VIETNAM WAR

(November 1, 1955 - April 30,1 1975)

"Inside Vietnam: Battle At la Drang" National Geographic Video Clip

The Vietnam War began in 1955 on November 1. The US got involved in Vietnam again under the notion of preventing the spread of communism--Domino Theory. The war was large and one of the more unpopular wars in US history; over $200 billion was spent fueling the war effort. 58,000 Americans were killed--61% were 21 or younger, 304,000 Americans were wounded, and 75,000 were severly disabled. The Vietnam War marked a second large military defeat following the failures of the Korean War.

Major Players
- Communist North Vientnam (Vietcong) backed by the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China.
- NLF--National Liberation Front established on December 20, 1960 by communists in order to gather southerners that opposed the South Vietnamese government; both communists and anti-communists could join because the NLF was an attempt to unify Vietnam under an umbrella organization.
- Ngo Dinh Diem
- President Eisenhower, President Kennedy, President Johnson, and President Nixon
- South Vietnam/the Republic of Vietnam and SEATO.
Important documents and agreements
- Geneva Peace Accords (1954)
  - France and Vietnam agreed to partition Vietnam with what was supposed to be a temporary 17th parallel, allow Vietnam free elections, autonomy, and the ability to reunify after the 'temporary' partition.
- White Paper (December 1961)
  - Report sent to President Kennedy regarding conditions in South Vietnam and advice on future US aid. The report recommended increased military, technical, and economic aid.

South Vietnam due to large amounts of US aid, was formed in 1955. A year later Ngo Dinh Diem was democratically elected--a stipulation of the Geneva Peace Accords--President of South Vietnam. He was strongly anti-communist, but he was paranoid, claiming the South Vietnamese government was under communist attack. The opposition to Diem and his repressive acts like Law 10/59, was strong. Buddhist monks, nuns, students, business people, and peasants alike opposed Diem's rule. Buddhist monks would self-immolate (e.g. set themselves on fire) and this made world headlines as massive protests in Saigon continued.

1961 - 1975

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Chronology of Vietnam War policy through each presidency

US President Harry S. Truman (1945 - 1953)

President Truman set the stage for extended US involvement in the Cold War conflict. He implemented the Truman Doctrine in 1947, which established that the US was obligated to support free peoples resisting attempted subjugation. Containment policy--formulated by US Foreign Service Officer, George F. Kennan--became an extension of Truman's doctrine. The policy basically dictated that Soviet communism needed to be contained. From these seeds grew the resilient weeds of US involvement in the Vietnam War.

US President Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953 - 1961)

Eisenhower oversaw US involvement in the Vietnam after the defeat of the French regime. The Geneva Conference took place soon after French defeat in order to settle lingering hostilities. The Geneva Accords were signed in 1954, but South Vietnam and the US did not sign, only agreeing to the division of Vietnam into the north and the south at the 17th parallel. In addition to dividing Vietnam, the Accords also created the independent states of Cambodia and Laos, and proposed that the UN supervise elections in 1956 to unify the Vietnamese government. The US was going to support the South Vietnamese government under Ngo Dinh Diem in the elections, however Diem cancelled the elections in 1955.

In addition to supporting South Vietnam, Eisenhower implemented his "New Look" policy of

US involvement in French Indochina began as early as 1945 with Truman offering $40 million in economic support of and military assistance for the French as they fought off Soviet expansionism spreading through the Far East.

containment. His policy--formulated together with Secretary of State John Foster Dulles--led to the creation of SEATO (South East Asia Treaty Organization), and Dulles' policy of brinkmanship. Brinkmanship detailed the threat of massive retaliation (i.e. nuclear war) as an extension of containment policy. President Eisenhower hoped that his "New Look" policy would prevent the extension of communism outside of areas where it was already established, and collapse the Soviet system.

Once Diem cancelled elections, Ho Chi Minh's communist Vietcong forces flooded South Vietnam. Eisenhower began America's tumultuous relationship with the war by backing Diem's regime with 1000 US military troops as advisors to the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) and by the time President Kennedy is inaugurated, there are 8,000 US troops in Vietnam. *See Eisenhower Administration for more policy information*

US President John F. Kennedy (1961 - 1963)

In November 1961, Kennedy increased US involvement in the Vietnam War by committing more forces to the war. It was during this administration that the US also supported the overthrow of Ngo Dinh Diem's regime in South Vietnam. Upon doing so, the US was forced to take on a much larger and demanding role in the Vietnam War in order to prevent the South from falling to communist North Vietnamese guerrilla forces.

*See the Kennedy Administration Tab for more on President Kennedy's Policies*

US President Lyndon B. Johnson (1963 - 1969)

In what was deemed "Operation Rolling Thunder," President Johnson ordered a relentless air campaign to bomb North Vietnam until they submitted to defeat--Johnson's strategy followed that of attrition. The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution passed 7 August 1964, authorized Johnson to take what he deemed necessary measures in order to 'maintain peace' and security in southeast Asia. The war quickly escalated from there as US bombers flew missions attacking North Vietnamese installations, and as the US employed helicopters to lift ground forces into jungles to attack enemy communist guerrilla forces. The amount of casualties and the cost of the war, brought US involvement in VIetnam into question with the US public. President Johnson was also skeptical of how costly involvement in Vietnam was--he wanted to address key domestic issues whose funding was diverging toward fueling the war effort. As a result, President Johnson figured a massive escalation would put a speedy end to the war but that was simply not the case. By the end of 1966, the number of US troops for the air campaign alone was set at 450,000 soldiers.

The Tet Offensive January 1968 marked a turning point in Vietnam--but not in favor of the US. 85,000 Viet Cong and communist North Vietnamese forces infiltrated major cities in South Vietnam during Tet--Vietnamese New Year--attacking and seizing control of government institutions like the US embassy in Saigon. Before the end of Johnson's term, he suspended the bombing campaign. The Tet Offensive had only furthered US public criticism of involvement in the Vietnam War, fueling the anti-war movement.

*See Johnson Administration for more on his domestic and foreign policies*

US President Richard M. Nixon (1969 - 1974)

President Nixon promised to bring US involvement in the Vietnam War to and end with peacefully and with honor. His major policy was called "Vietnamization," and it detailed the turning over the war to the South Vietnamese Army by increasing the ARVN's role in the war while gradually withdrawing US ground forces. Nixon's chief advisor, Henry Kissinger was in charge of negotiating a peace treaty that would recognize the division between the North and South on the 17th parallel. In order to speed up the process of negotiations, Nixon authorized heavy bombing raids--like of the Northern capital of Hanoi--and mining Haiphong Harbor in order to cut off shipping.

Nixon was heavily criticized for authorizing a secret operation that inadvertently expanded the Vietnam War into Cambodia and Laos. However, by 1973 US ground had been completley removed from South Vietnam.