The Vietnam Conflict 1965-1975

1. The Vietnam Conflict 1965-1975

2. U.S. Policies to Remember • Containment – The Policy of containing the spread of Communism • Flexible Response – Increasing the size of conventional military and reducing nuclear armament • Domino Theory – The idea that one nation in an area falling to Communism would result in neighboring nations falling to communism

3. Geneva Accords • Split Vietnam into South and North Vietnam along the 17th parallel • Created political division between Communists (North) and Nationalists (South) • Called for an election in 1956 to unify North and South Vietnam

4. Origins of American Involvement • France occupied Vietnam since the 1880s • The United States began to support France financially and militarily in 1950 to stop the spread of communism • Sent $15 million in support plus $1 billion in military aid • French defeated at Dien Bien Phu in may of 1954 and pushed out of Vietnam.

5. Leaders in Vietnam • Ho Chi Minh – Communist leader of North Vietnam. • Supported by the U.S. during WWII. • Wanted to fight for freedom of Vietnam • Created the Vietminh (group to win independence for Vietnam • Ngo Dinh Diem – Anti-Communist president of South Vietnam. • Refused to take part in 1956 national elections • Catholic who banned Buddhism • Oppressive leader • Assassinated by the Vietcong

7. Ho Chi Minh ---- Ngo Dinh Diem

8. American Presidents In Vietnam • John F Kennedy – Supported Diem and South vietnam • Sent 16,000 military personnel to Vietnam for support • Did not want Diem overthrown • Announced plan to remove troops before his death • Assassinated 21 days after Diem • Lyndon B Johnson – Did not want Vietnam to fall to communism\ • Did not want to appear soft on communism • Continued to escalate conflict in Vietnam throughout his presidency

9. Tonkin Gulf Resolution • August 2, 1964 – U.S. destroyer, U.S.S. Maddox was fired upon by North Vietnam • August 4, 1964 – 2 American ships fired upon by North Vietnam • August 7, 1964 - Johnson asked congress for permission to escalate the conflict (not declare war) Tonkin Gulf Resolution • February 1965 – Operation Rolling Thunder begins (large scale strategic bombing raids of Vietnam • March 1965 – Johnson sends 50,000 combat troops to Vietnam

10. Escalation in Vietnam • Johnson wanted to fight in Vietnam while keeping most ground troops out of battle • Helped him beat Goldwater in 1964 • “I’m not about to sent American boys 9 or 10,000 miles away from home to do what Asian boys ought to be doing for themselves” • March 1965 – Johnson began to send American soldiers by the tens of thousands to fight in Vietnam • 61% of Americans supported this --- 24% did not • Johnsons closest advisors Dean Rusk(Sec. of State) and Robert McNamara (Sec. of Defense) urged for further escalation to contain communism

11. Further Escalation • ARVN (Army of the Republic of Vietnam) – South – was poorly trained and needed help to have a chance • General William Westmoreland, commander in Vietnam, continued to ask for more troops to fight against the Vietcong • End of 1965 – 180,000 troops in Vietnam • End of 1967 – 500,000 troops in Vietnam • Major Problem – Once committing troops to Vietnam, LBJ found it very difficult to leave the fight

13. Guerilla Warfare in the Jungle • U.S. Soldiers fighting in unfamiliar terrain. That was extremely hot and humid • Vietcong soldiers did not wear traditional uniforms so U.S. soldiers did not know who the enemy was in most cases • Vietcong would not engage in battle. They would strike U.S. units quickly and run back into the jungle or into a highly populated area • Vietcong used a system of tunnels (next page) and booby traps to severely injure or kill U.S. Soldiers • U.S. Soldiers referred to fighting in the jungle as being in “The $#!+”

14. Vietcong Tunnel Systems

15. Vietcong Booby Traps

16. American Strategy • Body Count – Plan to keep track of all Vietcong killed and kill as many as possible to convince them to quit fighting • Vietcong were fighting for their freedom and refused to relent • Stop supply trains for the Vietcong to deplete their food and supplies • China and USSR supplied the Vietcong in the north • Ho Chi Minh trail used to bring supplies to south

17. Ho Chi Minh Trail • U.S. refused to enter Cambodia or Laos • Would be an act of aggression • Soviets would intervene • Vietcong created a supply train in Laos and Cambodia to supply soldiers in the south • U.S. could not stop it

18. More American Strategy • Napalm – Gasoline based explosives dropped to burn down the jungle and expose Vietcong hideouts • Agent Orange – Herbicide dropped to kill plants, trees and any other foliage that offered cover for the Vietcong • Search and Destroy Missions – U.S. Soldiers would raid villages thought to hide Vietcong. • Soldiers would kill cattle, burn crops and burn down all buildings • Left villagers homeless

19. Napalm and Agent Orange

20. Losing Confidence • Soldiers lost the belief that they could win the war as they saw their friends dying with no progress towards victory. • Cost of the war began to increase the U.S. budget deficit • Most televised war in history. Families came home to watch news about the war. Many lost confidence in Johnson Called Credibility Gap

21. Draft and Opposition at Home • Military draft implemented for all men 18-26 • You could avoid the draft by going to college (deferment) • This allowed wealthy youth to avoid being drafted and forced the poor and lower classes into fighting • 20% of all deaths were black soldiers • 10% of the U.S. population was black • College students began to protest the war loudly • Marched – Burned Draft Card – Protested war • Anti War people called “Doves” and pro war people called “Hawks

22. Tet Offensive • Tet Nguyen Dan = Vietnamese New Years • U.S. and Vietnam had a week long truce for the holiday. • Most U.S. and ARVN soldiers were unprepared to fight and/or “celebrating” • January 30, 1968 – Vietcong launched a massive a attack. • 100 towns and 12 air bases attacked • Vietcong lose 30,000 to 3,000 ARVN but cripple morale of U.S. and ARVN • Convinced Americans that the war was unwinnable

24. 1968 Election • Johnson does not run in 1968 • Richard Nixon (Rep) vs. Hubert Humphrey (Dem) vs. George Wallace (Ind) • 538 Electoral Votes – • Nixon – 301 • Humphrey -191 • Wallace - 46

25. Vietnamization • Nixon wanted to pull troops out of Vietnam but did not want to leave all at once • He placed Henry Kissinger –National Security Advisor- in charge of devising an exit strategy • First 25,000 troops removed in August 1969 • In 3 years all but 25,000 of 500,000 troops were home • Nixon ordered bombing of supply routes in Cambodia and Laos following removal of troops

26. My Lai Massacre • November 1969 Americans made aware of the massacre • Happened March 16, 1968 • U.S. troops killed over 200 Vietnamese civilians • Most were women, children and elderly men • Public disapproved of these actions • Soldiers treated poorly at home due to stories like this

27. Invasion of Cambodia • April 30, 1970 – Nixon orders invasion of Cambodia to destroy Vietcong supply lines • Nixon Quoted --- “If when the chips are down, the world’s most powerful nation acts like a pitiful, helpless giant, the forces of totalitarianism and anarchy will threaten free nations…throughout the world” • This causes 1.5 million college students on 1,200 campuses to strike and refuse to attend classes.

28. Kent State University • May 4, 1970 • Large student protest led to burning the ROTC building on campus • National guard called in and protestors began to throw rocks • Guard opened fire and killed 4, injured 9 • Many Americans supported the actions of the Guard

29. Kent State

30. Kent State

31. Pentagon Papers • America Outraged that Nixon invaded Cambodia without asking Congress • Finds out that plans to escalate the war and fight a sustained fight were written as LBJ promised not to sent Americans to Vietnam • Trust in Nixon, LBJ and the honesty of the executive office lost

32. Leaving Vietnam • March 29, 1973 – Last combat troops sent home • South Vietnam capital Saigon falls to North Vietnam and is named Ho Chi Minh City • 15% of soldiers develop PTSD • Many come home to an America that doesn’t care about them or hates them • November 1973 – War Powers Act passed by Congress • President must tell congress within 48 hours of sending troops into combat • Can stay no longer than 90 days without congressional approval

33. Facts and Figures • 58,286 Americans Killed in Action • 153, 303 Americans Wounded in Action • 1,643 Missing in Action • About 800 held as Prisoners of war • ARVN loses about 200,000 soldiers • North Vietnam loses about 1,100,000 soldiers • 250,000-500,000 civilians killed • In World War II and Korea combined – US drops 2.6 million tons of bombs • In Vietnam – US drops 8 million tons of bombs

34. Was it Worth It? Was this war a victory for the United States? Was it worth it for the US to fight in this war? How are soldiers today treated differently than those coming home from Vietnam? How would you react to a draft in a war like this were to happen when you are 18?