B Y : C L A U D I A L I U , T I F FA N Y H S I E H , I R E L A N D M A K , A N D A D A C A R L E Y

VIETNAM WAR

WHEN AND WHERE?

1959 - April 30, 1975

South Vietnam, North Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos

MAP

WHAT HAPPENED?

KEY EVENTS

•  L-Zone X-Ray: the first major combat operation in Vietnam involving almost exclusively American troops against NVA units. Watch "We Were Soldiers" for more information and a pretty good movie.

•  My Lai Massacre: a massacre of South Vietnamese civilians by US troops due to faulty intelligence and a long series of bad choices made by the US commanding officers involved. This was another huge setback for the war back in the US as it happened in the same year as the Tet Offensive, even though it was not revealed for almost two years. Between 300-500 civilians were shot dead by American troops because they believed they were working with the Viet Cong. The resulting cover up also helped tarnish American reputation in Vietnam and in the world.

KEY EVENTS/TERMS •  Tet Offensive: During the Buddhist

holiday of Tet beginning in late January, 1968, it was assumed that there would be little to no military action taken until the VC, along with elements of the NVA, attacked virtually every city in South Vietnam along with several major American military installations. Though a tactical failure, the reaction by the US media was so depressing and gloomy, that nationwide morale and desire to continue the war sank considerably. This is considered one of the turning points of the war.

•  Gulf of Tonkin Resolution of Aug. 7, 1964: gave President Johnson essentially a free hand to deploy American military forces to Vietnam without Congress' authorization

Viet Cong: Communist-sympathizers in South Vietnam who often performed guerrilla/sabotage/spy operations against American and South Vietnamese forces

HOW IT HAPPENED

•  Vietnam was a colony of France till 1954 o  Vietnam divided into

Communist North and Democratic South causing the French to lose control of Vietnam.

•  The US feared that the entire Southeast of Asia would be lost to the Communist block, so the U.S. went in trying to stop the Communism from spreading to other countries.

KEY PLAYERS

•  Ho Chi Minh (1890 - 1969) Vietnamese Communist and revolutionary leader

•  Vo Nguyen Giap (1912-) Vietnamese military commander most revered for his role in liberating Vietnam from French colonial rule

•  Bao Dai (1913 - 1997) was the reigning emperor of Vietnam from 1926 to 1945

•  Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890-1969) Republican, was the popular 34th President of the United States

KEY PLAYERS

•  United States •  North Vietnam •  South Vietnam •  USSR •  China

U.S. POLICIES REGARDING VIETNAM WAR

Containment •  Purpose: to prevent the spread of communism by

limiting and containing it geographically •  All of the presidents leading up to and during the war

followed the containment policy, but each adopted different strategies to achieve the goal of containment of communism.

•  President Kennedy was determined to "draw a line in the sand" and prevent a communist victory in Vietnam. He sent US military advisors to try to help the Republic of Vietnam defeat communist insurgents which were known as the Viet Cong.

U.S. POLICIES REGARDING VIETNAM WAR

Escalation •  Under Johnson there was a great expansion of the Vietnam War. In

1964 Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which allowed the President to send a full military force to fight the communists in Vietnam without a formal declaration of war.

Vietnamization •  Facing increased opposition to the Vietnam war at home, and

recognizing that the military escalation pursued by Johnson was not successful, President Nixon adopted a new policy called Vietnamization, which aimed to wind down the US military involvement in the war

•  The purpose of this policy was to “expand, equip, and train South Vietnam’s forces and assign to them an ever-increasing combat role, at the same time steadily reducing the number of U. S. combat troops.”

WHY IT HAPPEN

•  The Vietnam War started because the U.S. President Eisenhower did not want communism to spread throughout America.

•  Communism was seeking to expand in Vietnam much the way it had attempted to expand in Korea

•  When Chinese communists won the civil war in China, the U.S. feared all of Southeast Asian countries to fall into communism.

WHY WAS THIS A SIGNIFICANT COLD WAR EVENT?

Proxy war: a war that results when opposing powers use third powers as substitutes for fighting each other directly

WHY WAS THIS A SIGNIFICANT COLD WAR EVENT?

•North being aided by the Soviets and the south by the U.S. minus the Viet Cong. It was the first war the the U.S. "lost" because the North still ended up becoming communist.

OUTCOMES OF THE WAR

•  North Vietnam was victorious over South Vietnam and allied force

•  War officially ended when Paris Peace Accords was signed to establish peace and an end U.S. military involvement

OUTCOMES OF THE WAR

•  Veterans from the war formed an organization know Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW)

•  VVAW promotes peace, justice, and rights of all United States military veterans

WHAT THIS EVENT TELLS US ABOUT THE CONFLICT BETWEEN THE

SUPERPOWERS

•  Even though there was a "Cold War" between the Superpowers, which meant no direct military action between them, it resulted in several proxy wars in poorer, less powerful nations, resulting in many deaths. •  While over 58,000 U.S. troops died in the Vietnam War, it is estimated that between 250,000-500,000 Vietnamese soldiers and civilians died during the war. •  Therefore Cold War was sometimes more damaging and costly to third countries caught up in the conflict between the Superpowers.

HOW DID THIS CONTRIBUTE TO THE COLD WAR TENSIONS?

•  It relates to the Vietnam War because communists wanted to take over South Vietnam, and since the US had made opposing communism one of its goals the US is of course going to help South Vietnam fight communism.

•  Domino theory: If it fell to communism then surrounding countries would as well. The US was trying to halt the spread of communism which the Soviets were trying to spread.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Websites: •  Burkett, B.G., Glenna Whitley, Verity Press, Inc., Dallas, TX, and

1998. Book review. "Facts of the Vietnam war.."Vietnam Helicopter Crew Member Association. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2013. <http://www.vhcma.org/fact.html>.

•  "VNW Facts Archive - The Vietnam War."The Vietnam War - Vietnam War History, Timelines, Pictures, Facts & Questions. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2013. <http://thevietnamwar.info/vietnam-war-facts/>.

•  https://www.boundless.com/history/sixties-1960-1969/john-f-kennedy-administration/growing-war-in-vietnam/

•  http://www.defense.gov/specials/secdef_histories/bios/laird.htm Books: •  Fincher, Ernest Barksdale. The Vietnam War. New York: Watts,

1980. Print. •  Lewy, Guenter. America in Vietnam. New York: Oxford University

Press, 1978. Print.

BIBLIOGRAPHY (CON'T)

Books: •  Murray, Stuart. Vietnam War. New York: DK Publishing, 2005.

Print. •  Thayer, Thomas C. War Without Fronts: The American Experience

in Vietnam. Boulder: Westview Press, 1985. Print.

Primary: •  "Excerpts from the Paris Accords, January 27, 1973 - The Wars

for Viet Nam - Vassar College." Home - Vassar College. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2013. <http://vietnam.vassar.edu/overview/doc