Transcript The Vietnam War 1945-1975

By
Eric Tolman
 A French Colony since the 1850’s and part of French Indo
China which also included Laos, Cambodia
 A young nationalist named Ho Chi Minh travelled to Paris
to seek Vietnamese independence- Ho was inspired by
Wilson but was neglected and helped form the French
Communist Party in 1920 as a result.
 Vietnam occupied by the Japanese during WW2, and
French nationals were imprisoned except those who
supported the Vichy and collaborated with the Japanese
 Ho developed his movement without Chinese or Soviet
help which encouraged the Nationalist side of his
movement- an Asian Tito
 After the Japanese defeat, Vietnam was divided along 17th
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parallel for purposes of disarming Japanese troops
Nationalist China was in charge of the North
Britain in charge of the south
In the North, The Viet Minh, a nationalist group under Ho
had established itself as the effective government
The French return and share power with Vietminh in the
North. This deteriorated into open war in December 1946
USSR and China recognize Ho’s government in the North
USA recognized re-instated emperor Bao Dai in the South
War developed between the returning French and the Viet
minh- The Chinese and later the soviets supported Ho and
the Americans backed the French
 After 8 years of fighting, the French are
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defeated at the battle Dien Bien Phu
and signals the end of French control,
despite massive US aid
At the Geneva Conference Temporary
division of Vietnam into North and
South along the 17th parallel with a DMZ
No more troops in Vietnam from
outside powers
Country-Wide elections by 1956 –
unification to result
Elections not encouraged by USA for
fear that democracy would bring Ho to
power
 FDR had been vocal about his anti-colonial feelings
and the Viet Minh looked to the US for Support
 When Ho took power in September of 1945 he
developed a program based on the American
declaration of Independence- Vietnamese had posters
of Truman on Independence day
 When Mao took power in China, the US began to see
Vietnam through the paradigm of the Cold War
 Eisenhower would coin the term “the domino Theory”
to explain concern over communism in Vietnam
 Americans support Diem as the new leader in the South. Diem is
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dictatorial but a fervent anti-communist and he does not
support elections. US support him anyway.
He is a Catholic and policies anger local Buddhists
His neglect of reform created the conditions for creation of the
NLF or Viet Cong, a group sympathetic to the north
Peasants in the South Largely favoured the VC and supported
them in their Civil War to unite all of Vietnam
The VC receive support from the North. They are successful in
destabilizing the South. By the early 1960’s there is virtual civil
war in the South and by this time JFK has committed several
thousand advisors.
American policy makers see Eisenhower's domino theory coming
true
 President Diem is overthrown in Nov 1963 by a military
coup with US approval and probably with CIA supportKennedy sees Diem as incapable of stifling the growth of
the VC
 Kennedy restricted involvement to advisors and military
supplies and promoted the “safe village” model
 North Vietnamese allegedly attack US destroyers in the
Gulf of Tonkin. US retaliates by bombing North Vietnam
military installations in 1964. LBY escalates US
involvement
 War escalates with the US bombing NV targets, the Ho Chi
Minh trail, and by 1967, 500 000 American troops in
Vietnam
 Vietcong launches Tet Offensive.
Despite heavy losses and a military
failure for the Vietcong, US public
opinion turns sharply against the war
 Americans realize that this war is
unwinnable and LBJ’s popularity
plummets and refuses to run for reelection
 LBJ saw his Great Society ruined by the
expense of the war and his welfare
policies would not be implemented
 LBj leaves office a tired and broken man
 The use of Napalm, a burning petroleum
jelly, was often used on civilians when
villages were bombed. It stuck to the skin
of victims and burned them
 The US sprayed the land with chemical
defoliants like Agent Orange which
destroyed vegetation. This continued to
poison Vietnamese long after the war
 Drug use and addiction became rampant
with American troops
 In March 1968, The Mai Lai Massacre saw
300 woman and children gunned down. It
was believed they were sheltering the VC.
Americans at home were appalled
 New President – Nixon begins troop withdrawal and introduces
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“Vietnamization” which means letting SV troops fight on their own
with American air support
Nixon orders bombing of Cambodia through which much of the Ho
Chi Minh Trail runs – Christmas bombings
Intensive bombing of North Vietnam and the North invades the South.
US blockades Haiphong harbour
Paris Peace Settlement (sound familiar) and ceasefire. US begin final
troop withdrawal while the North agrees to not take anymore territory
The North takes Saigon and the two countries are unified- In previous
10 years, US drops more bombs on the North than all bombs dropped
on Europe in WW2 – by both sides
50 000 Americans would lose their lives and close to 2 million
Vietnamese would lose theirs
The Vietnamese jungles were largely destroyed by chemicals and land
mines planted by Americans continue to mame Vietnamese
 Americans saw this as a Cold War struggle not as an
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independent nationalist movement
The NLF had massive support from peasants
Americans responded with massive bombing which killed
many civilians pushing Vietnamese in the arms of the VC
The VC were excellent guerrilla fighter who knew their
country
Communist morale was always high
American soldiers wanted to do their tour and go promptly
home- many were spat on and called baby killers by
protestors