Vietnam Review
Dien Bien Phu in 1954 the main French forces were surrounded at this location in the north of Vietnam and forced to surrender. This was a turning point in that it ended the French control of this region (French Indo-China or Vietnam, Laos & Cambodia).
Geneva Accord (1954) Ended French rule in Indo-China Created separate states of Cambodia (now Kampuchea), Laos and Vietnam and divided Vietnam along the 17th parallel.
The north was governed by Ho Chi Minh s (Vietminh / Communist) gov t. The south was governed by the cruel, tyrannical Diem. He was backed by the Americans... (Remember Containment and the Domino Theory). There were to be elections throughout Vietnam in 1956 to create a unified Vietnam. Diem did not call any elections in south nor did he assist the peasants.
land-lords owned most the land and peasants worked for them in conditions of poverty. soon the National Liberation Front (NLF) began operating in the south to combat the corruption and unhelpful policies of Diem - they were good to the peasant class (kind of like China...) The peasants sheltered and assisted the NLF by providing them with food.
Eisenhower followed by Kennedy after him, increased the number of advisors and military aid to south Vietnam in an attempt to prevent the NLF (by then the Vietcong) from implementing a Communist gov t in South Vietnam. The Vietcong were using guerrilla tactics making it difficult to tell who was a communist NFL / Vietcong fighter and who was not.
President L. Johnson Gulf of Tonkin & escalation
after Kennedy s assassination, his replacement - Lyndon Johnson drastically changed American policy in Vietnam. The US became much more aggressive. Johnson used the 1964 incident of an American vessel being attacked by a North Vietnamese torpedo boat in North Vietnamese waters (Gulf of Tonkin) to increase American serviceman from 23 000 to 500 000 within 2 years.
Americans then began a heavy bombing campaign on North Vietnam and dropped more bombs in this 7 year long war than the total amount used in WWII! for example, the North Vietnamese Ho Chi Minh supply trail (partially thru Cambodia) was bombed heavily by the US.
The Tet Offensive
In 1968 the Vietcong suddenly launched a massive attack-drive known as the Tet Offensive. In this the Guerrilla tactics did not prove successful and the Americans and S. Vietnamese lost only 4000 compared to the 40 000 killed Vietcong troops.
The Tet Offensive was a turning point against Americans though because the TV news showed pictures of American troops struggling to win a battle in their own embassy grounds in Saigon. The war was costing the US $ 2 billion a month and American citizens began to figure out that winning--if possible-would take years.
My Lai In 1968, 300 old men women and children were killed by US troops in My Lai ( a village in S. Vietnam) because these townspeople were suspected of sheltering communist fighters. This did nothing good to win the hearts and minds of the south Vietnamese people.
Many demonstrations took place across the US. In 1970 at Kent State University in Ohio, 4 students were killed by state police and 9 others were injured for protesting the war.
The fighting was gruelling in South Vietnam
Vietnamization was Nixon s (1968)plan to phase out American involvement in Vietnam. More $ would be spent to train the South Vietnamese to fight the Vietcong themselves while US troops would be withdrawn. Nixon began another huge bombing campaign to frighten the north into a peace agreement and thus make the US look better.
In January 1973 a cease fire was declared. Nixon campaigned and was elected on a promise of withdrawing US troops.
Peace with honour? "Throughout the years of negotiations, we have insisted on peace with honour, I set forth the goals that we considered essential for peace with honour. "In the settlement that has now been agreed to, all the conditions that I laid down then have been met." The conditions include the release of prisoners of war within 60 days and all American forces to be withdrawn within the same time period. Richard Nixon, 1973
War Losses Over 50 000 US troops were killed in this war and that number have committed suicide since. 1 million North Vietnamese and 600 000 South Vietnamese died in this war. after the US pulled out - the North took over the south. Vietnam (North & South( remains entirely a communist country (in name) today.
Soviet s in Afghanistan Pages 165-167 in Counterpoints Write notes-due at end of class.