Vietnam – a French
Colony no more
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France, after ruling Vietnam or over 100
years was defeated by Gen. Giap at battle
of Dien Bien Phu-forced to leave Vietnam.
The Vietminh take over and declare
Vietnam Independent
France & Vietnam signed Geneva Peace
Accords of 1954-split Vietnam along 17th
parallel.
The United States
Steps in
Geneva Accords stated that in 1956
Vietnam would hold elections to
reunify country.
 US worried Ho Chi Minh was too
popular and would win so the US
doesn’t allow elections to take place
 Why? Domino Theory
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North vs South
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The North led by
Ho Chi Minh
Communist
Vietminh
Supported by the
Viet Cong in the
South later called
the National
Liberation Front
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South led by Ngo
Dinh Diem
Supported by US
US supported
creation of counterrevolutionary group
in S. Vietnam
Pros of GW in Vietnam
o
o
o
o
o
o
Easy to slip into a
village; look like
civilians
More cooperation from
other Vietnamese
Easy supply system
Territory and
topography already
known
Used rainy season as
cover
Easy to attain civilian
help in ambushes and
information
Cons of GW in Vietnam
o
o
o
o
o
o
Un-organization easily
occurs
Renegade or untrained
troops confuse strategy
High rates of civilian
casualties
Can ruin economic
development
It is a long drawn out
process; low moral
Can kill own civilians
with unremembered
booby traps and mines
The Ho Chi Minh Trail
o
o
o
o
Extended from N Vietnam
to S Vietnam
Est. 1959 and used by N.
Vietnamese troops for a
major military supply route
Goes through Laos and
Cambodia on its way to S.
Vietnam
main route for invasion of S.
Vietnam in 1975
The Underground Tunnels
o
o
o
o
o
built in the time of the
French
joined village to village and
often passed beneath
American bases
not only fortifications for
Viet Cong guerillas, but also
center of community life
several stories deep and
housed up to 10,000
people, supplies and
weapons
connected isolated pockets
of Viet Cong territory
enabled the guerrillas to
mount surprise attacks and
vanish without trace
Anti-Personnel Weapons
o
o
o
Punji sticks were sharpened
sticks of bamboo concealed
and designed to pierce the
enemy’s feet; many times
they were contaminated to
cause disease
Bamboo maces swung
down onto soldiers who
triggered tripwires; also
used crossbows
Land mines were a favorite
of guerilla forces and they
were taken from the
U.S.S.R., the French, and
even U.S. troops
Kennedy & Johnson
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
Kennedy increased
aid to Diem
Sent military
advisors to help
train S. Vietnamese
troops
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
Expands conflict
Gulf of Tonkin
Resolution in 1964
gave Johnson
broad military
powers
Troop Build Up
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
180,000 troops by
1965
500,000 troops by
1967
US Tactics -copy slide
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Agent Orange – a leaf
killing toxic chemical
devastated landscape
and ruined villages
Napalm – a gasoline
based bomb stuck to
leaves and skin
Search and destroy –
uprooting villagers by
day and evacuating at
night
War at Home - copy
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Great Society Suffers – money spent on war
and not on helping poor at home
Living- room war – media heightens
American concern
Manipulatable Draft – different
qualifications, if in college could put off
service or join National Guard or Coast
Guard
African Americans were disproportionately
drafted
Tet Offensive
This offensive by the Viet Cong in S.
Vietnam shows Americans at home
that “We are not winning this war”
 Turning point in public opinion
 LBJ decides not to seek reelection

Protests at Home
New Left organization SDS –
Students for a Democratic Society
demanded participatory democracy &
Free Speech
 20,000 Marched on the White House
in 1965
 Resistance – “Hell No We Won’t Go!”
 Doves vs. Hawks
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Kent State Tragedy
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Students in Ohio
protest the secret
bombings in Cambodia
Governor sends in
National Guard
Shooting erupts
4 students are killed
Colleges across
country are shut down
American Policy
changes
Martin Luther King Jr. & RFK are
assassinated
 Nixon wins Presidential election
 Pull out begins 500,000 troops to
25,000 over 3 years - Vietnamization
 Secret bombings of Cambodia and
Laos
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Atrocities
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My Lai Massacre
Massacre of 100
innocent civilians by
American troops
“Kill anything that
breathed”
Court martial - Lt.
Calley
The War America Lost
American forces are not able to
defeat the North Vietnamese
1973 US pulls out
1975 North Vietnamese invade
and capture Saigon.
The War’s Painful
Legacy
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Longest War
58,000 US soldiers
died
2,212 solders
MIA/POWs
Vietnam Veteran’s
Memorial
US questions role as
police officer of world