VIETNAM or INDOCHINA WAR (s)

1
VIETNAM or INDOCHINA WAR (s)
2
FRENCH INDOCHINA

• French colonize parts of Southeast Asia in 1880s,
  incl. Kingdom of Vietnam
• When French fall to Nazis and Japanese in World
  War II, Vietnamese led by Communist Ho Chi Minh
  begin revolt

3
HO CHI MINH

• Defeats French in 1954 at Battle of Dienbienphu
• French, Communists sign Geneva Accords

4
GENEVA ACCORDS

• Laos and Cambodia to become independent.
• Vietnam split into North under Communist
  control, and South non-Communist
• Elections to be held in two years (1956) to
  decide government for whole country

5
THE OUTCOME

• Elections are never held
• US and South Vietnam
• Fear Communist trickery
• Ngo Dinh Diem is made
• President of South Viet-
• Nam with American
• backing

6
DOMINO THEORY and COMMITMENTS

• US pledged through SEATO treaty to defend
  Thailand, Philippines and South Vietnam.
• Domino Theory fear that if one country in SE
  Asia becomes Communist, they all will follow. SE
  Asia is strategic area.

7
DIEM

• Unpopular as president
• Authoritarian, aloof from the people
• Buddhist protests and betrayal by military
  officers lead to his downfall

8
DILEMNA!

• What was US to do about South Vietnam?
• Vietcong, backed by North Vietnam and USSR, were
  making gains in countryside.
• But there was no viable government.

9
US INVOLVEMENT

• US backs a series of military governments, begins
  massive bombing of North Vietnam and begins
  sending massive numbers of combat troops in 1965.
  

10
LAOS and CAMBODIA

• Communist-led uprisings also take place in these
  two monarchies
• Vietcong make great use of the mountainous border
  with these countries for their supply line from
  North Vietnam, called the Ho Chi Minh Trail

11
TET OFFENSIVE

• Surprise attack by VC and North Vietnamese across
  South Vietnam during traditional truce period.
• Gives lie to US predictions of
• speedy
• victory.

12
MY LAI MASSACRE

• American troops are ordered to destroy a South
  Vietnamese village and end up massacring 450
  inhabitants
• Public reaction against war inflamed, but many
  find it excusable.

13
VIETNAMIZAION

• Elected president in 1968, Nixon promises to turn
  more of fighting over to the South Vietnamese.
• However, to support them he continues the bombing
  campaign on VC supply lines and, in 1970, invades
  Cambodia

14
PEACE TALKS

• Begin in 1970
• Two years spent arguing over the shape of the
  table
• Cease-fire signed in January, 1973.
• American troops go home. Most prisoners of war
  are released.

15
END OF WAR

• Communists break cease-fire terms and quickly
  overwhelm South Vietnamese.
• North and South Vietnam are re-unified. Saigon
  becomes Ho Chi Minh City
• Communists also win in Laos and
  Cambodia-Bloodbath in Cambodia