The Vietnam Conflict

Begins

How did the U.S. become involved

in Vietnam?•French Rule in Vietnam

(Indochina)

•U.S. assists WWII ally France

in controlling the colony

•The Vietminh, under Ho Chi

Minh, are a Communist group

pushing for independence

How did the U.S. become involved

in Vietnam?•Vietminh attack the French as

a Communist army and the

U.S enforces the Truman

Doctrine to stamp out the

Communist ideology around

the world

•U.S. joins the conflict through

the idea of the Domino

Theory

What is the domino theory?

•*Domino Theory –

countries would fall to

Communism in a

domino fashion of one

after another until the

whole world is in

Communist control

How did the U.S. become involved

in Vietnam?•Ho Chi Minh calls for a popular

election

oCommunist in the North vs. anti-

Communists, under Ngo Dinh

Diem, in the South

•Anti-Communists and the U.S.

cancel the popular elections in

Vietnam

oU.S. later supports an

assassination of Diem (anti-

Communist) and Vietnam

fractures

How did the U.S. become involved

in Vietnam?•The Tonkin Gulf ResolutionoU.S.S. Maddox is attacked by the North

Vietnamese 2 days later 2 American ships are attacked…though

no sailors report it (?)

oLyndon Johnson calls for U.S.

bombing and involves ground

personnel

How did the U.S. become involved

in Vietnam?•American Conscription

oAmerican has a small standing Army after WWII and the Korean War so a draft is instituted

oAll men aged 18-26 are entered into the draft lottery Ways out: physical, mental, student, or draft dodging

•Known as the war of the “working-class”oMassive protests, sit ins, and

demonstrations rage in the U.S. over forced military service

oRiots and protests break out all over the U.S.

U.S. Troop Strength

The Vietnam Conflict

What was combat like in Vietnam?

•DiscouragingoThe Vietnamese, both our ally and enemy,

were difficult to keep separate The majority of the Vietnamese fought as civilian

militia (no uniforms)

•DeadlyoAside from combat

Americans had to deal with disease, combat suicide, and terrorism

What military technology was

created for the Vietnam conflict?

•NapalmoIncendiary gel used by the military to burn

dense jungle (sometimes enemy personnel)

What military technology was used

in the Vietnam conflict?•Guerilla tactics (used by the Viet Cong)ounpredictable ounconventional odeceitful odepriving

"The enemy advances, we retreat; the enemy camps, we harass; the enemy tires, we attack; the enemy retreats, we pursue.“ – NVA general

What military technology was used

in the Vietnam conflict?•P.O.W. TortureoAmericans were knowingly tortured by the Viet

Cong

oIn retaliation the American GIs resorted to

torturing Vietnamese

prisoners (and

sometimes civilians)

What was the result of the

Vietnamese guerilla tactics?•Psychological stressoU.S. soldiers turned to alcohol and drugs to

escape the hellish conditions of Vietnam

•Psychological breakdownoU.S. soldiers “snapped” and performed horrific

acts against Vietnamese soldiers, civilians,

and prisoners Ear necklaces, scalping, rape, murder, & torture

What was the result of the

Vietnamese guerilla tactics?

•Hatred at homeoExtreme actions by a few

were seen as the norm

for all military personnel Some soldiers were

starting to be seen as baby

killers, rapists, and sadists

who lusted for blood and

enjoyed taking lives

The End of the Vietnam

Conflict

What events led to the end of the

Vietnam conflict?•The Tet Offensive

oPrior to the 1968 Viet Kong advance the U.S. primarily supports the war in Vietnam

oAfter the offensive the U.S. is in opposition to the conflict

•President Lyndon Johnson is blamed for the failure of American forces and his popularity plummetsoHe decides not to run for

re-election

•Nixon is then elected to office and begins his VietnamizationoThe gradual withdrawal of U.S.

forces from Vietnam

What events led to the end of the

Vietnam conflict?•Mai Lai MassacreoU.S. platoon executed over 150 innocent

Vietnamese women and children in the village of Mai Lai

o“We huddled them up…and I poured about four clips into the group…the mothers were hugging their children and we just kept on firing.” - 22 year old Private Paul Meadlo

oU.S. citizens are outraged and the evacuation of Vietnam speeds up

What events led to the end of the

Vietnam conflict?• Invasion of Cambodia

oU.S. troops are pulling out of Vietnam but Nixon pushes

them into Cambodia (Domino Theory in use here)

oCollege students strike across the nation

Kent State University

experiences the only

violence in the protest

as the National Guard

kills 2 students and

wounds 12 others with

machine gun fire

What events led to the end of the

Vietnam conflict?•Peace is at HandoAmerica officially ended its longest continual

conflict in October of 1972 The last U.S. military regiment pulled out of Vietnam

in March of 1973

•Vietnam then united into one Communist nationo1st U.S. military loss

in armed conflict

What were the effects of the

Vietnam conflict?•58,000 American’s killed in action

•365,000 wounded or missing

•1.5 million Vietnamese killed

•Cambodia fell to a Communist takeover in a bloody civil war won by the Khmer Rouge

•1973 War Powers ActoLimited the power of the

President in war time