Vietnam Americas Longest War

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VietnamAmericas Longest War
Americas Political Involvement 1950-1965
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A History ofWestern Involvement

• French explorers first find the area in the early
  1600s
• Increased influence through spread of Catholicism
• Under French control since late 1800s

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An area of conflict

• Vietnam is a key strategic location for all of
  Asia
• There was a strong nationalist movement, which
  had asked the U.S for help in the past
• U.S. never supports, because of alliance with
  France
• During WWII, Japanese invade and take over. Ho
  Chi Minh and his followers form the Vietminh in
  1940

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Resistance to the french

• FDR regards the French as poor colonizers who
  had badly mismanaged Indochina
• Wanted to place Indochina under an international
  trusteeship and prepare it for independence after
  the war.
• Eases requests as end of war nears
• After FDRs death, President Harry S Truman
  adopts a more favorable policy toward
  Franceneeds them for European defense

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U.S. Interests

• U.S. is basically neutral, but pro-French up
  until 1950
• By 1950, U.S Had embraced the Domino Theory
• If Vietnam fell to communism, the other countries
  of Southeast Asia would also fall.
• Partly based on WWII, when Hitler and the
  Japanese so quickly overran their respective
  regions of the world

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A Missed Opportunity?

• Moscow did not control Ho Chi Minhhe wouldnt
  follow anybody if it would sacrifice Vietnamese
  independence
• Vietnam historically did not like China
• Given the choice, Ho Chi Minh said
• It is better to sniff French dung for a while
  
• than eat Chinas all our
  life

It was patriotism and not communism that
originally inspired me
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U.S. Interests

• China had already been lost to communism
• Southeast Asia rich in resources
• Needed to protect Japanese economic interests
• If Southeast Asia went communist, Japan would be
  forced to accommodate with the adversary

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Effect of the Korean War

• North Korean attack on South seen as confirmation
  USSR was trying to spread
• Fear of a repeat in Vietnam
• By end of 1950 U.S. contributes
• 133 million in military aid to the French
• 50 million in aid to other Asian nations

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American Frustration

• By 1952, U.S. is bearing 1/3 of the total cost of
  the war
• Had no say in French military policies
• French complained that U.S. aid made France look
  bad to Vietnamese allies
• France blocks several U.S. aid programs in the
  region

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American Frustration

• January 1953President Eisenhower takes office
• Will serve two terms
• Tells French that they need a more forceful and
  inspirational leader to win in Indochina
• Wants France to promise Vietnam independence
  repeatedly and in a bold, forthright manner
• They never do

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American Frustration

• By 1954, 2.6 billion of U.S. aid has been spent
  to help France in a losing cause
• U.S. had been supporting a disliked puppet
  government
• Vietnamese nationalism on the rise
• Nationalists demanding withdrawal of France,
  leaving no Western power to counter the communists

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American Frustration

• U.S. facing decision on whether or not to get
  directly involved.
• Eisenhower doesnt want to get directly involved
  without other nations sharing in the
  responsibility
• Realizes he cant just ignore what will happen
  with no Western power present
• U.S. decides not to intervene

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Fall of Dienbienphu

• Dienbienphu is a village near Vietnams border
  with Laos.
• French forces are surrounded in the highland by
  Vietminh
• Had disassembled weapons to carry them undetected
  up the hills

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We are the last French colonialists in Indochina

• French attitudes had turned against continuing a
  war in Indochina
• U.S. proposed United Action
• Would have been a coalition involving the United
  States, Great Britain, France, Australia, New
  Zealand, the Philippines, Thailand, and others
• Great Britain refuses to join, sinking the idea

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Geneva Conference, 1954

• Nations decide to divide Vietnam along the 17th
  parallel
• Nationwide elections would take place in 1956
• The U.S. does not accept the agreement

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Nation building 1954-1961

• U.S. spearheads formation of SEATO
• Southeast Asia Treaty Organization
• New Zealand, Australia, Pakistan, the
  Philippines, Thailand, U.S., G.B., and France
• U.S. pins hopes of holding off communists with a
  new government for South Vietnam
• Eisenhower supports Ngo Dinh Diem, a Catholic

It is our offspring, we cannot abandon it, we
cannot ignore its needs.
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An American War

• France leaves Vietnam in 1956
• U.S. is now the only major Western power helping
  fight communist forces in the country

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Sending in Advisors

• Eisenhower sent American advisors to help trail
  South Vietnamese troops
• Train the ARVN (Army of the Republic of Vietnam
• Had sent 2 billion in aid from 1954-59
• Diem calls opponents Viet-Cong (Vietnamese
  Communists)
• 685 allowed by Geneva Accords
• In 1960, John F. Kennedy elected President

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The Growing Entanglement

• By 1963, almost 17,000 U.S. troops in Vietnam
• Diem growing more unpopular with people
• His own ARVN executed him in 1963

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Expanding the War

• With Kennedys assassination in 1963, Lyndon
  Johnson becomes president.
• Johnson changes the nature of the war
• The U.S. is not just going to assist the South
  Vietnamese forces
• U.S. now involved in an open-ended commitment to
  ensure the existence of a non-Communist South
  Vietnam

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The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

• U.S. Navy destroyers had been helping South
  Vietnamese gun boats in the gulf
• Two separate attacks on U.S. ships reported, some
  shadiness about the veracity of the reports.
• Johnson asks congress for a resolution granting
  him power to repel any armed attack against the
  U.S.

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The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

• Approved August 1964
• Only 2 votes against it
• Can the president wage war without a formal
  declaration of war?

By the end of 1965, over 180,000 troops in
Vietnam Number climbs to over 500,000 by 1967
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The path to full-blown War

• By 1967, U.S. is spending 2billion per month on
  the Vietnam War
• More bombs dropped than in both theaters of WWII
  combined
• American forces had a certain cockinessthought
  the Viet Cong would be quickly beaten

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The path to full-blown War

• By end of 1967, over 500,000 troops stationed
  in-country
• General William Westmoreland described U.S.
  effort as the most sophisticated war in history
• Technological innovations
• Hundreds of millions of pounds of chemical
  weapons
• Agent Orange Only you can prevent forests

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The Tet offensive

• Tet The Vietnamese New Year
• January 30, 1968A massive, coordinated Viet Cong
  assault against major urban areas of South
  Vietnam
• Attacked over 150 cities and hamlets, including
  Saigon and the U.S. Embassy
• Unexpected, had some vague intelligenceU.S. and
  South Vietnam surprised by organization of attacks

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The Tet offensive

• U.S. and South Vietnam recover quickly
• Some premature attacks allowed Westmoreland to
  better prepare some areas
• Most cities retaken within days
• ARVN performs better than expected
• Generally considered a defeat for the North
  Vietnamese/Viet Cong

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The Tet offensiveLosses

• United States
• 1,100 killed in action
• South Vietnam
• 2,300 killed in action

• Viet Cong
• As high as 40,000
• Civilian Losses
• 12,500

Made President Johnson and Westmoreland look
bad Some called for more U.S. troops to ensure
victory A moral political victory for Viet
Congthey were able to get to U.S. strongholds
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Domestic Effects of the War

• The Living Room War
• Many Americans begin to question government and
  military
• Many thought the benefits were not justification
  for the cost of American lives
• Anti-war movement prevalent on college
  campusesthe young people of the U.S. begin to
  voice themselves politically

In 1968, because of the lack of public support
for the war, President Johnson decides not to run
for reelection.
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Bibliography
Herring, George C. Americas Longest War The
United States and Vietnam 1950-1975. 2nd
edition. 1986 New YorkKnopf