VIETNAM WAR

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VIETNAM WAR

• Or
• The American War

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VIETNAM

• Daily Life

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VIETNAM
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French Colonialism

• Missionaries first came in 1630-1645, converted
  many to Catholicism
• Colonized in 1861-1887
• Terrible conditions-French official language,
  banned the word Vietnam, pagodas destroyed, all
  profits to France
• Many peasants lost land due to French land and
  tax system
• Created a class of Vietnamese bureaucrats

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HO CHI MINH

• Born in 1890.
• His father was a bureaucrat who quit his job to
  protest French Colonialism
• President of Vietnam from 1945 to his death in
  1969

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HO CHI MINHS GOALS
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HCM Significant Background

• Well educated in French and Vietnamese
• Paris in 1911-joined the French socialist party
  because they were anti-imperialist
• Treaty of Versailles-Ho made demands for Vietnam
  at the end of WWI. Declared that it would be
  hypocritical for France not to allow Vietnam
  independence.

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Ho Chi Minh

• Traveled the world, absent from Vietnam for 30
  years.
• Studied in USSR as a communist
• Sent to Canton, formed a group of revolutionary
  Vietnamese exiles.
• Returned to Vietnam in 1941
• Admired USA as model for independence

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HCM SUMMARY

• Take a minute to summarize the story of Ho Chi
  Minh
• Describe HCMs relationship with the US.

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First Indochina War

• Japanese expelled France from Vietnam during WWII
• Ho Chi Minh Declared the Independence of Vietnam
  in 1945, Americans were present to celebrate with
  him.
• French returned to Vietnam after WWII

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First Indochina War
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Continued(Indochina War)

• US initially did not support French continuing
  colonialism, accepted it in order to maintain
  stability in Europe
• Eventually supported the French financially to
  fight communism.

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First Indochina WarBattle of Dien Bien Phu-1954
The Vietminh were able to defeat the French at
the Battle of Dien Bien Phu. This was an
unexpected and heroic victory for the Vietnamese.
After this battle, the French gave up their
claims to sovereignty in Vietnam.
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Dien Bien Phu
As the Ñieän Bieân Phuû Campaign received huge
human and material resources and spiritual
encouragement from liberated areas under the
resistance forces, it became the focus of the
whole nations strength. Thus, 260,000
transporters with 11 million work-days, 628
trucks, 11,800 boats and over 20,000 bicycles
and many other rudimentary means of transport
were mobilised to serve the front.
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First Indochina WarDien Bien Phu
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First Indochina War Summary

• Take a minute to summarize the first Indochina
  War and the Battle of Dien Bien Phu.
• What role is the US now taking in the war?

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Partition

• July 20-21 A cease fire officially ends the
  first Indochina War the Geneva Accords provide
  for the temporary partition of Vietnam along the
  17th parallel, with the Viet Minh in power in the
  north and a non-Communist government headed by
  emperor Bao Dai and Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem
  in the south (continued)

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Partition

• Nationwide elections designed to reunify the
  country under one government are scheduled for
  July 1956
• These elections were never held.

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Partition

• We did not sign the Geneva agreements. We are
  not bound by these Agreements, signed against the
  Vietnamese people. Our policy is a policy of
  peace, but nothing will lead us astray from our
  goal the unity of our country-a unity in
  freedom and not in slavery.
• Ngo Dinh Diem, July 16, 1955

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Partition

• After securing a suspicious 98.2 percent majority
  in a national referendum affirming his role as
  chief of state, Diem proclaims the establishment
  of the Republic of Vietnam South Vietnam, in
  which he holds the posts of president, prime
  minister, defense minister, and supreme commander
  of the armed force, the Republic of South Vietnam
  is immediately recognized by the United States.
  (Isserman,15)

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Partition

• The United States eventually turns a blind eye to
  the assassination of Ngo Dinh Diem in 1963, 2
  months before Kennedy was assassinated.

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Partition

• Take a minute to summarize Partition
• What role is the US now taking in the war?

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The American War1956-1973

• With the French pullout, it was up to the US,
  with the help of some other nations such as
  Australia and Thailand, to stop the spread of
  communism.
• Fear of the Domino Effect
• Weak, unpopular, corrupt governments in South
  Vietnam hindered American efforts.

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American Efforts
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American Efforts-The US

• Won Every battle
• Had much lower casualties
• Dropped more bombs on Vietnam than were dropped
  on Japan and Germany during all of WWII..but
  still we were not winning the war.

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The American Efforts Summary

• Describe US efforts during the war.
• List reasons why the US was fighting.

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Vietnamese Efforts
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Tet Offensive

• January 31, 1968, at the start of Tet, or the
  Vietnamese lunar new year
• Over 85,000 NLF soldiers simultaneously struck at
  almost every major city and provincial capital
  across South Vietnam
• the American public had reached a psychological
  breaking point.

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Vietnamese Victory

• President after President from Truman to Johnson
  got more and more involved in the conflict,
  believing that victory was possible with a little
  more effort, money, men and commitment.
• Nixon finally became President, partly due to his
  platform of Vietnamization of the war.

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Reasons for Vietnamese Victory

• Strong commitment to the cause of independence
  and communism. Continue fighting despite
  casualty rates and bombing.
• Knowledge of the area
• Guerrilla tactics involving all members of
  society, including citizens in the south.
• Support of USSR and China
• Tet Offensive 1968-turning point

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Ho Chi Minh Trail
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Vietnamese Victory

• Explain why the Vietnamese won the war.

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End of the War
The commitment of five hundred thousand Americans
has settled forever the importance of Vietnam.
For what is involved now is confidence in
American promises. National Security Adviser
Henry Kissinger January 1969
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End of the War

• Nixon began secret bombing campaign in Laos and
  Cambodia to destroy Ho Chi Minh Trail.
• The war became increasingly unpopular with the
  American public.
• Nixon normalized relations with China and visited
  USSR
• Americans pulled out forces in 1973.

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Fall of Saigon

• In one last heart-wrenching episode, Americans
  tried to evacuate their dependents from Saigon.
• Saigon fell on April 30, 1975
• Vietnam reunified.
• Ho Chi Minh never saw independence for his
  country.
• US normalized relations in early 1990s

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End of the War Summary

• Summarize the end of the War

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• "No event in American history is more
  misunderstood than the Vietnam War. It was
  misreported then, and it is misremembered now.
  Rarely have so many people been so wrong about so
  much. Never have the consequences of their
  misunderstanding been so tragic."
• Nixion, 1985

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Myth vs. Fact

• 91 of the veterans said they are glad they
  served
• 74 said they would serve again knowing the
  outcome.
• There is no difference in drug use between a
  Vietnam veteran and a non veteran of the same age
  group.
• .5 of Vietnam veterans have been jailed for
  crimes
• 85 of Vietnam veterans made a successful
  transition to civilian life

• The average age of a US service man in Vietnam
  was 23.11 years.
• 2/3 of men who served in Vietnam were volunteers.
  2/3 of the men who served in WWII were drafted.
  70 of those killed in Vietnam were volunteers