The Vietnam The Vietnam WarWar

An Introduction

Terms To KnowTerms To KnowTheThe Vietnam WarVietnam War

CambodiaLaos

Ho Chi Minh TrailMekong (Delta)

SaigonHanoi

Tour of DutyM16

The HueyGulf of Tonkin Resolution

Vietnamization

Dien Bien PhuHo Chi MinhGen. William

WestmorelandNgo Dinh Diem

Viet MinhARVNSVA

Vietcong“Charlie”“Gooks”Napalm

Agent Orange

““No event in American history is more No event in American history is more misunderstood than the Vietnam War.”misunderstood than the Vietnam War.”

Richard NixonRichard Nixon

A Brief History of A Brief History of VietnamVietnam

In the 17th century, French traders & missionaries arrived in southeast Asia.

After World War I, Ho Chi Minh attempted to end colonial rule in Vietnam, but failed.

From Colonization On…1884

Indochina ruled by France.

1940France falls to Nazi Germany,

Indochina under Japanese Control.

1945Viet Minh fight Japanese occupation.

Japan defeated in WWII,China exerts influence over North Vietnam, Great Britain

over South Vietnam.

1946France attempts to regaincontrol over Indochina.

First Indochina War begins.Viet Minh v. France

Eisenhower funded nearly 80%of France’s military effort

Some Facts…Some Facts…Ho Chi Minh’s Forces

Often equipped with American weapons100,000 regulars

50,000 semi-regulars225,000 local guerillas

Minh’s forces were “numerically inferior to the French Union troops [during the First Indochina War], but in a type of war where experts believe that the defending force must hold a 10-to-1 superiority in order to win…” Minh would have the

advantage against both France & the United States.

Some Facts…Some Facts…Ratio of Defending Force to Minh’s Forces

1.2-to-1 5-to-1

April 27th, 1954News of Dien Bien Phu reaches Geneva,

Switzerlandwhere the Geneva Accords are taking place

By 1954?More than 92,000 French troops had DIED

“The loss of 8,200 French officers and noncommissioned officers exceeded the rate at which officers were graduating

from French military colleges.”

How did Americans feel How did Americans feel about the events in about the events in

Vietnam?Vietnam?QUESTION

How did Americans feel How did Americans feel about the events in about the events in

Vietnam?Vietnam?“Since their own history was rooted in a long struggle against colonial rule during the eighteenth century, many Americans were sympathetic to the aspirations of the Vietnamese, even though they had little knowledge of Ho Chi Minh, the Vietminh, and what they stood for.

Typical were the remarks of a young congressman and future president from Massachusetts, John F. Kennedy, who declared shortly after the war in Indochina had begun: “The United States must not ally itself with a colonial regime that [has] no real support from the people. The single most powerful force in the world is man’s desire to be free.”

The Geneva AccordsThe Geneva AccordsDiscussed what to do with Vietnam

Outcome?

The Geneva AccordsThe Geneva AccordsWhat did they do?

Divided Vietnam along the 17th Parallel Proposed a neutral Cambodia & Laos

Free elections in 1956 to reunite Vietnam

“I have never talked… with a person knowledgeable in Indochinese affairs who did not agree that had

elections been held as of the time of the fighting, possibly 80 per cent of the population would have

voted for the Communist Ho Chi Minh as their leader…”President Eisenhower in his memoirs

The Geneva AccordsThe Geneva AccordsPresident Eisenhower would not recognize the

agreement for fear of the Domino Theory.

What was the idea of containment?What was the Domino Theory?

860,000 refugeespour south.

Some 160,000 Franco-Vietnamese Troops moved south.

80,000 tribesmenmove north.

5,000 to 6,000 Viet-minh guerillas Went underground in South Vietnam