Download Vietnam - OnCourse

Vietnam (1946-1973)
French Indochina
 WWII and Its Effects
The defeat of the imperialist empires of WWII
in Nazi Germany and Japan left a climate in
which colonial holdings became less acceptable
Self-Determination emphasized
France hesitant to release colonies
Ho Chi Minh
 Leader of the Viet Minh
 Declared Democratic Republic of Vietnam
independent in January 1950
 It was modeled after the American Declaration of
Independence
Cold War Tensions

Strange Bedfellows
China and the Soviet Union both recognized
Ho Chi Minh’s government as legitimate.
The US and France both ignore his claim.
France refused to relinquish her colony.
France supported Bao Dai, hereditary emperor
of Vietnam.
1950- Mutual Defense Assistance Agreement:
Gave the United States a tactical stake in the
security of French Indochina
Entered into with different motives
• France – support in maintaining Indochinese
colony
• USA – political footing from which to
influence policy in Asia and contain
Communism
Battle of Dien Bien Phu
 Dien Bien Phu is a valley in the mountains near
Laos
 French planned to rely on superior artillery and
air-power
 General Vo Nguyen Giap positioned artillery
on the hills surrounding the valley  negated
French air-support
 French were left nearly defenseless!!
Geneva Conference
 To decide how to handle situation in Vietnam
 Attended by UK, USSR, France, Democratic
Republic of Vietnam, US, Laos, Cambodia,
Republic of Vietnam, China
 American Hesitance:
1. Did not want to recognize China diplomatically
2. Refused to accept a Communist government
 May 7, 1954- The last French forces surrender at
Dien Bien Phu – one day before the conference
began
 Marks the end of the French era in Vietnam,
largely replaced by American involvement
 Resulted in the partition of Vietnam into two
regions and calls for a national election within two
years
Democratic Republic of Vietnam
 Led by Ho Chi Minh
 Communist Nation
 Aka- North Vietnam
Republic of Vietnam
 Ngo Dinh Diem made prime minister
 Supported by Catholic minority
 Aka- South Vietnam
Ngo Dinh Diem’s Rule
 Opposition to Diem
• In 1957, a communist opposition group in the
•
•
•
South (Viet Cong) begin guerrilla attacks
against his government
The Viet Cong are supplied via the Ho Chi
Minh Trail, a supply line running from N.
Vietnam, through Laos and Cambodia.
Buddhist Immolations in the summer of 1963
draw media attention to widespread discontent
To many it appeared that the main opposition
to Diem was his own people, rather than the
N. Vietnamese. Many questioned the wisdom
of US involvement.
The Ho Chi Minh Trail
Kennedy’s Limited Partnership
 In response to growing chaos in S. Vietnam,
Kennedy was faced with several options. He
settled on a policy of “Limited Partnership” in
which the US would send advisors, funds and
equipment, but not troops.
 Nevertheless, casualties increased…
1 961
1962
1963
# of
3,000
11,000
16,000
Advisors
Advisor
Casualties
11
31
78
 $1 Billion  Economic/Military aid given to Diem’s
regime by the US by 1960
 1,000  US military personnel sent as advisors
 4,000  South Vietnamese government officials
assassinated by Vietcong (South Vietnamese
Communists) during the year of 1961
Protest to Diem’s Regime
 The Buddhist majority accused Diem’s
predominately Catholic regime of discrimination
 June 1963  A Buddhist monk protested with an
act of self-immolation in Saigon
 Left a note asking that Diem respect all
religions
Diem’s End
 Stages of War
 War of Independence: 1945-1954
US supported France
Ends with Dien Bien Phu
Geneva Accords partition Vietnam
 Limited Partnership: 1954-1965
Direct support for S. Vietnam (advisors & aid)
Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson (transition)
Ends with Gulf of Tonkin
 Limited War: 1965-1968
Escalation of US involvement
US troops engaging in direct combat against VC
& N. Vietnam
Gulf of Tonkin Incident and
Resolution
August 1964
 Alleged attacks by N. Vietnamese gunboats
on two American destroyers, August 1964
 Congress granted Johnson broad military
powers.
 The President could wage war without
declaring it
Transition to Limited War
 Johnson supported escalation but was waiting for
the right opportunity.
 June, 1965 - 50,000 U.S. soldiers on the ground
 Marks the switch from Limited Partnership to
Limited War
 “Rolling Thunder” - code name for a sustained
bombing campaign against N. Vietnam. Aimed
to 1) destroy will of N.Vietnamese soldiers 2) to
destroy bases 3) the stop flow of men and supplies
on Ho Chi Minh Trail.
Search and Destroy
 As the bombing continued in the north, fighting in the
South was characterized by Search and Destroy
missions - scouring villages for Viet Cong
 The Viet Cong frequently masqueraded as civilians,
making Search and Destroy missions especially deadly
and psychologically difficult for soldiers. Ambushes
were common and civilian casualties were high.
My Lai Massacre
On March 16, 1968 the angry and frustrated men of
Charlie Company, 11th Brigade, American Division
entered the Vietnamese village of My Lai. "This is
what you've been waiting for -- search and destroy -and you've got it," said their superior officers. A short
time later the killing began. When news of the
atrocities surfaced, it sent shockwaves through the
U.S. political establishment, the military's chain of
command, and an already divided American public.
 Poised for Conflict
My Lai lay in the South Vietnamese district of Son My,
a heavily mined area where the Vietcong were deeply
entrenched. Numerous members of Charlie Company
had been maimed or killed in the area during the
preceding weeks. The agitated troops, under the
command of Lt. William Calley, entered the village
poised for engagement with their elusive enemy.
 Massacre
As the "search and destroy" mission unfolded, it soon
degenerated into the massacre of over 300 apparently
unarmed civilians including women, children, and the
elderly. Calley ordered his men to enter the village
firing, though there had been no report of opposing
fire. According to eyewitness reports offered after the
event, several old men were bayoneted, praying
women and children were shot in the back of the
head, and at least one girl was raped and then killed.
For his part, Calley was said to have rounded up a
group of the villagers, ordered them into a ditch, and
mowed them down in a fury of machine gun fire.
 Call for Investigation
Word of the atrocities did not reach the American
public until November 1969, when journalist Seymour
Hersh published a story detailing his conversations
with a Vietnam veteran, Ron Ridenhour. Ridenhour
learned of the events at My Lai from members of
Charlie Company who had been there. Before
speaking with Hersh, he had appealed to Congress, the
White House, and the Pentagon to investigate the
matter. The military investigation resulted in Calley's
being charged with murder in September 1969 -- a full
two months before the harsh story hit the streets.
Hawks
 Felt America should increase military to win the
war.
 Domino Theory
 Fear of disloyalty
Doves
 Strongly opposed war
 Vietnam was a civil war
 The South Vietnamese regime was no better than
the enemy.
 U.S. could not police the entire world
 US involvement was morally unjust
• By 1967, Americans were increasingly divided into
2 camps regarding the war.
• Most Americans still remained committed to the
war, 56%.
The Living Room War
From 1965 to 1975, television played an
unprecedented role in shaping American perceptions
of the Vietnam War. New technology and unlimited
access to the battlefields of Southeast Asia invested
field reporters with the ability to broadcast what
became known as "bang-bang" coverage. The carnage
of the war and the consequences for American morale,
both on the battlefield and at home, led to deep
divisions in how Americans viewed the role of
government, the military, social change, and war itself.