National Nightmare Begins: Origins of Vietnam War From late 1800 s until WWII (When Japan took over) France ruled Indochina (Vietnam, Laos & Cambodia). French took land from peasants & built large plantations, taking rice & rubber for their own profit. This angered the peasants & caused revolt. French respond with restricting freedom of speech & assembly. They jailed many Vietnamese.
Indochinese Communist Party organized most of the uprisings. Founded in 1930. Party s Leader: Ho Chi Minh which means He who Enlightens was condemned to death by French in 1930, but fled to USSR & China. Where he continued to orchestrate movement.
In 1941, (year after Japan takes control) Ho Chi Minh returns home as a communist & joins with other groups to form The Vietminh. Who seek Vietnam s independence from foreign rule. U.S. forges alliance with Ho Chi Minh, supplying him with aid to resist The Japanese.
Japan is defeated in 1945 & in 1946, The French troops move back in & gain control of the country s southern half. In 1950 U.S. enters the struggle, sending 2.6 billion (over the next 4 years) in economic aid to France to stop communism.
Ho Chi Mihn vows to fight from north to liberate south from French control. If ever the tiger pauses (referring to the Vietminh), the elephant (France) will impale him on his mighty tusks. But the tiger will not pause & the elephant will die of exhaustion & loss of blood.
U.S. now sees one-time ally as a Communist aggressor.
Despite Massive aid from U.S., The French can not retake Vietnam. May 1954, Vietminh drive out French at Dien Bien Phu, in Northwest Vietnam (French outpost).
The Geneva Accords: Held for 2 years until elections could be held to unify nation in 1956 The countries of France, UK, US, USSR, China, Laos, & Cambodia met in Geneva, Switzerland with the Vietminh for peace agreement. They decide to divide Vietnam along the 17 th parallel. Ho Chi Minh controls North from Hanoi & Nationalists (anticommunists)control south from Saigon.
PRESIDENT EISENHOWER AND JOHN FOSTER DULLES GREET NGO DINH DIEM AT WASHINGTON NATIONAL AIRPORT, MAY 1957 South Vietnam s President: Ngo Dinh Diem
Diem cancels elections & U.S. supports Diem because they both sense that a country wide election might spell victory for Ho Chi Minh.
U.S. SUPPORTED NGO DINH DIEM. EISENHOWER SENT MILITARY AID & TRAINING TO DIEM IN RETURN FOR A STABLE REFORM GOVERNMENT IN THE SOUTH.
BOTH KOREA AND VIETNAM WERE PRODUCTS OF THE U.S. DOMINO THEORY : IDEA THAT COUNTRIES BORDERING COMMUNIST COUNTRIES WERE IN DANGER OF FALLING TO COMMUNISM LIKE DOMINOS US ARMY ADVISORS TRAINING SOUTH VIETNAMESE SOLDIERS IN 1961-62
BY 1957, A COMMUNIST GROUP IN THE SOUTH, KNOWN AS THE VIETCONG BEGUN ATTACKS ON DIEM GOVERNMENT, KILLING 1,000 S OF SOUTH VIETNAMESE GVMT OFFICIALS. GROUP WAS LATER CALLED THE NATIONAL LIBERATION FRONT (NLF) NLF FLAG EISENHOWER S MILITARY ADVISORY AND ASSISTANCE GROUP WAS REPLACE BY MACV (MILITARY ASSISTANCE COMMAND VIETNAM) OVER 11,000 ADVISORS WITH MODERN WEAPONS AND AIRCRAFT WERE SENT TO HELP THE SOUTH VIETNAMESE GOVERNMENT. THE NUMBER GROWS TO 16,000 BY NOV. 1963.
Kennedy s Administration Enters White House in 1961 & Supports Diem.
Ho Chi Minh supported the Vietcong & supplied them with arms via a network of paths along the border of Vietnam, Laos & Cambodia. Known as the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
Việt Nam Cộng Sản, or "Vietnamese Communist." The Vietcong used hit-and-run & ambush tactics, placed countless booby traps & land mines as well as had keen knowledge of the jungle terrain. They blended in with the civilian population.
Vietcong Tunnels
THE BATTLE OF AP BAC NEW PHASE OF VIETNAM WAR: ON JANUARY 2 ND 1963, 340 VC HELD OFF THE COMBINED ASSAULTS OF MORE THAN 1500 SOUTH VIETNAMESE GOVERNMENT TROOPS NEAR THE SMALL VILLAGE OF AP BAC. SHOOTING DOWN FIVE AMERICAN HELICOPTERS & WITHSTANDING M113 ARMORED PERSONNEL CARRIERS, INFANTRY, ARTILLERY, & CLOSE AIR SUPPORT, THE VC WITHDREW IN GOOD ORDER WITH FEW CASUALTIES. MODERN VIETNAM MONUMENT TO THE COMMUNIST VICTORS OF THE BATTLE OF AP BAC.
AP BAC PHOTOS PAGE TWO 3 HELICOPTERS SHOT DOWN BY VC FIRE AP BAC VILLAGE WITH DOWNED HELICOPTERS & THEIR US CREWS BODIES OF US HELICOPTER PILOTS & CREW BEING SHIPPED HOME WITH MILITARY HONORS
Diem s popularity plummets because of ongoing corruption and lack of land reform. Diem initiates The Strategic Hamlet Program. Moving villagers to protected areas.
Strategic Hamlets VIETNAMESE PEASANTS WERE FORCED TO BUILD AND MOVE INTO THESE FORTIFIED VILLAGES TO PREVENT CONTACT WITH COMMUNIST VIETCONG GUERRILLAS. 6800 WERE BUILT BY 1963.
HUNDREDS OF BLOCKHOUSE STRONG POINTS WERE BUILT TO PROTECT THE PEASANTS FROM THE VC (Vietcong). THESE WERE EQUIPPED WITH 1,000 s OF RIFLES AND MACHINE GUNS MOST OF WHICH ENDED UP IN THE HANDS OF THE VC TO BE USED AGAINST SOUTH VIETNAMESE AND U.S.
TO PROTEST THE CATHOLIC DIEM S ATTACKS ON BUDDHIST PAGODAS, BUDDHIST PRIESTS SET FIRE TO THEMSELVES IN PROTEST. THE US DECIDED THAT DIEM'S MURDEROUS REGIME WAS TOO UNPOPULAR AND SUPPORTED AN ARMY COUP THAT KILLED DIEM ON NOV. 1 ST 1963. KENNEDY IS KILLED A FEW WEEKS LATER. VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST MONKS SET THEMSELVES ON FIRE TO PROTEST THE BRUTAL DIEM REGIME.
The presidency now belongs to Lyndon B. Johnson Johnson believes a Communist takeover in Vietnam would be disasterous. He states, If I let the Communists take over South Vietnam, then my nation would be seen as an appeaser, & we would find it impossible to accomplish anything anywhere on the entire globe.
On Aug. 2 nd, 1964, a North Vietnamese Patrol Boat Fires On The USS Maddox & misses. On Aug 7, Congress adopts the Tonkin Gulf Resolution, granting Johnson broad military powers in Vietnam. 2 Days later, another attack by Vietnamese
In Feb. 1965, Johnson unleashes Operation Rolling Thunder. The first sustained bombing of North Vietnam In March, U.S. combat troops began arriving in South Vietnam. By June, 50,000 troops were battling the VC
By the end of 1965, more than 180,000 troops were in Vietnam. The Vietcong received supplies from China & USSR. U.S. views war as military struggle. The Vietcong view it as a battle for their very existence. U.S. planes drop napalm (a gasoline bomb that sets fire to the jungle) & spray Agent Orange (a leaf-killing toxic chemical)
Effects of Napalm
As number of U.S. troops continue to mount in Vietnam, the war grows more costly. As a result, the nation s economy suffers. In early 60 s, the inflation rate is about 2%, by 1969, it tripled.
In a sign of U.S s growing doubts about the war, many young men attempted to find ways around the draft.
As war rages on, protests begin springing up in U.S. Growing youth movement became know as The New Left. In 1967, hundreds tossed their draft cards in a bon fire shouting, Hell no, we won t go!
On Jan 30 Vietnamese Villagers streamed into cities across South Vietnam to celebrate New Years known as Tet. Many funerals were being held for victims of war. Coffins contained weapons & many villagers were Vietcong agents. At night they attack 12 U.S. air bases & 100 towns & cities in South Vietnam
The fighting lasted for nearly a month before U.S. & South Vietnamese forces regained control of the cities.
The Tet Offensive was the turning point in the battle for Vietnam. Masterminded by North Vietnamese General Vo Nguyen Giap, it was intended to trigger a general uprising in South Vietnam. However, the bloody fighting for Saigon, Hue & other cities actually resulted in a catastrophic defeat for the North. The VC lost about 32,000 soldiers, while the U.S. lost about 3,000.
However, following the weeks after the Tet offensive, millions of Americans changed their mind about the war. Walter Cronkite, a famous U.S. journalist told his viewers, more certain than ever that the bloody experience of Vietnam is to end in a stalemate.
In the summer of 1969, recently elected president Richard Nixon announced the first U.S. troops withdrawals from Vietnam. As Nixon pulls out U.S. troops, he continues war with North Vietnam, to achieve what he called Peace with Honor or saving face
As pullout begins, Nixon secretly orders massive bombing against supply routes & bases in North Vietnam, as well as in Laos & Cambodia, which held Vietcong sanctuaries. Nixon tells aide, Haldeman that he wants enemy to think he is capable of anything.
Nixon announces his strategy to end U.S. involvement in Vietnam, know as Vietnamization: The plan to gradually withdraw troops from Vietnam. By Aug. of 1969, the first 25,000 troops return home.
In March 1972, The North Vietnamese launch largest attack on South Vietnam since Tet Offensive. Nixon responds by ordering a massive bombing campaign. The bombings halt the North Vietnamese attack. U.S. takes steps to end U.S. involvement in war.
Henry Kissinger, the presidents advisor for national security seeks peace with North Vietnam s Chief Negotiator. Stating, Peace is at hand.
On Jan. 27, 1973, The U.S. signs an agreement on ending the war & restoring peace in Vietnam. They agree that North Vietnamese troops would remain in South Vietnam. On March 29, 1973, the last U.S. troops leave Vietnam. In March, 1975 The North Vietnamese launch a full scale invasion against the South. The South surrenders to the North.
In all, 58,000 Americans were killed. Some 350,000 were wounded. North & South Vietnamese death toll = 1.5 million In 1995, Pentagon reported that there are still 2,202 U.S. soldiers missing in action in Southeast Asia
Cambodia After Vietnam war, Cambodia has problems. The communist Khmer Rouge take over Cambodia and under the leadership of Pol Pot slaughter 2,000,000 people.