Vietnam War
Notes
Background to Vietnam War
The Gulf of Tonkin Incident, 1964
- Originally a French Colony (Indochina)
- Ho Chi Minh and his communist supportersresisted Japanese occupation during WWII
- After WWII the French reoccupied
- Ho Chi Minh fought the French and defeated them in 1954 (Dien Bien Phu)
- Laos, Cambodia granted independence
- Vietnam divided along the 17th parallel
- South Vietnam led by a Catholic named Ngo Dinh Diem
- The mainly Buddhist south had opposition in the form of the National Liberation Front(NLF) and the Viet Cong (a guerrilla force)
- The North (Ho Chi Minh) supported both of these groups
- The North never accepted the Geneva agreement of 1954
- U.S. saw this as another situation in whichcontainment was necessary (SEATO)
- The U.S. had supported the French (military advisors)
- Kennedy increased troops in 1962 from 500-10,000
- CIA overthrows Diem in 1963 (corruptness)
The Gulf of Tonkin Incident, 1964
- A fabricated incident was set up; anAmerican destroyer (USS Maddox) was torpedoed
- Led President Johnson to install the Tonkin Gulf Resolution
- Led to the commitment of regular ground troops and air support
- 200,000 troops in 1965- 600,000 in 1968
- The National Liberation Front (NLF) supported the North
- Sent supplied on a route from the North through Cambodia, Laos and behind linesinto South Vietnam
- The U.S. refused to fight on Cambodia or Laotian territory so supplies remained safe
- Offensive launched by the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) in 1968
- Suprises Americans
- Is played up as a major victory for the North although very little is achieves
- Public relations victory
- Anti-war demonstrations increase as a result
Quote
"The Vietnam War required us to emphasize the national interest rather than abstract principles. What President Nixon and I tried to do was unnatural. And that is why we didn't make it."
-Henry A. Kissinger
-Henry A. Kissinger
Summary
In 1965, President Johnson stated that an American destroyer was torpedoed. This allegation meant that US troops were deployed to Vietnam. This statment was a fabricated incident. As a result, the Tet Offensive was launched on the American troops by the North Vietnam army. The Vietcong used the Ho Chi Minh trail as a means of delivery on a route through cambodia. This trail was extremely valuable to the Vietcong forces during the war becasue the US refused to fight along it.