1 Modified Notes- WRITE Down What's In
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Modified notes- WRITE down what’s in RED 1 Early History of Vietnam Vietnam was ruled by the Chinese for over a thousand years France conquered the nation by 1893 along with Laos and Cambodia. and began exploiting the economic wealth of the region Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia became known as French Indochina Then WWII happened………USA supported Ho Chi Minh to fight Japan French Indochina consisted of Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. 2 After WWII…. Cold War, Domino FRENCH theory, Communism ….. French INDOCHINA wanted to reclaim Vietnam Ho Chi Minh- leader of the Communist Vietnamese FRENCH Indo China War- a bitter nine year war began that ended in a French defeat that divided Vietnam into two halves. One, the north, became communist, while the south was under U.S. influence. Who did US support now? Why? Vietminh- Name of the League for the Independence of Vietnam, a communist movement from 1941-1954 (beat the French) HO CHI MINH 3 Is Truman Involved? How 1954-What did Eisenhower do? President Kennedy increased military advisors and formed the Green Berets special forces. President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Secretary of State John Foster Dulles (from left) greet south 4 Vietnam's President Ngo Dinh Diem at Washington national airport, 05/08/1957 President Ho Chi Minh, Democratic Republic of Viet Nam President Ngo Dinh Diem, Republic of Viet Nam Vietcong: A communist led army and guerilla force in SOUTH Vietnam that fought its government and was 5 supported by North Vietnam President Kennedy was assassinated and LBJ takes over…….. November 22,1963. 6 Tonkin Gulf Resolution, August 1964 Resolution passed by Congress in response to perceived aggression by North Vietnamese against the U.S. Navy. Gave Pres. Johnson approval to escalate the use of military force in Vietnam without declaring war USS Maddox Target of a fictional North Vietnamese naval attack 7 LBJ explained “why we are fighting in Vietnam” (follow along as read aloud- answer in your own words why US is fighting in Vietnam) “Most of the non-Communist nations of Asia cannot, by themselves and alone, resist the growing might and the grasping ambition of Asian communism. Our power, therefore, is a very vital shield. If we are driven from the field in Viet-Nam, then no nation can ever again have the same confidence in American promise, or in American protection. In each land the forces of independence would be considerably weakened, and an Asia so threatened by Communist domination would certainly imperil the security of the United States itself. We did not choose to be the guardians at the gate, but there is no one else. Nor would surrender in Viet-Nam bring peace, because we learned from Hitler at Munich that success only feeds the appetite of aggression. The battle would be renewed in one country and then another country, bringing with it perhaps even larger and crueler conflict, as we have learned from the lessons of history. Moreover, we are in Viet-Nam to fulfill one of the most solemn pledges of the American Nation. Three Presidents -- President Eisenhower, President Kennedy, and your present President -- over 11 years have committed themselves and have promised to help8 defend this small and valiant nation.” Agent orange an herbicide used by the U.S. military to destroy forests and crops goal -to clear vegetation along highways in order to make it more difficult for the VC to conceal themselves for ambushes. Napalm- a mixture of chemicals used by the U.S. military in flamethrowers and fireboms 9 In 1965, OPERATION "Rolling Thunder" a series of bombing attacks by U.S. In N. Vietnam in an attempt to cut supply lines to the VietCong in South Vietnam the first sustained American assault on North Vietnamese territory and thus represented a major expansion of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War 10 Helicopters played a vital role in America's air mobility strategy during the Vietnam War 11 Helicopters 12 1965 U.S. troops engage in combat. end of 1965, 180,000 U.S. troops in Vietnam. By 1968 over 500,000 13 U.S. troop strength in Vietnam: 1960-1972 600,000 500,000 400,000 300,000 200,000 100,000 0 60- 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 63 14 The geography of Vietnam made it a difficult battleground for U.S. soldiers. 15 Ho Chi Minh trail: the route used by N. Vietnamese to conduct raids in S. Vietnam and to deliver supplies to the VietCong 16 Ho Chi Minh trail 17 Vietnamese Communist (VC) tactics Guerrilla Warfare describes war where the fighters use the surrounding areas and geography of the land-mainly in mountains, jungles, swamps and cities-to hide in, to set traps in and to fight in without using heavy weapons like tanks, planes, warships, etc. 18 Examples of traps 19 Vietcong traps used to wound or kill American and South Vietnamese soldiers 20 The VC used underground tunnel complexes to hide from U.S. firepower. 21 Used by N. Vietnamese Army 22 23 Troop strength in Vietnam by year New Year USA SVN Aust. Korea Zealand Philippines Thailand 1959 760 243000 -- -- -- -- -- 1960 900 243000 -- -- -- -- -- 1961 3205 243000 -- -- -- -- -- 1962 11300 243000 -- -- -- -- -- 1963 16300 243000 -- -- -- -- -- 1964 23300 514000 198 200 30 20 -- 1965 184300 642500 1560 20620 120 70 20 1966 385300 735900 4530 25570 160 2060 240 1967 485600 798700 6820 47830 530 2020 2200 1968 536100 820000 7660 50000 520 1580 6000 1969 475200 897000 7670 48870 550 190 11570 1970 334600 1,000,000 6800 48450 440 70 11570 1971 156800 1,000,000 2000 45700 100 50 6000 1972 24200 1,000,000 130 36790 50 50 40 1973 50 1,000,000 -- -- -- 24 The Tet Offensive: Turning point in the war in South Vietnam A major Communist attack against the South Vietnamese and U.S. positions in January 1968 during Tet, the Vietnamese New Year This event is widely viewed as a turning point in the war because Americans questioned how a “defeated” army could launch such a large-scale and effective attack. up until that point Americans were told that the communists were losing the war. evident that this war could only be won through a greater commitment of men and resources, additional 200,000 troops was refused by a presidential commission headed by the new United States secretary of defense 25 My Lai Massacre March 16, 1968 My Lai was in an area of South Vietnam that was entrenched with communists. On March 16, 1968, Charlie Company, 11th Brigade, under the command of Lieutenant William Calley, entered the Vietnamese village of My Lai. Numerous members of Charlie Company were maimed or killed in the area during the preceding weeks. The company engaged in a search and destroy mission, and over 300 apparently unarmed civilians, including women, children, and the elderly were massacred. Lieutenant Calley ordered his men to enter the village firing, though there had been no report of opposing fire. According to eyewitness reports offered after the event, several old men were bayoneted, praying women and children were shot in the back of the head, and at least one girl was raped and then killed. For his part, Calley was said to have rounded up a group of the villagers, ordered them into a ditch, and mowed them down in a fury of machine gun fire. When news of the atrocities surfaced, it sent shockwaves through the U.S. political establishment, the military's chain of command, and an already divided American public.26 Army First Lieutenant William Calley, Jr My Lai was used by the anti-war movement The anti-war movement attempted to use this event to prove that the U.S. had no right to be involved in the Vietnam conflict. However, they were applying an unfortunate double standard. North Vietnamese atrocities, such as the slaughter of South Vietnamese civilians in Cai Be and Dak Son in 1967 and the massive live burial of innocents in Hue in 1968 were virtually ignored in the United States. After the Tet Offensive the NVA and VC murdered as many as 5,000 South Vietnamese civilians including doctors, teachers, lawyers, businessmen. The most widespread atrocities happened in the city of Hue. There alone the Communists killed over 3,000 South Vietnamese. This was not widely reported by the press, and routinely either ignored by the anti-war movement. The United States Army punished its soldiers for wartime atrocities. The North Vietnamese gave medals to those who buried thousands alive at Hue. 27 My Lai Today: monument to the Massacre 28 The Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), was a radical student activist movement in the U.S. 29 Richard M. Nixon became the 37th President of the United States 30 January 1969 President Richard M. Nixon, promised to achieve "Peace With Honor." 31 1969 saw some of the bloodiest fighting of the war. This led to massive anti-war demonstrations and the announcement of a new policy. Nixon visited Vietnam, 1969 32 Vietnamization Nixon launched “Vietnamization” of the war. fighting to be done by South Vietnamese (ARVN) with the U.S. providing support. also involved the improvement and modernization of the South Vietnamese armed forces, and training them REMOVING US TROOPS 33 Examples of Vietnamization 34 President Nixon, as part of Vietnamization, began withdrawing U.S. troops from Vietnam 500000 450000 400000 350000 300000 250000 troops 200000 150000 100000 50000 0 1969 1970 1971 35 In May of 1970, a Kent State University anti-war (Cambodian invasion) protest turned deadly. National guardsmen opened fire on protesting students killing four and wounding eight.