AMERICA’S LONGEST WAR

During WWII Japan took control of the area

Ho Chi Minh who was a communist supporter who formed the Vietminh to overthrow Japanese forces that took control during WWII

Being enemies of Japan the U.S. sent military aid to the Vietminh

When Japan lost WWII, Ho Chi Minh declared Vietnam independent

French troops invade to drive out theVietminh France appealed to U..S.. for help, but

U..S. was torn. Anti-colonization and Anti- communist With China falling to communism and

the start off the Korean War the U..S. decides to give France military aid

By 1954 the U..S.. is paying for ¾ off France’s war costs

I. Why did the U.S. send troops to Vietnam?A. Ho Chi Minh defeated the French in 1954 and Vietnam was split into North and South.B. North Vietnam was led by Communist Ho Chi Minh- South Vietnam was led by U.S. backed Diem.

Geneva Accords Vietnam is also divided in ½ at the

17th parallel free elections were to be held in

1956 Diem refused to allow elections in

1956 because Minh was sure to win Vietnam heads for a Civil War

with the U..S.. caught in the middle

C. Many South Vietnamese opposed U.S. backed Diem.

D. Vietcong were South Vietnamese guerrillas who were backed by the North and fought against the South’s government

E. President John F. Kennedy believed in the Domino Theory, the idea that if one Southeast Asian country fell to communism, the rest would also, like a row of dominos.

F. In 1961, he sent military advisors to help Diem fight the Vietcong

Diem’s assassination However unpopular Diem had been he was also a strong political leader

Without Diem South Vietnam collapses

US must get more involved

G. 1963- Lyndon Johnson became President and sent more aid to South Vietnam

H. 1964- Gulf of Tonkin Resolution- after a U.S. ship is attacked, Congress passed this which allowed President Johnson to take “all necessary measures” to prevent another attack

I. Thus, the war escalated and by 1968 there were over 500,000 troops fighting in the Vietnam War.

Operation Rolling Thunder

An intense bombing campaign against North Vietnam.

J. American soldiers faced many hardships fighting a “guerilla war” in jungle terrain, going on search and destroy missions.

Tunnels

US tactics: Search and destroy missions Find the enemy, bomb them,

destroy the supply lines, and force them out into the open

Napalm Agent Orange would burn out

jungle cover

A Viet Cong prisoner awaits interrogation at a Special Forces detachment in Thuong Duc, Vietnam, 15 miles (25 km) west of Danang, January 1967

Troops of the 1st Air Cavalry Division check houses while patrolling an area 25 miles (40 km) north of Qui Nhon as part of Operation Thayer, October 1966. The mission was designed to clear out a mountain range where two battalions of North Vietnamese were believed to be preparing for an attack on an airstrip.

In Long Khanh province, Vietnam, R. Richter of the 4th Battalion, 503rd Infantry, 173rd Airborne Brigade, left, and Sgt. Daniel E. Spencer await the helicopter that will airlift their dead comrade, 1966

Swampy Terrain

Soldiers carry a wounded comrade to safety, 1969

Search-and-clear operation- Who is who?A Marine from 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines, moves a Viet Cong suspect to the rear

during a search-and-clear operation by the battalion 15 miles (24 km) west of Danang air base, August 1965

Traversing the jungle During Operation Hastings, Marines of Company H, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment take to the water as

they move to join other elements of their battalion in Dong Ha, Vietnam, July 1966

Burning camp A Viet Cong base camp burns as Pfc. Raymond Rumpa of St. Paul, Minnesota, walks away with his 45-

pound 90mm rifle in My Tho, Vietnam, April 1968

Helped by buddies

Waiting for evacuationTwo wounded American soldiers await airlift to base hospital to treat injuries

suffered in battle

Khe Sahn Khe Sanh, a US Marine base, was one

of the most remote outposts in Vietnam and was facing a full-scale seige by the North Vietnamese Forces.

On the morning of January 21, 1968, at 5:30 am, the Vietnamese Army Forces launched the awaited attack by a barrage of shells, mortars and rockets, and the siege of Khe Sanh began.

During the first two days, 18 Marines were killed instantly and 40 were wounded.

By the end of February, more than 1300 artillery rounds had hit the Khe Sahn Marine base and its outposts

During the first three weeks of March things became relatively quiet around the base when the North Vietnamese Forces retreated into the jungle.

Without warning on the 22 March, the North Vietnamese launched a massive attack on Khe Sanh. More than 1000 rounds hit the base, at a rate of a hundred every hour.

By June 1968, highly mobile American forces were in the area, and the base no longer needed defending.

TET OFFENSIVE- 1968

On the Tet New Year, the Vietcong forces went into action and launched coordinated fierce attacks on more than a 100 cities and towns over the length and breadth of South Vietnam

North Vietnam lost 85000 The Americans lost 2500 men in the

Tet Offensive.

My Lai Massacre

My Lai One of the most horrific incidents of violence

against civilians during the Vietnam War. A company of American soldiers brutally killed

the majority of the population of the South Vietnamese hamlet of My Lai in March 1968.

Though exact numbers remain unconfirmed, it is believed that as many as 500 people including women, children and the elderly were killed in the My Lai Massacre.

Higher-ranking U.S. Army officers managed to cover up the events of that day for a year before revelations by a soldier who had heard of the massacre sparked a wave of international outrage and led to a special investigation into the matter.

In 1970, a U.S. Army board charged 14 officers of crimes related to the events at My Lai; only one was convicted.

The brutality of the My Lai killings and the extent of the cover-up exacerbated growing antiwar sentiment on the home front in the United States and further divided the nation over the continuing American presence in Vietnam.

Protests The majority of protests took place on

college campuses. This minority included many students

as well as prominent artists and intellectuals and members of the hippie movement, a growing number of young people who rejected authority and embraced the drug culture.

On October 21, 1967, one of the most prominent anti-war demonstrations took place, as some 100,000 protesters gathered at the Lincoln Memorial; around 30,000 of them continued in a march on the Pentagon later that night. After a brutal confrontation with the soldiers and U.S. Marshals protecting the building, hundreds of demonstrators were arrested.

Kent State

On April 30, 1970, President Richard M. Nixon appeared on national television to announce the invasion of Cambodia by the United States and the need to draft 150,000 more soldiers for an expansion of the Vietnam War effort.

This provoked massive protests on campuses throughout the country.

At Kent State University in Ohio, protesters launched a demonstration that included setting fire to the ROTC building, prompting the governor of Ohio to dispatch 900 National Guardsmen to the campus.

Twenty-eight guardsmen opened fire on a crowd, killing four students and wounding nine. Following the killings, the unrest across the country escalated even further. Almost five hundred colleges were shut down or disrupted by protests.

K. 1968- Richard Nixon is elected President- promises to end the war

The Pentagon Papers

Another factor that caused public support for the war to end.

The New York Times began publishing portions of the Pentagon Papers.

The papers were a study ordered by the former Secretary of Defense and documented the history of US involvement in Vietnam.

They revealed that the Executive Branch had lied to Congress concerning the war.

Presidents had made secret decisions and undertaken unapproved military actions.

The public was shocked and appalled and support for the war quickly dwindled.

L. 1973- Cease-fire is reachedM. 1974- Last U.S. troops leave VietnamN. 1975- South Vietnam falls to North Vietnamese

communist forces—Saigon falls.

Paris Peace Accords Signed by the U.S., South Vietnam, North

Vietnam, and the leaders of the Vietcong. Called for:

The withdrawal of US troops from Vietnam within 60.

The release of prisoners of WarAll parties involved would end military activities in Laos and Cambodia

The 17th parallel would continue to divide North and South Vietnam.

War Powers Act A reaction to the Vietnam War.

Congress passed it in 1973 when the United States withdrew from combat operations in Vietnam after more than a decade.

The War Powers Act says that a president has the latitude to commit troops to combat zones, but, within 48 hours of doing so he must formally notify Congress and provide his explanation for doing so.

If Congress does not agree with the troop commitment, the president must remove them from combat within 60 to 90 days.

Effects of Vietnam War It was an extremely costly war with

over 58,000 Americans dead and over 150,000 wounded in battle.

Veterans developed post traumatic stress disorders.

Vets became alcoholics and drug addicts.

Soldiers were not given a warm welcome home.

The Lessons of Vietnam 1. Before the United States goes to war, there must a

clear risk to national security

2. Force, when used, should be overwhelming and disproportionate to the force used by the enemy.

3. There must be a clear exit strategy from the conflict in which the military is engaged.

4. Is the government prepared to sustain the effort if things go wrong.

5. There must be strong support for the campaign by the general public.

6. Military action should be used only as a last resort.

The Wall