The Vietnam War

Geography

• < California• South of China, East of

Laos, and Cambodia• Hanoi (N)• Ho Chi Minh City

(Saigon) (S)• Hills and dense forests

Foreign Occupation• China; 200 BC – 939 AD; Agriculture abundance• FR

– 1883 – 1941 Fr. Indochina• Japan occupied during WWII• Ho Chi Minh led movement for freedom• He created League for the Independence of Vietnam or

Vietminh• Granted w/ Japanese surrender in 1945; US supported

– 1946 – 1954 French and Vietnamese at War• US supported France – Eisenhower $2 billion

– Allie, domino theory

• May 7, 1954 FR surrendered @ Diem Biem Phu

Ho Chi Minh

Geneva Conference

• Spring 1954

• Terms– Cease-fire– Temporarily divided at 17th parallel– FR would w/draw S of– July 1956 general elections to

reunify the country

• US refused to endorse

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South Vietnam

• Republic of Vietnam• Anti-communist• Ngo Dinh Diem = president• Refused July 1956 n’tl elections• Unpopular (3 reasons…)• National Liberation Front (NLF) was created in

1960 to overthrow Diem– Southern Vietminh w/ northern support– Vietcong = NLF’s communist rebel forces

American Involvement

• 1955 – 1961; Eisenhower – $200 bil/yr– 675 advisors

• 1961 – JFK president– 16,000 “advisors”– Diem’s overthrow

• Persecuted Buddhists who’s public protest drew attention, brought demand for reforms

• US supported an overthrow; he was murdered

– < month later Kennedy was assassinated

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The War Escalates

• Disorder followed Diem’s overthrow

• NV increased aid to VC in south– War materials– Army units

• Were gaining ground on the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN)

Tonkin Gulf Resolution1. Nov 22 1963 Kennedy assassinated; Lyndon B

Johnson (LBJ)2. Dec 1963 Sec of Def Robert McNamara

recommends ground troops – need Congressional approval

3. Aug 1964 LBJ claimed 2 US ships were attacked, “unprovoked” in the Tonkin G.

A. USS Maddoxx – spyingB. 2nd never happenedC. Ploy to get congressional support

4. ResolutionA. > presidential authority; “All necessary measures…”B. Broad

Operations Rolling Thunder(1st Phase of escalation)

1. March 2, 1965 - 1968

2. Bombing raids against NV in order to:

A. Weaken NV’s will to fightB. Assure SV of US

commitmentC. Destroy Ho Chi Minh Trail

3. Over 100 American fighter-bombers

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Rolling_Thunder

4. Results:A. A million tons of bombs

dropped on NVB. Created POWsC. Did NOTHING to NV’s

morale

5. When it failed, LBJ expanded air attacks on Laos and SV.

A. Napalm http://www.vietnamwar.com/phanthikimphuc.htm

B. Cluster bombsC. Defoliants (Agent Orange)

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Ground War(A week after Operation Rolling Thunder)

1. March 1965 – 1967 ground troops grew from 3500 to 536,000

2. Search and destroy missions

3. Pacification – moved residents to refugees camps and burned the villages

A. Denied NV territorial gains

B. Body count measured success

4. Results:A. Destroyed resources

B. Am $ ruined enconomy (corruption, prostitution, black market, inflation)

Why No Change?

• Limited commitment?– No all-out invasion b/c fear of nuclear war– Disengagement was politically unacceptable

American Forces In Vietnam1. April 1965 Selective Service began a draft

2. The soldiersA. @ 1st professionals

B. Af Ams served in high numbers

C. @ height, most were drafted: 19, poor, < educated

D. Deferments / Exemptions

E. 10,000 service women were nursed

Morale Ebbs

1. Could not make territorial progress

2. Vietcong had strong will to fight

AMERICANS DIVIDEDBy the late 1960s public opinion began to turn against the war.

The Media and the War

1. TV camera crews, war correspondents, and photographers went w/ soldiers into combat.

2. Americans saw images that contradicted the government’s optimist report

The Antiwar MovementAmericans began to ask: Is

Vietnam the US’s responsibility? Is it worth it?

1. Hawks and DovesA. Hawks = supported the war’s goals, but

said needed MOREB. Doves = opposed the war

2. Students for a Democratic SocietyA. Against:

• University doing military research• Draft• Presence of the ROTC (Reserve Officers

Training Corp)• Recruitment efforts

B. Organized debates, rallies, demonstrationsC. 1st demonstrations in Washington D.C., April

17, 1965

4. Civil Rights Activists argued many pointsA. War was taking $ from poverty programsB. Fighting for Democracy in Vietnam, but still

fighting racism at home

5. Opposition to the anti-war movementA. Patriotic dutyB. Rejected antiwar tactics = protests, rallies,

violence, negative media attention

Government in Conflict

1. Supporters: supporting an ally, if didn’t who would ever trust the US again?

2. Criticism from within the g’vtA. Senator J. William Fulbright = Dove; the war was too

extreme

B. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara = “Continuation…would be dangerous, costly in lives, and unsatisfactory to the American people.”

WAR AT FULL TIDE

The Tet Offensive

1. January 30, 1968; the Vietnamese New Year

2. Over 70,000 VC guerillas and NV soldiers attacked over 100 cities and 12 US military bases in the South.

3. Lasted 1 month

4. ResultsA. US General Westmoreland claimed

victoryA. 2000 US dead

B. 4000 ARVN dead

C. ~40,000 communist dead

B. Vietcong more determined than ever

C. Revealed US leaders misled the public.

D. Americans lost confidence in LBJ

Walter Cronkite reporting in 1968 on the Tet offensive in Vietnam.

movies.nytimes.com/.../television/26watc.html

Accordingly, I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your President.

But let men everywhere know, however, that a strong, a confident, and a vigilant America stands ready tonight to seek an honorable peace--and stands ready tonight to defend an honored cause—

whatever the price, whatever the burden, whatever the sacrifice that duty may require.

Thank you for listening.

Good night and God bless all of you.

President Lyndon B. Johnson - March 31, 1968

Nixon

1. LBJ didn’t run for reelection in 19682. Nixon wins Rep nomination w/ promise to

end war.3. End-of-the-war plan = Vietnamization

A. Gradually turn over the fighting to the SVs.B. Improve relations w/ communist China and Soviet

Union.

4. Early 1969 secretly spread the fighting to Cambodia.

A. Destroy NV supply linesB. 1970 sent 80,000 US and ARNV troops in

Increased Antiwar Sentiments1. Kent State Massacre (May 4, 1970)

A. Protesting students were fired upon by the National Guard

B. 4 killed 9 injured

2. Jackson State (May 14, 1970) – police fired at a dorm and killed 2, injured 4

3. Congress repealed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution in Dec. 1970

4. Pentagon papers published in the NY Times proved the government misled the people.

NIXON’S WAR CONTINUES

My Lai Massacre

• March 1968 Lt. William L Calley ordered his platoon to murder 350 villagers in retaliation

• Reporter Seymour Hersh of the New York Times broke the story in Nov 1969

• 6-soldier jury sentenced him to life in prison

• Nixon reduced; paroled in 1974

Decline of Anti-War Protest1. Police harassment

2. FBI/CIA intervened and broke up

3. Use of terrorism lost support

4. Vietnamization – # of troops down– Ended draft– All-volunteer by 1973

5. Other causes: Feminism and environmentalism

Détente

• Goal: peaceful co-existence w/ USSR and CH would encourage them to stop sending aid to NV

• Good time – tension b/wn USSR and CH

• Feb 1972 = Nixon visited CH

• May 1972 = Nixon visited USSR– Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty = limited

production and deployment of ICBMs

American W/drawal• Increased combat activity and pressure from

USSR and CH encouraged negotiations• Oct 1972 Cease-fire agreement

– Henry Kissinger (US)– Le Duc Tho (NV)– Terms

• W/drawal of Am troops• Return of all Am POWs• Continue presence of NV soldiers in SV• US aid to NV for reconstruction

• Election of ’72 = Nixon wins b/c of• SV rejects; NV refuses to compromise

Nixon Wins Reelection of ’72

• Democratic nomination troubled again

• 26th Amendment lowered voting age to 18

• Sec. of Def. announced breakthrough in negotiations.

December Bombings

• US bombs civilian and military targets

• Dec 17-30, 1972

• Most devastating bombings of the war

Paris Peace Accords

• Jan 27, 1973 Cease Fire signed

• Signed by NV, SV, US, VC

• US w/drawal for Am POWs

• US secretly pledge to help SV if NV attacked to get SV to agree

• DID NOT resolve the civil war!

Fall of Saigon• W/o Am aid SV was weak

– Communist were more disciplined– Unpopular

• March 1975 NV launched its final offensive• US helicopters evacuated SV government

officials and soldiers from US Embassy– Largest helicopter evac ever– TV– 120,000 Vietnamese were evacuated

• April 29, 1975 Vietnam is united;– Communist– Saigon = Ho Chi Minh City

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VIETNAM’S LEGACY

American Veterans

• 2.6 million fought• 58,000 dead• 300,000 wounded• 2300 MIA• 600 POWs • The Veterans:

– 250,000 – 350,000 homeless– Drug addictions– Traumatic– Jobless

• 1000s with disabilities• Public’s rxt was negative

SE Asia/Vietnam After the War• Dead:

– 1 million SV• 185,000 ARVN• ~500,000 SV civilians

– ~1,000,000 NV?

• 879,000 Vietnam orphans

• 181,000 disabled

• 10 million refugees– 730,000 to America (mostly from Laos)– Ameraisians

American Foreign Policy

• Lost international credibility

• War Powers Act in 1973. – Report use of military w/in 48 hours– 60 day limit

• Control of Media

American Economic andSocial Effects

• $150 billion! – took 4 from domestic programs– Increased debt– Fueled inflation

• Deep distrust of Government– lies about success– Questioned Gulf of Tonkin incident– Secret war in Cambodia

Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Vietnam Today

• Socialist Republic of Vietnam

• Communist

• Economy struggled after Soviet Union fell apart, but recovering today.– Modernized, export driven– US-Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement in Dec 2001 – Vietnam's exports to the US increased 800% from

2001 to 2006. – Vietnam joined the WTO in January 2007