The Vietnam War Era

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The Vietnam War Era

• Mr.. Langfords class

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Vietnam
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Overview of the war

• Dates 1945-1975
• The Vietnamese
• The French
• The Americans
• The Chinese

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1945 World War II

• The role of the Vietnamese
• Japanese Occupation
• The American Fight
• Who helped who?

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1945 and the closing of WWII

• Americans promise to help the Vietnamese
• Ho Chi Minh declares Vietnam independent
• Bo Dai turns over control
• Sept. 2, 1945 independence is read by Ho
• The Declaration of Independence influenced by The
  U.S.
• Free elections to take place

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Frances Disposition

• Devastated after the war
• Looking to rally the people
• Wanting to rebuild all aspects of French
  dominance
• Needed economic stability

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France reclaims old territories

• France returns to colonialism for a boost
• Why?
• What is the intention?
• Why wont it work?

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France Re-enters Vietnam

• France attempts restore order
• Receives resistance
• Imposes new sanctions
• Dissolve the potential government

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First Indo-China War 1946- 1954

• French bomb a quarter of Haiphong
• All negotiations brake off
• Viet Minh attack the French on Hanoi
• 40,000 Viet Minh troops move to the countryside
• Why?

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Indo-China War cont.

• French demand U.S. support
• take notice--will be an important decision
• Soviet Union and China support Viet Minh
• Casualties add up for the French
• End of Korean War, now superpowers focus on
  Indo-China region

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Dien Bien Phu

• Frances Last Stand
• April/May of 1954
• Vietnamese fought like guerilla warfare
• French were losing most of the battles
• Navarre Plan
• lure Vietnamese into a conventional fight

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Dien Bien Phu

• French take an old fort
• sat in a valley
• Vietnamese take the hills
• What happened?
• French were completely decimated
• Decisive and final battle

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Geneva Accords of 1954

• Vietnam divided at 17th parallel
• Elections for all of Vietnam in 1956
• Ngo Dinh Diem appointed Premier of South Vietnam
• French ends colonialism in Southeast Asia

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North Vietnam

• Looked forward to the elections
• Developed a stronger party
• Received aid from Communist countries
• Ho Chi Minh led the North
• Built up a stronger and bigger army
• Why?

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South Vietnam

• Led by Ngo Dinh Diem
• Supported by the U.S.
• Developed an army
• Asked for help in training
• Diem resumed a tight control of govt.
• Why?

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U.S. begins involvement

• Domino Theory
• Zero Sum Game
• Gave millions in aid to the South
• Sent Advisors
• What else was happening at home to feed
  involvement?

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Advisors

• Who were they?
• What did they do?
• What did they really do?
• Why were they important?
• Who was the President at the time?

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Advisors
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Kennedys New Secret

• Kennedy never knew about Vietnam until his
  inauguration
• He informed his VP of the situation
• Allowed more aid for Vietnam
• Allowed more troops to be sent
• Hamlet program

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Village Lady
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Johnsons turn

• Took over after the assassination of Kennedy
• Vowed to keep the current plan
• Tonkin Gulf Resolution
• 1965--escalation of troops
• Nearly 500,000 troops were in Vietnam by 1967

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Nixons Chance

• Nixon wins election in 1968
• Takes the first chance a peace
• Has one of the best people--Kissinger
• 1973 Tries for peace in Paris
• Talks fail

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President Nixon
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Fords Finally

• Takes over the Presidency after resignation
• Resumes talks for peace
• Begins to withdraw more troops
• May 1975 All troops are withdrawn
• Fall of Saigon

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Fall Of Saigon
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Summary

• U.S. needs help of Vietnamese in WWII
• French reclaim old colony
• U.S. support French
• Geneva of 1954
• U.S. gets involved
• U.S. withdraws
• 1975 Vietnam becomes one country