2. the war
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Transcript of 2. the war
LEARNING INTENTIONS
• Describe how different US Presidents dealt with Vietnam
US troops were first sent to Vietnam in 1955 and the final one left in 1975. What happened
during those two decades?
Five Presidents were involved in sending US
troops to Vietnam:
• Dwight Eisenhower• John F Kennedy• Lyndon Johnson • Richard Nixon• Gerald Ford
Each of them dealt with the issue differently.
The USA was worried about a Communist takeover in Asia.
The fact that many countries –
including China – were Communist meant they felt they had to take action to stop
this.
At first the US wanted France to keep control
of Indochina.
Then they offered economic and military support i.e. weapons.
Eventually they decided to send in US
troops.
After the French exit from Asia, US
President Dwight Eisenhower offered
support to help South Vietnam.
In 1955, he agreed to send ‘advisors’ (US soldiers) not to fight but to help train the South Vietnam army.
The South Vietnam Army training wasn’t
effective.
The US soldiers trained in Texas and knew nothing of jungle
warfare.
The rebel group the Vietcong were still
able to fight a successful guerrilla
war.
US President John F Kennedy was reluctant to send more troops but felt he had no
choice.
During his presidency he sent 16,000 US
advisors to Vietnam. Most notable were the Green Berets (Special
Forces).
Kennedy also started the
Strategic Hamlets initiative.
This involved forcing
Vietnamese peasants to live
in guarded villages. 3000 of these were set
up.
After JFK’s assassination, new
President Lyndon Johnson sent even more troops.
The US public was against this but the
Gulf of Tonkin incident changed their mind, when the US Navy was said to have been attacked by
North Vietnam.
Johnson set up Operation Rolling
Thunder.
This meant that the US would bomb important
sites in North Vietnam.
The Soviet Union and China gave military support to North
Vietnam to shoot down US planes.
Johnson also sent the first US troops to Vietnam that were
there specifically to fight, not just train.
By 1968 there were 535,000 US troops
fighting in Vietnam.
The US soldiers were involved in different activities, including:
• Search and destroy missions
• Air attacks• Chemical attacks (using Agent Orange)
Although the US had a huge military presence in Vietnam, they were
not winning.
The US public was against sending more
troops. Other countries (including SEATO) would not send
more soldiers.
In 1968, new US President Richard
Nixon announced a new policy called
‘Vietnamisation’.
This involved giving more weapons and training to South
Vietnam troops so that US soldiers could then
go home.
This policy ultimately proved unsuccessful
too, mainly because the USA did not win South Vietnam ‘hearts and
minds’.
The US also forced a change of government in Cambodia, which led to
as civil war and 3 million people’s
deaths.
National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger
agreed a truce with North Vietnam at Paris
Peace Talks in.
However South Vietnam rejected the agreement and fighting continued.
The Communists soon took over more of South
Vietnam.
After Nixon’s resignation, his Vice-President Gerald Ford
became President.
Ford struggled to deal with North Vietnamese
attacks. The US Congress also refused to give more funds to keep the fight going.
Eventually it became clear that the US could not win in
Vietnam.
Millions of people were dead and the country had been
destroyed by fighting.
The last US soldier left in 1975.