Vietnam

American History 11R

Democratic Republic of Vietnam Established - 1945

• 1945 - With defeat and withdrawal of Japanese, Ho Chi Minh leads new state with 15,000 French soldiers present.

• 1947 - French seek to depose Ho who leads Viet Minh troops in opposition to French colonial presence

Dien Bien Phu• May 7, 1954 - French suffer huge defeat as

12,000 troops surrender and withdraw from Indochina

• U.S. paid 80% of French costs

• Eisenhower refused to send troops to Vietnam

Division - July 1954

• Vietnam is divided into two nations with Ho leading the north

• Ngo Dinh Diem leading the "free" South. Promise of free elections in 1956

• Geneva Accords establish temporary division of Vietnam at 17th parallel

South Vietnam• 1960 - Diem opponents form

National Liberation Front (NLF)

• Communists and others attempt to overthrow Diem and unify Vietnam

• November 2, 1963 - Diem overthrown and assassinated

• U.S. approval and support – Diem replaced with military junta.

• 16,000 American military advisors in Vietnam

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

• Following conflict between U.S. destroyers and North Vietnamese gunboats, Pres. Johnson is given authority to "prevent further aggression."

• Measure passes Congress 416-0 in House and 88-2 in Senate

Lyndon Johnson

• February 1965 - Johnson orders bombing of North Vietnam after attack at Pleiku kills 7 U.S. soldiers

• April 1965 - 20,000 U.S. troops sent to support South Vietnam

• Violating his promises, LBJ raises U.S. troop level to 100,000 to fight Viet Cong

Vietnam

• War of Attrition – wearing down the enemy

• Weapons – Napalm, Agent Orange, Search and Destroy Missions

• Sinking Morale of soldiers

• Credibility Gap – Between reports and what was really happening.

Buffalo Springfield – For What Its Worth

Tet Offensive – January 1968

• Viet Cong forces launch massive attack on American positions throughout Vietnam.

• LBJ's popularity ratings drop to 35%

My Lai Massacre

• March 1968 - Lt. William Calley leads unit which kills at least 175 unarmed Vietnamese civilians.

• Calley - court-martialed and convicted

• His superiors never charged

Vietnam War at Home

• Draft – African American disproportionate number of troops.

• Great Society programs suffer for lack of funding

• Opposition to war

– Students for a Democratic Society

– Free Speech Movement

• Campus Activism

Cambodia• March 1969 - U.S. begins secret bombing of North

Vietnam and Cambodia

• Nixon avoids antiwar protests by not telling Congress or people about bombings

• April 1970 - Despite Nixon pledges that U.S. troops were withdrawing from Vietnam, Cambodia invasion and bombing brought huge domestic opposition

Southeast Asia (Indo China)

Kent State Shootings

• May 4th, 1970

• Kent State University in Ohio

• Student’s protest the bombing of Cambodia by burning an

ROTC building on campus

• Governor sends in the National Guard

• Crowd of campus protesters throwing rocks are fired upon by

Guardsmen

• 4 people killed, 9wounded.

Pentagon Papers

• Department of Defense history of U.S.' political-military involvement in Vietnam from 1945 to 1967.

• U.S. government lying about the success of war.

• Daniel Ellsberg - Leaks declassified report

• New York Times begins publication of secret war study.

• U.S. vs. New York Times – can’t stop publication of truth.

1970’s - Timeline

• May 4, 1970 – Kent State Massacre

• June 24, 1970 – Congress repeals Gulf of Tonkin

• Feb. 1971 – Laos invaded

• June 1971 – Pentagon Papers Released

• March 1972 – North Vietnam invades South

• Dec. 1972 – Largest Bombings of North Vietnam

• January 27, 1973 – Paris Cease Fire Accord

• August 1974 – President Nixon Resigns - Watergate

• April 30, 1975 – Communist take Saigon

End of U.S. Involvement in Vietnam

• U.S. Leaves Vietnam

POWs• POWs come home