President Years Cold War Policy Decisions in Vietnam and events

2. President Years Cold War Policy Decisions in Vietnam and events Truman 1945-1952 Containment Money and Support to the French, 100% of French War Effort 1954 Geneva Accords, !956 Canceled Election, Military Advisors, Support for Diem Eisenhower 1953-1960 Diplomacy, Brinksmanship, Covert operations 1961-1963 Flexible Response Sent 16,000 special forces, supported coup against Diem JFK LBJ 1963-1969 Escalation Gulf on Tonkin Resolution, Escalation, Search and Destroy- war of attrition, battle for hearts and minds Operation Rolling Thunder, Tet offensive Nixon 1969-1974 Vietnamization, Detente Peace with honor, My Lai Massacre, Invasion of Cambodia, Kent State, Pentagon Papers, Christmas bombings, 1973 cease fire agreement Fall of Saigon 1974-1975 Detente Ford Next Lessons learned/causes

3. French controlled – Indochina 1945-1954 Chart

4. (SEPTEMBER 2, 1945) "All men are created equal. They are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness" This immortal statement was made in the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America m 1776. In a broader sense, this means: All the peoples on the earth are equal from birth, all the peoples have a right to live, to be happy and free. The Declaration of the French Revolution made in 1791 on the Rights of Man and the Citizen also states: "All men are born free and with equal rights, and must always remain free and have equal rights." Those are undeniable truths. Nevertheless, for more than eighty years, the French imperialists, abusing the standard of Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity, have violated our Fatherland and oppressed our fellow-citizens. They have acted contrary to the ideals of humanity and justice. In the field of politics, they have deprived our people of every democratic liberty. Chart

5. Ho Chi Minh Leader of the Vietminh Revolutionary who believed in the American Ideals of life, liberty, and property Name means enlightened one. Leader of Communist party in Vietnam. Chart

6. You will kill 10 of our men, and we will kill 1 of yours, and in the end it will be you who tire of it. - Ho Chi Minh to the French and later to the United States. Chart

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8. Should the United States support the French? Yes NO Long time friend Compromised American Anti-Colonial position Non- communist Hopeless situation Needed French support for Marshall Plan Ho Chi Minh hated the Chinese more than the French Wanted to give the French a “possibility of success” Feared direct Chinese intervention Similar situation to Yugoslavia. Domino Theory Chart

9. Truman supported the French Advocates of this decision claimed that supporting the French fell under the Truman Doctrine. Truman feared looking weak against the communist We only sent money partly because we were fighting in Korea at the time. By the time Eisenhower was elected President the United States was financing 100 % of the French war effort. Chart

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11. The French surrendered to the Vietminh in May of 1954, at Dien Bien Phu. Chart

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13. The 1954 Geneva Accords The agreement was between Cambodia, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, France, Laos, the People's Republic of China, the State of Vietnam, the Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom The United States never signed the Accords but they did acknowledge its existence. The U.S. was never legally bound. French Removed from Indochina Indochina was divided into 4 nations- Laos, Cambodia, North and South Vietnam North and South Vietnam were divided at the 17th parallel. There would be free elections held throughout Vietnam in 1956. This could result in the unification of both Vietnams under one government. The United States supported Ngo Dinh Diem- South Vietnam’s President. Chart

14. 1954 Geneva Accords- divided French Indochina into 4 nations. Chart

15. North Vietnam Hanoi 17th Saigon South Vietnam Chart

16. Ho Chi Minh North Vietnam Hanoi Ngo Dinh Diem 17th Saigon South Vietnam Chart

17. Ngo Dinh Diem Leader of South Vietnam Anti-Communist Wealthy, Catholic, and corrupt Supported by IKE Hated by many Vietnamese Did not agree to Geneva Accords Felt that free elections were impossible in the North Chart

18. The 1956 Election in Vietnam VS CANCELED Chart

19. Diem feared that the popular Ho Chi Minh would win the 1956 elections. Diem questioned how free elections could occur in North Vietnam. Furthermore Diem stated that South Vietnam never agreed to the Geneva Acords. In 1955, Diem cancelled the upcoming election. Eisenhower and the United States supported his decision. Chart

20. Diem’s decision and Eisenhower’s support were very unpopular with many people living in South Vietnam who happen to support Ho Chi Minh. Diem ushered in a corrupt government Diem angered the Buddhist population by restricting their religion and even throwing some Buddhist leaders into jail. Diem also made peasants unhappy because he took land promised to the peasants Chart

21. In 1957, a communist opposition group in the South known as the Vietcong began to attack Diem’s Government. Civil War broke out in 1958. The battles were fought mostly in the rural jungles and villages In 1959, Ho Chi Minh and the communist north began to supply the Vietcong by way of the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The trail cut through Laos and Cambodia Although they sent military advisors, the US did very little. Chart

22. John F. Kennedy and his administration came to power in 1961 and initially supported Diem. JFK sent aid and military advisors. By 1963, the were almost 16,000 U.S. special forces Chart

23. By 1963, Diem’s popularity plummeted. He stepped up his attacks on Buddhism. Buddhist monks protest Diem. The US urged Diem to stop the attacks- he refused. Chart

24. JFK and his advisors now realized that their support for Diem was weakening their position in Vietnam. The Kennedy administration felt that it was time for Diem to go. They supported a military coup that replaced Diem. JFK had his advisors contact the leaders of the coup to make sure that Diem was not hurt. Chart

25. They were too late. Ngo Dinh Diem and his brother were shot in the back of a van. Chart

26. Lyndon B. Johnson 1963-1968 Replaces JFK as President and as the top decision maker regarding Vietnam. Feared looking soft vs communism Within 5 years, the situation in Vietnam will be regarded as “Johnsons War” LBJ will not be able to afford his Great Society programs. According to some historians Johnson will go down as one of the worst presidents in history. Chart

27. Gulf of Tonkin Incident August 2nd and 4th 1964, the USS Maddox was fired upon by a NVA patrol boat in the Gulf of Tonkin Gulf of Tonkin LBJ bombed the North and congress for “all powers necessary to repel any attack against US forces and to prevent further agression.” Chart

28. The New York Times. New York, Friday August 7th, 1964 American Planes Hit North Vietnam After Second Attack on Our Destroyers; Move Taken to Halt New Aggression Congress votes YES to Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. President Johnson request broad Military Powers 98 senators say yes, 2 senators say no, 435 reps vote yes. Escalation and Rolling Thunder to follow. Can the enemy be worn down? According to Gulf of Tonkin Resolution: Is he telling the whole story? The Congress approves and supports the determination of the President, as Commander in Chief, to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression.” Chart

29. “I am not about to send American boys 9 or 10,000 miles away to do what Asian boys ought to be doing for themselves”- Lyndon B. Johnson 1964 Chart

30. U.S. Troops in Vietnam (by the 1000’s) 536,000 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 Chart

31. Vietcong Americans NVA South Vietnamese Chart

32. Vietcong and NVA fighting techniques Vietcong- used guerilla tactics Guerilla tactics- hit and run techniques, traps, tunnels, ambush, deception, cunning, fast Intended to negate American numbers and technology Rule #1 – only fight when you know you will win. Rule #2- be able to hide immediately Rule #3- prepare for a long struggle NVA- used more conventional tactics. Supplied Vietcong using Ho Chi Minh trail. Chart

33. American fighting techniques Chart

34. American fighting techniques Americans used helicopters Known as the Helicopter War Helicopters were used to transport troops to and from the battle site, assault the enemy, reconnaissance, and to transport the wounded. Chart

35. American fighting techniques Chart

36. American fighting techniques Search and Destroy Americans went into the countryside to find Vietcong and kill them. Victory was determined by the amount killed. The more we killed the bigger the victory. Chart

37. American fighting techniques Chart

38. American fighting techniques Operation rolling thunder Bomb North Vietnam into submission We dropped more bombs on North Vietnam then we did during WWI, WWII, and Korea combined Chart

39. American fighting techniques Overall strategy - WAR OF ATTRITION “The more we kill the less they will want to fight.”- Gen. Westmoreland “We will wear down the enemy.”- Gen. Westmoreland “The enemy has meant their masters in the field.” - LBJ THEY WERE WRONG!! “If I knew that they could take this punishment and continue to fight this well, I would have thought differently from the start- Defense Secretary Robert McNamara. Chart

40. American fighting techniques Chart

41. American fighting techniques We will wear them down, but we will not invade the North. Dean Rusk- Sec of State Robert McNamara- Sec of Defense LBJ Chart

42. Winning Hearts and Minds Chart

43. Winning Hearts and Minds An attempt to win the people to the American side so that the communist guerillas wouldn’t have a place to hide. In many cases the strategy failed. Fear in the Vietcong. Disgust for American Search and destroy tactics that relocated many villages. Hate in Americans for the use of Agent Orange and Napalm that ruined their crops. 3 million refugees. "It became necessary to destroy the village in order to save it.“ Chart

44. Age of Innocence 10 years old and 2 kills Just out of High School Chart

45. The Tet Offensive In December of 1967, LBJ and General Westmoreland stated that the end was near and that the enemy couldn’t threaten the South any longer. From 1964 to 1967 the war was mostly supported by Americans. In January 1968, the NVA attacked the northern base of KheSahn, this forced the US to concentrate their attention and troops at this location. On January 31st, 1968 during the Tet New Year celebration, the NVA and Vietcong orgainized a surprise attack on every major South Vietnamese town and city. Including the American Embassy in Saigon. Chart

46. The Goals of the Tet Offensive Military Goal- To defeat the Americans in South Vietnam Political Goal- To put maximum pressure on the American Government by using its people and media against them. The Communist expected many people living in the South to join their cause. Economic- to force the US to expand its war effort. Chart

47. The Results of the Tet Offensive NVA and Vietcong were defeated, Americans regained control of all cities and the embassy Vietcong became exposed The South Vietnamese didn’t join the Communist But the American Media showed a different story. Increased pressure on the President and Military Chart

48. The Results of the Tet Offensive Chart

49. The Results of the Tet Offensive on LBJ The Creditability Gap widens either Johnson had been lying or he underestimated the ability of the enemy. It was reported that the Military requested an additional 200,000 soldiers, the congress, media, and public become enraged. The Doves (Anti-war) wanted the US to pull out. The Hawks (in favor of war) wanted the US to change its strategy. The media led by Walter Cronkite declared the War unwinnable. Massive anti-war protest. LBJ lost the confidence of his closest advisors. The Democrats sought a democratic candidate to run against LBJ in the primary, his name was Eugene McCarthy. Chart

50. Impact on LBJ Chart