Vietnam War 1954 - 1975

3 Causes French Irredentism – France tries to reclaim its former territory - including Vietnam Domino Theory – U.S. tries to stop the spread of communism Self-Determination – People of Vietnam want to rule themselves

Participants: South Vietnam United States North Vietnam (Viet Minh) – named for Ho Chi Minh South Vietnamese Communists (Viet Cong) Soviet Union China versus

Number of U.S. Military Advisers In Vietnam 1955: Eisenhower sends over the 1st U.S. military advisers. 1960: 780 advisers are present. 1963: 17,000 advisers by the time Kennedy is assassinated. He created the “Green Berets” specialty forces for Vietnam. 1965: 184,000 advisers after the “Gulf of Tonkin” incident and “Operation Rolling Thunder” 1966: By August of 1966, President Johnson authorizes more than 429,000 advisers in Vietnam. 1968: More than 500,000 advisers are put in place by President Johnson and General Westmoreland by the time of the Tet Offensive. 1969-’73: Election of President Richard Nixon brings a gradual decrease to the number of advisers in Vietnam, leading to eventual all-out withdrawal in 1973.

Growing U.S. Involvement

Timeline: 1954-1975 1954: Geneva Peace Accords – Separated Vietnam at the 17th Parallel. National elections to reunify the country would be held in 1956. U.S. prevented that from happening. 1955: South Vietnam is born with the help of massive military, political and economic aid from the U.S. 1963: South Vietnamese President Diem authorizes raids on Buddhists places of worship claiming they are harboring communists. Buddhists monks set themselves on fire in protest. President Diem and his brother are overthrown, captured and killed.

Timeline: 1954-1975 1964: “Gulf of Tonkin Incident” – Fictitious attacks against U.S. ships in the Gulf of Tonkin. Johnson calls them “as devious as Pearl Harbor.” - Results: The Gulf of Tonkin resolution: Gave broad support to President Johnson to escalate U.S. involvement in the war “as the President shall determine.” – Actually, U.S. ships were in N. Vietnamese waters supply S. Vietnamese troops when fired upon. 1965-’68: “Operation Rolling Thunder” – Code name for a sustained bombing campaign against North Vietnam. - Goal was to destroy the will of the North Vietnamese to fight. 1968: “Tet Offensive” – Massive strike by Viet Minh against American bases located in cities throughout S. Vietnam. It was a strategic loss for the Viet Minh but a psychological victory – they were better equipped, better trained, and more determined than had been previously believed.

1968: “My Lai Massacre” – 347 innocent men, women and children are executed by the U.S. Army and the village of My Lai is burnt to the ground. 24-year-old U.S. Army helicopter pilot, Hugh Thompson, Jr., confronted the leaders of the U.S. troops and told them his gunship would open fire on them if they continued their attack on civilians.

Timeline: 1954-1975 1969: President Nixon announces his “Vietnamization” stategy. A gradual withdrawal of U.S. troops, turning the war over to the S. Vietnamese soldiers. 1970: “Kent State Demonstration” – National Guardsmen pelted by rocks and empty tear gas containers open fire on college demonstrators killing four and wounding nine. Incident enraged many “middle of the fence” Americans that now called for an end to the war. 1973: “Paris Peace Accord” – U.S. agrees to withdraw from Vietnam within 60 days of January 27. All U.S. soldiers were ordered to withdraw by March 27 – bringing about the first and only defeat in U.S. military history.

1975: “Fall of Saigon” – Fall of the S 1975: “Fall of Saigon” – Fall of the S. Vietnamese capital results in the official end of the war with a N. Vietnamese victory and reunification of the country under communist rule. Last U.S. troops leave!

1982: “Vietnam Veterans Memorial” – Vietnam War Memorial Wall is built in Washington D.C. containing the names of the soldiers that died in the war.

Casualties South S. Vietnamese dead: 230,000 S. Vietnamese wounded: 300,000 US dead: 58,191 US wounded: 300,000 Civilian (total Vietnamese): c. 2–4 million North N. Vietnamese dead: 1,100,000 N. Vietnamese wounded: 600,000 Chinese dead: 1100 Chinese wounded: 4200 Civilian (total Vietnamese): c. 2–4 million