2. Vietnam
History of nationalism
Colonized by French in 1800’s – French Indochina
Viet Minh led by Ho Chi Minh fought Japanese occupation – helped by US
Declared independence at end of WWII
France reclaimed / occupied colony
Viet Minh responded w/guerrilla war

3. French asked help from US
US financed/equipped French (Truman Doctrine)
Eisenhower continued US support
US belief in Domino Theory
French wearied by guerrilla war – gambled on big battle in the open
French defeated at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu

4. French give up Indochina – hand off to UN
Communist North Vietnam
Capital – Hanoi
Military Forces – North Vietnamese Army (NVA)
South Vietnam
Capital – Saigon
Military Forces – Army of Republic of Vietnam (ARVN)
Communists in South create guerrilla army – Viet Cong
French give up Indochina – hand off to UN
UN Geneva Accords divides Vietnam at 17th parallel
Elections to be held in North and South
No elections held – North becomes Communist state and South becomes non-Communist

5. President of South Vietnam
Ngo Dinh Diem
Catholic
Mandate of Heaven
Anti-Communist
Creates Strategic Hamlet Program to concentrate and fortify villages
Disliked by US due to autocratic style

6. Kennedy increases US troops in Vietnam to ~15,000
Buddhist faction protests – claim discrimination
Some South Vietnamese generals and CIA overthrow Diem – Diem assassinated
South Vietnam falls into political chaos
US increases presence in Vietnam

7. 1964 Gulf of Tonkin Resolution – gave Johnson authority to significantly increase US troop levels
Operation Rolling Thunder – US bombed North Vietnam in response to attacks by NVA and Viet Cong
US soldiers took on more of the fighting

8. In a guerrilla war, how do you know if you’re winning?
Body counts
Search and Destroy missions
Battles w/ Viet Cong and NVA
Use of Napalm

9. Agent Orange – defoliant used by US to deny use of foliage to the enemy

10. Agent Orange - Today

11. Viet Cong suffering losses – supplied by North Vietnam using Ho Chi Minh Trail
Trail bypassed much of Vietnam by going through Laos & Cambodia
North Vietnam supplied by China & USSR
Johnson refused to allow US to use full power / widen war

12. By late 1960’s, many in US against the war – protests increasing
What was majority opinion?
General Westmoreland assured the public the US was winning
Daily news broadcasts caused many to doubt the government – Credibility Gap

13. Teach-In – teachers and students leave classes to protest
Hawks / Doves
The Draft – deferments, resistance, evaders
26th Amendment
Unfair to poor?
MLK against war

14. All major cities attacked by NVA and Viet Cong
The 1968 Tet Offensive
All major cities attacked by NVA and Viet Cong
Mass executions of civilians by Communists
Hard battles won by US and ARVN troops
Military victory – Viet Cong effectively destroyed
Major propaganda victory for Communists – mainstream US media turns against war
Lessons Learned – Tet Offensive

15. Nixon wins Election of 1968 – promises to end war “honorably”
Linkage - Nixon tried to improve relations with USSR and China to get support to end war
Vietnamization – Nixon policy of arming South Vietnam so they could fight the war and US could withdraw troops
Nixon increased bombing of North Vietnam and Cambodia – trying to get the Communists to the peace table

16. My Lai Massacre – massacre of Vietnamese villagers by US troops
US invades Cambodia to interdict the Ho Chi Minh Trail
News of invasion sparks new wave of college protests
Kent State – 4 students killed by National Guard troops at protest

17. The Pentagon Papers
Government papers leaked to the press by DOD worker, Daniel Ellsberg
Papers showed that government had lied to the public about the war’s progress
The War Continues
US continues withdrawing US troops
1972 invasion of South by Communist North turned back by ARVN

18. The Peace Treaty
US to withdraw all combat troops
All POWs to be returned
Communist forces to leave the South
South Vietnam refused to sign – Communist troops still in South
South signs after Nixon promises continued US support and bombings in case of renewed conflict

19. Communists resume invasion of South in 1974
Aftermath of War
War cost 58,193 US lives, ~185,000 South Vietnamese dead, and over one million Communist dead
Communists resume invasion of South in 1974
Nixon powerless due to Watergate scandal and Democratic Congress refuses to honor US side of bargain – will not supply the South
Communists conquer South Vietnam in April 1975
Fall of Saigon Music Video

20. Congress passed War Powers Act to limit presidential power in entering armed conflicts
Communists kill ~250,000 South Vietnamese in executions, torture, and in “rehabilitation camps”
About 2 million South Vietnamese flee (the boat people) – thousands more die
Domino Theory? Laos and Cambodia fall to Communists – Cambodia begins genocide
Aftermath of Vietnam War – Prager University