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Vietnam


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Ho Chi MinhHo Chi Minh was born in Vietnam in 1890. His

father, Nguyen Sinh Huy was a teacheremployed by the French.

His birth name was Nguyen Tat Thanh. He

changed it to Ho Chi Minh which means he

who enlightens.

Neither he nor his father chose to learn French,

the language of the government of Indochina.

This was in opposition to French rule there.

The French had ruled Indochina since the late

1800s. Many Vietnamese were unhappy withthis arrangement and wanted Vietnam to be

independent. These people were Nationalists.

He traveled widely in his youth and read Karl

Marx and was inspired by the Russian

Revolution.


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Ho Chi Minh

Ho went to live for a time in China andorganized the Nationalists of Vietnam while

living there.

The Germans invaded France in 1940 so the

French decided to give in to the Japanese in

Vietnam not long after. The Japanese hadinvaded Vietnam earlier.

At this time, the Vietnamese Nationalists

decided this was a good opportunity to return to

Vietnam and fight the Japanese using guerilla

warfare tactics. This group was now called theVietminh.

The Vietminh received help at this time not only

from the U.S. but the Soviet Union as well. In

addition they received weapons and learned to

fight against a larger enemy.


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VietnamIn 1945 after the defeat of the Japanese,

Ho Chi Minh and the Vietminh were in a

good position to take over Vietnam. Heeven declared its independence on Sept.

2, 1945.

Earlier at the Potsdam Conference

following World War II in Berlin, the

Allies decided to partition Vietnam.

China would get the northern half while

Britain would control the southern half.

In Jan. 1946 Britain left Vietnam and

China agreed to give up its rights to it aslong as France didnt try to regain its

Colonial control.

France refused to recognize the

government of the Nationalists and

fighting broke out.


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Gen. Vo

Nguyen Giap

Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap led the Vietminh

against the French but had difficulty with

their superior weapons and fighting.

By 1953 the French controlled large

areas of South Vietnam and installed

former Emperor Bao Dai as Chief of

State. The Vietminh controlled much of

the north.

It quickly became clear that the war

would be a long one and the French tried

to offer the Vietminh peace terms. TheVietminh didnt trust them and continued

to fight.

In Dec. 1953, Gen. Navarre of France

decided to get Gen. Giap to surrender at

Dien Bien Phu.The tables were turned, Giap surrounded

the French and had 70,000 men, many

more than the French.

Navarre tried to get help from the U.S.

but help did not come. Giap starts hisown offensive on March 13, 1954. Bao Dai,former emperor


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The Geneva AccordsMay 7, 1954, the French surrendered after Dien Bien Phu fell to the Vietminh.

The following day the French agreed to leave Vietnam.

A meeting was held in Geneva to see if peaceful solutions could be worked out

in both Korea and Vietnam. The U.S., France, Great Britain and the Soviet

Union attended.

After much negotiation the following was agreed:

(1) Vietnam would be divided at the 17th parallel.

(2) North Vietnam would be ruled by Ho Chi Minh.

(3) South Vietnam would be ruled by Ngo Dinh Diem, a strong opponent

of communism.

(4) French troops would withdraw from Vietnam.

(5) the Vietminh would withdraw from South Vietnam.

(6) the Vietnamese could freely choose to live in the North or the South.

(7) a General Election for the whole of Vietnam would be held beforeJuly, 1956, under the supervision of an international commission.


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Ngo Dinh Diem

The U.S. was worried that if the elections were held right

away that 80% of the Vietnamese would vote for

Communism.

The Vietminh was worried that the elections might never

happen as promised.

Ngo Dinh Diem is installed as the new leader of South

Vietnam.

He is a Catholic. He had been a provincial governor

during French rule. The French and the Vietminh

considered him not only incapable but mad.

There is an election in South Vietnam between Diem andBao Dai. It is fixed and Diem receives over 98% of the

vote. Those supporting Bao Dai were roughed up and

threatened.

Diem refuses to allow the national elections to move

forward. Over 100,000 people are imprisoned. Some

start to form armed groups that leave South Vietnam.


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Ngo Dinh DiemRoman Catholics make up 10% of the population of

Vietnam then. Buddhists were about 70%. The Catholic

Church held a privileged position in Vietnam underFrench rule.

There had been anti-Buddhist laws in Vietnam under

the French. Diem refused to repeal those laws.

In May of 1963 thousands of Buddhists came to Saigon

to celebrate Buddhas 2527th birthday. The Diem

government wanted to disperse the crowds so fired on

them. One woman and 8 children were killed.

In protest in June of that year, a Buddhist Monk named

Thich Quang Due set himself on fire. Several others

eventually did the same thing.

The governments response was to round up Buddhist

monks and many of them were never heard from again.

Pres. Kennedy had always supported Diem but lost

interest in him after these events. He got the CIA to

stage a coup and overthrew Diem who was assassinatedin Nov. 1963.


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Nguyen Van Thieu

He is the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of SouthVietnam. He replaces Diem as leader.

He was a Buddhist but converted to Catholicism when

he got married.

Thieu remained in power until South Vietnam fell to the

Communists in 1975.

He received support from the U.S. until Ford became

president and then the U.S. was no longer interested in

supporting this war.

Thieu lived for a time in England, Taiwan and the U.S.He died in Boston on Sept. 29, 2001.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Nguyen_van_thieu.jpg


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National Liberation FrontThe purpose of this organization was to supply the South Vietnamese with

weapons to fight against both Diem and Thieu.

It was formed in 1960 and made up of a dozen different political and

religious groups.

This group was known as the Vietcong to the U.S.

The NLF promised to give back the land of the rich French to the peasants.The Diem government wanted the peasants to pay for it and they were not

able to do that.

They used guerrilla tactics learned from Chairman Mao and the Chinese

Communists. They also brought supplies through Laos and Cambodia on

the Ho Chi Minh trail.

The Strategic Hamlet Program was introduced by the Diem government in

1962. It placed peasants in protected camps so that they wouldnt be

influenced by the NLF.

Vietnamese peasants had often accepted their lot in life since they felt theywere being punished for the crimes of their ancestors.


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National Liberation FrontThe NLF promised land to the peasants if they

would provide them with information on the

whereabouts of South Vietnamese, and providefood and shelter for them when they needed it.

The peasants were motivated mostly by fear

and gratitude.

When the U.S. Marines came and took over avillage, or if the ARVN (Army of the Republic

of Vietnam) came, the peasants would be

punished by the NLF later by having their land

confiscated, being beaten or tortured.

The NLF was not to go into combat. It was toavoid it unless it definitely outnumbered the

enemy.

At first the NLF had spears, daggers and

swords. By 1964, 90% of its weapons were

taken from the U.S. or ARVN.


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National Liberation FrontThe NLF used a variety of mines to catch the

enemy, both for individuals and tanks.Most of the explosives used by the NLF were

from unexploded bombs dropped on Vietnam.

It is estimated that 800 tons of bombs dropped

on Vietnam every month failed to explode.

It was difficult for the U.S.soldiers there to

determine who was VC (NLF) and who was a

friend. Gen. Westmoreland demanded a

search and destroy mission. Find and kill

VC.

The VC built tunnels to move their supplies

and since the Americans were much bigger it

was difficult to infiltrate them.

The VC wanted to involve the enemy in a

long, drawn out war to wear down the enemy.


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JFK and LBJ

Many believe that JFK wanted to

get out of Vietnam. He died beforehe had a chance to make that

happen.

LBJ escalates the war and asks

Congress for the Gulf of Tonkin

Resolution.Aug. 2, 1964 a destroyer named

the USS Maddox was patrolling

the Gulf of Tonkin of the coast of

North Vietnam. It was fired on by

a torpedo. We returned fire and

inflicted heavy damage on it.

Two days later the Maddox reports more torpedoes although the crew heard nothing.

LBJ asks Congress to allow him powers to repel any further attacks on the U.S.

Aug. 7, 1964 Congress adopts the Tonkin Gulf Resolution which gave the president broad

military powers in Vietnam.


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LBJ

LBJ didnt tell Congress that the U.S. had been leading secret

raids against North Vietnam and that the USS Maddox was on aspy mission.

Johnson had prepared the resolution months in advance and

waited for the right opportunity to send it to Congress.

After 8 Americans were killed, LBJ issues Operation Rolling

Thunder. This allows him to have bombing raids over Vietnam.

By June 1965, more than 50,000 American troops are in

Vietnam.

Along with his Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara and his

Secretary of State Dean Rusk, he sends more troops to Vietnam.

By 1967 there are 500,000 American troops there. Gen. WilliamWestmoreland continued to ask for more troops. He felt that

America should fight a War of Attrition.

The U.S. policy became to win over the hearts and minds of

the Vietnamese people. This way the Communist guerrillas

would have no place to hide.


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Instruments of War

Napalm andAgent

Orange


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Selective Service and the Draft

The Selective Service was put into effect in 1940.

From 1948 until 1973 there has been a draft.Some people are exempt due to illness or disability while others

during Vietnam could be temporarily exempt while attending

college.

Registration for the Selective Service was suspended in 1975

but brought back by Pres. Carter in 1980 when the Soviet Unioninvaded Afghanistan. It is now an all volunteer military


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Vietnam War protests


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Martin Luther King, Jr.

and the Vietnam WarMartin Luther King, Jr. at

first felt that he shouldnt

speak out against the war. He

thought it would take away

from the Civil Rightsstruggle.

In 1967 he spoke out saying

that it was ironic that Black

men were dying for a country

that didnt give them the same

rights as whites.

Blacks make up 10% of the

population here but 20% of

the deaths in Vietnam wereblack.


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Tet Offensive

Tet means New Year in Vietnamese. There

was to be a truce for a week during Jan. 30,

1968.

Vietnamese people could bury their dead

which usually was accompanied by

firecrackers.

Many VC used this time to put weapons in

coffins and attack various spots in S. Vietnam

including the U.S. Embassy in Saigon.

32,000 VC die while 3000 ARVN die.

People start to doubt LBJ and whether were

winning. Prior to this he told the U.S. that

victory was imminent.


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1968, a terrible year


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Politics

Pres. Johnson

Sen. Eugene McCarthy

Richard M. Nixon

V.P. Hubert HumphreyGov. George Wallace
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Nixon.jpg


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The beginning of the endVietnamization: Removing troops from Vietnam and letting the South

Vietnamese take over control of the war. In three years the number drops

from 500,000 to under 25,000 starting in 1969.

Peace with Honor: Nixon hopes to leave Vietnam honorably but at the same

time he is ordering bombs be dropped on Laos and Cambodia which are VC

strongholds. He wants them to believe he is capable of anything.

Silent Majority: Nixon hopes to appeal to the people who dont speak up butsupport the war. More and more people are not supporting the war at this

time.

My Lai Massacre: Lt. William Calley orders his men to fire on and kill

anything that breathes in the northern part of S. Vietnam. About 200 innocent

civilians were killed. Only Calley was convicted and imprisoned. The restclaimed to have only followed orders.

April 30, 1970 Nixon announces the invasion of Cambodia to clear out VC.

This brought college students out in protest.

Kent State University: Students protested there were fired on by the NationalGuard. Nine were injured and four were killed.


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The End

Pentagon Papers: Daniel Ellsberg leaked to the press that LBJ

and the government planned to go into Vietnam even when they

said they werent going to. It also showed that there was neverany plan to end the war as long as the North persisted.

Even into 1972 the U.S. is dropping more bombs on Vietnam

while the Nixon Administration is promising peace.

In 1973 the U.S. signed an agreement to send the rest of ourtroops home.

Saigon fell to the Communists in 1975 and the few Americans

left there had to escape from the embassy.


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