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Unraveling the Vietnam War: Conflict and Strategies

Learn about the U.S. involvement, compare strategies, and predict effectiveness. Explore key events, leaders, and battles like Tet Offensive. Reflect on tactics and outcomes from both sides in this immersive history lesson.

jacob-cervantes
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Unraveling the Vietnam War: Conflict and Strategies

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  1. Introducing the Vietnam War

  2. Learning Targets • Explain how the U.S. got involved in the Vietnam War. • Compare and contrast the U.S. and NVA/Vietcong strategies. • Predict the effectiveness of each plan.

  3. Priming: A Soldier’s Experience A Soldier’s Experience

  4. THE VIETNAM WAR

  5. 1954: Geneva Accords--1954 • Vietnam divided when French left • North Vietnam - Ho Chi Minh & communist • South Vietnam - Ngo Dinh Diem & anti-communist Ho Chi Minh Divided at 17th parallel Ngo Dinh Diem

  6. 1. Diem’s leadership of South Vietnam • Refused election • Persecuted Buddhists • Overthrown and followed by unstable gov’ts Growing Problems

  7. 2. Growth of the Vietcong • Vietcong (VC) = communist guerillas in S.Vietnam fighting the S. Vietnamese gov’t • tried to fight with strategic hamlet plan(move villagers for “protection”) Growing Problems • Add walls and moat • backfired • 80% of countryside supported • Vietcong

  8. Eisenhower sent aid due to domino theory • 1961: JFK follows with “military advisors” U.S. Aids South By 1963, 16,000 American troops are Training in South Vietnam

  9. Tonkin Gulf Resolution • August 2, 1964: U.S. destroyer Maddox attacked in Tonkin Gulf

  10. Tonkin Gulf Resolution • Congress gave President Johnson (LBJ) war powers Senate Vote: 88 to 2 “to take all necessary steps, including the use of armed force…”

  11. Think, Pair, Share • Explain why the United States got involved in Vietnam. • Explain how the United States got involved with Vietnam. • Should the U.S. have involved themselves in the conflict in your opinion?

  12. American Escalation • General William Westmoreland, U.S. Commander

  13. U.S. strategy: bomb North, ground troops in South • 1968: 538, 000 U.S. troops American Escalation

  14. Operation Rolling Thunder • Bombing Raids of North Vietnam 643,000 tons of bombs 5 times Hiroshima 3 years Air Force Chief of Staff Lemey about bombing them “back to the stone Age.”

  15. Focused on Ho Chi Minh Trail (supply line for Vietcong and N.Vietnam) • failed Operation Rolling Thunder Dealt with 2,700 roads And tunnels NVA actually increased supply NVA Tung, “The bombs heightened rather than dampened our spirits.”

  16. Search and Destroy Missions: seek VC and destroyed villages • Jungle warfare, so defoliants used (Agent Orange/Napalm) Ground War

  17. NVA and Vietcong • Commander of NVA – Vo Nguyen Giap • 1965: Strategy shift to guerilla tactics, Giap against

  18. NVA and Vietcong • Tactics- tunneled base camps, booby traps, and punji spikes.

  19. Journal Reflection • Compare and contrast the U.S. strategies with the NVA and Vietcong strategies in a double bubble. NVA & Vietcong strategies U.S. strategies similarities differences differences

  20. Think, Pair, Share • Predict which side’s strategies will work best - the U.S. Strategies or the NVA & Vietcong strategies. Why?

  21. Khe Sanh • Important for intelligence on Ho Chi Minh Trail • 40,000 NVA vs. 5,600 U.S. for over 2 mths. • U.S. win, shows NVA resolve

  22. Tet Offensive • Massive attack by North on Vietnamese New Year • Military victory for South/U.S. • Morale victory for North 100 towns and cities Attacked; 12 air bases attacked 42,000Vietcong casualties

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