WWII
• Nationalist uprising against the French in the
  North (led by Nationalist Communists under Ho Chi
  Minh and General Giap)
• French defeated at Dien Bien Phu - 1954

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What events led to the war between North Vietnam
and South Vietnam?

• Geneva Accords 1954 - divided Vietnam along the
  17th parallel
• North led by Ho Chi Minh
• South led by anti-Communist Ngo Dinh Diem
• Elections set for 1956 refused by South Vietnam -
  feared Communist unfairness and victory

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• The Vietnam War, 19541975

Although neighboring Laos and Cambodia were
officially neutral, both aided the North
Vietnamese and Viet Cong by providing access to
bases and the Ho Chi Minh Trail, a vital supply
route from North to South
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What events led to the war between North Vietnam
and South Vietnam?

• By 1960, President Eisenhower had pledged
  American support to Diem in the South
• US had 675 military advisors there
• US presence justified by the domino theory - if
  one country falls to communism, the rest will
  eventually fall too.

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What were the Vietnam policies of President
Kennedy and Robert McNamara?

• JFK - determined to stop spread of communism
• McNamara (Sec. of Defense) developed flexible
  response
• Continued support of the South Vietnamese
  struggle against the North

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The United States continued to support the
unpopular South Vietnamese government under Diem.

• South Vietnamese leader Diem - very unpopular,
  dictatorial
• Led to protests in the South by Buddhists
• Strategic hamlets - relocated Vietnamese farmers
• National Liberation Front formed in 1960 - a.k.a
  Viet Cong (VC) guerillas in the South -
  supported by North Vietnamese Army (NVA) supplies

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Events in November 1963 dramatically changed
United States ambitions in Vietnam.

• Diem assassinated Nov. 1, 1963 in a military coup
• JFK assassinated Nov. 22, 1963
• Lyndon B. Johnson (VP) became president
• LBJ continued Vietnam policies of JFK

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How did President Lyndon Johnson change the
course of the Vietnam War?

• Johnson feared Vietnam going Communist
• August 5, 1964 Tonkin Gulf Incident
• Congress passed Tonkin Gulf Resolution - Gave LBJ
  broad executive powers to wage war

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The Vietnam War 1954-1975

• Fighting the War 1965-1968
• At home and abroad.
• And its one, two, three,
• What are we fightin for?
• -Country Joe and the Fish

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VIETNAM - Escalation and Fighting

• The violence and brutality of the Vietnam War
  affected civilians as well as soldiers.

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Escalation of American involvement began in 1965
and continued through 1968.

• Beginning of 1965 - 25,000 troops
• End of 1968 - 500,000 troops

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How did battlefield conditions in Vietnam affect
American soldiers?

• The Vietnam war was characterized by small
  engagements (fights) that involved guerilla-type
  warfare.
• For US soldiers, it was difficult to know the
  difference between friend (ARVN South Vietnamese
  regular army) and foe (VC Viet Cong)

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Battlefield conditions in Vietnam

• American tactics consisted of search and
  destroy missions and massive bombing of VC
  targets.
• Operation Rolling Thunder - intensive bombing
  campaign from 1965-1968
• Americans had absolute mastery of the air
  throughout the course of the war.

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Bombing during Vietnam inflicted heavy damage on
the landscape and thousands of military and
civilian casualties.

• Americans used saturation bombing and
  fragmentation bombs
• Americans also used chemicals to defoliate the
  landscape
• Napalm
• Agent Orange

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US casualties increased.

• Casualties began to mount and TV networks
  broadcast scenes from the battlefield
• Weekly body counts became standard TV fare for
  nightly news.

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Americas first TV War

• Peoples perceptions of the war were more and
  more influenced by television news reports

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Hawks and Doves

• Hawks - supported the war
• Doves - opposed the war
• Although the majority of Americans still
  supported the Vietnam War, there was increasing
  disagreement in both government and the public
  mind over US Vietnam policy.

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A Growing Antiwar Movement

• More and more people saw the Vietnam war as a
  waste of federal tax money that could have been
  applied to LBJs Great Society domestic social
  programs.

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LBJ attempted to rally support

• War faced growing protest and unpopularity at
  home.
• LBJ continued to promote the war in order to
  maintain support for GREAT SOCIETY programs in
  the USA.
• Escalation continued.
• A growing credibility gap.

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A coordinated set of attacks by Viet Cong and
North Vietnamese during Tet (Vietnamese New
Year) US tactical victory - inflicted heavy
losses on the VC and North Vietnamese North
Vietnamese strategic advantage - American public
support of war dropped

• The Tet Offensive 1968

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The impact of the Tet Offensive on American
Public Opinion

• After the Tet Offensive in Jan-Feb of 1968,
  public opinion turned more sharply against
  continuing the war.
• Vocal anti-war protests increased
• Many Americans felt that
• US soldiers were not given a chance to win
• US didnt have a clear objective in Vietnam for
  victory
• LBJ made surprise announcement he wouldnt seek
  re-election in 1968

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Tet Illustrated Communist (VC) brutality and the
brutality of the war in general

• In recapturing Hue (Vietnamese city), VC murdered
  5000 civilians before surrendering.
• Suicide bombers hit civilian targets as well.
• South Vietnamese responded in anger and brutality
  as well.

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My Lai Massacre- 1968

• US soldiers under Lt. William Calley murdered
  Vietnamese civilians at My Lai (village) 250
• US helicopter crew stopped the slaughter
• Story with pictures published in LIFE magazine in
  1971
• American public horrified.
• An isolated incident but shocking that American
  soldiers could or would commit such atrocities

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Review Questions - answer these questions on a
separate sheet of paper

• Describe how the battlefield conditions affected
  the following people in Vietnam
• US Soldiers
• Vietnamese civilians
• Explain why the initial military action resulted
  in a stalemate.
• Describe the Tet Offensive of 1968. Explain how
  and why it proved to be a turning point in the
  Vietnam War.
• Choose a position either for (hawk) or against
  (dove) the war. Write a brief letter to the
  editor from that position.

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The Vietnam War 1954-1975

• The End of the War 1968-1975
• Seeking Peace with Honor

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The Paris Peace Talks and the Election of 1968.

• Begun May 5, 1968.
• No results.
• Nixon campaign message claimed he had a secret
  plan to end the war.
• LBJ - not seeking re-election
• Democratic race included
• VP Hubert H. Humphrey
• Sen. Robert F. Kennedy
• Sen. Eugene McCarthy

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Republican Richard Nixon won in 1968 - a
political comeback.

• Robert Kennedy assassinated in June.
• McCarthy - outspoken anti-war candidate.
• Democratic National Convention - Chicago riot
• Nixon defeated Humphrey.
• Promised to end the war and sought peace with
  honor.

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Vietnamization and Peace with Honor

• Plan of removing American troops and replacing
  them with South Vietnamese soldiers.
• US continued heavy bombing of Vietnam
• US troop strength dropped from 500,000 in 1969 to
  24,000 by 1972

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Widening the war into Cambodia to end it.

• Nixon ordered secret bombing of Viet Cong
  sanctuaries insided Cambodia (1970)
• US and South Vietnamese troops also invaded
  Cambodia
• Nixon hoped to win concessions at the bargaining
  table.

Operation Linebacker B-52s to bomb Cambodia
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Kent State (Akron, Ohio) 1970

• News of Cambodian invasion set off a new round of
  campus anti-war protests (May 1970)
• Jackson State (MS), 2 killed, 11 wounded
• Kent State - Ohio National Guard confronted
  hundreds of protesters -- 4 students killed, 9
  wounded
• Hundreds of campuses shut down early due to
  unrest.

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Nixon calls for law and order

• Nixon appealed to the great silent majority of
  Americans.
• If a vocal minority, however fervent its cause,
  prevails over reason and the will of the
  majoirty, this nation has no future as a free
  society.

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Hard Hat riots in New York City in support of
Nixon

• Over 100,000 construction workers marched.
• Angry at the student anti-war protestors

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1972 - Peace is at Hand

• Paris Peace talks stalled since 1968. Renewed
  periodically.
• National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger claimed
  peace was at hand - just before 1972 election.
• December 1972, new round of bombing - Christmas
  bombings (Nixon - a mad bomber)
• Bombed Hanoi, North Vietnam

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1973 - Paris Peace Accords

• The United States would withdraw all its forces
  from South Vietnam within 60 days.
• All prisoners of war would be released.
• All parties to the agreement would end military
  activities in Laos and Cambodia.
• The 17th parallel would continue to divide North
  and South Vietnam until the country could be
  reunited.

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South Vietnam falls

• North continued its assault on the South
• Saigon (capital of South) fell to communists in
  April, 1975
• US evacuates 1,000 remaining Americans and 6,000
  Vietnamese to aircraft carriers
• Vietnam united under communist rule

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Saigon - 1975 the final days
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Southeast Asia after the war.

• Dominoes of Laos and Cambodia fell to communism
  - no other SE Asian countries
• Cambodian Khmer Rouge government seized control
  under Pol Pot.

• Vietnam - 100,000s of South Vietnamese civilians,
  soldiers, civil servants, professionals forced
  into re-education camps.
• 1.5 million Vietnamese fled the country (100,000s
  of Cambodians and Laotians also) to the United
  States.

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Scenes of post-1975 SE Asia
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Legacy of the War

• 58,000 Americans dead
• 300,000 wounded
• 2,500 POWs
• 150 billion
• More bomb tonnage than in all Axis countries of
  WWII - combined
• Millions of Vietnamese soldiers and civilians
  killed
• 1994 - end of US embargo
• 1995 - formal US recognition of Vietnam

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The Vietnam Memorial - The Wall