Vietnam

Vietnam War

• France– France rules Indochina (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia)

• Late 1800s until WWII (Japanese take-over)

– Land from peasants, build large plantations• Extract large portions of rice and rubber for own profit

– Several revolts from Vietnamese• Most revolts organized by Indochinese Communist Party• Party Leader, Ho Chi Minh

Vietnam History

Ho Chi Minh(1890-1969)

• Flees Vietnam in 1930• Condemned to Death by French for rebellious activity

• Returns to Vietnam after Japanese Takeover 1941• Communist and Nationalist groups combine to

form Vietminh – Seek Vietnam’s independence from foreign rule

• With Japanese defeat in 1945, Ho Chi Minh declares Vietnam an independent nation

• French troops move back into Vietnam, 1946

• Drive Vietminh out of southern half

• Ho Chi Minh vows to liberate southern half from French control

Ho Chi Minh

• “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.”

• -Ho Chi Minh

1950• Cold War

– Communism• Eastern Europe• China• Korea likely

• Vietnam– Ho Chi Minh; “Independence”– United States; “Communist aggressor”

• Response, $$ to France

• 1953– Korea ends in stalemate (North as communist)

• 1954– Eisenhower and Domino Theory– Dien Bien Phu

• French surrender, remove troops

• North and South Vietnam Left in Wake– North = Communist– South = Anti-Communist Nationalists

• Geneva Accords– Temporarily divide Vietnam along 17th parallel– Elections to be held in 1956 to settle

Vietnam goes into Chaos

• Diem Cancels Election– US supports cancellation– President Kennedy continues aid to South/Diem

• Ho Chi Mihn seen as hero– Years fighting Japanese and French– Redistributes land to peasants

• Diem – Corrupt government– Harsh on Buddhists

• Opposition grows in South (Vietcong)

1963 - Diem regime toppled

1963- Pres. Kennedy assassinated

Pres. Lyndon Johnson takes over

Democrats “Soft on Communism”… ?…

Johnson escalates the situation…

Gulf of Tonkin

• Gulf of Tonkin attack Aug 2, 1964• Tonkin Gulf Resolution Aug 7, 1964

• Feb 1965, Operation Rolling Thunder -The war becomes “Americanized”…

Strong Support for Containment

• Tonkin Gulf Resolution– “All necessary measures to… prevent further

aggression.” -Johnson

– Vote in Congress• 98-2; Senators approval

Guerilla vs. Conventional Warfare

• United States– Superior Weaponry– Heavy Machinery (tanks, bombers, etc.)

• Vietcong– Ambush tactics– Terrain familiarity

Guerrilla Warfare

 When enemy advances, we retreat; the enemy camps, we harass; the enemy tires, we attack; the enemy retreats, we pursue -Mao Tse-Tung (China)

Anything Suspicious??

Vietcong Tunnel Systems

Underground Tunnels

• Effectiveness of bombings…

– “The more Americans tried to drive us away from our land, the more we burrowed into it.”

-Major Nguyen Quot, Vietcong Army

Tunnels

• Avoid Bombings

• Surprise attacks on US troops, then disappear quickly

Guerilla Warfare

• V.C. move in and out of general population

• Attack US troops in cities and countryside

• Increasingly difficult US troops to discern ‘friend from foe’

Guerilla Warfare

• Booby Traps– Land mines– Tripwire with grenades– Trap doors with wooden spears– Explosives-rigged decoys

Tiger vs. Elephant?

• “You can kill ten men for every one I kill of yours, but even at those odds, you will lose ad I will win.” -Ho Chi Minh (Speaking to French occupation)

Military Struggle vs.

Battle for National Independence

Will to Fight

Troop Morale

• Sweltering Heat• Leeches, Insects• Disease

• Friend from Foe• Support of villagers/rural Vietnamese in S.

• Government

National Morale

• Government – Credibility Gap– Growing Doubts

• “The Living-Room War”– High costs– Growing Doubts about Victory

• Youth Movement

Tiger vs. Elephant

• “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.”

-Ho Chi Minh