Vietnam

• JFK: 'Vietnam represents the cornerstone of the free world in Southeast Asia'
• Vietnamese Independence


  • Part of the French Empire pre-WW2 and controlled by Japan during WW2
  • In 1945 he captured Hanoi and declared Vietnam independent
  • French tried to take control but was unpopular and defeated in 1954 (Americans provided 3 billion 1/3 of money)
  • Agreed in Geneva that Vietnam would be slit along the 17th parallel
• Leaders of Vietnam


  • Ho Chi Minh led NV
  • Ngo Dinh Deim led SV
• Civil War


  • Many SV wanted Ho Chi Minh
  • From 1958 onwards the SV came under attack from the National Liberation Front
• The Weak South Vietnamese Government

  • Diem was corrupt/refused to give peasants land
  • Treated majority Buddhist population badly
  • In 1963, president JFK sent 16,000 military 'advisors' to help the SV army. After this there was was no capitalist government in control of the south
• The domino theory


  The US was afraid it would spread to the rest of Asia like China in 1949
• The Gulf of Tonkin Incident 1964


  1. In August 1964, the destroyer USS Maddox , an American naval vessel, was attacked in the Gulf of Tonkin , just off the coast of North Vietnam, by North Vietnamese torpedo boats

  2. Dubious due to poor weather

  3. The Tonkin Resolution passed by Congress allowed him to take whatever necessary action to deal with the crisis

  4. In March 1965 , the first ground troops were sent to Vietnam
• Search and Destroy


  • The Americans tried to weed out the Vietcong in the Southern hamlets. They would drop in by helicopter and kill those they thought were Vietcong.
  • Vietnamese civilians were constantly caught in the crossfire and began to question whether the US army was really on their side.
• My Lai massacre
• Operation Trial Dust 1961

  1. The Americans used chemical weapons Napalm and Agent Orange.

  2. This was used to clear foliage in the jungle which was the natural hiding place for the Vietcong.

  3. They also wanted to see along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, the Vietcong's supply route.

  4. Napalm did clear much of the undergrowth but it also stuck to humans and caused horrific injuries.

  5. Agent Orange also cleared the foliage but many innocent civilians' farms and crops were lost, and animals were killed. 300,000 Killed
• Strategic hamlets 1962


  • South Vietnamese peasants were taken from their villages and settled in 'strategic hamlets'.
  • These were surrounded by barbed wire and controlled by the Americans.
  • The peasants were opposed to this as they were far from their ancestral burial grounds and their farms, which they had tended for generations.
• Operation Rolling Thunder 1965-1968


  1. The Americans bombed strategic targets in North Vietnam to stop the supply of troops and weapons to the South.

  2. There were not many industrial targets in the North so this was ineffective

  3. Bombs often missed targets and hit schools and hospitals.
• Guerrilla warfare


  • The art of using knowledge of the landscape to avoid open battle with the enemy and to launch raids and surprise attacks, before disappearing back into the undergrowth.
  • The Vietcong had experience of doing this while fighting the Japanese and the French after World War Two - they were very familiar with the terrain and the climate.
  • They used the Ho Chi Minh Trail, which stretched from North Vietnam to the South, to keep their forces supplied.
• Support from peasants


  • The Vietcong won the 'hearts and minds' of the South Vietnamese peasants.
  • They would offer to help them in their daily work and also promised them land, more wealth, and freedom under Ho Chi Minh and the communists.
• Tunnel systems and traps

  • A hidden system of tunnels stretching over 200 miles. There were hospitals, armories,, sleeping quarters, kitchens and wells underground. These tunnel systems could hide thousands of Vietcong which helped them fight their guerrilla war.
  • It would be the job of US 'tunnel rats' to search these tunnels. However, they were often booby-trapped with spikes and grenades.
• Foreign Support


  The Vietcong and North Vietnam were supported by the Soviet Union (USSR) and China who supplied money and weapons.
• The Tet Offensive 1968


  1. On January 31, 1968, the Vietcong changed tactics and during celebrations of the Vietnamese New Year (known as Tet) North Vietnam, supported by the South Vietnamese Vietcong launched several surprise assaults on towns and cities in US-held areas of South Vietnam.

  2. They took control of parts of Saigon and other cities, having the most success in Vietnam's ancient capital, Hue.

  3. One group managed to blow a hole in the walls around the US Embassy in Saigon.

  4. The Vietcong did not hold onto any of the territory gained for long. They suffered many casualties and the Tet Offensive was a military defeat for them.
• Why was the Tet offensive seen as a defeat?

  This among other factors led many Americans to conclude that they could not win a war against such a dedicated and widespread enemy. It would take more damage to civilians and American forces than the USA was prepared to withstand. President Johnson stopped bombing North Vietnam in return for peace talks in Paris.
• How did Nixon begin to withdraw the US from Vietnam

  1. Increased bombing levels

  2. Ordered secret bombing campaigns against neighbouring countries (Cambodia and Laos in 1970-10 million tonnes dropped)

  3. Introduced 'Vietnamization' from 1969 to get SV army to fight more by 1973 total troop number was reduced to 157,000
• Ceasefire agreement signed in Paris

  January 1973
• What did China do at the beginning of the war?

  • Send 170,000 soldiers as well as military equipment to NV, they helped build and repair roads,railways, and airstrips
  • After border dispute the USSR took over
• What did the USSR do?

  • Trained NV pilots and gave them modern fighter planes
  • Supplied medicines, food and oil
  • Supplied tanks, artillery, anti-aircraft guns and deadly surface-to-air missiles (SAMs)
  • 3,000 Soviet soldiers were sent to Vietnam as advisers
• What's the difference between US and USSR?

  China sent help as a loan while the soviets gave it as a gift
• Consequences on Vietnam
• Consequences for USA
• Psychological effects on US troops