VIETNAM

After World War II, France gained control of Vietnam and called it Indochina.

Ho Chi Minh led a Vietnamese independence movement against France.

Because Ho Chi Minh was a Communist, the Chinese tried to help North Vietnam.

France was defeated in a battle at Dien Bien Phu in 1954.

As a result of the defeat of the French, Vietnam was divided into two separate countries, North Vietnam and South Vietnam.

Ho Chi Minh led North Vietnam Elections were to be held to reunite the

country. President Eisenhower sent 675 advisors

to help South Vietnam

Feeling that South Vietnam needed help to survive, President Kennedy increased the number of advisors to over 15,000 in 1965.

The religion of South Vietnam was mainly Buddhist while its leader, Ngo Dinh Diem was Catholic.

Under Diem, the Buddhists were treated badly.

The US allowed Buddhist military leaders to revolt and execute Diem in 1963.

A few weeks later JFK was assassinated and Lyndon B. Johnson became the US President.

Secret fighters called Viet cong formed in the north to oppose South Vietnam.

President Johnson decided in 1964 to escalate the war.

Because of an alleged attack on US ships in the Gulf of Tonkin, Johnson received a resolution in Congress to intensify the war.

The resolution was called the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.

In 1965, there were 25,000 Americans in Vietnam, by 1968 there were 550,000 Americans.

In January 1968, the communists launched the Tet Offensive.

This caused Americans to question our involvement in Vietnam.

The communists in the North, shipped supplied to the Viet Cong in the South over the Ho Chi Minh Trail.

To kill the leaves on jungle bushes, the US dropped a chemical called Agent Orange.

Agent Orange led to many health problems of Vietnam vets.

The US also bombed military targets in the North with Napalm.

In 1968 at a village called My Lai, Lt. William Colley led US soldiers in a massacre.

In 1968, Johnson did not run for reeelction, and Nixon was elected

Anti-war demonstrations picked up and in 1970, 4 college students at Kent State were shot and killed by the National Guard.

Nixon tried to turn more of the war duties over to the South Vietnamese, this was called Vietnamization.

Secretary of State, Henry Kissenger conducted secret peace negotiations.