Vietnam War and the Cold War

• The Vietnam War occurred from 1955-1975 and impacted Australia and the world
• The nature of the Cold War and Cold War conflicts, including Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf Wars and Afghanistan will be examined
• The rising influence of Asian nations since the Cold War will also be discussed
• Concepts of Communism and Capitalism will be explained
• The causes and overview of the Vietnam War will be outlined

Coming of the Cold War

• The United States and the Soviet Union emerged as superpowers in 1945 after World War II
• The United States and the Soviet Union worked together to defeat Nazi Germany and Japan in World War II but later had disagreements
• The United States had a capitalist democracy system, promoting private ownership, individual rights, and free elections
• The Soviet Union was a communist state where the government controlled the nation's wealth and limited private property
• The first communist state was set up in Russia in 1917 after the Russian Revolution and was renamed the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in the 1920s
• The Soviet forces stayed in areas they occupied after the war, and by 1949, the Soviet Union established communist governments in eastern Europe
• Winston Churchill spoke of an "iron curtain" across Europe
• The United States sought to prevent the rest of Europe from falling under communist control

Defining Capitalism and Communism

• Capitalism is an economic system where private individuals or businesses, rather than the government, own and control the factors of production like entrepreneurship, capital goods, natural resources, and labor
• Communism is a political and economic ideology that opposes liberal democracy and capitalism
• Communism advocates for a classless system with communal ownership of the means of production and restricted or nonexistent private property

NATO vs Warsaw Pact

• The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is a military alliance between the United States and Western Europe
• An attack against one NATO nation would be considered an attack against all members
• The Warsaw Pact was a military alliance between the USSR and Eastern Europe
• Warsaw pact members pledged to defend one another in case of an attack

Communism Spreading in Asia

• Communism appeared to be gaining influence in Asia
• Communist governments came to power in North Korea and other Asian states, such as Vietnam and Malaya
• In 1949, China, led by Mao Zedong, came under communist rule
• Communists were called "Reds" after the red flag of revolution
• By the end of 1949, there were eleven communist nations, marking the beginning of the Cold War

Origins of the Vietnam War

• The region of Indochina (modern-day Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia) was occupied by the French during the nineteenth century
• By the early twentieth century, Asian nationalism threatened European powers with colonies in Asia
• Ho Chi Minh was a key political figure in Indochina; born in 1890, was a nationalist and communist
• Ho Chi Minh helped found the Indochinese Communist Party in 1931
• In 1941, Ho Chi Minh created the Revolutionary League for the Independence of Vietnam, also known as the Vietminh, when the Japanese invaded
• Japan left Vietnam but the Vietminh declared themselves independent after Japan lost its war, but the French attempted to reimpose their control in 1945 with the help of America
• The Battle of Dien Bien Phu lasted for nine years and ended in 1954 with a major military defeat for the French

Geneva Conference

• France withdrew from the region, and three independent nations were established: Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam
• The Geneva Conference of 1954 led to the Geneva Accords which sought independence and the reunification of Vietnam
• Vietnam was temporarily divided into North and South to then hold free elections
• The Geneva plan lacked support
• American delegates only sparingly participated in the Geneva summit as US Secretary of State John Foster Dulles refused to interact with Viet Minh delegates
• China and the Soviet Union refused to back the Viet Minh's claim to govern

Division of Vietnam

• Vietnam was divided at the 17th parallel under the Geneva Accords (1954) but could not reunify due to political tensions
• The Geneva Accords (1954) ended the war between France and the communist Viet Minh, temporarily dividing Vietnam
• The US opposed communism, while the Soviet Union and China supported Ho Chi Minh's communist North
• Vietnam was supposed to reunify through elections, but the US-backed South would oppose, fearing a communist victory
• The division led to conflicts between North and South, leading to the Vietnam War (1955-1975)

Two Vietnams

• Ho Chi Minh in the North worked towards reunification of Vietnam under one government
• The United States committed itself to the support of South Vietnam to avoid all of Vietnam falling to communism if Minh succeeded
• In 1960, the National Liberation Front, or the Vietcong, formed with nationalist groups in South Vietnam and were both communist and non-communist
• The Vietcong became masters of guerilla warfare while support and assistance had been received from communist North Vietnam
• Under President John Kennedy (1961–63), the United States sent aid and military assistance to support the South Vietnamese army
• By 1963, there were 16,000 United States military personnel in South Vietnam when President Kennedy was assassinated
• The problem now passed to the new American leader, President Lyndon Baines Johnson, also called 'LBJ'

Summary of the Vietnam War

• The area of Indochina had been controlled by the French, but after World War II, Asian nationalism grew
• France left Indochina and Vietnam was divided in 1954; the north under Ho Chi Minh, and the South became Vietnam, but with the support from United States
• Australia supported America because they thought communism would threaten their security
• Australia decided in 1965 to send troops to fight combat in order to go again communist attacks from the north
• Support for Australia's participation grew, so they decided to increase participating troops as the war went on
• President Johnson visited Australia in 1966 and the Holt government was elected
• By 1967, Australia increased its presence in South Vietnam

Crushing Communists in Australia

• Examined is the methods used by Australia to crush the Communist movement including the Cold War, World Communism, the Communist Party Dissolution Bill and the Petrov Affair

Australia and the Fear of Communism

• In 1949, as Mao Zedong led the communists to power in China, Robert Menzies became Prime Minister of Australia
• Australia was a part of the Cold War with allies, the United States, and Britain
• In the 1950s and 1960s, communism was a constant issue and concern for Australia, particularly in Asia, because its safety Australia could be threatened

Domino Theory

• In the 1950s and 1960's the fear that if the spread of communism continued that it would eventually spread to other countries in South East Asia, particularly Australia
• Was given the name "Domino Theory" that if one country went to communism than all countries in Asia would soon be influenced and taken over as well
• This led Australia to partake by sending troops to Vietnam

Australia and the Fear of Communism Continued

• Australia's foreign policy from 1949 onwards, was based on 4 principles
• Communism, especially communism in Asia, posed a threat to Australia therefore Australia's foreign policy was aimed to support The U.S policy of containment
• Foreign policy was also shaped by Australia's the experience of WW2 and Australia's acknowledgement that it was incapable of defending itself, so turned to what prime minister Robert Menzies called our great and powerful friends', like Britain and the U.S
• Australia had to ensure loyalty with its allies by partaking in the Korean war to support the U.S
• Australians also were to show aid in Malaya to help the British fight against communism
• Australia then was to support communism again in Vietnam by assisting the United States
• Australia needed to meet the threat of communism as far away from its own homeland security by setting up foreign military base overseas and providing troops, an approach known as 'forward defense'

Banning the Australian Communist Party

• It was not only communism in Asia that threatened Australia, but also communists within Australia, due to the communist party being formed in 1920
• The influence of the communist party started in the late 1940s. Strikes broke out in vital trade unions and communists looked to grow stronger in Australia
• The government in general was threatened that communists were in responsible for the rise in strikes and industrial unrest
• In Australia the Menzies government looked to diminish communist influenced by forbidding the Australian Communist Party. And in 1950 created the communist party dissolution bill

Communist Party Dissolution Bill

• In 1950, while Robert Menzies was head of the Liberal Party government, he implemented the Communist Party Dissolution Bill within the federal Parliament
• The bill sought to eliminate the Australian Communist Party, and other Communist organizations
• And in addition, to prevent communists from securing specific positions and more activities

Continued Banning the Australian Communist Party

• Most of the opposition was from the Labor party head, DR H. V Evatt, however, he disagreed, claiming that it would harm the rights of the Australian people
• The bill as passed but by march of the following year(1951), six out of seven judges would claim it was unconstitutional
• There was most of Australia's Labor sector what feared the spread of communism, mainly, catholics

Banning the Australian Communist Party in Australia

• A referendum that occurred in Australia in 1951 allowed for the state's constitution to give the government power by which to enforce laws regarding communists and the communist party
• While it was attempted, it was unsuccessful by only a small margin

The Petrov Affair

• In 1954, a journalist in the Canberra Times found a sealed envelope from the Australia Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO)
• The classified file name was named Petrov, containing various information
• Arrived in Australia as diplomats for the Soviet, the 1951's Vladimir and Evdokia Petrov were actually Soviet Intelligence Officers working for the KGB.(Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti)
• Vladimir did the decoding of instructions from Moscow
• While Evdokia, would perform code and cypher work
• After the death of Joseph Stalin and Lavrently, Vladimir decided to defect as Vladimir would accuse of not maintaining his job responsibility
• ASIO already was aware that the Petrov's were in operation
• A Soviet Russian Embassay official, Vladimir Petrov looked too claim political asylums during 13, 1954 to Robert Menzies
• Further more, Petrov gave claim to a lot of information to the Soviet Spy's

Vietnam Fear Linking to Petrov

• To gain support, the government uses the fear and idea of communism
• It has been theorized due to the Petrov spy, result in 1954's election to cause influence in fighting Vietnam.
• This downward progression of communist activities has been seen to be what is going in South East Asia
• Australia saw the Communist activities as a threat
• With Australia Military lack, it was Australia's top interest with the U.S to involve in Asia and to support the fight against communism