Vietnam War in the Context of Cold War

CENTRAL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH BIHAR Department of History & Archaeology Course content Course Instructor: Dr. Sudhanshu Kumar Jha Programme: MA History Semester-2 Course Code: MAHIS2003C04 Course Title: Major Themes in Contemporary World since 1945 Date: 18-4-2020 TOPIC: Vietnam War in the context of Cold War

Objective  To learn about the causes and effects of the Vietnam War  To learn about the spread of the cold war in to Southeast Asia  To learn about the internal policies of the USA regarding her confrontation against communism  To know about the impact of it on internal political economy of the USA.  To know about the post-decolonisation conditions in Asia

Introduction Vietnam War was the most crucial event in the context of the cold war. It was fought between North Vietnam and the South Vietnam. But the geo-political conditions prevalent in this region led it to be part of the ongoing cold war between the USA and the USSR and their respective allies. The involvement of the superpowers in to this regional conflict made this war a long and costly affairs which caused the loss of more than 3 million people. Finally, the North Vietnam under its communist government seized South Vietnam in 1975, and the country was unified as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam the following year.

Background This region in Southeast Asia was earlier known as Indo-China. There were five small states ruling over in this region- Annam, Tonkin, Cochin-China, Laos, and Cambodia. The imperialist powers started approaching this region also and France took the lead by establishing its base in Cochin-China first. Then France went on to occupy Annam and Tonkin. Amman, Tonkin and Cochin China were integrated in to one state known as Vietnam and France established her direct control over this state then known as the French Indo-China. France also made Laos and Cambodia as her protectorate states. France continued her rule over this region till the Second World War when Japan occupied this region and established her control over Vietnam. But, Japan’s success was short-lived. Japan’s defeat was imminent soon after unprecedented nuclear attack over it by the USA. While Japan was moving out of this region, she precipitated a government over there under Bio-Dai. In the meanwhile, when Japan was ruling over Vietnam with the help of the French officials, one revolutionary nationalist, Ho Chi Minh, had established an organisation known as Viet Minh, the League for the Independence of Vietnam, to fight against the Japanese and the French imperial forces. The Japanese withdrawal prompted Ho Chi Minh to establish his power in the North Vietnam with Hanoi as its power centre. Ho Chi Minh named his government as the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Thus, the Japanese withdrawal led to establishment of two governments in Vietnam, one under Bio Dai in South Vietnam, and the other under Ho Chi Minh in North Vietnam. After the defeat of Japan, France also attempted to re-establish her control over this region which was resisted tooth and nail by the forces under Ho Chi Minh. As a result, France aligned with the Bao Dai government in South Vietnam and made Sagon her power centre. Both governments declared their intention of the unified Vietnam under own rule which led to a civil war. It was not only the war of control over the whole region but it was also a war of establishing own political social ideology. North Vietnam under Ho Chi Minh represented communist form of government whereas the Bao Dai Government backed by France wished for the hegemony of the liberal capitalist model. The civil war continued for long and it ended with the decisive battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954, when the North Vietnam registered decisive win against France. This war was followed by the Geneva Conference in July, 1954. In this conference, Vietnam was divided along with 17th parallel between North and the South Vietnam. It was also decided that an election in near future would decide the fate of unification of two regions. Entry of the USA and the ensuing Vietnam War The USA was alarmed by the withdrawal of France and the growing force of Ho Chi Minh in North Vietnam representing communism. The USA PRESIDENT, Eisenhower, declared firm support to the South Vietnam against her confrontation with North Vietnam under Ho Chi Minh. In the South Vietnam, an organisation was set up named Viet Com to fight against the forces antagonistic to North Vietnam. The government of Diem attempted to check these forces within South Vietnam, but could not wipe them out altogether. In 1960, another organisation named National Liberation Front was set up to resist Diem’s regime within South Vietnam. The American Government saw these developments as a ploy of North Vietnam to destabilise South Vietnam. In 1960, the Kennedy administration sent a team to report on the ground situation in this region and recommend for further actions to countercheck the attempts of North Korea under Ho Chi Minh. The team worked on Domino Theory that if one country goes communist in this region the others will follow this and recommended for further increasement in American aids, military and economic, to South Vietnam. In 1963, both Kennedy in the USA and Diem in South Vietnam were killed leading to a vacuum in the war efforts against North Vietnam. Taking advantage of this opportunity, in August, 1964, the US boats were attacked in the gulf of Tonkin which led to the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution in the American Congress and the president Johnson ordered the execution of Operation Rolling Thunder. The North Korea in retaliation started Tet Offensive in South Vietnam. The American increasing involvement in Vietnam led to internal protest which resulted in the defeat of Johnson in presidential election. The next president, Nixon, adopted the policy of Vietnamisation of the forces. He also engaged the different stakeholders in peace talk under Hennery Kissinger. The incident at May Lai, a village where 400 civilians were killed in 1968, increased the level of protest within America. On 15th November, 1969, in Washington, almost 250,000 Americans gathered to protest against the Vietnam policy of America. Given the internal protest and continuous loss of America, America was forced to have an agreement with North Vietnam and in 1973 America ordered the withdrawal of her forces from Vietnam. Eventually, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam captured Sagon in 1975 and the whole Vietnam was unified the following year closing the most tortuous history of Vietnam.

Impact and Significance

Vietnam suffered heavy loss in terms of human beings and properties. The economy of Vietnam got a tailspin. It took a long time for the recovery of the economy of Vietnam when it adopted the path of Market economy in 1990s. Ho Chi Minh emerged as strong champion of Communism and also as a symbol of the oppressed and anti-colonial and anti-capitalist forces. The impact for America was more pathetic. It did not only restructure internal American politics but also caused much loss to her economy. The most devastating impact for America was that the myth of American invincibility was lost. It also showed that how much the post- decolonisation scenario in Asia was painful and deleterious.

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