The Vietnam War The U.S. decided to stop communism in Southeast Asia

A Pre-War Time Line Vietnam was under Chinese rule for 1100 years In the 1500s the French took over Southeast Asia  Sent their navy to protect them, but they never left  Hoped to civilize Vietnam  Created plantations and tenant farms  Controlled the masses with opium and alcohol

A Pre-War Time Line Ho Chi Minh (communist)  Formed the Vietminh to help fight Japanese occupation in WWII  Vietminh supported by the U.S.  BUT, U.S. supported French occupation after the war French Indochina War  France and the Vietminh fight for control of Vietnam

A Pre-War Time Line At the Battle of Dienbienphu France loses the war. The Geneva Accords split Vietnam on the 17 th parallel  The North is governed by Ho Chi Minh – Chinese backed communist  The South is governed by Ngo Dinh Diem – U.S. backed dictator Planned 1956 nation-wide election

Ho Chi Minh Vietnamese revolutionary Wanted independence for Vietnam Communist In exile for over ten years before WWII Formed the Vietminh to fight for Vietnamese independence

Ngo Dinh Diem Western educated Catholic - restricted Buddhist practices Dictator of South Vietnam Strong anti- Communist

So many differences… List the differences between Ho Chi Minh and Ngo Dinh Diem. Do they have any similarities?

The U.S. Intervenes In a nation-wide election Ho Chi Minh would have won…  He was extremely popular because of his land reform in the North The U.S. believed that if Ho was elected it would cause the rest of South East Asia to become communist  The Domino Theory

Vietcong By 1957, an opposition group to Diem developed. The Vietcong were communists and began attacks against Diem’s government By 1959, Ho began to supply the Vietcong, the National Liberation Front (NLF), with arms through the Ho Chi Minh Trail

Conflicting Interests in Vietnam Vietminh and VietcongWanted freedom from foreign interference in Vietnam Wanted all of Vietnam to be Communist United StatesAfraid of Communist takeover of South Vietnam Supported Diem as best hope for keeping South Vietnam non-Communist Willing to intervene militarily, but did not want to involve China Ngo Dinh DiemDictator, not democratic Used American aid to maintain personal power BuddhistsPersecuted by Diem’s government Protested persecution Rebel GeneralsWanted to get rid of Diem Wanted power for themselves

Diem is overthrown… Between the US gave more than $1 billion to Diem for military aid US tired of Diem using that to maintain power instead of fighting the Vietcong Communists and non-Communists in South Vietnam began to protest the Diem government. US staged a military coup - Diem killed.

Vietcong By 1964 the Vietcong controlled over half of South Vietnam Used tunnels all over the south to hide, plan, live. Booby traps and small entrances kept American soldiers from infiltrating the tunnel system

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution August 2, 1964 the U.S.S. Maddox experienced apparent hostility from North Vietnamese gun boats in international waters. A second interaction followed two nights later… Congress, given intel from the DOD, created the GOTR

Power to Johnson The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution gave the president the power to wage a war against communism in South Vietnam. Technically, it was not a declaration of war, but it gave the president the same powers as he would have in war.

Operation Rolling Thunder LBJ orders extensive bombing on North Vietnam and Laos North Vietnamese still persisted - supplying the Vietcong In 1965 LBJ ordered more troops to Vietnam U.S. troops in Vietnam peaked at 543,400

South Vietnamese Reaction Ho continued to supply the Vietcong with arms. Johnson tried to make this an “Americanized” war With each bomb dropped on a village more South Vietnamese began to support the Vietcong

Tet Offensive 1968 Vietcong and NVA attacked 100 different cities and villages at the same time. Proved that the “enemy” was organized Not the rag-tag force we thought we were fighting

Vietnamization After Johnson asks Hanoi to begin negotiations Nixon suggests the policy of “Vietnamization” Replacing U.S. troops with Vietnamese troops

Bombing of Cambodia Nixon says we are going to get the Vietnamese to fight their own war Then America finds out that he is escalating the war by bombing Cambodia Trying to stop supplies from North Vietnam

Cease Fire January of 1973 U.S. and North Vietnam sign a cease fire agreement The U.S. promises to withdraw within 60 days Vietnam plunged into full scale civil war April 29, 1975 Saigon falls to the northern communists Eventually, Cambodia and Laos become communist too.

Vietnam Chronology… 1954 Defeat of French by Vietminh at Dienbienphu Geneva Conference splits Vietnam into North and South at the 17th Parallel

Vietnam Chronology… 1957 Formation of the NLF (Vietcong) in South Vietnam

Vietnam Chronology… 1964 Tonkin Gulf Resolution by Congress in response to the North Vietnamese “attack”

Vietnam Chronology… 1965 First ground troops arrive in South Vietnam

Vietnam Chronology… 1967 Antiwar protests in the U.S. intensify.

Vietnam Chronology… 1968 Tet Offensive launched by Vietcong with support from North Vietnam What else happened in 1968?

Vietnam Chronology… 1969 U.S. troops be withdrawn from Vietnam - Vietnamization

Vietnam Chronology… Kent State tragedy -Nixon decides to bomb Cambodia

Vietnam Chronology… 1973 U.S. and North Vietnam and Vietcong sign a cease fire, ending American involvement in Vietnam War

Vietnam Chronology… 1975 Saigon falls; South Vietnam surrenders to the communists of the North

Cause and Effect: The War in Vietnam