The Vietnam Wars
Mr. Daniel Lazar
Lecture Outline
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
Imperial Roots
On the Back of a Tiger
The Arrogance of Power
Opposition
Peace with Honor
Legacies
The Mission to Uplift and Civilize
The Mission to Uplift and Civilize
Roots of the War: La Mission Civilisature in the Age of
Imperialism, 1887 – 1954
• A foot in the door for gains in the future
– The China Market
• French influence in Indochina (Nam, Laos &
Cambodia)
– Reform: government, education, land and
economic
– No free speech
– No self-determination nor nationalistic
sentiments
Rebellion: Phan Boi Chou
(1867-1940)
• Reformation Society (Duy Tan
Hoi)
• 1921, Phan studied Socialism
and the Soviet model of
modernization
• 1925, French agents seized him
in Shanghai. Convicted of
treason and spent the rest of his
life under house arrest in Hue.
• 1940, died 1 month after
Japan’s invasion
• Streets named after him in every
town
Uncle Ho and the ICP
• 1919-1923, while living in France,
Ho Chí Minh (born Nguyen Sinh
Cung) embraced communism
• Following WWI, under the name
of Nguyễn Ái Quoc (Nguyen the
Patriot), he petitioned for civil
rights for Vietnamese people in
French Indochina to the Western
powers at Versailles
• Citing the language and the spirit
of the U.S. Declaration of
Independence, Ho petitioned
Woodrow Wilson for help to
remove the French from Vietnam
and replace it with a new,
nationalist government. His
request was ignored.
Uncle Ho and the ICP
• 1930 - Ho helped est. the Indochinese Communist Party (ICP).
• 1931 - Arrested in Hong Kong and incarcerated by British police
until 1933. Then to USSR, where he spent years recovering from
tuberculosis.
• 1938 - To China. Served as adviser to CCPs PLA
• 1941 - Ho returned to Vietnam to lead the Viet Minh independence
movement. He oversaw many successful military actions against the
Vichy French and Japanese during World War II. Supported by US
OSS
• 1942 - Jailed in China for months by Chiang Kaishek's local
authorities. After his release in 1943, returned to Vietnam. He was
treated for malaria and dysentery by American OSS doctors.
• Following WWII, Ho petitioned Truman for support for Vietnamese
independence, citing the Atlantic Charter, but Truman never
responded.
Bao Dai: The Christmas Tree Falls
• Ho persuaded Bao Dại to
abdicate on 25 August 1945,
handing power over to the
Viet Minh
• Bao Dại was appointed
"supreme advisor" to the new
government in Hanoi
• He explained his abdication
in 1945 saying "I would
prefer to be a citizen of an
independent country rather
than Emperor of an enslaved
one."
Victory for Ho and the Vietminh
• WWII influenced desire for self-determination
• French troops arrive in 1946
– French occupy SVN
– Vietminh in NVN
• Ho & Vietminh = Communism + Nationalism
• Won Battle of Dien Bien Phu (5/5/54)
– Guts vs. Firepower: French surrender
– Ho declared an independent Vietnam on 9/2/46
– The international community learns no lessons?
The US Reaction
• SEATO (1954) justifies US
involvement
• Truman, with NSC-68 &
SEATO support, provides
$20 million
• IKE ups the ante to $2.6
billion
The Geneva Accords (1954)
• Cease hostilities
• No foreign involvement
in internal Indochinese
affairs
• 17th Parallel
• NVN/Hanoi/Ho
• SVN/Saigon/Diem
• 1956 Elections…
The New Puppet
Anti Buddhist
• Over 60% of northern Catholics
moved to SVN, providing Diem
with a source of loyal support.
• Diem used slogans such as
"Christ has gone south" and
"the Virgin Mary departed from
the North"
The New Puppet
No 1956 Elections
• A referendum rigged by his brother
Ngo Dinh Nhu saw Diem gain 98%
of the vote, with 133% in Saigon.
• American advisors suggested that
he win by a lesser margin
• After pressure from Vietnamese
and Americans, Diem agreed to
hold elections in August 1959 to
form a national legislature.
• Newspapers not allowed to publish
names of candidates or their
policies and political meetings
exceeding 5 people were
prohibited.
The New Puppet
No Land Reform
• Ngo’s wife, Madame Nhu
enacted 'morality laws‘-outlawing abortion, adultery,
Mass Corruption
divorce, contraceptives, dance
• His most trusted official was his brother,
Ngo Dinh Nhu, an opium addict and
halls, beauty pageants, boxing
admirer of Hitler. He modeled the military
matches, and animal fighting,
wing of his political party, Can Lao,
and closed down the brothels
marching and torture styles on Nazi
methods
and opium dens.
•
Used Army of the Republic of Vietnam
(ARVN) to work on his personal
construction projects.
Opposition to Diem
• People's Army of
Vietnam (PAVN)
• National
Liberation Front
(NLF) aka The
Vietcong (VC)
• Led by Ho
• Ho Chi Minh Trail
The Kennedy Response
•
Democrats accused of
being “soft” on
communism
JFK deploys “advisors”
and “flood crews”
The Strategic Hamlet
Program

Diem Coup (11/2/63)
•
•
•
–
•
likely by ARVN soldiers
Kennedy assassinated
three weeks later
The Diem Coup
• The McNamara-Taylor Report (from Retrospect)
– ‘There are serious political tensions in Saigon. . . .
Further repressive actions by Diem and Nhu could
change the present favorable military trends. . . . It is
not clear that pressures exerted by the U.S. will move
Diem and Nhu toward moderation. . . . The prospects
that a replacement regime would be an improvement
appear to be about 50-50.’
• Time Magazine 6/30/75:
– ‘The coup against Diem was planned with the
knowledge of Dean Rusk and Averell Harriman at the
State Department, Robert S. McNamara and Roswell
Gilpatric at the Defense Department and the late
Edward R. Murrow at the U.S. Information Agency.’
The Johnson Administration:
The Tonkin Gulf “Incident”
•
•
•
US was carrying out covert naval commando
attacks against NVN with Johnson’s support
since January 1964.
There was fighting during the day of 4 August.
But the "second attack“ is uncertain at best.
No physical evidence for the August 4 attack
claims. No wreckage nor bodies of dead sailors.
No photographs. Radar and sonar sightings
provided an exceedingly confusing set of data
at best.
The Johnson Administration:
The Tonkin Gulf “Incident”
• Secretary McNamara had a conversation with
LBJ. Their discussion reflects McNamara's
knowledge of the scam when, referring to the
U.S. destroyer, he states, "this ship is allegedly,
uh, to be attacked tonight."
• McNamara and LBJ went on to discuss what
retaliation they could carry out for the attack
(that had not yet happened), including bombing
targets in North Vietnam.
• An hour later, when McNamara called in the first
report that the alleged attack had begun, he was
already prepared with a list of options.
The Johnson Administration:
The Tonkin Gulf “Incident”
• As a result of McNamara’s testimony, on 7
August, Congress passed a joint resolution (H.J.
RES 1145), titled the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution,
which granted LBJ authority to conduct military
operations in Southeast Asia without a
declaration of war.
• The Resolution gave LBJ approval "to take all
necessary steps, including the use of armed
force, to assist any member or protocol state of
the Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty
requesting assistance in defense of its freedom."
The Johnson Administration:
The Tonkin Gulf “Incident”
• Squadron commander James Stockdale was one of the
U.S. pilots flying overhead during the alleged attack.
Stockdale wrote in his 1984 book Love and War:
– "[I] had the best seat in the house to watch that event,
and our destroyers were just shooting at phantom
targets—there were no PT boats there…There was
nothing there but black water and American fire
power." Stockdale said his superiors ordered him to
keep quiet about this.”
– "There was absolutely no gunfire except our own, no
PT boat wakes, not a candle light let alone a burning
ship. None could have been there and not have been
seen on such a black night."
• The history of U.S. destroyers carried on the Navy's
official website no longer contains any reference to a
naval engagement having occurred on August 4.
The Johnson Administration:
The Tonkin Gulf “Incident”
• In 2005, it was revealed in an official NSA
declassified report that there was no North
Vietnamese boats at the August 4 incident. The
report said:
‘It is not simply that there is a different story as
to what happened; it is that no attack happened
that night. In truth, Hanoi's navy was engaged
in nothing that night.’
Mr. Johnson’s War
LBJ & Operation Rolling Thunder
Four Objectives:
• To bolster the sagging morale of the Saigon
regime in the Republic of Vietnam
• To convince North Vietnam to cease its support
for the communist insurgency in South Vietnam
• To destroy North Vietnam's transportation
system, industrial base, and air defenses
• To interrupt the flow of men and material into
South Vietnam.
LBJ & Operation Rolling Thunder
Results:
• Mar 1965 - Nov 1968
– Air Force flew 153,784 attack sorties against NVN
– Navy and Marine Corps had added another 152,399.
• 31 December 1967, the DOD announced that 864,000
tons of NVN during Rolling Thunder!
– 653,000 tons dropped during the entire Korean Conflict
– 503,000 tons in the Pacific theater during WWII
• 1 January 1968, CIA estimated on that damage inflicted
on NVN totaled $370 million in physical destruction,
including $164 million in damage to capital assets
(factories, bridges, and power plants).
• 1,000 casualties had been inflicted on NVN population
per week, or approximately 90,000 for the 44-month
period, 72,000 of whom were civilians.
United We Stand…
•
•
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Hawks
Robert MacNamara—Secretary of
Defense
Dean Rusk—Secretary of State
William Westmoreland—Commander
of ARVN forces
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•
•
Doves
John McNaughton—Assistant
Secretary of Defense
George Ball—Undersec. of State
William Fulbright—Senator on
Foreign Relations Committee
LBJ between Rusk & Mac
The Arrogance of Power
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•
•
Bombing to the
Negotiating Table
Body Count: US
never lost a battle
Search and
Destroy--“destroy
the city in order to
save it”
Battle of Hearts and Minds:
Two Sides. One War
Battle of Hearts and Minds:
Agent Orange
A People’s War
US Soldier Morale
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Drugs
Fragging
Deserting
Race Relations
UUUU: the unwilling, led
by the unqualified, doing
the unnecessary for the
ungrateful
• A civil war within a civil
war left the soldiers
mystified
Living Room War: The Media Turns
The War at Home
• Living Room War & The Credibility Gap
• Working Class War (85% from lower SES)
– MLK and the “Cruel Irony”
– Blacks were 15% of combat deaths 1965-69
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Civil Rights Movement
Women’s Rights Movement
Student Movement: Tune In, Turn on, Drop Out
The Great Society? Maybe Later.
The New Left
“Peace With Honor”
• Jan-Sept 1968 - Tet Offensive – joint NLF and
PAVN offensive
• 3/1/68 - My Lai Massacre - mass murder
of 347 to 504 unarmed citizens in SVN,
mostly women and children
– Numerous massacres perpetrated by South
Koreans
• 11/5/68 – Nixon Elected
• Vietnamization
– gradual withdrawal and shifting power
– bombing to Negotiating Table (troops out
planes in)
“Peace With Honor”
• Mar- Oct,1972 - NVN’s Easter Offensive- 1
mil SVN refugees
• 1972 Christmas Bombings - 11
days/100,000 bombs
• 1/27/73 – Paris Peace Accords
• 3/29/73 - Last US troops go home
• 4/30/75 - NVN takes Saigon with little
resistance
“Peace With Honor”
• US Casualties
– 58,286 KIA or non-combat deaths
– 153,303 WIA
– 1,643 MIA (originally 2,646)
– 725-837 POW
• Vietnamese Casualties
– ARVN - 171,000 - 220,000
– VC – 1,100,000 (US counts 950,765)
– SVN Civilians – 200,000-400,000
– NVN Civilians - 50,000-75,000
– Cambodians – 200,000-300,000…
Honor? Cambodian Genocide, 1975-79
Legacies