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Vietnam. After World War II, France gained control of Vietnam and called it Indochina. Ho Chi Minh led a Vietnamese independence movement against France. Because Ho Chi Minh was a Communist, the Chinese tried to help North Vietnam. France was defeated in a battle at Dien Bien Phu in 1954.
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After World War II, France gained control of Vietnam and called it Indochina. • Ho Chi Minh led a Vietnamese independence movement against France. • Because Ho Chi Minh was a Communist, the Chinese tried to help North Vietnam. • France was defeated in a battle at Dien Bien Phu in 1954.
As a result of the defeat of the French, Vietnam was divided into two separate countries, North Vietnam and South Vietnam. • Ho Chi Minh led North Vietnam • Elections were to be held to reunite the country. • President Eisenhower sent 675 advisors to help South Vietnam
Feeling that South Vietnam needed help to survive, President Kennedy increased the number of advisors to over 15,000 in 1965. • The religion of South Vietnam was mainly Buddhist while its leader, Ngo Dinh Diem was Catholic. • Under Diem, the Buddhists were treated badly.
The US allowed Buddhist military leaders to revolt and execute Diem in 1963. • A few weeks later JFK was assassinated and Lyndon B. Johnson became the US President. • Secret fighters called Viet cong formed in the north to oppose South Vietnam. • President Johnson decided in 1964 to escalate the war.
Because of an alleged attack on US ships in the Gulf of Tonkin, Johnson received a resolution in Congress to intensify the war. • The resolution was called the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. • In 1965, there were 25,000 Americans in Vietnam, by 1968 there were 550,000 Americans.
In January 1968, the communists launched the Tet Offensive. • This caused Americans to question our involvement in Vietnam. • The communists in the North, shipped supplied to the Viet Cong in the South over the Ho Chi Minh Trail. • To kill the leaves on jungle bushes, the US dropped a chemical called Agent Orange.
Agent Orange led to many health problems of Vietnam vets. • The US also bombed military targets in the North with Napalm. • In 1968 at a village called My Lai, Lt. William Colley led US soldiers in a massacre. • In 1968, Johnson did not run for reeelction, and Nixon was elected
Anti-war demonstrations picked up and in 1970, 4 college students at Kent State were shot and killed by the National Guard. • Nixon tried to turn more of the war duties over to the South Vietnamese, this was called Vietnamization. • Secretary of State, Henry Kissenger conducted secret peace negotiations.