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The Vietnam War

The Vietnam War. What do you know?. When did the United States first get involved in Vietnam and how were we involved? What was the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution and how did that affect US involvement in Vietnam?.

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The Vietnam War

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  1. The Vietnam War

  2. What do you know? • When did the United States first get involved in Vietnam and how were we involved? • What was the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution and how did that affect US involvement in Vietnam?

  3. What was Operation Rolling Thunder? What were the reasons for it, were they successful? • How did Vietnam fall under the Domino Theory? Was the Domino Theory justifiable? • How did the media impact the Vietnam War?

  4. How does the Vietnam War change under President Nixon? • What types of war does Vietnam fall under? • What does “Peace with Honor” mean and was it achieved?

  5. Three Stages of the Vietnam War 1- 1945 to 1964 “Assistance” 2– 1964 to 1968 “Escalation of Involvement” 3– 1969 to 1973 “Vietnamization, Peace with Honor”

  6. Assistance • WWII – US supplied Ho Chi Minh with weapons to fight the Japanese • Ho Chi Minh declares Vietnam’s independence after WWII is over…The French tried to regain control of its colony • Truman agrees to help the French in 1947 (Soviet threats increased, Containment Doctrine, Communist China)

  7. Assistance • 1950, with the Korean War, Truman looked at Indochina as an extension of Soviet expansion • 1950 to 1945 US gives French 2.6 Billion (1/2 the cost of the war) Yet French were still losing • 1954 – Battle of Dien Bien Phu was a huge defeat for the French at the hands of the Viet Minh…Eisenhower refuses to send troops

  8. Viet Minh march 10,000 defeated French soldiers after the battle of dienbienphu.

  9. Assistance • 1954 – Eisenhower discusses his Domino Theory • Geneva Accords (1954) • Vietnam is divided at the 17th Parallel • UN supervises the cease-fire, Viet Minh forces move to the North, French forces go South…450,000 refugees flee South (mainly Catholics) and 50,000 refugees went North • Created independent states of Cambodia and Laos • Called for UN supervised elections in 1956 to make a united Vietnam • CIA supports weak gov. of Ngo Dinh Diem in the South…1955 Diem cancels the elections Ngo Dinh Diem

  10. Assistance • Vietcong ( “VC” - Ho’s guerilla’s) infiltrate the South • Diem is president of SV, Eisenhower continues support with weapons, equipment and 1,000 advisors to train Republic of Vietnam’s Army (ARVN) • 1957 – VC begin active operations: control the jungle, attack towns/cities/ARVN bases and disappearing back to the jungle

  11. Assistance • By 1959, VC killed 2,600 gov. officials and controlled much of the countryside • 1961 – US advisors to 8,000 • ARVN troops poorly led, trained and lacked motivation • Kennedy promised action rather than reaction, but…

  12. Kennedy’s Preoccupations…

  13. Escalation • Gulf of Tonkin resolution turned US involvement from assistance to taking control of the war…with no formal declaration of war • Johnson reasoned it was logical to escalate the war because it needed to end. • Operation Rolling Thunder was an air campaign to bomb North Vietnam into submission. • Helicopters lifted troops to remote jungles, VC countered by attacking US patrols

  14. Escalation • US casualties increased, the public began to question the war. • “I can’t get out, I can’t finish with what I’ve got, so what the hell do I do?” • He increased the air bombing: 3,600 missions a month • Ground forces rose to 450,000 by the end of 1966. LBJ refused to be the 1st president to lose a war to the communists

  15. Escalation • General Westmoreland said NV forces were being worn down… • 1968 – Tet Offensive proved that was not the case • Tet is the Vietnamese New Year, normally both sides observed a cease-fire… 85,000 VC & NV soldiers infiltrated the South and took over government institutions (even the US embassy) • Took several weeks to drive them out • TV showed uncensored footage…and a determined enemy that would not give up

  16. Escalation • Westmoreland asked for 200,000 more troops • Middle Class, who were against the anti-war protests, began to question the war themselves • Commander of NV army, Vo Nguyen Giap said “The war was fought on many fronts. At that time the most important one was American Public Opinion.” • American wondered how a guerilla army on the verge of defeat could launch such a major offensive.

  17. Escalation • March 31, 1968 – LBJ announces he will not run for a second term. • Vietnam overshadowed the good domestic policies he had pushed through and killed his Great Society • He stops the bombing campaign, which opened the door for negotiations. • 1968 – Riot at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago • Rep. Richard Nixon won the election

  18. Vietnamization • Vietnamization – Nixon’s policy to turn over the war to the ARVN by increasing their role and decreasing US ground forces • Nixon sent Henry Kissinger to negotiate a peace treaty…talks dragged on…US escalated the war • Heavy bombing led the NV back to the table

  19. Vietnamization • Nixon violates neutrality by secretly bombing Cambodia and Laos (Ho Chi Minh Trail) -> The NV went back to negotiations • 1969-1972 saw US troop withdrawals • Last bombing in August 1972 • Paris Peace Accords signed January 1973 • 1975- fighting resumes, Saigon falls on April 30th and Vietnam was reunited

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