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Vietnam War

Vietnam War. by Jeanne Hendricks. History of Vietnam. The Lineage of the Vietnamese People The first people to inhabit the area we now know as Vietnam were tribal people from Indonesia. In the 4 th century B.C., people from Southern China began moving south into the Red River Delta.

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Vietnam War

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  1. Vietnam War by Jeanne Hendricks

  2. History of Vietnam The Lineage of the Vietnamese People • The first people to inhabit the area we now know as Vietnam were tribal people from Indonesia. • In the 4th century B.C., people from Southern China began moving south into the Red River Delta. • As time went on, the Chinese, the Indonesian tribal people, and the people from neighboring Thais began to intermarry. • This intermarriage created the people we now know as Vietnamese. • By the 2nd century B.C., this group formed a kingdom known as Nam- Viet. (Merit Student Encyclopedia,1981)

  3. History of Vietnam (continued) China’s Occupation of the Nam- Viet Kingdom • In 111 B.C, the Chinese overthrew the Nam- Viet kingdom. • In 679, Nam- Viet became known as Annam. • The Chinese controlled this area until the 10th century A.D. • Because of the length of the Chinese control, the Chinese are credited with influencing the Vietnamese culture. • The Vietnamese assumed the Chinese system of writing, their method of farming, and their structure of government. (Merit Student Encyclopedia,1981)

  4. History of Vietnam (continued) Independence from China • In 939, the Vietnamese were no longer under Chinese control. • After the Vietnamese established an independent kingdom, this region became known as Dai Co Viet (Great Viet State). For many years, this kingdom was also known as Annam. The two names were used interchangeably. • The country was independent for 900 years. • During this time, several families came to power. The first family was the Ly family. This family came to power in 1009 and ruled for 200 years. • The period in which the Ly family ruled was marked with growth, prosperity, and artistic achievements. (Merit Student Encyclopedia,1981)

  5. History of Vietnam (continued) Tran Family comes to Power • The next family to rule Vietnam (Dai Co Viet) was the Tran family. • This family came to power in 1225 and ruled until the early 1400’s. • During this time period, the Dai Co Viet army was continuously defending its kingdom from invading Mongol armies as well as Champa armies. • The Chinese defeated the Dai Co Viet army in 1407. The Chinese ruled once again until 1927. (Merit Student Encyclopedia,1981)

  6. History of Vietnam(continued) The Le Family Comes to Power • In 1427, the Le family came to power because of their leadership in ridding Dai Co Viet of the Chinese. The Le family ruled until 1787. • The Le family changed Dai Co Viet to Dai Viet. • During this period, Dai Viet was a prosperous country. • Le Thanh Ton was the strongest Le ruler. In 1471, He invaded Champa and seized power of that country. • In the 1500’s, civil war broke out because two families, the Trinh and the Nguyen, were fighting to control the country. • In 1673, the two families decided to stop fighting. Peace was restored for 100 more years. The Nguyen expanded their control of the region by seizing part of the Khmer empire. (Merit Student Encyclopedia,1981)

  7. History of Vietnam(continued) • The Tay Sons Come to Power • In the 1770’s, three brothers from the village of Tay revolted against the Nguyen family. • The brothers seized the southern part of Dai Viet and then made their way north to battle the Trinh family. • In 1787, the Tay brothers defeated the Trinh in the north and overthrew the Le rulers. • The youngest of the Tay Son brothers ruled northern and central Dai Viet. • Nguyen Anh, a member of the defeated Nguyen family gained control over the southern part of Dai Viet. • In 1802, Nguyen Anh defeated the Tay Son ruler in the northern part of Dai Viet and announced he was the sole ruler over all of Dai Viet. • He renamed Dai Viet Vietnam. • Members of Nguyen Anh’s family were emperors in Vietnam until the end of World War II. From the mid 1800’s on, they had little and were emperors in name only. (Merit Student Encyclopedia,1981)

  8. History of Vietnam(continued) France’s Control of Vietnam • In the 1600’s, Roman Catholic missionaries from France began to come to Dai Viet to convert the Vietnamese to Catholicism. • During this time period, the rulers of Dai Viet were becoming suspicious of the missionaries. • The missionaries were persecuted. (Merit Student Encyclopedia,1981)

  9. History of Vietnam (continued) • In 1858, French forced began attacking southern Vietnam. • The French forces attacked for two reasons. 1. To stop the persecution of Catholic missionaries. 2. To colonize Vietnam. • France controlled Saigon by 1861 and the rest of the south by 1867. The French forces took control of the north by 1883. • France divided Vietnam into three parts: Cochin China(southern Vietnam), Annam (central Vietnam) and Tonkin(northern Vietnam). • The area the French named Indochina included the three parts of Vietnam as well as Kampuchea and Laos. Each area within Indochina was governed separately. (Merit Student Encyclopedia,1981)

  10. History of Vietnam (continued) How Japan Came to Rule Vietnam • In June 1940, Germany invaded France and took control of the country. • Germany gave Indochina to Japan because the two countries were allies during the war. • The French officials in Indochina were allowed to stay but they had to rule according to the Japanese requirements. • In March 1945, The French officials were arrested and Emperor Boa Dai had to declare Tonkin and Annam independent from France. • Japan controlled Vietnam until August 1945. (Merit Student Encyclopedia,1981)

  11. History of Vietnam (continued) • After Japan lost control of Vietnam there was no group in control of Vietnam. • Ho Chi Minh, a communist leader that was exiled to China, returned and headed the Revolutionary League for the Independence of Vietnam (Vietminh). • The Vietminh took control of many areas in the north. • Emperor Boa Dai was unable to form a government so he stepped down. • In September 1945, Ho declared Vietnam an independent nation. He renamed the country The Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV). (Merit Student Encyclopedia,1981

  12. Ho Chi Mihn • In 1941, while Vietnam was under control of 2 foreign countries, Ho Chi Minh returned to Vietnam. • Ho was a Communist revolutionary who had spent 30 years traveling the world. • Upon his return, Ho set up his headquarters in a cave in Northern Vietnam. • His goal was to rid Vietnam of foreign occupiers. • Ho along with the Vietminh announced the establishment of The Democratic Republic of Vietnam in northern Vietnam. • The French opposed this new government. • Ho Chi Minh tried to woe the U.S. to his side by providing information about the Japanese to the U.S during WWII. • The U.S., in the end, sided with France because the U.S. was on a campaign to contain communism. • The U.S. believed that their would be a domino effect if one country fell in that region they would all fall to Communism. (Merit Student Encyclopedia,1981

  13. Indochina War • Ho Chi Minh became the head of the government. • Ho was supported by the Communist Vietminh and by non- Communists who did not want France to colonize them again. • After World War II, France established its control over Cochin China but was not able to rid the country of all resistance. • There was a lot of tension between the Vietminh and the French soldiers. • On Dec.19,1946, the Vietminh attacked the city of Hanoi. This was the beginning of the Indochina War. • In mid- 1949, France established the state of Vietnam as a way to oppose the Vietminh. • Many nationalists supported the state of Vietnam because they were against Communism in their country. • Many European countries supported Vietnam and many Communist countries supported DRV. (Merit Student Encyclopedia,1981)

  14. History of Vietnam (continued) • Division of Vietnam • The Indochina War ended in 1954 when the French were defeated at the battle of Dien Bien Phu. • At the Geneva Conference held in Geneva, Switzerland, many nations met to figure out how the French could pull out of Vietnam peacefully. This pull out became known as the Geneva Accords. • The Geneva Accord stated that there would be a cease fire which would allow the French troops to leave. Then Vietnam would be divided temporarily along the 17th parallel. This separated the Communist north from the non-Communist south. Finally, there was to be a democratic election in 1956 that would reunite the country. • The U.S. was against this election because it feared the Communist had to much power and would win. • The elections took place only in South Vietnam and Ngo Dinh Diem won. (Merit Student Encyclopedia,1981)

  15. Ngo Dinh Diem’s Rule • Ngo Dinh Diem was a terrible leader. • He was assassinated in 1963 during a coup that was assisted by the United States. • During Ngo Dinh Diem’s rule, the National Liberation Front (NLF) or Viet Cong was established by Communist sympathizers who were sick of being alienated. http://history1900s.about.com/od/vietnamwar/a/vietnamwar.htm

  16. U. S.’s Role in Vietnam • The U.S. got involved in Vietnam in the 1950’s when we supported France’s effort to overthrow Ho Chi Minh’s control in Vietnam. • In the 1960’s, the U. S. started to send advisors to the South Vietnamese to combat the guerilla warfare by the Viet Cong in Southern Vietnam. • In August of 1964, the Gulf of Tonkin Incident was the event that President Johnson needed to get boots on the ground in Vietnam. • Congress allowed President Johnson to send troops to Vietnam after the Gulf of Tonkin Incident. http://history1900s.about.com/od/vietnamwar/a/vietnamwar.htm

  17. Gulf of Tonkin Incident • In July of 1964, there was growing concern that the south Vietnamese were losing their fight against the Viet Cong in Southern Vietnam. • Secretary of Defense McNamara and President Johnson believed that if military pressure was put on the North Vietnamese government in Hanoi then Ho Chi Mihn would stop supporting the Viet Cong in the South. When these efforts failed, The President and Defense Secretary McNamara decided to send destroyers to the North Vietnamese coast as an intelligence gathering mission. • On August 2, 1964 the USS Maddox was patrolling the waters off the coast of North Vietnam gathering various pieces of intelligence. • Meanwhile that morning, South Vietnamese patrol boats had bombed targets south of the Maddox’s position. • This prompted Ho Chi Minh to order the attack of the destroyers. • Ho Chi Minh ordered 3 P-4 motor torpedo boats to attack the USS Maddox. • The P-4’s missed their target. Only one round from the guns positioned on the deck of the P-4’s boats hit the ship. http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-m/dd731-k.htm

  18. Gulf of Tonkin (continued) • On August 4, the USS Maddox along with reinforcement from the USS Turner Joy began another mission of patrolling the waters off the coast of the North Vietnamese coast. • All of a sudden the warships reported they were under attack by fast vessels far out in the ocean. • Word was sent to Washington about the supposed attacks. The President and McNamara studied the intelligence reports. • Later it was found that the USS Maddox and the USS Turner Joy was not attacked on August 4th. • In response to the initial attack on August 2, the President ordered an attack on an oil storage facility at Vinh and the navy damaged or destroyed 30 North Vietnamese naval vessels. http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-m/dd731-k.htm

  19. The Struggle for a Strategy • Once troops were sent into Vietnam, there was a debate on how to fight this conflict. • The Joint Chiefs of Staff wanted to escalate the air warfare over DRV in an attempt to help stabilize the new Saigon government. • The civilians at the Pentagon wanted to bomb only specific targets in order to apply pressure on the Communist Party. • After the Viet Cong attacked two US instillations in South Vietnam, Johnson finally gave the order to escalate the bombing campaign over DRV. • The Leaders in Washington wanted this war to be fought with limited interruption at home. The idea was to treat this war like a surgeon would an operation. This meant limited deployment of resources such as troops and materials allowing for fewer interruptions in the lives of our citizens. • This was not to be. The Vietnam War effected a great many Americans. http://www.pbs.org/battlefieldvietnam/history/index.html

  20. North Vietnamese Thoughts about US Involvement in Vietnam • In the beginning of the conflict, the North Vietnamese believed that in order to bring the US to negotiations for peace they would have to bog the US done in a war they could not win and make the war unfavorable with the US citizens. • The North Vietnamese knew the President did not have any clearly defined objectives for winning the conflict. The Vietnamese felt this would lead to the US citizens tiring of the war which would lead to a settlement. • The North Vietnamese had the backing of a large percent of the Vietnamese who wanted the Viet Cong to win this war. http://www.pbs.org/battlefieldvietnam/history/index.html

  21. The Tet Offensive • The Tet Offensive was a surprise attack developed by General Vo Nguyen Giap. • His plan was to move troops and supplies into different cities in southern Vietnam. • On January 21, 1968, the plan began with a diversionary attack on KheSanh. KheSanh was an American base in Vietnam. • The real Tet Offensive began on January 30,1968. It was named the Tet Offensive because there was supposed to be a cease fire in observance of the Tet holiday (the lunar new year). • On the early morning of January 30,1968, the Communists staged simultaneous attacks on 100 major cities and towns in South Vietnam. • These attacks surprised the both the South Vietnamese and the Americans. Both fought back the attacks. • The Communist were surprised that the people in these cities and towns did not support their actions. Instead, the Communists were met with opposition. http://history1900s.about.com/od/1960s/qt/tetoffensive.htm

  22. Tet Offensive (continued) • Some cities and towns were able to fight off the attacks within hours. In other cities and towns the battles raged on for weeks. • The most shocking event was the ability of the Communist troops to occupy the US Embassy in Saigon for 8 hours. Many believed the Embassy was impenetrable. • It took troops 2 weeks to restore control of Saigon. • It took almost a month to retake the city of Hue. http://history1900s.about.com/od/1960s/qt/tetoffensive.htm

  23. The Outcome of the Tet Offensive • The Tet Offensive was a military defeat for the Communist troops. The troops were not able to accomplish their goal of maintaining control in South Vietnam. The North Vietnamese also suffered heavy casualties. • On the other hand, it was a major victory in a way the Communists never expected. The Communists won the psychological battle. It made the American people realize that the enemy was stronger than they were told. • After this offensive, the American citizens began to detest the war. • The whole point of the Tet Offensive was to bring the US to the bargaining table. http://history1900s.about.com/od/1960s/qt/tetoffensive.htm

  24. Reactions to the Vietnam War • President Johnson instituted the draft when there weren’t enough soldiers enlisting in the military. • After the Tet Offensive and the thousands of body bags began arriving home, people began to protest the war. • One protest was the burning of draft cards. • Another protest was on colleges where professors would stage “teach in.” • Also riots broke out at Kent State and at Jackson State where students were killed while protesting.

  25. America Leaves Vietnam • In March of 1972, the North Vietnamese troops began invading the South Vietnam. • Nixon increased bombing efforts in the North and ordered mines be put in the harbor of Haiphong. These efforts stopped the invasion. • Because of the high amount of casualties suffered on both sides, peace negotiations began. • On January 27,1973 a cease-fire agreement was signed in Paris by the United States, South Vietnam, and North Vietnam, and the Viet Cong. • In this cease fire agreement, the US had 60 day to remove its troops. March 29,1973 the last US troops left Vietnam.Also, both sides had 60 days to return prisoners of war. (Merit Student Encyclopedia,1981)

  26. The end of the Vietnam War • After troops left on March 29, 1973 peace talks began to break done. • The US also cut back its military aide for South Vietnam. • In 1974, after support from the US dwindled the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong began attacking South Vietnam. • In early April 1974, President Ford requested $722 million dollars for military aide for South Vietnam. Congress only granted $300 million as emergency aid mainly for the use of evacuating American citizens still in Vietnam.Thewar ended on April 30, 1975 when Saigon fell and the south Vietnamese surrendered to the north Vietnamese. (Merit Student Encyclopedia,1981)

  27. References Merit Student Encyclopedia. New York: MacMillan Educational Company, 1981. Brigham, Robert K., “ Battlefield Vietnam: A Brief History” http://www.pbs.org/battlefieldvietnam/history/index.html (accessed April 21, 2012) Marolda, Edward J., “ Summary of the Tonkin Gulf Crisis of August 1964” http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq120-1.htm (accessed April 21, 2012) Rosenberg, Jennifer, “1968 – Tet Offensive” http://history1900s.about.com/od/1960s/qt/tetoffensive.htm (accessed April 21, 2012) Rosenberg, Jennifer, “Vietnam War – A History of the Vietnam War” http://history1900s.about.com/od/vietnamwar/a/vietnamwar.htm (accessed April 21, 2012)

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