Vietnam Background

1
Vietnam Background

• Ho Chi Minh
• Viet Minh
• Domino Theory
• Geneva Accords
• Ngo Dinh Diem
• Viet Cong
• Ho Chi Minh Trail
• Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

2
In the beginning.

• French missionaries went to Indochina in 19th
  cen.
• Vietnamese persecuted those French Catholics
• French sent in troops and eventually took over
  the country

3
Uncle Ho

• 1924 - Ho Chi Minh led a movement to oust the
  French
• Helped to create the Indochinese Communist Party
• Worked for a free and independent Vietnam

4
WWII

• 1940 French troops left to defend the homeland
• Japanese took over Vietnam
• Ho helped to fight Japanese
• 1945- Free and independent Vietnam
• ButFrench wanted the country back
• F. took control of the South
• Ho took control of the north

5
First Vietnam War

• War between French and Communist
• Commies were led by Ho
• US sided w/ France
• Truman sent 15 million in aid to France
• By 1954, 1billion had gone to help France in
  Vietnam
• Ike continued Trumans policy

6
Domino Theory

• Why support this war?
• Domino theory
• Ike said that the countries of SE Asia were like
  dominos If one fell to communism, they all
  would.
• French were forced to surrender at Dien Bien Phu

7
Geneva Accords

• Viet Minh South Vietnam anticommunist nationals
  
• Vietnam was temporarily divided at the 17th
  parallel
• Elections were to be held

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Elections

• Diem felt that Ho would win the election because
  of his immense popularity and cancelled the
  elections
• US supported Diem despite his corrupt govt
• Restricted religion to only Catholicism
• Buddhists were persecuted

10
More Fighting

• 1957- Former Viet Minh living in South began to
  attack Diems govt
• Diem gave this group a nickname
• Viet Cong Commie
• Ho supported VC by Ho Chi Minh trail
• Supplies sent along the border of Laos and
  Cambodia-around the DMZ

11
US gets involved

• Ike showed some support for Diem
• Sent in military advisors to help the South
  Vietnamese Army fight the VC and the NVA
• JFK showed some support for Diem
• 1963-16,000 military advisors to S. Vietnam
• Diem became more corrupt cruel

12
More US

• Diem instituted the Strategic Hamlet program
• Corralled people into controlled villages
• Controlled by Diem
• Idea was to deprive VC of support
• Actually increased support
• VC were fighting using guerilla warfare tactics
• Men and women fought

13
Diem is out

• US decided that Diem had to go
• Nov. 1, 1963 US led ousting of Diem
• Diem was assassinated
• Death of Diem made the country even more unstable
• Kennedy was prepared to withdraw troops
• Deteriorated into a Civil War
• JFK died and Lyndon B. Johnson took over

14
Gulf of Tonkin Incident

• USS Maddox fired upon by N.V. patrol boat
• Gulf of Tonkin Incident Aug. 2, 1964
• Torpedo missed
• Maddox returned fire
• Two days later Maddox reported being fired upon
• No one saw any gunfire

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Gulf of Tonkin cont.

• Johnson asked Congress for and support to
  retaliate
• Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
• Gave LBJ power to take all necessary measures to
  repel any armed attack against the forces of the
  U.S. and to prevent further aggression
• Passed Aug. 7, 1964

16
Vietnam War

• LBJ forgot to tell the people or Congress that
  the US had been conducting raids on North Vietnam
• Feb. 1965 Operation Rolling Thunder
• Bombing mission of N. Vietnam
• Troops began showing up in Vietnam in March
• By June, 50,000 troops in South Vietnam fighting
  the VC