the vietnam war by: joseph edinger. introduction the vietnam war was a cold war conflict that took...
TRANSCRIPT
The Vietnam War
By: Joseph Edinger
Introduction
• The Vietnam War was a Cold War conflict that took place in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.
• It began on November 1st, 1955 and lasted until the Fall of Saigon which occurred on April 30th, 1975.
• It was fought between the communists in North Vietnam and its allies and the democratic government in South Vietnam, which was supported by the United States.
• In South Vietnam, there was also a lightly armed guerrilla force known as the Viet Cong who attacked anti-communist forces there.
• This was the only war in history that the United States did not win.
Background
• The Treaty of Hue in 1884 formed the French rule that would preside over Vietnam for seventy years.
• The Vietnamese staged many revolts against the French rule but many failed to gain the countries independence
• One did succeed, and it was the Viet Minh who were controlled by the Communist Party of Vietnam.
Japanese Occupation
• French forces worked with the Japanese during World War II after their invasion of French Indochina
• French continued to run affairs but the Japanese had ultimate power.
• When German forces were pushed out of France, the Japanese interned all French forces because they no longer trusted them.
• After the internment, the Japanese assumed all control over Indochina through their state of The Empire of Vietnam under the Emperor Bao Dai.
• When Japanese forces surrendered in 1945, a power vacuum was created because the Japanese stood down and the French were still interned.
“August Revolution”
• Viet Minh won power across Vietnam.
• Ho Chi Minh, the leader of the Viet Minh, openly declared the new and independent Democratic Republic of Vietnam.
Allies help France
• After WWII, the Allies landed in Vietnam to rearm the interned French so that they would recapture the south while the Chinese moved in from the north.
First Indochina War
• French drove Viet Minh out of Hanoi and Viet Minh began guerilla attacks on the French.
• The Chinese began to help their Vietnamese allies and the U.S. gave assistance to the French.
Exit of the French
• With support from China and the SU, the Viet Minh surprisingly defeated the French at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu.
• The French Union forces then surrendered.
Geneva Conference
• French signed a cease fire with the Viet Minh and independence was granted to Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam.
Transition
• One million mostly catholic North Vietnamese fled south, fearing prosecution from the communists in the North.
• U.S. funded this migration with 93 million dollars.
• When the last of the French and Chinese forces left Vietnam, the Viet Minh began a land reform.
• In this reform, eight thousand suspected “class enemies” were executed by the Viet Minh.
Republic of Vietnam
• Created mainly for President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s administration’s desire for a anti-communist state in the Vietnam region.
Domino Theory
• If one country fell to communism, the surrounding countries would fall as well.
• Many countries, among which India and Japan, would fall if “the Red Tide of Communism overflowed into Vietnam.” as stated by John F. Kennedy, who was a U.S. senator at the time.
Insurgency in the South
• Communists in South Vietnam were authorized to begin low level insurgency attacks against the Viet Minh.
• This was ordered in response to Diem’s Denunciation of Communists Campaign.
• Ho Chi Minh told them “If an assassination is necessary, use a knife, not a rifle or grenade.”
• This became known as “Armed
Propaganda”.
John F. Kennedy’s Administration
• Kennedy was more concerned that the Soviet Union possibly had passed the U.S. in nuclear weapons production than of the growing problem in Vietnam.
• The legacy of the Korean War created the idea of a limited war in Vietnam.
Kennedy’s Strategy
• JFK wanted to use guerilla tactics used by the U.S. special forces such as the Green Berets.
• He thought this would be effective in a “brush fire” war in Vietnam.
• Kennedy wanted to “draw a line in the sand” and prevent a communist takeover of Vietnam.
• Kennedy stated this after many failures of the U.S. to stop the spread of communism, such as the failed Bay of Pigs invasion and the construction of the Berlin Wall.
American Aid
• In May of 1961, Vice Pres. Lyndon Johnson visited Saigon and promised Diem aid to resist the takeover by communism.
• Kennedy, however, was opposed to sending American combat troops. He assumed that Diem and his forces would eventually defeat the guerillas.
• Kennedy did send U.S. forces to South Vietnam to assist in the training of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam.
• This army was in poor condition due to bad leadership, corruption, and political promotions.
• In 1963, there 16,000 American troops in South Vietnam.
Coup and Assassinations
• After many failures of the South Vietnamese against the Viet Cong, U.S. officials began to see Diem as incapable of defeating the Communists.
• U.S. officials began to discuss a regime change.
• The CIA was in contact with generals who were planning to assassinate Diem.
• They told the generals that the U.S. would not oppose such an action or punish the generals.
• President Diem was overthrown and executed along with his brother, who was the head of the special police, on November 2nd, 1963.
• After the execution, the U.S. ambassador to South Vietnam, Henry Cabot Lodge, invited the leaders of the coup to the U.S. embassy and congratulated them.
• However, South Vietnam Fell into chaos after Diem’s death.
Coup’s effects
• South Vietnam entered a period of extreme political instability, as military governments toppled another quickly and successfully.
Johnson Expands the War
• When Lyndon B. Johnson became president after Kennedy’s assassination, he was not extremely worried about Vietnam.
• He was more concerned about his “Great Society” reforms.
Attack?
• On August 2nd, 1964, the USS Maddox allegedly fired upon and damaged torpedo boats that had been stalking it while it was on an intelligence mission off the coast of North Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin.
• Two days later, a similar incident was reported on the USS Turner Joy and Maddox in the same area.
• This led to communist air strikes as retaliation, Congress passing the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, and the president was given the power to conduct military operations in southeast Asia without declaring war.
Bombing
• On March 2nd, 1965, following an attack on U.S. Marines barracks at Pleiku, Operations Flaming Dart, Rolling Thunder, and Arc Light were launched.
• These were bombing raids on North Vietnam which lasted three years.
• These bombing raids were supposed to force North Vietnam to cease its support for the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam by threatening to destroy its air defenses and industries.
• It was also intended to boost the morale of the South Vietnamese.
Escalation and Ground War
• After being attacked on more than one occasion, it was decided that U.S. Air Force bases needed more protection.
• Because the South Vietnamese could not provide good protection, 3,500 United States Marines landed in South Vietnam.
• This was the beginning of the American ground war.
• The Marines assignment was to protect the U.S. Air Force bases from attack, or in other words a defensive position.
• Because the U.S. forces were trained for offensive warfare, the commanders were unsuited for a defensive position.
• However, due to the failure of the South Vietnamese, the U.S. sidelined them and began to fight the war themselves.
Faults in U.S. forces
• Because of the one-year tour of duty for U.S. soldiers, many units were left with un-experienced leadership.
• Because of this, training programs for the soldiers were shortened to match the demand for troops.
Americans ask for troops
• The U.S. encouraged its fellow countries in SEATO (South Eastern Atlantic Treaty Organization) to send troops.
• Australia, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Thailand, and the Philippines all agreed to send troops to help the Americans.
Tet Offensive
• The North Vietnamese, after luring Gen. Westmoreland’s forces into Khe Sanh, launched the surprise Tet Offensive, hoping to begin a national uprising.
• Over 100 cities were assaulted, including the U.S. Embassy in Saigon, which was the Americans’ headquarters.
• At first the U.S. and South Vietnamese forces were overwhelmed, they responded quickly and successfully, pushing back the Communists.
• Another city that was attacked was Hue. Here the North Vietnamese captured the Imperial Citadel and most of the city.
• This led to the Battle of Hue.
The Battle of Hue
• The American forces used tremendous amounts of firepower, which destroyed eighty percent of the city.
• During the battle, Communist insurgent forces massacred thousands of unarmed civilians.
• In conclusion, the Tet Offensive caused severe damage to the North Vietnamese forces. It also made U.S. General Westmoreland the face of the war.
• Even though the Tet Offensive was a military failure for the North Vietnamese, it was a political victory because it ended the career of U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson, who declined to run for reelection.
Tet Offensive’s effect on the U.S.
• The Tet Offensive was the turning point for America’s involvement in the war.
• It had a large impact on American civilian support for the war.
• The U.S. began peace talks with the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.
Johnson’s Exit
• At the end of his term as president, Johnson refused to send any more troops to Vietnam, this was seen as his admission that the war was lost.
Vietnamization
• Massive Communist losses during the Tet Offensive gave new U.S. president Richard M. Nixon the opportunity to begin troop withdraws.
Nixon Doctrine
• Plan to build up the South Vietnamese forces so that they could defend themselves against the communists without U.S. help.
Nuclear Weapons?
• On October 10,1969, Nixon ordered a pack of B-52 bombers loaded with nuclear weapons to race to the border of the Soviet Union’s airspace.
• This was to convince the Soviets that Nixon was capable of doing anything to end the Vietnam War.
Detente
• Nixon began to pursue a détente with the Soviet Union to ease global tensions.
• This détente led to the reduction of nuclear arms among the two superpowers.
• However, after the détente the Soviet Union and China still gave support to their Vietnamese allies.
• In September 1969, Ho Chi Minh died at the age of seventy nine.
Anti-War Movement
• In the U.S., the anti-war movement began to gain strength as Americans began to change their opinion about the war.
• Nixon appealed to this “slight majority” of Americans trying to get them to support the war.
Misuse of Power
• My Lai Massacre- U.S. Army troops went on a rampage, raping and killing innocent civilians.
• “Green Beret Affair”- Eight Special Forces soldiers were arrested for the murder of who they suspected was a double agent.
Operation Menu
• Communists were no longer allowed to stay in the neutral Cambodia.
• Nixon took advantage of this to launch a massive secret bombing campaign, named Operation Menu, against the North Vietnamese hideouts on the Cambodia/Vietnam border.
America’s response to Menu
• The invasion of Cambodia ignited massive American protests against the war.
• At this time, Americans were beginning to be fed up about the war in Vietnam and wanted an end to it.
Kent State Shootings
• One anti-war protest was on the campus of Kent State University in Ohio.
• During the protest, National Guardsmen shot and killed four protesting students.
• This provoked an enormous outrage all across the country.
Easter Offensive of 1972
• North Vietnamese forces overran northern providences and also began to attack from Cambodia, launching a large scale invasion of South Vietnam, which threatened to cut the country in half.
America Comes to the Rescue
• U.S. launched Operation Linebacker, which was when American airpower halted the Easter Offensive.
• This proved that South Vietnam would not survive without American airpower.
• The last American troops on the ground were withdrawn in August.
1972 Election
• Republicans• Richard Nixon
• Democrats• George McGovern
Paris Peace Accords
• South Vietnam’s president demanded great changes to the accord.
• After North Vietnam went public with the agreement, the Nixon administration claimed they were trying to embarrass the president.
• To show support for the South and to force the North back to the negotiating table, Nixon ordered Operation Linebacker II, a massive bombing of Hanoi and Haiphong.
• Also, Nixon demanded the South’s president to accept the conditions or he would cut off American aid.
Paris Peace Accords
• On January 15, 1973, President Nixon announced the end of offensive action against North Vietnam.
• Signed on January 27, it officially ended direct U.S. involvement, a cease fire was called across North and South Vietnam, and U.S. POW’s were released.
Opposition to the War
• In the beginning of the war, U.S. citizens fully supported the war. However, as the war went on, Americans began to change their opinion about American involvement in the war.
• Anti-war protests swept the country.
Exit of the Americans
• After the Paris Peace Accords were signed, the U.S. began drastically reducing its troop count.
• On March 5, 1971, the U.S. returned the 5th Special Forces Group, which was the first American unit deployed in Vietnam, back to Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Ford’s Term
• After Nixon was forced to resign after the Watergate scandal, Gerald Ford became president on August 9th, 1974.
• With a new Democrat dominated Congress, restrictions on funding and military activities were set in place.
Restart of the War
• South Vietnamese President Thieu announced the restart of the war after the Vietcong attacked them and recaptured their territories they had lost during the previous dry season.
Fall of Phuoc Binh
• North Vietnamese attacked the province on December 13 and it fell on January 6, 1975.
• Ford desperately begged Congress for funds to assist and re-supply the South before they were overrun by the Communists, but Congress refused.
• The Fall of Phuoc Binh and the lack of any American response left the South Vietnamese leaders totally hopeless and almost defeated completely.
Campaign 275
• Gen. Dung launched a limited offensive into South Vietnam’s Central Highlands.
• This was to be the last North Vietnamese offensive of the war, and it was against the South’s stronghold, Saigon.
Ho Chi Minh Campaign
• This campaign called for the capture of Saigon before May 1st.
• Hanoi wanted to avoiding a coming monsoon and to prevent the redeployment of the South Vietnamese forces.
• With their morale boosted by recent victories, the North easily advanced to Saigon.
Beginning of the End
• By April’s end, the South Vietnamese army had collapsed on all fronts.
• On April 27th, 100,000 North Vietnamese troops circled Saigon, defended by only 30,000 South Vietnamese.
No Way Out
• The North bombed the only airport in Saigon, forcing its closure to speed up a complete collapse of the city.
• This left thousands of civilians living in Saigon trapped.
Fall of Saigon
• American helicopters came through the chaos to evacuate some South Vietnamese, and U.S. and foreign nationals from the city and from the U.S. embassy.
• This was called Operation Frequent Wind.
• In the United States, South Vietnam was considered doomed.
• President Gerald Ford gave a televised speech declaring and end to the Vietnam war and all U.S. aid.
• On April 30th, 1975, North Vietnamese overcame all resistance and quickly captured key buildings.
The End of The War
• A tank crashed through the gates of the Presidential Palace and at 11:30, the North Vietnamese flag was raised over it.
• President Duong Van Minh surrendered.• By the end of the war, the Vietnamese had
been fighting foreign occupation for 116 years.
Effect of the War on the U.S.
• The U.S. began to question its Army’s tactics after losing its first war.
• Doubts also arose about the Army’s ability to train foreign forces.
• The U.S. spent a total of 111 billion dollars on the war, which created a large federal deficit.
• The war also proved that no power, not even a super power such as the U.S., had unlimited strength and resources.
• Most importantly, it showed that to win a war you needed a political will to fight, not just supreme materials.
America’s Losses
• Of the 3 million who served, 58,193 soldiers were killed, more than 150,000 were wounded, and 21,000 were permanently disabled.
War’s effect on Veterans
• Veterans who came back from the war were treated like dirt because they fought in an unpopular and lost war. Americans were ashamed and embarrassed by the veterans.
• Even to this day Vietnam Vets are still living on the streets.
• Almost all of the veterans that survived the war suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder. This is because many of them were tortured or watched their friends and fellow soldiers die right before their eyes.
POW/MIA
• To the present day, there are still U.S. service men still listed as missing in action in Vietnam.
• Some people believe there are still men imprisoned in Vietnam but the government strictly says all living men were found.
Chemical Defoliation
• The U.S. used chemical defoliants to defoliate the jungle to find where the Viet Cong were hiding.
• Vietnam is still suffering the effects of these chemicals, such as diseases, birth defects, and a poisoned food chain.
“Rainbow Herbicides”
• Agent Pink• Agent Green• Agent Purple• Agent Blue• Agent White
• The most famous, deadly, and wide used was the herbicide known as Agent Orange.
Agent Orange
• This did not only harm the Vietnamese, it also harmed U.S. soldiers.
• Many U.S. soldiers and the children of soldiers who were exposed to Agent Orange now have various forms of cancer.
• YouTube - Film of US Soldiers spraying Agent Orange defoliant onto a riverbank without protective equipment
Napalm
• The U.S. also used Napalm in Vietnam.• Napalm is a mixture of gasoline and other
chemicals that ignite and incinerate.• This was dropped over large areas of land
and the entire land was set on fire, burning alive anyone who was in its radius.
• YouTube - Napalm Bombing Run In Vietnam
Conclusion
• The Vietnam War was the first war that the U.S. lost, and its effects are still being felt.
• In Washington D.C., the Vietnam wall shows all the names of American Service Personnel who fought and died in the war.