The Vietnam War. Summary

The Vietnam War Summary The Vietnam War grew out of the American commitment to the containment of communism during the Cold War. For approximately fifteen years, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) fought against an American-supported Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam). The war for the U.S. ended in 1973 with the withdrawal of American combat troops, and two years later, South Vietnamese fell to the North. With the unification of Vietnam under the Communist government of the North, the U.S. had officially failed to achieve its objectives. A nation accustomed to grand victories suffered its first major defeat; the "longest war" was a military, political, and social disaster, one that would haunt Americans for decades. Origins The origins of the Vietnam war tie in with Communism. After being under French rule for 100 years, Japan then took control during WW II. After their surrender in 1945, Vietnam seized the opportunity to fight for their independence from the French who had regained ownership of the country. A Communist leader named Ho Chi Minh, organized a revolt to throw off French colonial rule. Ho Chi Minh and his followers occupied North Vietnam, and called themselves the Vietminh. Ho Chi Minh, reached out to the United States for military help. However, the U.S. were skeptical of his intentions because he was a known Communist. The fact that Ho Chi Minh had started this revolt and was a communist, would be a direct cause to the upcoming war. Despite the lack of help, the Vietminh had declared that Vietnam was independent. An Indochina War As expected, the French did not accept Vietnam s independence. War was soon after declared. France desperately fought to regain control of Vietnam. The U.S. chose to support France in the struggle, with money and verbal support. The U.S. was officially involved in war with Vietnam. The U.S. rationale was that if Vietnam came under communist rule, other countries near it would soon follow. This idea can would come to be known as the domino theory, first explained by President Eisenhower. The War continued for 8 years between France and Vietnam. In 1954 Vietnmh won the war; forcing the French to surrender. The victory came after 56 days of battle at Dienbienphu located in northwestern Vietnam. Vietnam was officially free from French rule. The Vietnam Divide, War Continues An International conference in Geneva, Switzerland resulted in a divided Vietnam. Western powers took up the charge in deciding what would happen to Vietnam after the war. Vietnam would be split into two desperate states. Ho Chi Minh and his followers would gain control over the North, with it s capital located in the city of Hanoi. The United Sates backed the South was under the rule of Ngo Dinh Diem, and having the capital of Saigon. However Diem soon showed

his true colors, as a corrupt leader. He continuously blocked elections meant to unify the two Vietnam states. He routinely suppressed those who spoke out against him with violence, and unjustly jailing people. Soon the South Vietnamese people organized to fight against Diem s corruption. In 1959, Guerilla soldiers(which would be known as Vietcong) used armed attacks to fight officials and soldiers working for Diem. These forces were helped secretly by North Vietnamese with weapons. United States involvement continued to grow. The new President John F. Kennedy, continued this policy. The U.S. increased money, weapons, as well as military advisers. However this support soon evaporated. In 1963 the U.S. withdrew its support from Diem came increased violence against those who opposed him. Lack of U.S. support, made the Diem regime considerably weaker. Those who opposed him took control of the government, and assassinated Diem. America Goes To War After Kennedy s assassination, Lyndon B. Johnson became the new President of the United States. He made a resolve to not lose Vietnam to communism. After the assassination of diem, The Vietcong began to gain strength on controlling South Vietnam. While Johnson increased aid to South Vietnam, Soviet Union and China gave resources to the Vietcong. The Gulf of Tonkin Incident August 1964. Supposedly North Vietnamese torpedo boats shot down the USS Maddox in the Gulf of Tonkin off Vietnam This incident was steeped in controversy. To this day some say the reports were completely false. However this event directly involved the U.S. in War with Vietnam. For the first time, U.S. soldiers were to be deployed to North Vietnam. The controversy of the Gulf of Tonkin incident would carry throughout the war. The fact that people questioned whether this event was real, gave the war a bad start. Pathway to War In 1965, the Vietcong attacked an American base at Pleiku, located in South Vietnam. This attack resulted in the death of 8 Americans. The Johnson administration in response ordered air bombings against the North Vietnam. These air raids (that lasted 3 years), lead to 3,500 marines to the air base in Da Nang. The next step was to 50,000 ground troops, to 184,000 troops. By 1968 there would be 500,000 combat troops in Vietnam. Now there were actual soldiers on the ground in Vietnam. The War would prove to be deadly from the start. This was partly because of the American soldiers superior weaponry and technology. A new war, meant new and deadlier methods of fighting. One of the most famous methods, was the U.S. use of Agent Orange. This was a herbicide chemical used to destroy plant life. This was seen as essential to the U.S. strategy because the Vietcong would hide in the bush and cover of trees to surprise U.S. troops with guerilla warfare. While the U.S. had superior technology, the Vietcong had an upper hand when it came to knowing the terrain. Vietnam was country heavy with swamps, and jungles. The Vietcong used

this land to hide and surprise U.S. forces. The U.S. also used napalm, a highly flammable jelly substance that creates flames when dropped. Napalm was also used in clearing the brush that the Vietcong used to hide and attack. It would be found later on, that the use of Agent Orange would be linked to long term health problems such as birth defects, and cancer. The Tet Offensive Tet is a Vietnamese holiday, celebrating the New Year. There was a momentary cease fire declared between the two sides in recognition of this holiday. On January 31, 1968(the first day of Tet), the North Vietnamese army (NVA) combined with Vietcong forces, started to attack major cities throughout South Vietnam. They had officially broken the truce in honor of Tet. There was surprise on the part of South Vietnamese and Vietnam forces. While for the most part, Vietcong and Communist forces (North Vietnam) were expelled quickly in hours, sometimes weeks. It was different for South Vietnam s capital city of Saigon. The Communists and Vietcong forces managed to break through the city s defenses and take control of the U.S. embassy. It took U.S. and South Vietnamese forces about two weeks to regain control of the Saigon. In the city of Hue, Vietcong and North Vietnamese had managed to occupy this city as well. It took almost a month to retake the city of Hue. The Tet offensive was a crucial moment in the war. While technically this was a victory for U.S. forces, it represented the reality that this was not a war the U.S. was used to fighting. President Johnson, as well as the rest of America had to face the possibility that this was a war that the U.S. could not win. The coordinated attack by the North Vietnamese Army along with the Vietcong showed that they were a stronger opponent than most had anticipated. Division at Home The Vietnam War also created harsh political and social division amongst Americans at home in the states. The battle lines were split into two groups; hawks and doves. Hawks- those citizens who supported the war. Hawks believed that that the war was both justified and American forces were still capable of winning as well. Despite their support however, they disagreed with the Johnson administration s handling of the war. They believe that if U.S. forces were increased in Vietnam, then America could finally win and defeat the Vietcong and North Vietnamese army. They were also appalled to see their fellow American citizens, openly protesting and ciriticizing a War their soldiers in which they were fighting and dying. Hawks believed that this behavior was disloyal and Un-American. The Doves were on the opposite end of the argument, believing the war was both immoral and unwinnable. The Doves staged protests, marches, as well as sit ins against the war. The draft was also a topic of debate. About 1.8 million young men were drafted throughout the entire time of the war. Those opposed to the war and draft would publicly burn their draft cards as a show of resistance. Others would flee to Canada as a means of protests, as well as avoiding the draft. The war protests became increasingly aggressive and violent on both sides. Hawks and Doves would clash with each other. More and more, antiwar protestors would have confrontations with police, who in a way represented the establishment and those who supported the war. In a lot of ways, there was a war at home between U.S. citizens

An End to War Due to the controversy and damage done to his image from the war, President Johnson decided to not seek re-election. Hubert Humphrey(Johnson s Vice President), had won the Democratic nomination for President. The Republican nomination would be slimly won by Richard Nixon(Vice President under Eisenhower). In 1968, Nixon would become the 37 th President of the United States. He was able to win largely due to Humphreys support of Johnson s war policies, and Nixon s pledge to get the U.S. out of Vietnam. Nixon s War As the new President of the United States, Nixon s administration was charged with getting the U.S. out of Vietnam. He set out on a course to gradually withdraw U.S. troops from Vietnam while giving responsibility to South Vietnamese forces. This plan would be known as Vietnamization. In this plan Nixon withdrew 25, 000 troops, then 150,000 troops by April 1970. The war also expanded into neighboring country Cambodia. North Vietnamese had been carrying weapons and supplies along a route through Laos and Cambodia. Nixon had ordered attacks on bases in Cambodia that were used to attack American forces. These bombing would eventually lead to civil war in Cambodia. Meanwhile peace talks began between the U.S. and North Vietnam in Paris. These talks would last for three years due to the stubbornness of both sides. The U.S. wanted all North Vietnamese forces out of South Vietnam. North Vietnam wanted the withdrawal of all U.S. from Vietnam, in addition to a new regime be put in place in South Vietnam that would include Communist representation. Nixon s national security adviser; Henry Kissinger would become crucial in these peace talks. Beginning in 1970, Kissinger began secret talks with North Vietnamese leaders. President Nixon ordered more bombings of North Vietnam, in order to put more pressure on them to reach a peace deal. After 12 days of these bombings, a peace deal was reached. This agreement would become known as The Paris Peace Accords. The deal was signed on January 27, 1973. By March 1973, all U.S. combat troops were out of Vietnam. The Vietnam war had come to an end. The Paris Peace Accords allowed North Vietnamese forces to keep 150,000 troops in the South. The North violently attacked and killed thousands in the South. The South Vietnamese army was almost wiped out without American aid, also gaining control of the city of Hue. Then North Vietnamese now had their sights set on Saigon. Since there were American workers there, the U.S. set out a helicopter evacuation of the city. 1,000 Americans as well as 5,500 South Vietnamese supporters were airlifted out of Saigon. There were also sea evacuations by American ships. The Vietnam War In the end 58,000 American soldiers had died in Vietnam along with 300,000 wounded. In terms of monetary costs, the final bill for the war was $200 billion, which would hurt the U.S. economy for years to come.

Veterans of the Vietnam War suffered greatly, even after returning home to the states. Veterans were not welcomed home like in previous wars. They were greeted with screams of baby killer, and were shunned overall. They also suffered from a condition known as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder(PTSD), which an anxiety disorder. Veterans were disproportionally affected by social problems like divorce, unemployment, incarceration, and homelessness. On the Vietnam side, losses were just as bad; if not worst. South Vietnamese suffered 350,000 deaths. For North Vietnamese forces there death toll can be placed between 500,000 to 1 million. On both sides, millions of civilians were killed. In South Vietnam, 10 million citizens were left homeless and destitute by the war. Bombing had destroyed the land, which meant a loss in resources and businesses. Many Vietnamese would eventually flee the country and become refugees. They were soon relocated in the U.S. and other nations.