Monday May 6

The French Connection:

France had gained control of Indochina in a series of colonial wars in the mid-late 1800's
During WW2, Vichy France worked with Japanese forces in controlling Indochina during WW2
After the Japanese surrender, the French fought to retain control of their former colony against the Viet Minh independence movement, led by Communist Party leader Ho Chi Minh
After the Viet Minh defeated the French colonial army at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954, the French withdrew, and the colony was granted independence
Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos are French Indochina

Geneva Conference 1954:

Vietnam was partitioned temporarily into a Northern and a Southern zone of Viet-Nam at the 17th parallel
The north was ruled by Ho CHi Minh, while the south would be under control of Emperor Bao Dai
In 1955, Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem became president of the new south Vietnamese republic
The Geneva Conference (1954) set up the elections to unify the country by July, 1956
Such elections were never held because neither side wanted to lose

Who fought?

vs.

The NFL, A group of the South Vietnamese guerilla fighters (Vietcong)
The People's army of Viet Nam (PAVN- the North Vietnamese Army, pronounced Palwin)

Escalation-Truman through Johnson:

President Truman began US involvement by sending money to help the French
President Eisenhower continued US support by sending military advisers to give temporary support to Diem's government in the South
President Kennedy continued sending advisers as well as special operation forces green berets)
President Johnson sent more and more combat forces

Kennedy and Vietnam:

strongly believed that if South Vietnam was a stable and democratic country, it would keep communism out
Aid to the South was often made on the condition that the government wounld undertake certain political reforms
South Vietnamese President Diem didn't work well with the US
He would often go through the motions of these US prescribed reforms but ended up embarrassing the US
Diem didn't believe that US ideas of democracy were suited for his government
With CIA backing Diem was overthrown by the SV military and killed due to his actions and beliefs

Diem vs. Buddihists:

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution:

Several US ships were supposedly attacked by the North Vietnamese torpedoes in the Gulf of Tonkin
Most experts today don't think the ships were attacked
This was Johnson's ploy to get involved in Vietnam
On August 7, 1964, Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution giving president Johnson the power
The congress on August 7, 1964 passed and agreed with Johnson's view on the war
only 2 people in congress voted against it

What did this resolution really do?

On August 26, 1964, President Johnson was nominated as the Democratic candidate for the presidency of the US
Johnson easily defeated Barry Goldwater in the 1964 election
president Johnson and General William Westmoreland kept saying that with more troops we will win the war
Most Americans tended to believe this at first
The American public's faith was shattered on January 30, 1968 when the enemy supposedley on the verge of collapse mounted the Tet Offensive in which nearly every major city in SV was attacked
Named after the lunar new year festival which is the most important Vietnamese holiday in SV
Although we crushed the enemy military the surprising huge offensive attack from the enemy that was supposedly almost defeated convinced many Americans that victory was impossible

Blogs