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Vietnam War. ch25. Vietnam. Rule of ‘Nam. 1800’2 WWII France WWII Japan WWII 1954 France. Ho Chi Minh. Communist Revolutionary Fought to free Vietnam before WWII against France Fought Japanese in WWII
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Vietnam War ch25
Rule of ‘Nam • 1800’2 WWII France • WWII Japan • WWII 1954 France
Ho Chi Minh • Communist Revolutionary • Fought to free Vietnam before WWII against France • Fought Japanese in WWII • Wanted to make Vietnam an Independent Communist country
Guerilla Warfare • North Vietnamese & Vietcong used against France and later US • Vietnam was largely jungle territory • War fighters used traps, the terrain, & blended in to the civilian population • Made it difficult to know who you were fighting against
French Fall • 1954 French pulled out of Vietnam • Vietnam was temporarily split in half at the 17th parallel • North was Communist, South was Anti-Communist • US stepped in and backed the South • Vietnam War was fought to stop the spread of Communism
Escalation • In the early 1960’s the US was sending thousands of “military advisors” to aid the South Vietnamese • US backed South • JFK was killed in 1963, leaving LBJ to deal with ‘Nam • In 1964 Vietnamese torpedoed US ships in the Gulf of Tonkin • (those US ships were aiding the South’s military actions) • Gulf of Tonkin Resolution gave LBJ war powers • LBJ expanded US in Vietnam with Operation Rolling Thunder • (hence the movie called “Tropic Thunder”)
War • US fought limited war stop spread of Communism • Had to identify enemy before they could fight • Guerilla Warfare • Vietcong & North Vietnamese fought on their own soil • Had more to fight for • US casualties grew from 65 68 and peaked in 1968
War • War peaked in 1968 with the Tet Offensive • Tet Offensive: Vietcong attacked basically every US base in Vietnam, US was driven back, recovered weeks later and drove out Vietcong • After Tet US found that Vietcong had executed thousands of civilians • North Vietnamese were noted for having terrorized and slaughtered their own people in the North
Draft • US implemented a draft during ‘Nam • Later into the war the draft became a Lottery • Lottery is when people were given a number and had to go fight when their number was called • Many people fled to Canada to avoid going to war, or just refused to serve and went to jail • Others were not passed medically, but most went • Draft caused a lot of uproar in society
Protest • Vietnam war took place during the 60’s & 70’s which was a time of great cultural unrest • Hippie movement, Women’s liberation, Civil Rights movement– everybody had a “cause” • Vietnam was also the first “televised war” –for the first time people actually saw the atrocities of war • 1963- Buddhist monk set himself on fire to protest S. Vietnam Government • 1967-young men burned Draft Cards • 1970- Kent State Massacre • Tons of smaller protests
Nixon & ‘Nam • Nixon was elected in 1968 after LBJ • Promised to end the Vietnam War • Re-elected in 1972 • Ended war in 1973 • Resigned after Watergate in 1974
End of the War • December 1972 US bombed North Vietnam for 12 days straight • Only pause in bombing was Christmas became known as the “Christmas Bombing” • January 1973 (1 month later) Agreement was signed to end the war • 1975 North invaded South South fell under Communist rule
POW/MIA • Many troops either went missing or were taken prisoner • Captured POW’s often lived through terrible treatment • After war the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was built • Long wall of names
POW/MIA • http://vnafmamn.com/vietnam_POWstory.html