1. Under whose Presidency did the US become involved in Vietnam? 2. What was the Historical SignificANCE OF Dien Bien Phu? 3. Who was Ho Chi Minh and

Transcription

1 The Vietnam War

2 1. Under whose Presidency did the US become involved in Vietnam? 2. What was the Historical SignificANCE OF Dien Bien Phu? 3. Who was Ho Chi Minh and what was the Ho Chi Minh Trail? 4. What was the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution? 5. What was operation Rolling Thunder? 6. What is Agent Orange? 7. What is the historical significance of the Tet Offensive 8. What is Vietnamization?

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9 French Indochina By 1500 s the French come to Vietnam in search of spices. Attempt to convert the Vietnamese to Catholicism. Several missionaries are murdered which prompts France to send it s navy for protection. France takes control of all Indochina (Vietnam, Loas, and Cambodia)

10 Maps of Indochina: Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam

11 French Indochina Vietnamese come to hate French imperialism. Most Vietnamese are Peasant Farmers, the French want to make profits so they turn the land into giant plantations and turn the Vietnamese into tenant farmers. This means great profits for the French and great hardships for most of Vietnam.

12 French restrict freedom of speech and assembly. French Jailed several Vietnamese Nationalists. All this does is make Vietnam more ripe for revolt.

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14 Ho Chi Minh Vietnamese begin to rebel against French rule. By 1940 s they are ready for full scale revolution. The most important leader is Ho Chi Minh. Wanted Independence for Vietnam and to turn it into a Communist country.

15 Ho forms the League for the Independence of Vietnam known as the VIETMINH. Rich people, soldiers, workers, peasants, intellectuals, employees, traders, youth, and women who warmly love your country! Let us unite together! As one mind and strength we shall overthrow the Japanese and French. Ho

16 Ho receives help from the U.S. to defeat Japan during WWII. On September 2, 1945 a half a million Vietnamese gather in Hanoi to celebrate their independence. American Planes circle overhead and the band plays the Star Spangled Banner. Ho Chi Minh reads a speech that was modeled after Thomas Jefferson s Declaration of Independence.

17 Ho Chi Minh s: Declaration of Independence, Democratic Republic of Vietnam All men are created equal. They are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness" This immortal statement was made in the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America m In a broader sense, this means: All the peoples on the earth are equal from birth, all the peoples have a right to live, to be happy and free. The Declaration of the French Revolution made in 1791 on the Rights of Man and the Citizen also states: "All men are born free and with equal rights, and must always remain free and have equal rights." Those are undeniable truths. Nevertheless, for more than eighty years, the French imperialists, abusing the standard of Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity, have violated our Fatherland and oppressed our fellow-citizens. They have acted contrary to the ideals of humanity and justice. In the field of politics, they have deprived our people of every democratic liberty.

18 Fear of Communism The Soviets dominated most of Eastern Europe. The Chinese communist were fighting for control of China. Truman fears the spread of communism and for containment purposes supports the French in their efforts to retake control of Vietnam. French soldiers enter Vietnam and retake control, sending the Vietminh into the jungle to prepare for another guerrilla war.

19 If ever the tiger pauses, the elephant (France) will impale him on his mighty tusks. But the tiger will not pause, and the elephant will die of exhaustion and loss of blood.

20 1950: U.S. enters the struggle between France and Vietnam. Over the next four years the U.S. spends 2.6 Billion on the war.

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23 In 1953 newly elected President Dwight D. Eisenhower continues sending money to help the French in Vietnam and introduces the Domino Theory. Compares countries on the brink of Communism to a row of Dominoes, waiting to fall one after the other. You have a row of dominoes set up, You knock over the first one, and what will happen to the last one is the certainty that it will go over very quickly.

24 Dien Bien Phu Despite Massive U.S. aid, the French could not retake Vietnam. May 1954 is the final blow when the Vietminh overran the French outpost at Dien Bien Phu.

25 Dien Bien Phu A French military base that the Vietminh gain control of, French surrender and begin to pull out of Vietnam.

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27 After fall of Dien Bien Phu, French surrender and begin to pull out of Vietnam. May- July 1954: France, Great Britain, Soviet Union, United States, China, Laos, and Cambodia meet in Geneva Switzerland with the Vietminh and the anti-communist nationalists from the South. Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai(left) with Vietnamese President Ho Chi Minh (center), Premier Pham Van Dong and Vice- Premier Ho Lung. Geneva Accords: temporarily divides Vietnam along the 17 th parallel. Communist leader Ho Chi Minh control the North from city of Hanoi. While anticommunist nationalists controlled the South from the city of Saigon

28 Geneva Accords: temporarily divides Vietnam along the 17 th parallel. Communist leader Ho Chi Minh control the North from city of Hanoi. While anticommunist nationalists controlled the South from the city of Saigon

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33 Ho Chi Minh in the North Ho s government was brutal and repressive. Wins popular support in the North by breaking up large plantations and redistributing the land to the peasants. By fighting off the Japanese and the French in the name of an independent Vietnam he had become a national hero.

34 Ngo Dinh Diem Ngo Dinh Diem: President of South and strong anticommunist. He realizes Ho s popularity and refuses to take part in the countrywide election of 1956.

35 Ike and Diem U.S. thinks that if there is a countrywide election that Ho will win so they support the cancellation of the elections. Furthermore, they will give military aid and training to Diem in return for a stable anticommunist government in the South.

36 Diem Fails the U.S. He leads a corrupt government. He violently suppresses any opposition. Offered little or no land distribution to the peasants. Restricts Buddhist religious practices.

37 Vietcong (VC) 1957 Vietcong (Vietminh) begin attacks on Diem government assassinating thousands of govt. officials. Ho Chi Minh Trail: Ho supplies the VC with w/ weapons via a network of paths along the borders of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia

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43 John Kennedy and Vietnam Kennedy was fearful of attacks that Democrats were soft on communism. 1. Increases Financial Aid to Diem 2. Sends thousands of military advisors to train the S. Vietnamese troops.

44 Diems popularity continues to fall. Strategic Hamlet Program: Moves all villagers into protected areas. This greatly upsets villagers who had seen no land reform from Diem and were now being forced to leave their home villages were their families had lived for generations and where their ancestors were buried.

45 Further Attacks on Buddhism Fed up with Buddhist protests against his regime Diem imprisons imprisons thousands of Buddhist clerics and orders their temples destroyed. Several monks and nuns publicly burn themselves to death. American officials ask Diem to stop the persecution but he refuses.

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49 Diem Must Go On November 1, 1963 a U.S. supported military coup toppled Diems regime. Against Kennedy s wishes Diem is executed. A few weeks later Kennedy is assassinated and the question of Vietnam falls to the New President Lyndon B. Johnson

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51 After Diem After Diem s death S. Vietnam is in Chaos. Military leaders try to grab power. Vietcong only getting stronger. New U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson does not want to be labeled soft on communism.

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53 The Tonkin Gulf Resolution August 2, 1964: N. Vietnamese patrol boat fires a torpedo at an American destroyer the U.S.S. Maddox which was in the Gulf of Tonkin off the N. Vietnamese Coast. Torpedo missed it s target But the Maddox inflicts heavy damage on the patrol boat.

54 2 Days Later Maddox and another Destroyer are sailing of the coast of N. Vietnam. Technicians report that they were shot at by enemy torpedoes. The Maddox opens fire. Crew later said they had neither seen nor heard hostile gunfire.

55 LBJ s Response Launches bombing strikes on N. Vietnam Asks congress for all necessary powers

56 The Tonkin Gulf Resolution Congress approves Johnson s request called the Tonkin Gulf Resolution on August 7, It gives him broad military powers in Vietnam. LBJ does not tell congress or the American people that the U.S. had been leading secret raids against N. Vietnam or that the Maddox was in Gulf of Tonkin to gather info for the raids. LBJ had prepared the resolution months beforehand and was just waiting for the right moment to pass it through congress National Security Advisory released secret documents that made it clear no attack had occurred

57 Tonkin Gulf Resolution gives LBJ the authority to use military power against N. Vietnam

58 Operation Rolling Thunder February of 1965: The first sustained bombing N. Vietnam. (3/ /1968 By June More than 50,000 U.S. soldiers were battling the Vietcong. Much of the nation supported Johnson and the containment of Communism in Vietnam. Wins 1964 Presidential Election.

59 Rolling Thunder 2 March 1965 until 1 November 1968 (More tonnage then all sides on WWII)

60 LBJ Reluctant to Send Ground Troops Said he was, not about to send American boys 9 or 10,000 miles away from home to do what Asian boys ought to be doing for themselves.

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62 In March of 1965 after advising closely with Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara and Secretary of State Dean Rusk he begins sending tens of thousands of U.S. soldiers to Vietnam.

63 Sec. Of Defense: Robert McNamara Sec. Of State: Dean Rusk

64 Escalation August 7, 1964: Congress gives LBJ war powers on June 1965: More than 50,000 U.S. soldiers were battling the Vietcong. By the end of 1965: U.S. had sent more than 180,000 Americans to Vietnam 1965 poll showed 61% of Americans supported the U.S. policy in Vietnam, while only 24% opposed it. By 1967: the number of U.S. troops in Vietnam is 500,000.

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66 1965 poll showed 61% of Americans supported the U.S. policy in Vietnam, while only 24% opposed it. By the end of 1965 U.S. had sent more than 180,000 Americans to Vietnam

67 ARVN: Army of the Republic of Vietnam VC: Ho s Guerilla army that fights against U.S. Gen. William Westmoreland: The American Commander in S. Vietnam who continues to request more troops. Westmoreland had no trust in the ARVN. By 1967 the number of U.S. troops in Vietnam is 500,000.

68 JUNGLE WARFARE Jungle terrain and enemy s guerilla tactics turned the war into a frustrating stalemate. Vietcong lacks high powered weaponry of U.S. forces. VC: use hit and run, ambush tactics, and knowledge of the jungle to confuse the U.S. Jungles were laced with booby traps and land mines. VC used a system of tunnels to attack and disappear quickly.

69 Blending In Attacks could happen in cities or in the countryside. Vietcong moved secretly in and out of the civilian population making it hard for U.S. soldiers to tell who was friend and who was the enemy.

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92 A South Vietnamese soldier beats a farmer with the blunt end of a knife for allegedly supplying inaccurate information about the movement of Viet Cong guerrillas in a village west of Saigon. Jan. 9, 1964.

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95 The body of an American paratrooper killed in action near the Cambodian border is raised to an evacuation helicopter in Vietnam in More than 58,000 Americans were killed and 350,000 wounded in the war.

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100 A South Vietnamese woman mourns over the body of her husband, found with 47 others in a mass grave near Hue in April 1969.

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103 Veterans of the Vietnam conflict take part in an anti-war protest by piling their medals, decorations and awards in front of the U.S. Capitol on April 26, A veteran adds his helmet to the pile.

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