Vietnam War U.S. History 11

French Rule in Vietnam a. 1800’s –WWII b. Indochina (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia) c. Growing opposition from Vietnamese d. Restricted freedoms of speech & assembly e. Prison for those who opposed French rule f. Did not work, dissent continued to grow

Ho Chi Minh a. Revolutionary who fled Vietnam to China b organized & created Indochinese Communist Party c. Campaigned for Vietnamese independence while in exile in China & Soviet Union d Japan took control of Vietnam from the French

Ho Chi Minh (cont) e. Minh returned to Vietnam & formed the Vietminh f. Goal was to win Vietnam’s independence from foreign rule g. With Japanese surrender to Allies at end of WWII this goal became reality h. September 2, 1945 Ho Chi Minh declared Vietnam an independent country

France Battles the Vietminh a. France had no intentions of giving up its former colony b. French troops moved in and reclaimed the southern part of Vietnam c. “If the tiger (Vietminh) pauses, the elephant (France) will impale him on his mighty tusks. But the tiger will not pause, and the elephant will die of exhaustion and loss of blood.” Ho Chi Minh

France battles (cont) d. United States supported the French effort in Vietnam financially e. President Truman sent $15 million in aid to the French in 1950 f. From the U.S. paid for much of this battle (nearly $1 billion) g. U.S. had once supported Ho Chi Minh against the Japanese but now saw him as a communist aggressor

Vietminh drive out the French a. Even with U.S. aid the French were unable to defeat the Vietminh b. May 1954 French surrendered to the Vietminh at Dien Bien Phu in northwestern Vietnam c. May-July 1954 France, Great Britain, Soviet Union, U.S., China, Laos,& Cambodia met with Vietminh in Geneva, Switzerland to discuss a peace agreement

Geneva Accords a. Temporarily divided Vietnam along the 17 th parallel b. Ho Chi Minh & the communists controlled North Vietnam (capital city Hanoi) c. Anticommunist nationalists controlled South Vietnam (capital city Saigon) d. Election to unify the country was to take place in 1956

U.S. steps in a. Ho Chi Minh was very popular in the north b. Ngo Dinh Diem was president of South Vietnam & a strong anti-communist c. Recognizing Minh’s popularity, Diem refused to take part in the 1956 election d. U.S. supported Diem, also fearing that Ho Chi Minh would win the election, further spreading communism

U.S. steps in (cont) e. U.S. promised military aid & training if Diem provided a stable reform government in the south f. Diem, however, did not hold up his end of the deal g. Corrupt government, suppressed any opposition to his policies, restricted Buddhist practices

Vietcong a. Communist opposition group that grew in South Vietnam b. Attacks on Diem government, assassinations of government officials c. Supported by Ho Chi Minh d. Used Ho Chi Minh trail to get weapons & supplies to the Vietcong from the north e. Guerilla tactics made South Vietnam unstable

JFK & Vietnam a. Increased financial aid to Diem b. Sent in military advisors to help train South Vietnamese troops c (2 years into JFK’s term) 16,000 U.S. military advisors were in South Vietnam d. Diem’s rule continued to put South Vietnam in chaos e. November 1, 1963 U.S. supported military coup overtook Diem’s rule & he was assassinated

Tonkin Gulf Resolution a. August 1964 North Vietnamese patrol boat fired a torpedo at The Maddox, American destroyer patrolling off the North Vietnamese coast in the Gulf of Tonkin b. Torpedo missed the ship but the Maddox returned fire and caused heavy damage to the North Vietnamese boat

Tonkin Gulf Resolution (cont) c. 2 days later the Maddox again reported being attacked by enemy torpedoes & began firing back d. Crew members later admitted that enemy fire was neither seen or heard e. President Johnson ordered bombing strikes on North Vietnam

Tonkin Gulf Resolution (cont) f. Asked Congress for powers “to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the U.S. & prevent any further aggression.” g. Tonkin Gulf Resolution was not a declaration of war but allowed the President broad military powers

Tonkin Gulf Resolution (cont) h. February 1965 Johnson ordered “Operation Rolling Thunder” i. Bombing attack of North Vietnam in response to a Vietcong attack that killed 8 Americans j. March 1965 U.S. combat troops began to arrive in South Vietnam k. June ,000 U.S. troops battling Vietcong l. The Vietnam War had now become Americanized!

Johnson becomes President after the assassination of JFK

Operation Rolling Thunder

Vietnam by President TRUMAN Financial aid to French EISENHOWER Aid to French Support of Diem Military aid & training

Vietnam by President (cont) Kennedy Increased aid to Diem Military advisors to train South Vietnamese Overthrow & assassination of Diem Johnson Tonkin Gulf Resolution Bombing campaigns Sent U.S. combat troops Escalated the war!