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War in Indochina: . The Vietnam War . Readings: . Demarco 214 – 223 Global History 350 – 361, 444 – 449 . Background . A war of decolonization Began during WWII as Ho Chi Minh and his Communists began to resist the Japanese occupation
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War in Indochina: The Vietnam War
Readings: • Demarco 214 – 223 • Global History 350 – 361, 444 – 449
Background • A war of decolonization • Began during WWII as Ho Chi Minh and his Communists began to resist the Japanese occupation • After WWII, the French believed that Indochina would be theirs again • A war broke out between Ho Chi Minh’s Communists and the French forces • French had refused autonomy of Indochina • The war would prove to be a drain on French manpower and finances • The war would eventually end when a major French garrison surrendered at Dien Bien Phu in May, 1954 • A settlement was reached Geneva
Geneva Agreement of 1954 • Laos and Cambodia were granted independence • Vietnam was divided, temporarily, at the 17th parallel • Vietnam was to have elections in 1956 to determine whether it should be reunited • These elections were never held • The war in Indochina marked a Communist victory
After the 1954 agreements • The North was ruled by Ho Chi Minh • The South was ruled by Ngo Dinh Diem (a catholic, governing a mostly Buddhist population) • The Diem regime was opposed by the National Liberation front and the Viet Cong • Both these groups were supported by the North
The Escalation of American involvement to 1969 Putting the war into context • A war of containment • USA had signed the SEATO alliance in 1954 • A war about the Domino Theory • This was a crusade against Communism
Getting Started • USA had supported the French in their efforts before 1954 • USA forces also became involved in a minor way as soon as the French left • They were military advisors to the South Vietnamese government • USA involvement increased when it was obvious that the South could not control the Communists in their own countryside • Kennedy increased American forces in 1962 from 500 to 10,000 in an effort to prop up Diem • Diem was corrupt and in 1963, w/ the help of the CIA, he was overthrown • Nguyen Van Thieu was the new leader
Escalation Key Event • Location: Gulf of Tonkin • When: August, 1964 • What happened: the North Vietnamese torpedoed an American destroyer in the Gulf of Tonkin • Result: led Congress to give Johnson the infamous “all necessary powers” and “all necessary measures” authority (aka the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution)
Increasing Presence in Vietnam • National Liberation Front (Communists within South Vietnam) was receiving increasing aid from North Vietnam • Aid came via the Ho Chi Minh Trail which ran from North Vietnam, through Cambodia, through Laos, and back into South Vietnam • This led to USA increasing advisers in the region from 200,000 in 1965 to 600,000 in 1968 • This was a civil war, which the USA viewed as a plan to expand communism • In 1965 Johnson changed the status of American troops from advisers to that of combat troops
A New President • 1968 election • Johnson was totally discredited by his role in the Vietnam War • Richard Nixon easily won the election for the Republicans
Vietnamization • What is Vietnamization? • Nixon’s plan to make the military of South Vietnam capable of defending itself • This would allow the USA to withdraw and leave in place a non-Communist political regime in South Vietnam
Henry Kissinger’s Two Track Formula • Was the basis of Nixon’s plan for the next four years • It consisted of: • Military solution: strengthen the South Vietnam military • Political solution: strengthen the South Vietnam government so it could attract a broader base of support in South Vietnam
Withdrawal The first withdrawal of USA troops started in August, 1969 July, 1970: The New Nixon Peace Offensive • This really meant that Nixon was going to remove American ground forces and step up the air war • USA bombed North Vietnam in an attempt to get the Vietnamese to make some concessions at the conference table in Paris 1971 – The war changed almost entirely to an air war • i.e. The bombing of North Vietnam 1972 – The USA were down to 200,000 men, but Nixon continued to order the bombing of northern cities 27 January, 1973 – A ceasefire w/ N. Vietnam was signed. • All the USA got out of 20 years of fighting was the return of their POW’s. The agreement was to withdraw all US forces within 60 days • 15 August, 1973 – All USA forces were out of Vietnam • Spring, 1975 - South Vietnam fell to the Communists of the North and the NLF
