Vietnam 1954-1975
The French and Vietnam
Vietnam 1954-1975
Why did the Americans get involved in
Vietnam?
Vietnam 1954-1975
Vietnam 1954-1975
The theory and Practice
US Responses to Guerrilla War:
of Guerrilla War
Hearts & Minds / Rolling Thunder
Why did the Americans get involved?
The French in Vietnam
Domino Theory: Americans were convinced if one country fell to
Communism, others would. So if Vietnam went Communist, then Laos
would follow.. This persuaded the Americans that they should support
the government of South Vietnam.
The French had controlled Vietnam before World War 2. During World
War 2 France had been beaten in Europe and agreed to allow the
Japanese to put troops into Vietnam. A Communist resistance, the
Vietminh, led by Ho Chi Minh,
In 1964 the US destroyer Maddox was in the Gulf of Tonkin—off the
North Vietnamese coast. Three North Vietnamese patrol boats
attacked the Maddox. No one was killed. President Johnson
exaggerated the attack and used it as an excuse to send troops into
Vietnam.
France tried to re-establish control after 1954. They attempted to
draw the Vietminh in to battle. They set up a base at Dien Bien Phu.
The idea was to draw the Vietminh onto the French guns and resupply
by air. It didn’t work. The bases we at the foot of hills and could be
fired into. After the failure, the French withdrew. Communist North
Vietnam north of the 17th Parallel and anti-communists to the South.
Hearts & Minds / Rolling Thunder
As a result of the Gulf of Tonkin, the Americans destroyed the patrol
ship base. When the Vietcong attacked a US base at Pleiku, 9 US
troops were killed. In response Operation Rolling Thunder saw the
bombing of Vietnam. B-52 bombers [carrying 28 two-tonne bombs]
attacked the countryside - not towns [to avoid the USSR intervention].
Apart from overwhelming airpower, the US tried to win hearts and
minds. The US dug roads and canals, built bridges and clinics.
Refugees fleeing North Vietnam were provided with homes.
Theory & Practice of Guerrilla War
Guerrilla soldiers could not take on regular troops so they didn’t. They
tried to blend in with the civilians so the US could not attack them.
Their aim was to make the villagers support them and life so horrible
for the US they would leave Vietnam. They did this by:

A Code of Conduct eg don’t damage crops—so villagers support
them.

Kill local police and tax collectors—to win support.

Set bobby traps on known patrol routes / torture & kill prisoners.

Hit and run attacks on bases / dig tunnels to avoid detection
Vietnam 1954-1975
Search & Destroy
Chemical Responses
Vietnam 1954-1975
My Lai
Vietnam 1954-1975
Vietnam 1954-1975
Why did the Media undermine
Protest in USA
the war effort?
My Lai
Search & Destroy / Chemicals
16th March 1968. 9 US helicopter gunships land 3 platoons. 700
people lived in My Lai. One platoon, led by Lt. William Calley, killed
500 unarmed men, women and children. No resistance was offered.
The only males were old men and boys.
Search & Destroy: To minimalize their loses and surprise the enemy a
small number of US helicopters would leave a town and head for a
suspect village. If there was any sign of Vietcong presence the village
was destroyed.
18 months later a TV investigation made My Lai public. It horrified the
US public as they saw their troops behaving like the Nazis. Only Calley
was put on trial. He was given a life sentence in 1970 [and was
released in 1974].
Problem was the brutal tactics made the villagers more sympathetic.
The VC’s began a ‘find and kill’ n American policy.
My Lai wasn’t unusual and like so many Search & Destroy mission.
People lost faith in the war.
Agent Orange: A chemical to destroy leaves and undergrowth to stop
the VCs having anywhere to hide. It caused cancer.
Napalm: Burnt skin and caused birth defects [half million babies]
Protest
Media
Democratic Party Convention 1968
10,000 people turned up to
protest while the Democratic Party were choosing a candidate for
president. TV pictures showed the police savagely attack protestors.
WW2 took place on film in black and white. The Vietnam War took
place in colour and on TV. The media did not feel they needed to
support the war, unlike WW2, as America wasn’t being attacked. Every
night the TV showed pictures of dead Americans and suffering
Vietnamese. People began to wonder if the war was worth it.
White House 1971 300,000 people, many wounded and medal
wearing members of Vietnam Veterans against the War.
In 1968 Democrat Hubert Humphrey said he would scale back
involvement. Republican Richard Nixon said he would get out of
Vietnam. Nixon won.
Vietnam 1954-1975
Kent State 1971 & Fulbright
Vietnam 1954-1975
Tet Offensive
Vietnam 1954-1975
Vietnam 1954-1975
US Bombing
Vietnamisation
Tet Offensive
Kent State & Fulbright
31st January 1968 [Tet New Year Festival] the VC launched attacks in
100 places. This wasn’t a guerrilla attack but ordinary warfare. The
North Vietnamese army also attacked Saigon.
Kent Stat, Ohio. In 1970 1000 students demonstrated causing minor
damage to a building. The governor of Ohio called in the National
Guard. They fired tear gas at the students. Some students threw rocks
back. Shots were fired an 4 people were killed. The Governor said
they were Communists. They weren’t even part of the demo.
Losers:
The VC were beaten in 48 hours. They lost 30,000 dead.
The VC were no longer able to play a major role. Even North Vietnam
agree to peace talks.
Winners: The US embassy in Saigon was captured [for a short time];
TV images showed damage and death. Americans wondered if they
could ever win this war. The Tet Offensive took place just before the
1968 Presidential Elections,. Nixon won saying he would get out.
Fulbright Hearings: 1971, the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee
criticised events like My Lai. John Kerry [Vietnam Veterans against the
War] was the star. This wasn’t just long haired students, this was The
Senate and Veterans showing the war was being fought brutally.
Vietnamisation
US Bombing
The US wanted out but it could not just leave without being accused of
running away. The Policy of ‘Vietnamisation’ was a cover. The South
Vietnamese would replace the US. The South Vietnamese Army
[ARVN] was expanded by conscripted all men aged 17-43—something
which would wreck the economy.]
The US had a huge technical advantage and didn’t want its boys killed.
Solution—bomb the enemy back to the Stone Age. The North
Vietnamese were supplying the VCs along the Ho Chi Min trail . Part of
the trail went through Laos and Cambodia—so the US bombed these
countries as well. This provoked new protests eg at Kent State.
In 1968 the US had 500,000+ men, in 1971 only 150,000.
The US reduced its troops to 150,00. The NVA attacked. Operation
Linebacker was a plan to drop 200,000 bombs in 11 days. The targets
included ports, railways and even the North Vietnamese capital—
Hanoi. It slowed but didn’t stop the NVA—bombing didn’t work.
The North Vietnamese got the message they were winning.
The ARVN was not the same quality of the US troops.
Vietnam 1954-1975
Paris Peace Conference
Vietnam 1954-1975
Fall of Saigon
Vietnam 1954-1975
Vietnam 1954-1975
Why did the Americans pull out?
How did the Americans deal with Guerrilla
Warfare?
Fall of Saigon 1975
By April 1973 all the US troops had left. Congress, responding to public
demands, passed laws preventing the bombing of targets in Vietnam or
Cambodia. No US help was given to South Vietnam.
The War carried on. A 3-pronged attack on the South smashed the
South Vietnamese army. The last dramatic scenes were played out in
Saigon where helicopters landed on the US embassy to get US officials
out and refuges tried to climb aboard.
Why did the American’s Pull Out
Paris Peace Conference
The talks started in 1968. The USA wanted the communists out of the
South; the North Vietnamese wanted the south free of Americans and
no South Vietnamese at the peace conference.
In 1972 some US representatives put it about that Nixon was mad. And
would use nuclear weapons. The Madman Theory was meant to scare
the Vietnamese.
Between 1973 and 1975 an agreement was reached. The US would
withdraw, the North would recognise the South but would hang on to
any gains it had made.
How did the Americans respond to Guerrilla Warfare?
The US tried hearts & minds but didn’t stop the peasants supporting the VC.
America is a democracy. Elected politicians can be voted out.
Politicians need votes. The North Vietnamese / Vietcong were
Communists. They did not have to answer to voters and could force
people to put up with loses.
The American technology could hurt the VCs / NVA but could not
destroy it—without risking USSR involvement. The VCs could not beat
the Americans BUT as Americans lost faith in victory parents did not
want their sons killed and people felt it was not a just war. NIXON
WON IN 1968 BECAUSE HE SAID HE WOULD WITHDRAW—AND HE
DID!
The US tried Agent Orange to kill the vegetation. It did not wipe out enough
forests and caused cancer—making people against the war.
The US tried bombing the hell out of things. It slowed but did not defeat the
VC.
The US tried Search & Destroy. This killed some VCs but made the villagers
anti-American and support the VC.
Maybe if they had carried on for 20 years they may have worn the enemy
down but the US people were not convinced losing sons fdor that long was
worth it.
The French in Vietnam
Theory and Practice of Guerrilla Warfare
Why did America get involved in Vietnam
Hearts and Minds / Rolling Thunder
My Lai
Protest
Search & Destroy / Chemicals
Media
Tet Offensive
Vietnamisation
Fulbright Hearings
US Bombing
Saigon 1975
Why did America pull out?
American Bombing
American responses to Guerrilla Warfare