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Why Did Australia Fight In The Vietnam War?. Why did we send 47,000 men and women to Vietnam?. Fear of communism. There was a growing fear of communism The invasion of the North Korean communists into democratic South Korea was seen as a threat to democracy
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Why Did Australia Fight In The Vietnam War? Why did we send 47,000 men and women to Vietnam?
Fear of communism • There was a growing fear of communism • The invasion of the North Korean communists into democratic South Korea was seen as a threat to democracy • Sending troops to Vietnam was a move to support democracy
Situation in Vietnam • Vietnam was once a colony of France • After WW2 the Vietnamese fought a war against the French and became an independent country • The leader of this fight was Ho Chi Minh • He was a communist leader in Vietnam • Vietnam split in two at the 17th parallel in 1954 • The north was communist • The south was democratic • The presence of communists in Vietnam worried countries like Australia and USA
The Domino Theory • Australian and American politicians felt that if Vietnam fell to communism then other countries such as Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia would also fall to the communists
Previous examples • Australia’s involvement in the Korean War 1950 - 1953 • Communist North Korea was fighting democratic South Korea • The Malayan Emergency 1955 • Communists were becoming influential and fighting a guerilla war in Malaya
Previous examples • Australia’s involvement in the Korean War 1950 - 1953 • Communist North Korea was fighting democratic South Korea • The Malayan Emergency 1955 • Communists were becoming influential and fighting a guerilla war in Malaya
PM Menzies… • We have decidedand this has been after close consultation with the Government of the United States to provide an infantry battalion for service in South Vietnam • There can be no doubt of the gravity of the situation in South Vietnam. • The takeover of South Vietnam would be a direct military threat to Australia and all the countries of South and South-East Asia. It must be seen as part of a thrust by Communist China between the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
Alliances • ANZUS • The ANZUS agreement of 1951. • Australia, New Zealand and the United States agree to come to each other’s aid in the event of an attack
Alliance • SEATO • The SEATO Treaty of 1954. • This treaty set out that action would be taken if the following countries were attacked: USA, Great Britain, France, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand or Pakistan. • South Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos were also guaranteed protection
Australia sends troops to Vietnam • The Australian government felt that the best way to deal with communist threats was to send troops to the threat • In 1962 Australia sent 30 military advisers to assist US forces in South Vietnam
Countries that went to war in Vietnam • Eight countries supported South Vietnam in its struggle with North Vietnam • United States of America • Australia • New Zealand • South Korea • The Philippines • Thailand • Spain • Taiwan
Open conflict escalates • In 1964 the USA claimed that the North Vietnamese had bombed its ships in the Gulf of Tonkin off the coast of Vietnam • The USA began bombing raids on Vietnam
Open conflict escalates • Australia sent its First Infantry Batallion and HMAS Sydney to Vietnam in 1965 • Then, in 1966, Australia increased its military commitment in Vietnam by a factor of three • Total war decsended on Vietnam