The Vietnam War

By: Jennifer Dean

• The Vietnam war had many different names including..

• Second Indochina War

• The Vietnam Conflict

• And The American War

• The Vietnam War was a Cold War military conflict that occurred in..

• Vietnam

• Laos and

• Cambodia

The war was fought from November 1st, 1955 to April 30, 1975.

• It was fought between the communist North Vietnam and the government of South Vietnam which was supported by the United States ( anti-communist nation )

Viet Cong

• This was a Vietnamese, communist controlled area.

• Fought against anti-communist forces.

• The U.S and the South Vietnamese Army relied on air superiority and overwhelming firepower to search and destroy operations.

• The United States entered the war to prevent a communist takeover of South Vietnam as part of their strategy of containment.( stopping the spread of communism)

• After involvement peaked in 1968 U.S ground forces were withdrawn as a part of a policy called Vietnamization, fighting continued despite the Paris Peace Treaty.

• The Case Church Amendment- U.S congress prohibited the use of American military After August 15 unless the president secured congressional approval in advance.

• The capture of Saigon- (by the north Vietnamese Army) Marked the end of the Vietnam war.

There was a large amount of human loses.

• 3 to 4 million Vietnamese from both sides.

• 1.5 to 2 million Laotians and Cambodians.

• 58,159 U.S soldiers.

Background

• France began its conquest of Indochina in the late 1850’s.

• The Treaty of Hue formed the basis for French colonial rule in Vietnam for the next seven decades.

• The current day nations of Cambodia and Vietnam was made into a colony of French Indochina. (Laos was later added on.)

Viet Minh

• Vietnamese opposition movement.

• Initially formed to seek independence for Vietnam from France and later to oppose Japanese occupation.

• Controlled by the Communist Party of the Vietnamese.

• Funded by U.S and Chinese Nationalist.

• The French Indochina colonial authorities started holding secret talks with the Free French.

Bao Dai

• The Emperor of Vietnam

• “Keeper of Greatness”

• During 1944-1945 a deep famine struck northern Vietnam due to a combination of poor weather and Japanese exploitation.

• 1 million people died of starvation

• In August 1945 the Japanese had been defeated and surrendered unconditionally .

• On September 2 1945, Ho Chi Minh, the leader of Vietnam, declared the Independent Democratic Republic of Vietnam in Hanoi.

Allies

• THE UNITED KINGDOM

Allies

• THE UNITED STATES

Allies

• Soviet Union

• They were the major allied victors of World War II.

• They all agreed that the area belonged to the French.

• But the French did not have the ships weapons or soldiers to immediately retake Vietnam so the major powers came to an agreement that British troops would occupy the south while the Nationalist Chinese forces would move in from the North.

The British rearmed the French and parts of the surrendered Japanese to aid them in retaking Southern Vietnam..

Ho Chi Minh

• President the Democratic Republican of Vietnam (north)..

• Ho Chi Minh initially attempted to negotiate with the French.

• In January 1946, Viet Minh won elections across central and northern Vietnam and began killing off opposition politicians.

Beginning of the first Indochina War

• The war spread to Laos and Cambodia where communist organized the Pathet Lao and the Khmer Seria after the model of Viet Minh..

Exit of the French

The battle of Dien Bien Phu marked the end of French involvement in Vietnam

On May 7, 1954 the French Union surrendered

At the Geneva Conference independence was granted to Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam

Transition Period

• Civilians were given the opportunity to freely move between two states for a 300 day period.

• Catholics started flowing to the South in fear of persecution of Communists.

Diem Era 1955-1963

• The Domino Theory- argued that if one country fell to communist forces then all the surrounding countries would follow.( proposed by Eisenhower )

Presidents Involved

John F Kennedy.Gerald FordLyndon JohnsonRichard NixonDwight

Eisenhower

JFK’s Administration

• 1961-1963

• Kennedy wins the election- 1960

• Began the space race

• Raised awareness that the Soviet Union had surpassed them the U.S in space and missile programs

• He sent Lyndon to Vietnam to declare Diem “Winston Churchill of Asia”

• He was assassinated in Nov. 1936

Lyndon B. Johnson

• Became president after Kennedy’s death

• More concerned with his Great Society and social programs.

• USS Maddox was fired on during an intelligence mission.

Escalation and ground war

• U.S air forces needed more protection.

• Vietnamese could not provide security

• The American ground war started when the U.S marines were sent away

• South Vietnamese forces were defeated.

Oppositions to war

Americans are tired of war.

They wanted to end bloodshed.

Early opposition to Americas involvement in Vietnam was centered around the Geneva Conference of 1954.

Riots broke out at the 1968 Democratic national Convention.

• The My Lai Massacre in 1964 gained support for the antiwar movement.

• Soldiers returning from Vietnam Veterans Against the War.

• The Paris Peace Accords, signed in 1973, ended the Vietnam War by finally withdrawing all of the troops.

• South Vietnam was left to fend for themselves.

Exit of Americans

• U.S began reducing their troop support in South Vietnam during the final years of Vietnamization.

• After Nixon’s resignation, Gerald Ford became president on August, 9, 1974

.

• The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Kissinger and Tho, but the Vietnamese negotiator declined it saying that a true peace did not exist.

• With U.S bombing suspended, work on the Ho Chi Minh Trail could proceed unimpeded.

Restart of War

• South Vietnamese President Thieu announced the restart of the war after the Vietcong attacked them and recaptured their territories they had lost during the previous dry season

Fall of Phuoc Binh

• The Fall of Phuoc Binh and the lack of any American response left the South Vietnamese leaders totally hopeless and almost defeated completely

Ho Chi Minh Campaign

• This campaign called for the capture of Saigon before May 1st.

• American helicopters came through the chaos to evacuate some South Vietnamese, and U.S. and foreign nationals from the city and from the U.S. embassy.

The End of the War

• A tank crashed through the gates of the Presidential Palace and at 11:30, the North Vietnamese flag was raised over it.

• By the end of the war, the Vietnamese had been fighting foreign occupation for 116 years.

Effects of the War on the U.S

• Doubts also arose about the Army’s ability to train foreign forces.

• The U.S. spent a total of 111 billion dollars on the war

I would like to thank..

• http://www.pbs.org/battlefieldvietnam/history/index.html

• Wikipedia.com/vietnamwar