the vietnam war: war in southeast asia section 20.1
TRANSCRIPT
Today’s Agenda
• Presentations (up to day 13)
• 20.1 slide show
• Complete Crossword Puzzle (I’ll go over it quickly tomorrow)
• Homework
• Test on Chapter 18 and 19 Wednesday
What words would you use to describe America’s role in WWII?
What words describe the Vietnam War? Watch the following video
clips and make a list of at least 10 words to describe it.
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to answer the following:
• Where is Vietnam?
• How did we get involved in the Vietnam War in the first place?
• Why did we get involved?
• What was it like to be an American/North Vietnamese soldier?
• What were the battle tactics?
Describe Vietnam after WWII.• A French Colony
– Rich in natural resources• War torn
– Japanese occupation ended – Americans and Vietminh fought
together• Led by Ho Chi Minh
– Used words of Declaration of Independence to declare Vietnamese independence
• War of Independence– “If ever the tiger pauses the
elephant will impale him on his mighty tusks. But the tiger will not pause and the elephant will die of exhaustion and loss of blood.”
Why did the US decide to support the French in their war with Mihn?
• Cold War– Containment – Afraid of losing France
as ally
• Domino Theory– China fell and like a
domino others would become communist if not contained
Why was Vietnam divided in 1954?• French defeated at Dien Bien
Phu• Geneva peace agreement
called for a temporary division along 17th parallel – Vietminh controlled North– French in South
• Elections in 1956 to decide who would lead reunified country
• Eisenhower believed South would vote communist– Refused to sign agreement
Describe the rule of South Vietnam under Ngo Dinh Diem.
• Wealthy landowners controlled nation, poor peasants lived in poverty
• Diem– Anticommunist/Dictator
• Strongly supported by US– Gave him $1 billion in aid
(1954-61)
• Spent 80% on military, little on helping poor
• Rigged votes to make US think he was popular
What was the National Liberation Front?• Coalition of Vietminh and other
anti Diem groups• Better known as Vietcong
– Communists• Promised peasants
economic reform, reunification with N. Vietnam
– Terrorist• Assassinated 2 thousand
officials• Gradually supported by Ho Chi
Minh, China, and Russia
Describe JFK’s Vietnam policy.• Expanded Eisenhower’s
policy• Sent South Vietnamese
military equipment and advisers (16 thousand)
• Pressured Diem to make political and economic reforms
• Supported overthrow of Diem after finding out about his brutal repression of Buddhist monks– Monk set himself on fire in
protest• Diem assassinated during
coup d’ etat
Click to see Madam Nhu’s Response
What is the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution?• Congressional act which
allowed LBJ to greatly expand US involvement in Vietnam
• Signed under pretext that N. Vietnamese gunboats had fired on US destroyer unprovoked
• “take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack …”
• LBJ withheld evidence– Ship not attacked– Destroyers were sending
S. Vietnamese on commando raids
USS Maddox
Click to see McNamara's Response
What was operation Rolling Thunder and why is it important?
• Massive US bombing campaign against N. Vietnam– Roads, bases, supply
lines hit• Ho Chi Minh Trail targeted
– Supply line from N. Vietnam, through Laos, Cambodia
• Significance• N. Vietnam suffered heavy
loses yet kept fighting• LBJ decided to sent
hundreds of thousands of troops
Why was the US optimistic about winning the war?
• Much more powerful military arsenal– Air power– Believed it could break
Vietcong’s will to fight• Measured success by
body-counts, not territory• “You can kill ten of my
men for every one I kill of yours, but even at those odds, you will lose…” – Ho Chi Minh
How did the US fight the war? • Air War
– Over 100 thousand raids in 1967– B52– Limited success
• Vietcong dug 30 thousand miles of underground tunnels (supply routes)
• Ground War– “search and destroy” missions– Jungle patrols – Heat, mosquitoes, leeches, snakes– Carried 50-70 lbs of equipment
• “Hearts and Minds”– Provided medical care, farming
advice– Development projects
How did the VC respond?• Vietcong
– Guerilla warfare– Avoided open
battles– Ambushes, hit and
run raids– Booby traps
(Bouncing Betty)
• Advantages over US– Knew the country– Were Vietnamese
(nationalism)
Describe the American soldier fighting in Vietnam.
• Average Age– Between 19-22 years old– According to text
• Over 9 Million military personnel served on active duty during the official Vietnam era from August 5, 1964 to May 7, 1975.
• 58,148 were killed in Vietnam• Some uncertain of war’s purpose• Terrified
– The average infantryman in Vietnam saw about 240 days of combat in one year thanks to the mobility of the helicopter.
• Some motivated to survive, not win– Only in Vietnam for 1 year
• 3. 75,000 were severely disabled.• Textbook says that soldiers were usually from
poor or middle class background, – Disproportionately from minority groups