Mrs. Williams
COLD WAR AND VIETNAM (6)
US Involvement
 US desired to have influence in Asian affairs
 Trades routes
 Raw materials
 Exports of rice and rubber
 Prevent spread of communism
Indochina
 Indochina (Cambodia,
Vietnam, Laos)
 French colony since
1890s
 Vietnamese
questioned Japan
control
 Ho Chi Minh helped
organize guerilla forces
to defeat Japan
Indochina
 Japan is defeated and independence is gained
by Vietminh (communist party in 1945)
 France still wanted colonialism (1946)
 Marshall Plan funds allowed France to fight
Vietminh
 Finally France argued to peace terms (1954)
Ho Chi Minh
 US incorrectly believed the Ho Chi Minh was
associated with Soviets and China
 Minh wanted to be independently communist
and he was not a puppet
Geneva Accords
 France finally agrees to peace
 Accords divide Vietnam on the 17th parallel
 Communist were in the North
 French were in the south
 The Accord stated that the division was not a
political or territorial boundary (temporary)
 Thousands fled North Vietnam (supported French)
 Images of the exodus and Western propaganda
had an effect on US public
South Vietnam
 French appointed Ngo Dinh Diem
 Diem had little support from the peasants
 Blocked elections (Geneva Accords)
 Broke off connections with North
 Guerilla warfare began by Vietcong (South
Vietnam Communist)
 US provided South Vietnam more than 1
billion in economic and military assistance
(no political)
 Ho also sent assistance to Vietcong
Vietcong Increases Violence
 Minh’s support of the Vietcong through arms
and economic assistance caused an increase
violence
 In response to this communist threat, US
military assistance more than doubled
Diem and Buddhist
 Diem was also anti-Buddhist
 Vietnamese forces carried out raids on
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Buddhist temples
Buddhist Monk (Self-Immolation)
May 1963
What impact would this situation have on US
governmental support for Diem?
Ultimately it helped support and persuade
the Kennedy Administration that a regime
change was needed.
Downfall of Diem and Nhu
 South Vietnamese army generals contacted
the US embassy with discussions that Diem
and his brother Nhu were negotiating deals
with communist
 This would mean an end to non-communism
in South Vietnam
 After the Embassy talked with the Kennedy
Administration it stated it did not “wish to
stimulate a coup” but would not oppose
change (November 1, 1963 they were
murdered)
Diem and Kennedy
 Diem’s death brought chaos to Vietnam
allowing the Vietcong to take advantage of
the disorder
 Kennedy was assassinated only three weeks
after Diem
 President Lyndon B Johnson takes over
 Johnson wanted to help South Vietnam
defeat the Vietcong with an increase in US
military assistance
Gulf of Tonkin
 August 1 1964 an
American destroyer
was giving electronic
and logistical support
to South Vietnamese
 North Vietnamese
torpedo boats moved
close to the destroyer
(preparing for attack)
Gulf of Tonkin continued
 Fortunately nothing happened and the North
was driven away
 Johnson ordered no military retaliation but
ordered to have another destroyer sent to
support the other
 August 2 North Vietnamese boats attacked the
USS Mattox
 August 4 two American destroyers reported they
were under attack
 Whether an attack took place is unknown
 “Freak weather effects”
Gulf of Tonkin continued
 On 5 August, aircraft from carriers
Ticonderoga and USS Constellation destroyed
an oil storage facility at Vinh and damaged or
sank about 30 enemy naval vessels in port or
along the coast.
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
 President Johnson uses
these “attacks” to pass
the Gulf of Tonkin
Resolution (Aug. 7)
 It authorized Johnson
to take all necessary
measures to repel any
armed attacks against
the forces of the US
and prevent further
aggressions
Gulf of Tonkin and Johnson
 In the first months of 1965, the President
ordered the deployment to South Vietnam of
major U.S. ground, air, and naval forces.
 The Johnson Administration had come to the
conclusion that the US would have to bomb
the North
 Expanded air war provided the pretext for the
introduction of the first US combat troops in
Vietnam
Vietnam War
 By 1967 the bombings did not achieve its
objectives
 US had over 500,00 combat troops in
Vietnam
 The continued bombings gave the North
Vietnamese a propaganda they used to their
advantage
Tet Offensive
 January 30 Buddhist Lunar New Year (Tet) the
communists launched a massive assault in
the major cities of South Vietnam
 The Vietcong bore the burden and would
never recover
 Televised accounts widened the gap between
American government and its citizens
Tet Offensive
 1968 Tet Offensive was the single most
important event in turning the American
public opinion against the war
 Even though the US won the Tet Offensive,
many Americans stopped looking for a victory
but a way out of Vietnam
 Peace talks between North Vietnam and the
US began in Paris (May 13, 1968) but became
deadlocked so US stepped up air attacks and
B-52 missions tripled
Vietnam and Richard Nixon
 In 1968 Richard Nixon
won the presidential
election because he
had a “secret plan” to
deal with Vietnam
 Vietnamization, a
policy that gradually
withdrew American
combat troops while
continuing naval
support ( took four
years)
Vietnam continued
 US continued to build up the South’s military
 US also began bombing North Vietnamese
territories in neutral Cambodia
 March 1970 Cambodia’s Prince Sihanouk was
overthrown by a pro-American group led by
Prime Minister Lon Nol
 April 30 US and South Vietnam invaded
Cambodia
US Protests
 Demonstrations against Vietnam (specifically
Cambodian invasion) on the college
campuses at Kent State and Jackson State
College erupted (May 1970)
 National Guard troops caused further friction
and caused schools to close
 Nixon removed American troops from
Cambodia in June
Vietnam
 North Vietnam led a massive tank attack into
South Vietnam (March 1972)
 Nixon ordered massive air strikes to assist the
South
 October 1972 Nixon meets with Soviets and
China to discuss peace
Peace Agreements
 Peace agreements stated that within 60 days
after a cease-fire, US would withdraw its
troops and North Vietnam would return
P.O.W.
 Nguyen Van Thieu (Pres. S.Vietnam) said that
a US withdrawal would end American aid and
allow Northern troops to take control
 December 1972 US bombs North Vietnam to
get Thieu’s support and further injure North
 Negotiations continued until January 1973
Results of the War
 US continued
 Indochina’s ecology
supporting South and
Civil War continued
within the country
 War also divided the
American people and
also “put a wedge”
between the
government and its
people
 Changes to Selective
Service in 1969
and economy were
devastated (Agent
Orange)
 Agriculturally
devastated forests
 1976 Vietnam became
Socialist Republic of
Vietnam