introducing the vietnam war. learning targets explain how the u.s. got involved in the vietnam war....
TRANSCRIPT
Introducing the Vietnam War
Learning TargetsExplain how the U.S. got involved in the
Vietnam War.Compare and contrast the U.S. and
NVA/Vietcong strategies.Predict the effectiveness of each plan.
Priming: A Soldier’s Experience
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are needed to see this picture.A Soldier’sExperience
Defoliation-agent-spraying.jpg.url
1954: Geneva Accords--1954
Ho Chi MinhNgo Dinh DiemDivided at 17th parallel
Vietnam divided when French left North Vietnam - Ho Chi Minh & communist South Vietnam - Ngo Dinh Diem & anti-
communist
Growing Problems
1. Diem’s leadership of South VietnamRefused electionPersecuted Buddhists Overthrown and followed by unstable gov’ts
Growing Problems
• Add walls and moat• backfired
•80% of countryside supportedVietcong
2. Growth of the VietcongVietcong (VC) = communist guerillas in
S.Vietnam fighting the S. Vietnamese gov’t tried to fight with strategic hamlet plan(move
villagers for “protection”)
U.S. Aids South
By 1963, 16,000 American troops are Training in SouthVietnam
Eisenhower sent aid due to domino theory 1961: JFK follows with “military advisors”
Tonkin Gulf Resolution
August 2, 1964:
U.S. destroyer
Maddox attacked
in Tonkin Gulf
Tonkin Gulf Resolution
Senate Vote: 88 to 2
“to take all necessarysteps, including the useof armed force…”
Congress gave President Johnson (LBJ) war powers
Think, Pair, ShareExplain why the United States got
involved in Vietnam.Explain how the United States got
involved with Vietnam.Should the U.S. have involved
themselves in the conflict in your opinion?
American EscalationGeneral William Westmoreland, U.S.
Commander
American EscalationU.S. strategy: bomb North, ground troops in South1968: 538, 000 U.S. troops
Operation Rolling Thunder
643,000 tons of bombs
5 times Hiroshima
3 years
Air Force Chief of StaffLemey about bombingthem “back to the stoneAge.”
Bombing Raids of North Vietnam
Operation Rolling Thunder
Dealt with2,700 roads And tunnels
NVA actually increased supply
NVA Tung, “The bombsheightened rather than dampened our spirits.”
Focused on Ho Chi Minh Trail (supply line
for Vietcong and N.Vietnam)failed
Ground WarSearch and Destroy Missions: seek VC and
destroyed villagesJungle warfare, so defoliants used (Agent
Orange/Napalm)
NVA and VietcongCommander of NVA – Vo Nguyen Giap 1965: Strategy shift to guerilla tactics, Giap
against
NVA and VietcongTactics- tunneled base camps, booby traps,
and punji spikes.
Journal ReflectionCompare and contrast the U.S. strategies
with the NVA and Vietcong strategies in a double bubble.
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NVA & Vietcongstrategies
similaritiesdifferences differences
Think, Pair, SharePredict which side’s strategies will work
best - the U.S. Strategies or the NVA & Vietcong strategies. Why?
Khe SanhImportant for intelligence on Ho Chi Minh Trail40,000 NVA vs. 5,600 U.S. for over 2 mths.U.S. win,
shows NVA
resolve
Tet Offensive
100 towns and citiesAttacked; 12 air bases attacked
42,000Vietcong casualties
Massive attack by North on Vietnamese New YearMilitary victory for South/U.S.Morale victory for North