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THE VIETNAM YEARS

THE VIETNAM YEARS. Chapter 22. Moving Toward Conflict. Section 1. Vietnam is a long, thin country on a peninsula in southeast Asia. From the late 1800’s until WWII, France ruled Vietnam. The French treated the Vietnamese badly. As a result, the Vietnamese often rebelled.

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THE VIETNAM YEARS

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  1. THE VIETNAM YEARS Chapter 22

  2. Moving Toward Conflict Section 1

  3. Vietnam is a long, thin country on a peninsula in southeast Asia.

  4. From the late 1800’s until WWII, France ruled Vietnam. The French treated the Vietnamese badly. As a result, the Vietnamese often rebelled.

  5. As result, the Vietnamese often rebelled. The Communist Party in Vietnam organized many of the rebellions. The group’s leader was Ho Chi Minh.

  6. In 1941, Japan conquered Vietnam. That year, the Vietnamese Communists combined w/other groups to form an organization called the Vietminh.

  7. The Vietminh’s goal was to achieve independence for Vietnam. In 1945, Japan was defeated in WWII. As a result, the Japanese left Vietnam & the Vietminh claimed independence for Vietnam.

  8. However, France wanted to retake control of Vietnam. French troops moved back into the country in 1946.

  9. The French conquered the southern half of Vietnam. The Vietminh took control of the North.

  10. For the next 8 years, the 2 sides fought for control of the entire country.

  11. The U.S. supported France during the war. America considered the Vietminh to be Communists. The U.S., like other western nations, was determined to stop the spread of communism.

  12. President Eisenhower explained his country’s policy with what became known as the domino theory. Eisenhower compared many of the world’s smaller nations to dominoes. If 1 nation fell to communism, the rest also would fall.

  13. The Vietminh defeated the French. The final blow came in 1954. That year, the Vietminh conquered the large French outpost at Dien Bien Phu.

  14. Several countries met with the French & the Vietminh to negotiate a peace agreement. The agreement was known as the Geneva Accords. It temporarily split Vietnam in half. The Vietminh controlled North Vietnam. The anti-Communist nationalists controlled South Vietnam. The peace agreement called for an election to unify the country in 1956.

  15. Map of North Vietnam South Vietnam map

  16. Ho Chi Minh ruled N. Vietnam. Ngo Dinh Diem led S. Vietnam.

  17. When it came time for the all-country elections, Diem refused to take part. He feared that Ho would win. And then all of Vietnam would become Communist.

  18. President of South Vietnam Ngo Dinh Diem, left, is welcomed in ceremonies at Washington National Airport. With him is President Dwight D. Eisenhower, and behind them, from left, Air Force Chief of Staff General Nathan Twining, Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, and presidential aide and pilot, Colonel William C. Draper. 05/08/1957

  19. The U.S. supported Diem’s decision. The U.S. government provided aid to Diem. America hoped that Diem could turn S. Vietnam into a strong, independent nation.

  20. Diem, however, turned out to be a terrible ruler. His administration was corrupt. He also refused to allow opposing views. Buddhist monk immolates self in protest against Diem regime, 1963

  21. In 1957, a rebel group had formed in the South. The group was known as the Vietcong. Viet Cong (NLF) flag The V.C. fought against Diem’s rule.

  22. Ho Chi Minh supported the Vietcong from the North. He supplied arms to the group along a network of paths that ran b/w N. & S. Vietnam. Together, these paths became known as the Ho Chi Minh Trail.

  23. John F. Kennedy became president after Eisenhower. He continued America’s policy of supporting South Vietnam. He, like Eisenhower, didn’t want to see the Communists take over Vietnam.

  24. Meanwhile, Diem’s government grew more unstable. The Vietcong rebels were gaining greater support among the peasants. The Kennedy administration decided that Diem had to step down.

  25. In 1963, military leaders overthrew Diem. Against Kennedy’s wishes, they executed Diem.

  26. President Lyndon B. Johnson in Vietnam: Decorating a soldier in a hospital, 12/23/1967 2 months later, JFK himself was assassinated. Lyndon Johnson became president. The growing crisis in Vietnam was now his.

  27. S. Vietnam didn’t improve after Diem’s death. A string of military leaders tried to rule the country but each failed to bring stability LBJ continued to support S. Vietnam. He was determined to not “lose” Vietnam to the Communists.

  28. In August 1964, Johnson received reports of an incident in the Gulf of Tonkin off North Vietnam.

  29. A North Vietnamese patrol boat allegedly had fired torpedoes at a U.S. destroyer. LBJ responded by bombing North Vietnam.

  30. He also asked Congress for special military powers to stop any future N. Vietnamese attacks on U.S. forces. As a result, Congress passed the Tonkin Gulf Resolution. The resolution granted Johnson broad military powers in Vietnam.

  31. In February 1965, President Johnson used his new power. Vietnamese Air Force T-28 Skyraiders, flown by U.S. Air Force pilots, drop napalm on Viet Cong targets.Photo Credit: Larry Burrows, 1962 (Life.) He launched a major bombing attack on North Vietnam’s cities.

  32. U.S. Involvement & Escalation Section 2

  33. In 1965, LBJ began sending U.S. troops to Vietnam to fight the Vietcong. Some of Johnson’s advisers had opposed this move. They argued it was too dangerous.

  34. But most of the president’s advisers supported sending in troops. They included Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara & Secretary of State Dean Rusk. Portrait of U.S. Secretary of State Dean Rusk Robert McNamara in 1964

  35. These men believed that America had to help defeat communism in Vietnam, otherwise, the Communists might try to take over other countries. Much of the public also agree with Johnson’s decision. Many Americans believed in stopping the spread of communism.

  36. By the end of 1965, the U.S. had sent more than 180,000 troops to Vietnam. The American commander in South Vietnam was GeneralWilliam Westmoreland.

  37. Westmoreland wasn’t impressed by the Army of the Republic of Vietnam(ARVN) He asked for even more troops. By 1967, almost 500,000 American soldiers were fighting in Vietnam.

  38. The USNS Core arrives in Saigon with the first US helicopter units, 33 Vertol H-21 C Shawnee and 400 Crewmen.

  39. The U.S. believed that its superior weaponry would lead to a quick victory over the Vietcong. However, several factors turned the war into a bloody stalemate…

  40. The 1st factor was the Vietcong’s fighting style. They used hit-&-run tactics. They then disappeared into the jungle or an elaborate system of tunnels.

  41. Viet Cong emerges from tunnel to surrender

  42. A soldier from the 8th Engineer Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division       prepares to enter a tunnel while an armed soldier keeps guard

  43. Engineers unpack and test a Mitey-Mite blower in the jungles of Vietnam (used to “smoke” V.C. out of tunnels)

  44. Smoke reveals another tunnel exit tunnel exit

  45. Tunnel rat and his tools - a M1911a .45 pistol and a flashlight.Photo Credit: The Byrd Archives.

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