We talked about Vietnam War again
The Vietnam Conflict (1950-1975)
The French Connection
- France had gained control of Indochina in a series of colonial wars in the mid-late 1800's
- During World War II, Vichy France worked with Japanese forces in controlling Indochina during WWII
- 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
Geneva Conference-1954
- Vietnam was partitioned temporarily into a Northern and a Southern zone of Vietnam at the 17th parallel
- set up elections to unify the country by July, 1956
- Such elections were never held because neither side wanted to lose.
Who fought?
- The untied states armed forces
- The army of the republic of Viet Nam
- vs.
- The NLF, a group of South Vietnamese guerrilla fighters(Vietcong)
- The peoples army of Viet Nam (PAVN- the North Vietnamese Army, pronounced Pahvin)
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
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
- Several US Ships were supposedly attacked by North Vietnamese torpedoes in the Gulf of Tonkin
- On August 26, 1964, President Johnson was nominated as the Democratic candidate for the presidency of the US
- During his campaign he promise that " We are not abou to sen American boys nine or ten thousand miles away from home to do what Asian boys ought to be doing for themselves"
- Johnson easily defeated Goldwater
- Pres. 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 Americans public's faith was shattered, on January 30, 1968, when the enemy, supposedly on the verge of collapse, mounted the Tet Offensive in which nearly every major city in South Vietnam was attacked
- Named after the lunar new year festival which is the most important Vietnamese holiday in South Vietnamese
- Although we crushed the enemy militarily, the surprising huge offensive attack from an enemy that was supposedly almost defeated convinced many Americans that victory was impossible
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