1.8 Vietnam War

• Cold War


  Events of the Cold War played out in foreign wars which were costly failures for both the USA and USSR
• Vietnam


  • Divided into North and South with USSR and USA involvement
• Vietnam independence


  1. Viet Minh fought against the French for 9 years after WWII

  2. French pulled out of Vietnam in 1954

  3. Geneva Conference divided Vietnam into North and South and planned elections

  4. USA did not hold elections and supported dictator Ngo Dinh Diem in South Vietnam
• Ngo Dinh Diem's regime

  • Corrupt and unpleasant
  • Losing control of countryside to Viet Cong
• USA involvement in Vietnam

  1. Sent advisers to train South Vietnamese Army

  2. Intervened directly starting at Battle of Ia Drang in 1965
• Viet Cong tactics


  • Used guerrilla warfare
  • Had support of the people
  • Used Ho Chi Minh trail to supply from Laos and Cambodia
  • Had committed and resilient fighters
• USA tactics


  • Bombing - dropped more bombs than on Germany in WWII
  • Search and destroy - destroyed villages and killed people
  • Used chemical weapons like napalm and Agent Orange
• Tet Offensive


  Viet Cong fighters took the US by surprise by attacking over 100 cities and other military targets
• Media coverage


  Became more critical of the US position in Vietnam after the Tet Offensive
• My Lai massacre


  US forces killed 300-400 civilians, causing Americans to question if USA was fighting on the right side
• End of US involvement

  1. Peace movement gained strength

  2. Nixon worked to end US involvement

  3. Peace agreement signed in 1973

  4. South Vietnam fell to Communists within 2 years