Background to the Conflict• 1946 – 1954 – The Indochina War

• Vietnam had been a colony of France, after WWII they began a war for their independence

• France was defeated at the Battle of DienBien Phu

• The country was divided in half along the 17th parallel

• The North under Ho Chi Minh was Communist

• The South was supported by the USA

Belligerent Forces

North Vietnam

• NVA

• Viet Cong

• Support ($ and weapons) from USSR & China

South Vietnam

• ARVN

• USA

Key Concepts

• War by Proxy

• Domino Theory

• Containment

• Guerilla Warfare

• Conscription

• Search & Destroy

Booby Traps

Agent Orange

US Involvement

• 1954 – 1964 – “Advisors”

• 1964 – Gulf of Tonkin Incident

• 1968 – Tet Offensive

• 1968 – My Lai Massacre

• 1973 – Ceasefire, US Troops leave

• 1975 – South surrenders to the North, Saigon become Ho Chi Minh City

Kent State Shooting 1970

• In the US public outcry and disapproval mounted through the late 1960’s

• Demonstrations and protests against both the draft and the war itself were commonplace

• Kent State University in Ohio was the scene of a tragic event when the National Guard opened fire on a group of unarmed protestors, killing four

• This became the subject of the song “Ohio” by Crosby Stills Nash and Young