The Vietnam War

Communism

COMMUNISM V CAPITALISM

Hammer and Sickle

• Communist Symbol

• Tools Represent the

industrial workers and the peasants

• Represents unity between industrial and agricultural workers

• Conceived during the Bolshevik Revolution but has been used in many Communist flags and emblems

Red Star

• Another symbol of Communism

• Represents the five fingers of the workers hand

• Also represents five entities of a classless utopia: workers, farmers, intellectuals, soldiers and students.

The Origins of Communism

• Ancient Greece ‘Golden Age’ • Early Christian and Jewish groups• Middle Ages – ‘Village Commons’• St Thomas Moore• Industrialisation lead to modern Communism• The French Revolution• Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels• The Russian Revolution: Bolsheviks (Lenin) and

Mensheviks

Communist Countries Prior to WWI

• none

Communist Countries during the Cold War 1979 -1983

• U.S.S.R • Cuba • China • North Korea • Poland • Czechoskovakia • Albania • Bulgaria • Romania • East Germany • Hungary

Current Communist Countries

• Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

• People’s Republic of China

• Socialist Republic of Vietnam

• Republic of Cuba

• Lao People’s Democratic Republic

The Communist Manifesto

• Marxism: a class war would lead to the workers overthrowing their leaders and creating a classless, propertiless society.

The Origins of Capitalism

• Reinforced by the Industrial Revolution

The Iron Curtain

• Symbolised the ideological fighting and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II.

• Communist v Capitalist• 1945 – 1989 • Border defences between Western and Eastern Europe• Included the Berlin Wall

• Following World War II, there was an increased fear of communism in countries such as Australia.

• Australians were concerned that communism would undermine Australian plans for a peaceful and secure future.

• The fear of communism was intertwined with politics, often used as a 'scare tactic' for political gain.

• The 1940s and 1950s were dominated by alleged communist plots to undermine Australian society.

• Like Britain, and especially America, Australia was obsessed with exposing communists and communist plots in all areas of society.

• For Australians fear took two forms: – fear of communist invasion from without; – fear of communists within their own society.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wccIqjrGGMk anti communism video from 1950

Red Scare 1947-57• Fear of foreign communists infiltrating

government

• Also known as McCarthyism

• Fear of infiltration, subversion, invasion, and destruction

The above image was taken from LIFE magazine, the issue of November 29, 1968

The Red Scare in Australia

• Post World War II, Australians wanted peace and security

• Communism was perceived to threaten Australian way of life

• Australians became obsessed with exposing communists and communist plots in all areas of Society

• Threats from without, threats from within.

• Racist propaganda from WWII – Yellow Peril, was replaced with anti-communist propaganda.

• The government held a referendum to band the Communist Party in Australia

The Domino Theory

• The domino theory

Week 2

Topics• French colonisation• Ho Chi Minh• The ‘Civilising Missions’• Revolts against the

French• Communist Rebellions • The Second World War• Japanese Occupation• The August Revolution

1945-46• The Viet Minh

Readings• Chapters

Week3

Topics• The First Indochina War

1946-`954• Geurilla Warfare• The Bao Dai Solution• French Strategies• American Involvement• Dien Bien Phu• The Geneva Conference

Readings

Week 4

Topics• The Diem Regime 1954-

1960• Elections, repression,

isolation and American friendship

• The Viet Cong Rebellion• The National Liberation

Front• Support for the Viet Cong• Guerrila warfare

continued• Tunnels

Readings• Chapter 8 text book

Week 5

Topics• The Decline and Fall of

Diem 1960-63• Kennedy’s Vietnam

decision• Infiltration from the North• Budhist protests• Overthrow of Diem• North Vietnam and the

DRV

Week 6

Topics• Total War, American War• Tonkin Gulf Incident• War of the Elephant and

the Flea• The TET offensive• Khe Sanh• Johnson• Nixon

Week 7

• Cambodia• Laos

Week 8

• Retreat from Vietnam• Vietnamisation• Peace Talks• Ceasefire• The Fall of Saigon

1973 –1975• Outcomes

Week 10

• Brief History of Afghanistan• Taliban • Al Quada• September 11 Attacks• Operation Enduring Freedom• Afghan United Front, United

Kingdom and united States• Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan• Osama Bin Laden• George W Bush• Islam

Week 11

• Historical Background• Foreign inteference and Civil War• Taliban Emirate and Pakistan v United

Front• Change in US policy towards Afghanistan• September 9 2011• September 11 2011• Legal basis for war

Week 1

• Initial Attack

• The Battle of Mazar I Sharif

• The Fall of kabul

• The Battle of Tora Bora

• Operation Anaconda

• Renewed Taliban insurgency

Week 2