Vietnam War: Occupied and Divided Vietnam

• The Vietnam War is covered in this lesson.

Occupied Vietnam

• From the end of the 19th century, Vietnam was part of the French colony of Indo-China.
• During WWII, the Vichy French government cooperated with Japan to occupy Vietnam.
• From 1940-1945, the Vietminh, a Vietnamese nationalist-communist movement led by Ho Chi Minh, fought Japan and France for independence with support from the USA and the Allies.
• Japan and Vichy France surrendered to the Allies in 1945.
• From 1945-1954, Ho Chi Minh and the Vietminh declared Vietnam's independence.
• They formed the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and took power in Hanoi.
• France reclaimed Indo-China with British aid, seizing control in the South.
• The First Indochina War pitted Vietminh and China against France, Britain, and the USA.

Independent Yet Divided Vietnam

• In 1954, France was defeated, and the Geneva Accords were signed in Geneva by French and Viet Minh representatives.
• Geneva Accords included a cease-fire and the temporary division of Vietnam into two military zones at the 17° North latitude.
• North Vietnam became the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, led by Ho Chi Minh where Viet Minh forces dissolved and a communist party formed
• South Vietnam became the Associated State of Vietnam, occupied by France, and backed by the USA
• Refugees were granted permission to cross the border for a limited time.
• Free elections were scheduled for 1956 to reunify the country, supervised by an international commission.
• Internal tensions led to a proxy war during the Cold War from 1955-1975.
• South Vietnam and the USA did not approve the declaration due to fears of a Viet Minh win in the elections, therefore the elections were never held.
• North Vietnam, with aid from the USSR and China, established a communist regime.
• South Vietnam, with aid from the USA, established an anti-communist regime.
• The Vietcong, communist-led forces formed in 1957, fought the regime in South Vietnam with support from North Vietnam, gradually gaining support from South Vietnamese inhabitants.
• South Vietnam's regime, backed by the USA and other countries, was against the Vietcong, North Vietnam, USSR, and China.
• The conflict is known as the Second Indochina War or the Vietnam War in the USA.
• The USA gradually increased its intervention while France distanced itself.
• The USA intervened to prevent a communist victory in elections.
• The USA supplied money and weapons.
• The USA sent military advisors to assist South Vietnamese troops against the Vietcong.
• From 1962, the USA sent regular troops.
• The USA increased the number of American soldiers for a full-scale war on land and in the air.
• In 1967, half a million US troops fought in Vietnam.
• By 1973, US planes dropped more bombs on Vietnam than during WWII.

Call for Peace

• By the end of the 1960s, opposition against the war arose in the USA and worldwide.
• Disapproval due to loss of American soldiers, the truth about the war being hidden, and media coverage of war atrocities.
• All parties feared escalation, leading to peace negotiations.
• In 1972-1973, the USA withdrew troops, but the war continued.

Independent Unified Vietnam

• On April 30, 1975, North Vietnamese troops invaded South Vietnam.
• South Vietnam surrendered and became part of communist Vietnam.
• Today Vietnam is unified, communist, and officially called the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Consequences of the Vietnam War

• Fertile farmland turned into poisonous deserts.
• Thousands of Vietnamese were killed and injured.
• Ongoing hunger, deteriorating conditions, and communist repression.
• Over 1.6 million refugees tried to escape in boats, with 25% dying at sea.
• National trauma because it was the first war the USA had ever lost.
• Loss of confidence and humility in foreign affairs.