vietnam war

• the end of french rule in vietnam

  • 1939 vietnam was one of the french colonies
  • a poor country with very little industry or goods worth trading
• how did the usa get involved

  • there was a possibility that the whole of vietnam may become communist and usa wanted to stop this happening
  • overtime usa was sucked into the war and had sent hundreds of thousands of troops
• dien bien phu

  • the french built an airstrip at dien bien phu to lure the vietminh into battle, brought in 15000 troops and waited to attack
  • they were surrounded by 50000 vietminh with anti aircraft guns which they spent months getting up into the mountains
  • the vietminh also had 50000 troops in reserve and around 200000 civillian workers
  • the fighting lasted 55 days and on may 7 1954 the french surrendered
• why did the vietminh win

  • usa had just ended a war in korea and very few wanted another war
• What local condition helped the Vietminh win?

  Understanding of their country's geography
• How did China assist the Vietminh?

  Provided weapons, 20,000 bikes, planning, and troops
• What was a significant French problem during the conflict?

  Underestimating the Vietminh's armament
• Why were some French troops less committed?

  Many were German, not French soldiers
• What actions did the Vietminh take to support their cause?

  Worked day and night to build roads
• How did local villagers contribute to the Vietminh's efforts?

  Helped dig five new roads and move supplies
• What were the key factors that led to the Vietminh's victory?

  • Understanding of local geography
  • Chinese support with weapons and logistics
  • French underestimation of Vietminh armament
  • Commitment of Vietminh fighters
  • Local support from villagers
• the new government at vietnam

  • on 21 july- geneva accords
  • vietnam temporarily divided along 17th parallel
  • separated by a demilitarised zone no troops could enter
  • ho chi minh would run northern part
  • bao dai would run southern part
  • vietnamese troops and people could move north and south 300 days after agreement
  • no foreign troops could set up bases in either part of country
  • usa and south refused to obey
  • both governments were unhappy
• the domino theory

  • greater us involvement because of fear of communism
  • eisenhower feared that other countries in southeast asia would follow
  • after geneva he was more committed to us aid to south vietnam
  • set up the south east asia treaty organisation in september 1954 to agree to stop communism spreading in southeast asia
• why was diem government weak

  • did not have widespread support
  • diem was catholic and most Vietnamese were Buddhist
  • mainly gave government jobs to family members and catholics
  • government was saigon based and had little respect for peasants and didnt ake refoems to gain their support
  • villages were run by corrupt officials who held most their land
• keeping diem in power

  • eisenhower sent diem advisors to train the south vietnamese army (arvn)
  • he wanted arvn to control south vietnam and fight without us troops
  • us helped diem run fixed elections against bao dai
• no elections

  • 16 july 1956- diem refused to hold elections and said his government did not exist during geneva so he did not have to obey
  • us supported diem by sending aid despite warnings that it would make the south dependent on usa
  • diem was not democratic he took us money but not advice that he should be using force to stay in power
  • denounce a communist campaign- arvn arrested 65000 and killed 2000
• the situation worsens

  • by march 1958 over 400 officials had been killed
  • revolutionary groups fought against diem
  • north supported vietcong in hopes to start a revolution
  • may 1959- north and china sent north vietnamese troops and weapons into south vietnam along the ho chi minh trail
  • north trained the vc and fought alongside them
• a more organised opposition

  • november 1960- army leaders tried to overthrow diem and failed so the relations between usa and diem worsened
  • december-the vietcong joined with other anti diem groups to form the national liberation front
  • members went into villages and urged them to disobey the government and support vietcong groups
• kennedy

  • he agreed with the idea of limited war and domino theory
  • he sent 16000 more advisors to south vietnam and had agreed that normal fighting tactics were not working
  • by 1961 there were 12000 vietcong guerillas in the south
  • told advisors to use counter insurgency tactics to isolate the vc
  • wanted a policy of pacification: for troops and south vietnamese government to win the support of the villagers
  • was hard for arvn to win over villagers as many officials looked down upon them
  • us special forces went to train villagers to protect themselves from the vc
• greater involvement under kennedy

  • january 1961- 40 million to train arvn
  • october 1961-kennedy orders a report on sending in us troops
  • december 1961-authorised the use of defoliant chemical sprays to kill crops and jungle plants, agent orange
  • december 1961- us helicopters and pilots sent to transport arvn
• the strategic hamlet program

  • january 1962- large new villages surrounded by barbed wire and guarded by arvn with facilities such as schools and clinics
  • was made to stop the vc from recruiting villagers or getting supplies from them
  • people were to move to these new homes from smaller ones nearby, making them feel safe, cared for and supportive of the government
  • 800 green berets helped det up the hamlets, reporting 5000 built by september 1962
  • advisors and diems government ignored that many didnt want to leave their homes
  • diems government failed to provide them with food
• ap bac and diems persecution of Buddhists

  • 2 january 1963-the avrn lost the battle at ap bac despite outnumbering the vietcong 5 to 1, having better weapons and air support. They had lost 5 us helicopters, 3 us advisors and 60 troops, only 3 vc were found dead
  • us military tried to make ap bac sound like a victory but some us media reported it as a defeat
  • 6 may- government troops fired on a buddhist procession leaving nine dead and 14 injured
• ap bac and diems persecution of buddhists 2

  • june- buddhists were banned form flying flags for the buddha birthday
  • 11 june- quang dun a buddhist monk set himself alight at a busy saigon junction. worldwide publicity.
• the overthrow of diem

  • kennedy pressed diem to make peace with the buddhists. diem increased persecution
  • august 1963- diems troops raided buddhist temples, there were more killings
  • 1 november- diem as overthrown by arvn generals and assassinated
• kennedys assassination

  • 22 november 1963-kennedy was assassinated , johnson became president
  • had to work with general minh's government in south vietnam
  • hoped a limited amount of help would be needed but wanted vietnam to be safe from communism first
• johnson had the same goals as kennedy

  • setting up government the south vietnamese wanted
  • stopping communism; so keeping the south as a separate country
  • stopping war escalating and avoiding nuclear war
  • vietcong were stronger, the south vietnamese government was weaker and the usa was ore unpopular in south vietnam
• the increasing threat of the vietcong

  • the new government was weaker, only controlled 35% of vietnam
  • arven was caught up in government struggles
  • the arvn had 500000 troops and control over the air
  • the vc had fewer than 100000 but were putting the arvn under pressure
  • north vietnam sent equipment and man along the ho chi minh trail
  • between 1955 and 63 china sent aid worth over 100 million
  • the vc were getting stronger. they attacked more often and attacked more us targets e.g air force bases, pleiku, roads and bridges
• why were the vietcong more of a threat in 1964

  organistion

  • nlf provided a political structure
  • north vietnamese sent more people to organise resistance, vc organised into cadres, which were divided into 3 man cells, these cells could act quickly
• why were the vietcong more of a threat in 1964

  foreign aid

  • china and ussr provided ammunition, weapons, advisors and troops
• why were the vietcong more a threat in 1964

  the south vietnamese government

  • villages resented being moved to strategic hamlets, government seen as a 'puppet' of usa, government split by in-fighting, not focused on defeating vc
• why were the vietcong more of a threat in 1964

  local support

  • won local support with propaganda, made social reforms in vc-controlled areas e.g replaced corrupt government officials, respected villagers and involved them in decision making, some vc lived in villages so they shared struggles.
• why were the vietcong more of a threat in 1964

  vietcong ideals

  • vc propaganda stressed they were fighting; the usa and its puppet government, to end to poverty and injustice, to unite vietnam with a fair government
• why were the vietcong more of a threat in 1964

  time

  • the vc had time on its side, it was their country, and it didnt matter how long it took to win
• johnson

  • johnson continued to provide more advisors and more aid, by the end of 1964 there were over 20000 advisors
  • two us navy ships, the maddox and c.turner joy were ordered to make regular patrols in the gulf of tonkin
  • small us boats were secretly ferrying arvn troops to carry out raids on north vietnamese ships and territory
  • angered by these arvn attacks, the north vietnamese struck in the gulf of tonkin
• the gulf of tonkin incident 1964

  • 2 august- maddox visage showed three north vietnamese torpedo boats closing in, the north vietnamese boats fired; the maddox fired back and withdrew when us planes arrived
  • 4 august- maddox and c.turner joy reported vietnamese torpedo boat attacks and claimed to have sunk two enemy ships
  • johnson was told of the incident but later told there may not have been an attack at all
  • ignoring the confusion he ordered us planes to strike north vietnamese targets in retaliation
• the gulf of tonkin incident 1964 2

  • 5 august-johnson asked congress to give him power to stop future attacks on us forces
  • 7 august- congress passed the gulf of tonkin resolution, johnson had the power to take all necessary steps to stop attacks on us forces without contacting congress or officially declaring war, including sending troops to vietnam
  • the resolution was not a declaration of war on north vietnam although it had the same affect
• the north vietnamese reaction

  • johnson did not want to declare war because it might lead to a larger conflict with the ussr and china, it looked like a declaration of war to the north, they increased their involvement in the south
  • from november 1964-65 more people and supplies were sent south, vietcong were urged to target us bases
• the north vietnamese reaction 2

  • 2 december 1964- fighting began at binh gia just 40 miles south of saigon. it lasted until 3 january, vc won 2 december 1964- fighting began at binh gia just 40 miles south of saigon. it lasted until 3 january, vc won
  • over 50 helicopters were destroyed or damaged and military equipment and prisoners were taken
  • 7 feburary- vc attacked the us airfield at pleiku, nine dead, 128 wounded and 122 aircraft damaged or destroyed
• the situation in february 1965

  • us involvement in vietnam was costing 2 million a day
  • both sides were committed to a war none wanted
  • the usa wanted to keep the south vietnamese in power
• usa involvement in 1964

  • troops-23300
  • dead-216
  • spending-400 to 500 million