War in Vietnam,
1954-1975: Useful
Background
Information
GCSE History Revision Notes
Topic Key Words: Containment; Geneva Accords; Tonkin Resolution;
Vietcong; Guerrilla Warfare; Rolling Thunder; Search and Destroy; Hearts
and Minds; Agent Orange; Napalm: Mai Lai; Veterans; Protests; Fulbright
Hearings; Tet Offensive; Vietnamisation; Saigon;
WE WILL EXAMINE
1) HOW EFFECTIVE WERE GUERRILLA TACTICS DURING THE VIETNAM WAR?
2) HOW DID THE COVERAGE OF THE VIETNAM WAR IN THE USA LEAD TO DEMANDS FOR PEACE ?
3) WHY WERE THE US ACTIONS TO END THE VIETNAM WAR UNSUCCESSFUL ?
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Partition of Vietnam after the Geneva Accords, 1954
North Vietnam: Communist; led
by Ho Chi Minh; Vietcong and
the People’s Army of Vietnam.
South Vietnam: Democratic;
backed by the US Government:
Army of the Republic of
Vietnam (ARVN) US Army.
The War in Vietnam, 1954-1975: Useful
Background Information
Before you understand the nature of the Vietnam War, you need to become familiar with
the origins of the War and why the US became involved in such a lengthy and disastrous
conflict. America was involved in Vietnam long before war was ‘officially’ declared in 1965.
Believe it or not, our story begins after the end of WW2…
THE POLICY OF ‘CONTAINMENT’
*At the end of World War 2, Russia had become one of the greatest economic and military
superpowers in the world. America feared that Russia’s strength would allow Communism to
spread to other countries, toppling democratic governments and establishing Communist regimes
in their place. To stop this from happening, the US government developed a policy of
‘containment’ that sought to confine or ‘contain’ Communism within Eastern Europe. When China
became Communist in 1949, America feared that the rest of South-East Asia would also fall to
Communism. America intervened in South-East Asian affairs in order to halt the spread of
Communism from China.*
Therefore, when talking about why America became involved in Vietnam, we need to remember
that it all came down to America’s foreign policy of ‘containment’ – stopping the spread of
Communism.
ARMIES OF THE NORTH:
1. PAVN (People’s Army of Vietnam) – the regular North Vietnamese, well-equipped and
well-trained.
2. The National Liberation Front (NLF), also known as the Vietcong: the nationalist
guerrilla force led by the communist Ho Chi Minh. The Vietcong was a nationalist force
that wanted to unite Vietnam under a Communist government.
ARMIES OF THE SOUTH:
3. ARVN (Army of the Republic of Vietnam) – the regular, trained army of South Vietnam.
4. The US Army - the national army of the United States of America, who supported the
ARVN.
ORIGINS OF THE US INVOLVEMENT IN VIETNAM
French Indochina before WW2
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Before the Second World War, much of Southeast Asia was a French colony made up of
Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. These countries were collectively known as French-Indochina.
During the Second World War, the Japanese invaded Vietnam. After WW2 ended in 1945,
the French regained control of Vietnam.
The French Defeat at Dien Bien Phu, 1954
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After WW2 ended, the French reoccupied Vietnam.
However, many Vietnamese wanted to become independent from France.
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A nationalist army, the Vietminh, began to wage a war against the French in Vietnam. The
Vietminh wanted to make Vietnam an independent nation.
Between March and May 1954, the French forces began an operation to cut off Vietminh
supply lines. The French hoped that this would draw the rebels into a battle in which the
Vietminh army would be destroyed by superior French forces.
The Battle of Dien Bien Phu was a disaster for the French. The French forces were
surrounded by the Vietminh who used a combination of artillery bombardment and heavy
ground fighting to overrun the French Garrison.
The French eventually surrendered, and the First Indochina War had ended.
The Geneva Accords, 1954
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When the French were defeated at Dien Bien Phu, international leaders met at Geneva in
order to discuss the escalating crises in Asia.
At the Geneva Conference, it was agreed that France would withdraw from Asia.
Vietnam was also divided into North Vietnam (communist) and South Vietnam (democratic).
Cambodia and Laos would be independent nations.
There was now a communist government in North Vietnam, and a democratic government
in the South – this was an extremely dangerous situation.
There was also to be a general democratic election in Vietnam in 1956 in which it was hoped
that the country would be reunified under one government.
US POLICY AND INTERVENTION FOLLOWING THE FRENCH DEFEAT AT DIEN BIEN PHU
The Domino Theory and the US policy of ‘Containment’
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In dominos, when you knock down one domino, the rest will fall down in a chain reaction.
South Vietnam was the key to preserving democracy in South East Asia.
The problem was that South Vietnam was surrounded by Communist countries. The USA
feared that if South Vietnam fell to Communism, then every other democratic country in
Asia may also fall to Communism: It was just like dominos – if one country fell, every counry
would.
The American government wanted to stop the spread of Communism after WW2: this was
called ‘containment’. They wanted to ‘contain’ Communism within eastern Europe.
The Domino Theory of Communism led the USA to intervene in Vietnam, and try and protect
Democratic South Vietnam from Communist North Vietnam.
Vietnam: Early Problems and the rise of Ngo Dinh Diem
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The USA did not support the general election in Vietnam.
The American government feared that the Communists would win the elections, and then
Vietnam would become a Communist country.
Therefore, the United States helped the South Vietnamese to hold elections in the south.
Ngo Dinh Diem was elected as the South Vietnamese leader after the elections.
Diem’s rule was tyrannical: he had killed many political opponents during his rise to power in
the elections, and over the coming years he ruled South Vietnam with an iron fist.
He refused to hold elections for fear that he would lose his power; his government, which
was made up of Christian landowners, persecuted Buddhists, and Diem became an
extremely unpopular leader.
The Communist Vietcong infiltrates the South
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By the 1960s, the Northern Vietnamese army, the National Liberation Front (NLF), also
known as the Vietcong, were infiltrating South Vietnam. The NLF was a nationalist force who
wanted to unite Vietnam under one Communist government.
Despite financial and military support for the US government, Diem’s South Vietnamese
army was unable to stop the advances of the Communist Vietcong forces into the south. By
1963, most of South Vietnam was under Ho Chi Minh’s Communist control.
By 1963 it was becoming increasingly clear that Diem was becoming too dangerous; he was
assassinated in a US supported coup.
After Diem’s assassination in 1963, President Kennedy backed the installation of a military
government in South Vietnam.
The Gulf of Tonkin crisis
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In August 1964, US sailors on board the USS Maddox patrolling in the Gulf of Tonkin
reported that they had been attacked by North Vietnamese torpedoes.
A couple of days later, the USS Maddox and the USS Turner Joy reported that they had been
attacked by the Vietcong once again.
US Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which allowed the President Johnson to
take direct military action against Northern Vietnam.
In early 1965, the Vietcong attacked an American airbase in South Vietnam, killing US
soldiers. President Johnson, in retaliation, declared war on North Vietnam.