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Vietnam War for Independence
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French Involvement in Vietnam
Ho Chi Minh asked the USA for assistance in turing Vietnam into a nationalistic and independent country. When we refused, he turned to communism and began a battle with the French. -
Indirect Involvement in the War
In the early 1950's, presidents Truman and Eisenhower sent over supplies to help the French. -
Geneva Accords
The Geneva Conference was held over a span of four months, in an attempt to settle issues regarding Vietnam and several other locations. The decisions made here resulted in Vietnam spliting at the 17th parallel. In this arrangement, the North was pro-communist, led by Ho Chi Minh, and the South was pro-West. -
The Domino Theory
It was believed, that if Vietnam fell under communistic rule, other countries would follow their example. As a precautionary measure, Kennedy sent advisors to Vietnam, and the green berets arrived to teach South Vietnam's army how to fight. -
Diem Coup
Ngo Dinh Diem was from North Vietnam. As he became more and more oppressive of the nation and it's people, he lost the public's support. The US provided supplies to help overthrow him. -
Gulf of Tonkin
Gulf of Tonkin refers to two water strikes made by the USA under the command of President Johnson. We used this attack as a way to gain immediate involvement in the war. -
The First USA Troops Enter Vietnam
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Peak of Troops in Vietnam and Peak of Public Support
As we began severely attacking in Vietnam, we used many tactics. We used pacification to make "friends" and obtain information from the Vietnamese. However, we also used very antifriendly tactics, such as free fire zones, Agent Orange chemical warfare, search and destroy missions and B-52 bombings. The conflicting ideals between the making friends tactics and the destroying the enemy tactics made it very difficult to sustain any sort of relationship with the civilians. (cont. in next event) -
Tet Offensive
Named after the Tet new year, The Tet offensive was a time of complete warfare. Both sides turned to all-out offense and the enemy attacked every major population. At the time, US citizens had been told that we were on the brink of winning the war, so these events cause a lot of fear and confusion back home. -
Peak of.. Cont.
In addition, we were not used to jungle combat. This gave the Vietcong the upper hand. As this was their territory, and we lacked experience on this kind of land. -
My Lai Massacre
As it became more and more difficult to distinguish the enemy from the civilians, US solidiers began making more impulsive choices on how to proceed. During the My Lai massacre, an example of this, our soldiers killed 300 unarmed civilians. -
"Peace with Honor"
President Nixon presented a speech, promising the public that we would defeat the Vietcong and find peace in a honorable way. -
Leak of the Pentagon Papers
Daniel Ellsburg released a series of papers to the New York Times that revealed a few years of government secrets. This lead to a generation of people who distrusted the US government. -
Last Troops Withdraw
Just 4 years after we were promised a victory, we withdrew our troops from Vietnam. Prisoners of War were returned and the support of the South by air ended due to Watergate. -
Congress Passes the War Powers Act
Congress passes a new law, stating that the president must notify congress withing 48 hours of deployment, and must withdrawl forces within 60 days, if the congress does not support the deployment. -
End of the Vietnam War
South Vietnam fell to the North, after 30 years of battle. Vietnam is united under Communist rule, and the 30 year Vietnamese death count is 3.1 million.
