Events Explained

• Vietminh - fought for Vietnamese independence from France
• NVA - North Vietnamese Army
• Vietcong (VC) - Communist fighters in South Vietnam
• China and USSR - sent $3 billion in aid to North Vietnam
• Laos and Cambodia - allowed the Ho Chi Minh trail to operate within their borders
• ARVN - army of the republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam)
• USA - provided military and financial support to South Vietnam
• Vietcong Tactics (guerilla warfare)

  • Living in villages amongst civilians
  • Wearing no uniform making them hard to identify
  • Launching surprise attacks before retreating into jungle
  • Using tunnel networks to hide and escape capture
  • Setting booby traps
  • Smuggled supplies through Ho Chi Minh trail
• Support from Congress - they became less favourable of the war but kept funding it because =

  • The military kept assuring them that victory was close
  • They did not want to be beaten by North Vietnam

  After 1970, Congress put restrictions on home much money could be spent on the war
• Domino Theory

  • President Eisenhower thought that if Vietnam held elections they would choose Ho Chi Minh and become communist
  • If this happened then he thought communism would spread through South East Asia
  • Eisenhower formed the South East Asia Treaty Organisation (SEATO) in 1954, members would act to stop communism spreading
  • US military advisors were sent to begin training the ARVN
• The end of French rule 1954

  • Vietminh wanted Vietnamese independence from France
  • 50,000 Vietminh fighters defeated the French at the battle of Dien Bien Phu which led to France surrendering
  • 9 countries including the USA signed the Geneva Accords
  • Vietnam was temporarily divided into 2 countries with elections being held in 1956 to choose who would lead a new, united country
• Instability of Diem's Government 1955-63

  • Ngo Dinh Diem was made president of South Vietnam in 1954
  • Diem and most of the government was Catholic but Vietnam was Buddhist
  • Many communists in the South wanted to be united with the North under Ho Chi Minh
  • In 1956, Diem refused to hold elections to unite Vietnam
  • Vietcong formed in the South to fight Diem's government
  • IN 1963, Diem was killed by ARVN generals after they lost faith in his leadership
• Escalation under Kennedy 1961-63

  • President Kennedy did not want the USA to become fully involved in conflict
  • He sent an extra 16,000 advisors to South Vietnam to train the ARVN
  • In 1962, Strategic Hamlet Program began, Villagers were encouraged to move into new, guarded villages where they could be protected from the Vietcong
  • The policy was unsuccessful as most villages did not want to leave their homes
• The Gulf of Tonkin Incident 1964

  • Following an alleged attack on the USS Maddox, President Johnson asked Congress to give him the power to stop future attacks
  • Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution which gave the President power to stop attacks on US forces without asking Congress or officially declaring war
  • This allowed Johnson to begin sending US troops into Vietnam
• Operation Rolling Thunder 1965-68

  • Bombing campaign against North Vietnam which attacked parts of Ho Chi Minh trail and Industry
  • It was unsuccessful because most supplies to the Vietcong in the South were being made in China and USSR and smuggled through Laos and Cambodia
  • Thousands of civilians were killed, lowering public opinion of the USA worldwide
• US Chemical Warfare 1961-71

  • US launched a campaign called Operation Ranch Hand which involved using herbicides such as Agent Orange to kill jungle plants to make Vietcong bases easier to find
  • They also sprayed crops to cut off Vietcong's food supply but the chemicals led to health problems, birth defects and death
  • This caused public outrage in both Vietnam and the USA
• US search and destroy

  • US tactic to hunt, interrogate and kill Vietcong fighters in South Vietnam
  • Small units of US soldiers searched the jungle for Vietcong camps
  • Although the US killed more men than they lost, the Vietcong didn't care
  • Once US troops left, the Vietcong would move back into villages
  • These missions also harmed ordinary villagers and their homes, decreasing US support
• Tet Offensive 1968

  • The North Vietnamese attacked during the Lunar New Year
  • Communist troops captured many key targets including the US embassy in Saigon
  • Despite US troops quickly recapturing these areas, anti-war feeling grew at home
  • President Johnson was humiliated and did not seek re-election
  • The Vietcong were almost wiped out as 58,000 were killed
  • Both sides became more willing to discuss peace
• Negotiations 1968-73

  • Official peace talks began after the 1968 Tet Offensive where they continued to disagree on whether Vietnam should be reunified
  • Secret peace talks with Nixon, China and USSR in attempt to end Cold War
  • Fearing an end to their aid from China and USSR, North Vietnam agreed to secret peace talks in 1970
  • The South Vietnamese government did not know about these talks
• Nixon and the Vietnam War 1969

  • The Nixon Doctrine stated that the USA would provide future aid to countries in South East Asia but not troops
  • In Vietnam, he introduced Vietnamisation where the USA would provide training and equipment for the ARVN so they could fight alone
  • This would allow US troops to gradually withdraw 'with honour'
  • In 1972, in response to the Easter Offensive by the NVA he launched Operation Linebacker
• Expansion of the war 1970

  • Nixon ordered US troops into Cambodia to stop communists from taking power
  • The US had secretly been bombing the Ho Chi Minh trail there since 1969
• Expansion of the war 1971

  • US agreed to provide air support for an ARVN invasion of Laos to fight communist groups there
  • The ARVN were badly defeated raising fears about failure of Vietnamisation
• Easter Offensive and Operation Linebacker 1972

  • NVA launched the Easter Offensive against the South
  • Despite Vietnamisation, the ARVN struggled to hold back NVA by themselves so it was stopped with the help of US aircraft
  • The US then launched Operation Linebacker to improve the ARVN's chances of being able to fight alone
  • This resulted in North Vietnamese cities, factories and harbours being targeted by US airstrikes
  • It increased willingness of North Vietnam to discuss peace
• Failure of Vietnamisation 1969-73

  • US troops lost motivation and there were 209 cases of officers being 'fragged' by their own men in 1970 alone.
  • Drug use was high, over 35,000 soldiers were using heroin in 1971
  • The ARVN could not recruit enough men and officers were corrupt
  • ARVN training was basic and rushed
  • Congress restricted funding
  • US troops and money departed and set off an economic crisis
  • The South Vietnamese government lacked support
• The Paris Peace Accords 1973

  • Signed by the USA, North Vietnam, South Vietnam and the Provisional Revolutionary Government (communist government of areas in the South) they agreed on:
  • All countries would work together to unite Vietnam
  • US armed forces would withdraw from Vietnam
  • Prisoners of war and captured equipment from both sides to be returned
• The end of the Vietnam War 1973-75

  • All US troops officially withdrew in March 1973
  • The South Vietnamese economy collapsed due to no more US aid
  • Under President Thieu, there was still corruption in South Vietnam (they would not negotiate with communists)
  • North Vietnam launched new attacks on South in December 1974, the ARVN couldn't cope and congress only evacuated US citizens
  • Saigon fell to the communists on 30th April 1975