The Vietnam War: American Involvement and Unconventional Warfare in Southeast Asia

1. Ch. 24: The Vietnam War (1954-1975)

2. Section 1: The War Unfolds • American interest and involvement in Vietnam began long before they committed troops during the 1960s.

3. Background • Vietnam was an independent country for nearly 2,000 years. • In the 1800s, France took Vietnam as a colony. • During and after WWII, Ho Chi Minh led in the fight for independence. • Ho Chi Minh headed the League for the Independence of Vietnam, the Vietminh.

4. Geneva Accords • In 1954, an international conference in Geneva, Switzerland met. • These Geneva Accords determined that Vietnam would be divided into two nations, North and South Vietnam.

5. Divided Vietnam • North Vietnam became a Communist nation, led by Ho Chi Minh. • South Vietnam was anti-Communist, led by Ngo Dinh Diem. • The country was supposed to hold elections in 1956 and reunify, but the South refused believing the Communists wouldn’t be fair.

6. U.S. Involvement • The Truman Doctrine stated that America would give aid to any nation threatened by Communism. • As early as 1950, the U.S. was giving money to France to support their war against Ho Chi Minh. • When the French left, Eisenhower began aiding South Vietnam. • By 1960, 675 U.S. military advisors were in South Vietnam.

7. Kennedy and Vietnam • Determined to stop the spread of Communism, Kennedy offered full support to South Vietnam. • Diem said they needed more aid to survive. • By 1963 there were 16,000 U.S. military advisors in South Vietnam.

8. Ngo Dinh Diem • Diem, South Vietnam’s leader, become very unpopular. • Imprisoned those who criticized him • Corrupt; gave jobs to friends • Catholic in a Buddhist country, insisted that the country obey Catholic religious laws • Protests began, Buddhist monks set themselves on fire in the street.

9. Diem’s Downfall • Kennedy realized South Vietnam couldn’t be unified around Diem. • U.S. officials told South Vietnamese officials that the U.S. wouldn’t object to Diem’s overthrow. • In November 1963, military leaders staged a coup and assassinated Diem as he fled.

10. Robert McNamara • Robert McNamara was Kennedy and Johnson’s Secretary of Defense. • Brilliant, former president of Ford, efficient manager. • Vietnam is sometimes called McNamara’s War, as he provided a lot of the policy and strategy that he believed necessary to win the war. • In later life, McNamara confessed that Vietnam was a major mistake.

11. Data v. Understanding History • McNamara didn't know anything about Vietnam. Nor did the rest of us working with him. But Americans didn't have to know the culture and history of a place. All we needed to do was apply our military superiority and resources in the right way. We needed to collect the right data, analyze the information properly and come up with a solution on how to win the war. McNamara did just that until sometime in late 1965. Then he began to wonder, perhaps because of the bad dreams he was having as American casualties mounted, whether the war could actually be won--no matter how smart we were. Then he began to understand that as long as we were in Vietnam and willing to fight and die, we could not lose--but also that we could not win, that the war was an open-ended stalemate.Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1909627,00.html#ixzz18cLXcu00

12. McNamara

13. Johnson Inherits the War • Just three weeks after Diem was assassinated, JFK was killed. • LBJ was forced to take over the war and most voices, such as McNamara, pushed for increased U.S. involvement. • Johnson said “I am not going to be the President who saw Southeast Asia go the way China went.”

14. Communist Advances • Diem’s successors were also unpopular and unsuccessful. • Communist guerilla fighters in the south, known as Viet Cong gained increasing territory and loyalty within South Vietnam.

15. Expanding the War • In August, 1964, Johnson announced that North Vietnam had attacked U.S. destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin, international waters. • Some doubted the severity or even existence of the attacks, but they gave Johnson leverage. • Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, giving LBJ nearly unlimited power in Vietnam without needing to officially declare war.

16. 1964 Election • In the 1964 Elections between Lyndon B. Johnson and Barry Goldwater… • LBJ was considered the “dove” or peace candidate • Goldwater the “hawk” or war candidate • While we don’t know what Goldwater would’ve done in office, ironically, LBJ greatly expanded the war in Vietnam after being reelected.

17. Section 2: Fighting the War • The Vietnam War was an unconventional war, fought in swamps and jungles and using guerilla warfare.

18. Guerilla Warfare • Vietnam is full of jungles and swamps. • The U.S. had far superior arms and supplies, but the Viet Cong used their knowledge of the land to their advantage. • Used guerilla warfare, continual hit and run attacks from hidden locations.

19. The Ground War • Viet Cong worked in small groups and launched sneak attacks. • Hid in elaborate underground tunnels; some contained hospitals, stores, running water and electricity.

20. Sabotage/Booby Trapping • The Viet Cong set various booby traps… • Camouflaged pit filled with sharp stakes, sometimes poisoned. • Land mines that exploded when stepped on; often triggered by trip wire. • Americans didn’t know which Vietnamese were their enemies, and as a result killed many Southern Vietnamese as well.

21. The Air War • Americans carpeted Vietnam with saturation bombing, thousands of explosives over large areas. • Dropped a chemical called “Agent Orange” on dense jungle landscape to the forest and expose Viet Cong. • Agent Orange also killed crops and caused health problems. • Used napalm, a jellylike chemical dropped from planes that burned uncontrollably. • Stuck to people’s bodies and seared off flesh.

22. 1965-68: Escalation • By 1965, the Viet Cong were expanding in South Vietnam. • Supplies poured into the south through the Ho Chi Minh Trail. • Johnson began a rapid buildup of American troops.

23. Escalation by Numbers • The number of U.S. soldiers in Vietnam… • 1964: 25,000 • 1965: 184,000 • 1966: 385,000 • 1967: 485,000 • 1968: 536,000 • Over 3 million U.S. soldiers ending up fighting in Vietnam

24. The Tet Offensive • In 1968, during Tet, the Vietnamese New Year holiday, the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese launched a major offensive throughout all of South Vietnam, including Siagon. • The attack came as a surprise given the holiday. • Fierce fighting continued for weeks.

25. Turning Point • The Tet Offensive marked a turning point in the war. • Showed that North Vietnam was capable of a massive scale offensive and was not going to surrender. • Images from the offensive flooded American televisions and quickly ended any remaining support for the war and Johnson.

26. Massacre at My Lai • Amidst distress and violence, both sides committed atrocities. • U.S. troops heard that My Lai, a small village, was sheltering members of the Viet Cong. • When they moved in they found only women, children, and old men. • They rounded all of them up, 400 people, and shot them all.

27. Section 3: Political Divisions • While some supported the war, increasing opposition polarized the country and gave birth to the peace movement.

28. Student Activism • Change was ramped in the 60-70s. • The baby-boomer generation was graduating high school as the Vietnam War escalated. • Brought many new changes: college, Civil Rights Movement, rock and roll, rebellion, drugs, etc. • Created a generational gap of values. • Rebellion against Vietnam was part of the nonconformity of the times.

29. New Left • Many of the young adults that witnessed problems such as poverty, racism, and Vietnam called for radical changes. • This new political climate of radical change and activism was known as the New Left.

30. Draft Resistance • A draft had been in effect since 1951. • In 1965, President Johnson doubled the number of draftees, then doubled it again. • Increased draftees caused society to question the war and the fairness of a draft. • People protested, claimed handicaps, conscientious-objection, or fled the country.

31. Protests • In 1968, more than 200 demonstrations were held at colleges throughout the U.S.

32. Johnson Decides Not to Run • LBJ’s popularity rapidly decreased as a result of the war. • Just before the Democratic primaries began, Robert Kennedy, a critic of the war, announced his candidacy. • Soon afterward, Johnson declared he would not seek another term.

33. 1968 Election • Bobby Kennedy was assassinated before the election. • Johnson’s Vice President, Hubert Humphrey, was the Democratic Nominee • Richard Nixon was the Republican Candidate. • Humphrey had supported Johnson’s foreign policy, making him unpopular. • Nixon claimed a secret plan that would end the war.

34. Nixon Victory

35. Section 4: The End of the War • When Nixon became President, he began decreasing the number of soldiers, but increased bombing levels. Finally the U.S. pulled out entirely.

36. Nixon and Vietnamization • In 1969, President Nixon announced his policy of Vietnamization. • Removing American soldiers and shifting the responsibility of the fighting to the South Vietnamese. • Over the next 3 years, numbers of U.S. soldiers reduced to only 24,000 by 1972.

37. Cambodia • Nixon felt it necessary to withdraw troops to appease the public, but still was determined to win the war. • Ordered secret bombing raids on major targets. • In 1970, Nixon chose to invade Cambodia, where many Viet Cong camps and supplies were located. • Resulted in chaos and civil war in Cambodia and increased U.S. protest.

38. The Silent Majority • Nixon believed, and argued, that the radical voices of war protest were not representative of the whole country. • He asked for the support of those he called the “silent majority”. • Discouraged protests and activism from the “vocal minority” that threatened to become the dominant narrative.

39. Kent State University • Antiwar protests reached a peak in 1970, after the invasion of Cambodia. • At Kent State University in Ohio, students angrily protested at the University. • The Ohio National Guard was called in. • In response to violence from the protestors, they poured tear gas and then opened fire on the students. • Four students were killed and nine wounded.

40. Paris Peace Talks: 1973 • Fighting continued and despite less troops, Nixon ordered the most extensive bombing yet in 1972. • In January, 1973, the U.S., S. Vietnam, N. Vietnam, and the Viet Cong all met to sign an agreement in Paris, France. • The U.S. would withdraw all forces within 60 days. • All POWs would be released. • All parties would end activity in Laos and Cambodia.

41. South Vietnam/Saigon Falls • The U.S. pulled out entirely in 1973, but the war between N&S continued until 1975. • N. Vietnam steadily gained ground during this time. • A final offensive in April, 1975 led to the surrender of Saigon’s government and the creation of a single nation, Communist Vietnam.

42. Southeast Asia After War • The “domino theory” proved only partially true. • After Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia also became Communist countries, but no more. • In Cambodia, leadership fell to Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge. • Pol Pot killed roughly 1.5 million Cambodians, a quarter of the population.

43. Death Tolls from the War • U.S. • 58,000 killed (300,000 wounded & 2,500 POW or MIA) • South Vietnamese Army • 250,000 killed (estimate) • North Vietnam & the Viet Cong • 1,100,000 (estimate)

44. Legacy of the War • The U.S. had spent $150 billion on the war. • Unlike former wars, soldiers were not welcomed home as heroes. • Many veterans suffered from post traumatic stress disorder and anxiety. • More bombs were dropped on Vietnam than on all the Axis powers during WWII.

45. Division • The war polarized the country that wars before had not. • The nation remained divided on other issues even after the war.

46. Vietnam Veterans Memorial • Due to national wounds, no memorial was made quickly. • In 1979 a committee held a contest for designers to submit ideas for a memorial. • The winner was a 21-year-old college student, Maya Ying Lin. • Designed a long wall of black granite with names in order of death.