The Vietnam War [Revision]
Why did America go into Vietnam? The French had failed to hang on to the country after being beaten and Dien Bien Phu. Vietnam was split into two countries. The
Communist Viet Cong began war to take the South. Communist North Vietnam attacked the south. Americans believed in the 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.
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. 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]. For the rest of the war the US would bomb the north and
try to defeat the VC on land in the south.
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.
The VC used Guerrilla warfare. 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. Killed local police and tax collectors—to win support. Set bobby traps on known patrol routes / torture & kill prisoners [eg Tiger Trap and Two Step
Charlie]. Hit and run attacks on bases – not stopping for a stand up fight./ dig tunnels to avoid detection
To counter this the Americans used 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. Problem was the brutal tactics made the villagers more sympathetic. The VC’s
began a ‘find and kill’ n American policy.
The US also used 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]
One Search and Destroy mission was to My Lai. 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. 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]. My Lai wasn’t unusual and like so many Search & Destroy mission. People lost faith in the war.
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. 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. In 1968 Democrat Hubert Humphrey said he would scale
back involvement. Republican Richard Nixon said he would get out of Vietnam. Nixon won.
In America people began to turn against the war. Some wondered if the corrupt government of South Vietnam was worth fighting for. The cost of the war was damaging
the American economy and more and more men were being killed. Protests began to spread.
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. People questioned if the war was worth supporting. By the 1970s people were reacting to My Lai and images of children burnt by
napalm. White House 1971 300,000 people, many wounded and medal wearing members of Vietnam Veterans against the War.
America lost the media war. 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.
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.
Fulbright Hearings: 1971, the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee criticised events like My Lai. Now, not just young veterans and hippies were complaining against the war
but senior politicians were against the war. 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.
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.
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 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.
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. 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 hearts & minds but didn’t stop the peasants supporting the VC.
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.
Vietnam War