The Vietnam War

1. By: Daniel Nguyen The Vietnam War

2. Summary Vietnam war also known as the Second Indochina War, the Vietnam Conflict or the American War. It was a military conflict that took place in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from Nov. 1, 1955 to April 30, 1975. It followed the First Indochina War.

3. Who V Who Communist North Vietnam with its communist allies against government of South Vietnam with the U.S. and other anti-communist nations.

4. Battle Strategies Viet Cong- a lightly armed South Vietnamese communist-controlled common front. Fought anticommunist forces Use Guerrilla war.

5. What is Guerrilla War Commonly known as irregular warfare Means “Little War” in Spanish It is when small group of soldiers attack a larger or much more powerful group of soldiers through ambush or raid.

6. Battle Strategies North Vietnam Army More conventional Warfare They overwhelm their enemies by sending large units into battle.

7. Battle Strategies U.S. and South Vietnam Army Relied on air strikes and overwhelming firepower to conduct search and destroy operations What they use? Ground Forces, Artillery, and air strikes.

8. Why U.S. entered the War The U.S. entered the war to prevent the communist take over of South Vietnam as part of their containment policy. The U.S. didn’t want South Vietnam to fall to communism like China.

9. Timeline

10. Guide through War 1950- military advisors began to go to Vietnam 1960- U.S. involvement escalated 1961- U.S. troops sent to Vietnam 1962- U.S. troops sent to Vietnam 1965- U.S troops sent to Vietnam 1968- Tet offensive 1969-1973- Vietnamization, reduce U.S. troops from Vietnam while training South Vietnam troops

11. Continued Jan 1973- Paris Peace Accords, fighting still continued 1973- Case-Church Amendment, prohibited use of American military unless the president secured congressional approval in advance April 1975- Capture of Saigon by the North Vietnamese army marked end of war 1976- Vietnam reunified

12. Background of Vietnam

13. The French Control 1850- France began its takeover of Indochina 1893- The take over was complete Indochina- it is a peninsula in Southeastern Asia, East of India and South of China Indochina was taken over because French Colonizers wanted to expand from their territory in Vietnam to neighboring countries Treaty of Hue- 1884, Gave French rule over Vietnam for the next seven decades

14. Resistance Can Vuong- It was a large Scale Vietnamese Insurgency to resist French Rule. At first it prospered the French were surprised by the attacks and caught off guard, but they soon recovered and poured a lot more French soldiers into Vietnam Because the resistant gradually lost, they blamed Vietnamese Christians of aiding the French

15. Continued The Can Vuong killed a total of 40,000 Christians, a third of the Christian population in Vietnam The French did not believed the rumors about the massacre at first, but soon evidence showed it was true. The French put a stop to it and after this event the Can Vuong movement slowly became smaller until it was gone.

16. Another Resistance Phan Dinh Phung was a Vietnamese rebel who led the fight against the French forces Like the Can Voung resistance, Phan Dinh Phung rebel army slowly fell to the French The French took out more and more rebel bases everyday, and the resistance ended with the death of Phan Dinh Phung because of dysentery( intestines infection)

17. Japanese takeover WWII- the Germans defeated the French in 1940 This meant that Germany now controlled French Indochina and Vichy French But during the invasion of French Indochina, the French help Japan in the retaking of the land When the German forces were gone from French, the Free French started to have talks with French Indochina colonial authorities

18. Continued March 9, 1945- the Japanese got rid of the French because they could not trust them and controlled Vietnam by themselves

19. Viet Minh Resisted any kind of occupation (French, Japan, Germany) Founded in 1941 Funded by the U.S. and Chinese nationalists

20. 1944-1945 Deep famine struck N. Vietnam- poor weather and Japanese occupation 1 million out of 10 million in the area died Viet Minh urged people to ransack rice warehouses and refuse to pay their taxes Viet Minh gained many more members

21. Japanese defeat in WWII Aug. 1945- Japanese defeated and surrender Viet Minh started the Aug. Revolution It was a group that tried to stop the French from retaking Vietnam But the Allied victors from WWII all decided that the area did belong to the French

22. The retaking The allies agreed that the British would take control of South Vietnam, while Nationalist China would retake North Vietnam because France did not have enough power. To help them retake South Vietnam, Britain rearmed some French and Japanese men.

23. First Indochina War

24. France was slowly gaining control of Vietnam Ho Chi Minh, the leader of the Viet Minh tried to negotiate with France Jan. 1946 the Viet Minh won election in central and northern Vietnam March 1946- French forces landed in Hanoi and by Nov. they kicked Viet Minh out of the city The Viet Minh soon started the First Indochina War using the guerrilla war tactic against French Union Forces

25. Continued This war spread to Laos and Cambodia There governments, the Pathet Lao and the Khmer Serai, was similar to the Viet Minh The Viet Minh had a lack of weapons until 1949, when the Chinese communists had won the civil war and were able to provide weapons to their ally Vietnam

26. Two different Governments Viet Minh's government- Democratic Republic of Vietnam, communist State of Vietnam, non-communist, led by Emperor Bao Dai June 1950, out break of Korean War Convince Washington policymakers the First Indochina War was part of a communist takeover led by Kremlin( government of Russia)

27. Major Allies Viet Minh- PRC( People Republic of China) and Soviet Union France- U.S., Military Assistance and Advisory Group (MAAG)

28. Nuclear attacks French and Americans talk about the possible use of nuclear weapons Operation Vulture- use up to three atomic weapons to try to dill Viet Minh's commander Vo Nguyen Giap at his position But Eisenhower stop this plan, deciding the possible benefits is not worth the risks

29. The Beginning of the end Viet Minh received important support from the Soviet Union and PRC in Border Campaign of 1950, it allowed supplies to be transported to them The Battle of Dien Bien Phu was the end for France May 7, 1954- France surrendered Geneva Conference- ceasefire and independence granted to Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam

30. After the War Vietnam was split at the 17th parallel, and under the terms of the Geneva Convention civilians were able to move freely between the 2 states for 300 days 1 million northern catholic flea to the south because of fear of persecution by the communists The U.S. gave 93 million dollars in the relocation program

31. 2 million more Catholics would have left the North if the Viet Minh didn’t stop them Election were to be held in 1956 to unified the government About 130,000 from the south went up north for regroupment The Viet Minh left up to 10,000 cadres in South Vietnam( communist organizers) Viet Minh ruled the North and engaged in land reforms

32. Rejection Former empire of Vietnam, Bao Dai and his prime minister Ngo Dinh Diem refuse to hold elections Diem said how can free elections be held if there is communism in the North

33. Election April-June 1955- Diem killed off his opposition against the organize crime groups of Cao Dai religious sect, the Hao Hao sect of Ba Cut, and Binh Xuyen Oct 23- Diem rigged the poll supervised by his brother Ngo Dinh Nhu He won by 98.2 percent of the vote, the Americans suggest a more moderate or reasonable percent like 70%, but Diem saw this as a test of authority

34. Oct. 26, 1955-Diem declared the New Republic of Vietnam(ROV) with him as president

35. Diem Era Domino Theory- if one country fell to communism, the others will too JFK clearly stated if vietnam fell to communism, the neighboring countries would too

36. Diem's Rule Diem was a devout catholic In the eyes of Vietnam, many ordinary vietnamese citizens saw him as a person who helped the French His dedication to Mary also alarmed many Vietnamese

37. “Denounce the Communists” Ti was a policy in which anti-government groups were arrested, imprisoned, tortured, or killed Opponents were given the name Viet Cong (Vietnamese Communist) Political repression- 12,000 suspected opponents of Diem killed( 1955-1957), 40,000 political prisoners(1958)

38. The Visit to U.S. May- Diem visit U.S. Eisenhower pledge his support Secretary of State- John Foster Dulles- stated the only reason Diem was praise in the U.S. because of he was the only alternative American tried to apply American method t Vietnamese culture, Diem warned it will not work in solving their problems

39. Sino-Soviet Split Less PRC interference PRC first Secretary- Truong Chinh demoted Hanoi authorized communists in South Vietnam to begin low level of insurgency( Dec. 1956)

40. The Norther rules Ho Chi Minh was smart Ex. Do not engaged in military operation that would lead to defeat, Do not take land from plesant, etc. “armed propaganda”- if you have to kill someone use a kife and explain why you killed that person

41. Le Duan A communist leader in the South replaced Truong as first secretary Urged military line and increase insurgency Violence aim at government, then it spread to school teachers, health workers, and agricultural officials

42. The Killings Insurgents killed village chiefs that were appointed by Diem Its objective was to destroy Southern Vietnam government in rural villages and them with shadow government

43. “Armed Struggle” Jan 1959- North's Central Committee authorize “armed struggle”, South communist to begin large scale operations against South Vietnam Army North suppplied Southern communists through Ho Chi Minh Trail Dec 1960- Hanoi authorized creaton of National Liberation Front(NlF), common frot, controlled by communists in South

44. The U.S overestimated the control that Hanoi had over NlF Diem's paranoia, repression, and incompetence angered a large section of Southern Vietnam

45. JFK Adminstration 1961-1963 When JFK won the 1960 election- “pay and price for the survival of liberty The Korean War created the idea of a limited war JFK interested in using special forces for counterinsurgency in 3rd world countries Green Baret

46. The Crisis JFK remained committed to the cold war 3 point crisis- Failure of Bay of Pigs Invasion Construction of Berlin War Pathet Lao communist movement JFK determined to stop communism in Vietnam

47. May 1961, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson visit Saigon He declared Diem the Winston Churchill of Asia JFK policy toward South Vietnam- Diem forces must defeat guerrilla attacks on their own JFK's advisers- Maxwill Taylor and Walt Rostow recommend U.S. Troops deguised as flood relief workes, he reject this plan, but did increase troops

48. 1963- 16,000 American troops John Kenneth Gallbraith warned JFK the U.S. might become like France.

49. Hamlet Program 1961- turn rural population into fortified camps 3 Goals Isolat population from insurgents Provide education and health care Strengthen government hold over countryside Failed mostly because Pham Ngoc Thac ran the program, a communist agent who damaged the ROV from the inside July 23, 1962, signed agreement Laos neutral

50. Coup and assassination