American Involvement in Vietnam, 1955-75

• Why Did the USA get Involved in Vietnam- before end of WW2. Before the Second World War, France owned Vietnam

  • Vietnam was a colony in the French empire known as Indochina
  • During the Second World War, Japan occupied Vietnam
  • In 1941, a Communist armed force called the Viet Minh under the leadership of Ho Chi Minh fought the Japanese
  • In 1945, Vietnam declared independence
• Why Did the USA get Involved in Vietnam- after end of WW2

  • After the Second World War, France wanted to own Vietnam again
  • France fought the Viet Minh
  • Fearing Communism in Vietnam, the USA funded the French involvement
  • The Viet Minh defeated the French at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954
  • The Geneva Peace Accords agreed to temporarily split Vietnam
  • The Communist Viet Minh gained North Vietnam
  • South Vietnam created an anti-Communistgovernment
  • A free election in 1956 would decide who permanently governed Vietnam
• Leaders of North and South Vietnam 


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• causes:US intervention in Vietnam


  Domino Theory

  • Eisenhower+Secretary of State John Dulles feared Ho Chi Minh would win election, making Vietnam Communist. Believed if Vietnam was Communist, other countries in Southeast Asia would too

  Containment

  • Eisenhower, Kennedy+Johnson believed in containment. They justified their actions in Vietnam as part of their mission to stop Communism spread

  Distrust of USSR+China

  • US blamed USSR+China for NV’s attempt to spread Communism

  Raw Materials

  • Vietnam had useful materials eg tungsten. If USA made Vietnam capitalist, could access these raw materials
• The Development of War in Vietnam- 1957

  • In 1957, the Viet Minh began attacking South Vietnam
  • The Viet Minh established the Ho Chi Minh Trail to transport weapons to the South
  • Ho Chi Minh Trail: network of jungle paths winding from NV through Laos and Cambodia into SV. Was used as a military route by NV to supply Vietcong during the Vietman war
• The Development of War in Vietnam- 1959

  • In 1959, Ho Chi Minh declared a full-scale war against the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN)
  • He stated his intention to overthrow Diem’s government
• The Development of War in Vietnam- 1960

  • Many South Vietnamese supported the actions of North Vietnam
  • In 1960, Ho Chi Minh created the National Liberation Front (or the Vietcong) 
  • Its members included Communists from North Vietnam and peasants from South Vietnam
  • In reaction, President Kennedy sent more aid to support Diem’s government
  • Vietcong:
  • Commuist guerrilla movement in Vietnam that fought the SV govt forces from 1954-7. Had support of NV army
• Development of War in Vietnam- Diem

  • his govt became more unpopular
  • 1962:he introduced Strategic Hamlets programme
  • aimed to create villages protected from Viet Cong’s influence
  • really, it destroyed people’s homes+forced them to move, gainin support for Viet Cong
  • treated his people bad by:
  • Discriminating against Buddhists, largest SV faith group
  • Took land from peasants for rich landlords
  • Running a corrupt government+ giving key positions to his family members
  • USA could no longer support Diem’s government
  • Kennedy cut off aid to Diem
  • November 1963:a coup overthrew+assassinated Diem
• events of the Vietnam War


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• Vietcong Tactics 


  Guerrilla warfare

  • Viet Cong knew US would win in open warfare. Instead Viet Cong:
  • Set traps
  • Ambushed soldiers
  • Used Vietnam’s forests to attack+hide
  • Dug tunnels

  US struggled to fight vs these tactics

  Use of civilians

  • Many SV citizens helped the Viet Cong. They attacked SV government officials. Viet Cong didn’t wear a military uniform thus US soldiers struggled to identify troops from civilians

  Ho Chi Minh Trail

  • NV used Ho Chi Minh Trail to transport supplies. Despite constant US bombing, supplies continued to move southwards on this route
• US tactics- (1)


  Bombing

  • The US undertook large-scale bombing campaigns on North Vietnam’s capital city, Hanoi, key military bases and the Ho Chi Minh Trail. During the war, the USA dropped three million tonnes of bombs

  Chemical warfare

  • The USA had a huge technological advantage over the North Vietnamese. They used chemicals like Napalm and Agent Orange. The aim was to destroy the dense forest that the Viet Cong hid in. This type of warfare caused high civilian casualties
• US tactics- (2)


  Conscription

  • From 1967, US govt introduced conscription (or ‘the draft’). A large proportion of the US Army were young and Black Americans. Most of these soldiers had no choice but to fight in Vietnam. This meant that the US soldiers had low morale and wanted to return to the USA

  Search and Destroy

  • The US sent troops in helicopters to find and attack Viet Cong bases. This method caused many deaths. Viet Cong traps killed US soldiers. US troops attacked innocent villagers in the belief they were Viet Cong. Search and Destroy pushed many Vietnamese to support the Viet Cong
• Why Did Public Opinion Turn Against the Vietnam War

  • The US public turned against the Vietnam War because:
  • Conscription was unpopular
  • Around 2.8 million US soldiers fought in Vietnam
  • The draft affected black Americans disproportionately
  • The police prosecuted over 9,000 young men for ‘draft dodging’ 
  • The Tet Offensive (1968) caused the media toquestion if the war was worthwhile
  • It was the first televised war
  • The US public saw photographs and news reports of the Vietnam War in graphic detail
  • Scandals like the My Lai Massacre were uncovered, changing the public’s perception of the US Army
• Why Did Public Opinion Turn Against the Vietnam War- protest

  • Anti-war protests peaked 1968-70
  • Students were the key opposition group to the war
  • In November 1969, 700,000 anti-war protestersmarched in Washington
  • In May 1970, the National Guard shot dead four student protestors at Kent State University
  • The media coverage of the shootings caused 2 million students in 400 schools to go on strike
• The Consequences of the End of the Vietnam War- background

  • President Nixon won the 1968 presidential election on the promise to end the Vietnam War
  • Nixon and his National Security Adviser, Henry Kissinger, wanted to pull out of the war with dignity
• The Consequences of the End of the Vietnam War

  • After the unsuccessful bombing campaigns of Laos and Cambodia, Nixon began the process of US withdrawal
  • In January 1973, the US and the North Vietnamesegovernment signed the Paris Peace Accords
  • This officially ended US involvement in Vietnam
  • Nixon declared the US withdrawal was ‘peace with honour’
  • By 1973, only 30,000 US troops remained in Vietnam
  • The conflict between North and South Vietnam continued
  • On 30th April 1975, the South Vietnamese capital, Saigon, fell to North Vietnamese forces
• Positive Consequences of the End of the Vietnam War


  The US public was happy to see the end of the ‘unwinnable war’
• Negative Consequences of the End of the Vietnam War

  • Containment failed militarily. USA had stronger weapons but communist Viet Cong had better tactics
  • Containment failed politically. 1975:Vietnam, Laos+Cambodia became Communist. USSR+China, who had given money+technology to North Vietnam, had gained new Communist allies
  • Containment failed in propaganda war. use of chemical warfare+disregard for Vietnamese civilians ruined the USA’s international reputation. Over 58,000 US soldiers died with millions of Vietnamese casualties
  • Containment failed economically. Vietnam War cost US $168 billion
• result of consequences of the Vietnam war

  • As a result, the US government abandoned the policy of containment
  • Nixon pursued détente (improvement in relationship between 2 countries that in past weren’t friendly and trustworthy with each other) with the USSR and China