Vietnam War: Causes

Causes of War

• The Vietnam War is the focus of the causes and consequences of 20th Century Wars.

Long-Term Causes

• Recognition of the Communist party was not recognized by the US and Southern Vietnam.
• Nationalism ambitions came from Viet Minh and other Vietnamese after French colonial rule.
• The separation of the nation into two governments at the 17th parallel.
• The USA and western countries becoming increasingly fearful of communism spreading in South East Asia.

Short-Term Causes: Vietnam Civil War (1956-1975)

• Desire from France, and later the USA, to continue exploiting the region's natural resources like rubber and tin.
• Failed peace talks or negotiations intensified hostilities between North and South Vietnam.
• Assassination of Diem.

Short-Term Causes: Americanized/Internationalized War (1964-1973)

• The Gulf of Tonkin incident in 1964, with alleged attacks on U.S. ships, led to direct U.S. military intervention.
• The North used the Ho Chi Minh Trail to supply NLF and DRV fighters in the South, increasing territorial tensions.

Practices of War and Their Impact

• PAVN stands for the People's Army of Vietnam.
• NLF stands for the National Liberation Front.
• ARVN stands for the Army of the Republic of Vietnam.

PAVN & NLF: What They Used

• AIR: Heavy machine guns and anti-aircraft batteries were supplied by the USSR.
• In the war's final year, the USSR provided hand-held anti-aircraft missiles.
• Soviet SAM missiles and radar batteries provided aerial defense training
• Aircraft: MIG 17s and 21s were provided by the USSR.
• Land: The AK-47, known as "the peasants gun", was a reliable automatic assault rifle from China and the USSR.
• Simple to maintain and use in all conditions.
• The NLF and PAVN used well-hidden traps to slow down US platoons and put them in the rainforest and put them in a vulnerable position in the jungle.
• Sea: Vietnam People's Navy (VPN) used Soviet Osa missile boats, Tarantul corvettes, minesweepers, and Petya class light frigates.

ARVN & USA: What They Used

• Air: Cluster bombs, Napalm bombs, Agent Orange, air-air missiles, silo rockets, and air-to-ground missiles.
• Approximately 1000 F4 Phantom fighter-bomber jets and 200 F5 Tiger Shark multirole fighter jets. Deployed approximately.
• B-57s & F-105s bombers attacked military, industrial, and infrastructure targets, disabling 85% of North Vietnam's petroleum storage and 70% of its ammunition.
• Transport/Helicopters: UH-1 "HUEY" transport chopper with silo rockets and manned miniguns.
• Bell AH-1G Cobra 'Snake' attack helicopter carrying heavy artillery.
• Destroyers, Medical ships and Aircraft carriers at sea.
• Land: The US issued M16 automatic assault rifle, which was often hated by US troops for its jamming issues.
• M14 semi-automatic rifles were used
• Tanks/Vehicles: M48 Patton heavy tank
• Explosives: M14 mine “toe popper” and M18A1 Claymore anti personnel mine.

Strategies and Tactics

• Guerrilla warfare (land): PAVN & NLF avoided government military force and traditional warfare by using the rainforest environment as a battleground.
• Rolling Thunder (air): "Carpet Bombing" on North Vietnam military, industrial, and infrastructure targets (1965-1968).
• The US designed a “wear down strategy” used to pressure enemies through series of attacks.
• Ambush tactics: Waiting for US troops, striking the enemy off guard, and booby traps.

Camouflage and Tunnel Systems

• NLF and PAVN used dense jungle and dressed as farmers/villagers to hide movements and strike unexpectedly.
• Fighters camouflaged sniper nests to ambush U.S. and ARVN troops.
• Tunnel systems stored weapons, munitions, supplies, barracks, and communications, effective against US bombing.

Operation Buffalo

• A U.S. military strategy used to locate and eliminate NLF and PAVN forces in enemy-held territory.
• Troops deployed into hostile areas to engage the enemy, destroy supplies, and then withdraw.

Perspectives on War Practices

• General Westmoreland stated it was crucial to send another 206,000 US troops to Vietnam after the Tet offensive in '68, but President LBJ denied the request for more troops.
• At this point in 1968 there were 500,000 deployed at once in Vietnam.
• Westmoreland believed sending more troops would secure victory for the US against the VC, although only 25% of US troops were in battle.
• Casualties and civilian displacement contributed to anti-war sentiment.

Influence of Foreign Powers

• China's main goal was to spread communism around the Asian hemisphere; China already had ties with Viet Mihn.
• The Gulf of Tonkin incident in 1964 led to Mao Zedong sending troops into North Vietnam.
• China supplied trucks, tanks, artillery, and 320,000 troops between 1965-1971.
• China offered diplomatic support to the DRV government and established relations with Hanoi since 1950.
• The USSR trying to keep relations with Europe

US Allies

• Economic ally Canada provided $2.5 billion USD worth of materials.
• Other US allies were Australia, New Zealand, Philippines, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, and Thailand.
• USSR provided support such as military and radars at 3.6 Billion USD from '54-'71.

Mobilization of Human and Economic Resources

• Tet offensive: 84,000 mobilized by PAVN and NLF to attack the provincial capitals.
• Communist forces mobilized approximately 50,000 women to repair the Ho Chi Minh trail.
• NLF infiltration and membership in rural villages made it difficult to identify and mobilise.

DRV & NLF Tactics

• HCM trail aided in mobilisation of northern PAVN fighters and resources.
• Use of tunnel networks to protect fighters and move supplies discreetly.
• Guerilla tactics relied on human mobilisation over technology.
• At its peak the US had deployed 500,000 US troops and approximately 25% were in battle.

USA Impacts of the Vietnam War

• American troops returning from the war were also subject to ill-treatment and American troops returning from Vietnam had different ideas about race in response to racially integrated military units.
• Draft Dodgers were treated badly and some fled the country
• President Johnson's Great Society programs competed with the war for scarce resources.
• It inspired Congress to attack the "imperial presidency" through restricting a president's ability to send American forces into combat without explicit Congressional approval, called the War Powers Act.
• reduced the voting age to 18 to match the age of the draft (1971).
• It led Congress to replace the military draft with an all-volunteer force (1973).

USA Failures in Vietnam War

• Across the world, USA'S reputation was greatly demoralising.
• The war made Americans, especially the baby boomer generation, more cynical and less trusting of government and of authority.
• The public's aversion to casualties inspired strict guidelines for the commitment of forces abroad and a heavy reliance on air power to project American military power.

Impact on Democratic Party

• The war in Vietnam deeply split the Democratic Party and alienated many blue-collar Democrats, many of whom became political independents or Republicans.
• The facts showed the war has not been good for business profits, with corporate profits after taxes rising 71% in the four years before the escalation of the conflict and rising only 9.2% from 1966 to 1969.