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French Control of Vietnam
The high taxes enforced by the French resulted in numerous uprisings, however none were successful before the Japanese gained control of Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh was originally called Nguyen That Thanh. During the early 1900's, Ho Chi Minh participated in protests and revolts against the French government. He was inspired by Woodrow Wilson's "Fourteen Points" and wanted the US to promote Vietnam's independence. He proposed this to American officials at a peace conference, but was turned away. -
WWII Starts
During WWII, Japan invaded Vietnam. The people, angered by their new Japanese rulers, created the Vietminh, also known as the League for the Independence of Vietnam. This group fought against the Japanese troops stationed in Vietnam throughout WWII. After the Japanese were defeated in 1945, Vietnam declared itself a sovereign nation, to the dismay of France, who still claimed to rule them. -
The First Indochina War
After WWII, control of Vietnam was returned to France. Once again, Wilson refused to support the Vietnamese Independence Movement. He didn't support the movement because France was an ally and the Vietminh would support Communism. The Domino Theory was Eisenhower's theory that if Vietnam became Communist, the neighboring countries would soon follow. In US support for France, the US sent resources to France to resist the movement. Ultimately the French failed, surrendering at Dien Bien Phu. -
The Geneva Conference
After the French surrendered, France, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, China, the USSR, and the US held joint conferences to plan the future of Vietnam. It was decided that Vietnam would be divided along the 17th Parallel into North and South. Also, the conferences required Vietnam to have elections to determine if the country would reunify. Ngo Dinh Diem rose to power in South Vietnam. He was supported by the US, so communism would not spread to South Vietnam. -
Vietnamese Civil War
In 1959, North Vietnam began sending resources to rebels in South Vietnam. The Vietcong means "Vietnamese Communists" and were military forces of the rebels in South Vietnam. In 1955, the US supplied South Vietnam with money and weapons, as well as military advisors, who were technically not allowed to be in combat. In 1963, JFK, authorized the military advisors to engage in combat, resulting in more US deaths that year. -
Attack on the USS Maddox
The USS Maddox, a navy destroyer, was attacked by North Vietnamese torpedo boats in the Gulf of Tonkin. Due to this attack, the US passed the Tonkin Gulf Resolution, which allowed the US forces to fight back if attacked or threatened. -
Operation Rolling Thunder
A bombing campaign over North Vietnam, mainly targeting military bases and the Ho Chi Minh trail, a major transport network for North Vietnamese troops. The bombers mainly used napalm, a highly flammable, sticky, petroleum based substance that burns through almost anything. -
Pacification
The efforts of the US to win the support of the South Vietnamese people. The Vietnamese people were relocated from their villages to safe camps, where they were given food and shelter. The US soldiers were extremely unhappy due to little progress being made, and the guerilla tactics of the Vietcong. -
Tet Offensive
A large, coordinated attack by North Vietnam on South Vietnam all across the country. This caused lowered morale among US troops. The offensive was a failure for North Vietnam, which lost more than half of its troops. Due to the heavy losses by the NVA, general Westmoreland believed that it was time to strike, so he requested 206,000 additional troops. Due to the continuing war, violence broke out protesting the war at the Democratic nation convention. -
Richard Nixon is Elected
Nixon won the 1968 election by 510,000 votes. During his presidency, Nixon advocated Vietnamization, the process of encouraging South Vietnamese troops to fight instead of US troops, so the US could withdraw from Vietnam. Nixon believed that the vocal protesters were not representative of the "Silent Majority" of Americans.
