History Gr12 Vietnam War.pdf

Case Study 2 The extension of the Cold War – CASE STUDY 2: Vietnam Key question: How was a small country like Vietnam able to win the war against the USA? (1945 to 1975) In this case study you will revise the following: Background to the struggle against the colonial powers. Stages of the war. How i...

Case Study 2 The extension of the Cold War – CASE STUDY 2: Vietnam Key question: How was a small country like Vietnam able to win the war against the USA? (1945 to 1975) In this case study you will revise the following: Background to the struggle against the colonial powers. Stages of the war. How is the Vietnam War remembered today? NB: Check if you must study China or Vietnam for your exam! Background: Vietnam’s struggle against the colonial powers China ruled the area that became known as Vietnam for thousands of years. In the 10th century Vietnam gained independence that lasted until the French colonised the region after 1858. French missionaries helped to introduce French language, education, customs and religion. By 1864 a colony was established in the south called Cochinchina. China became involved in the region and it led to the Sino-French War 1864–1885. China had to withdraw and the French established three regions of control in Vietnam. The control of the French was extended when it also occupied Laos and Cambodia. French colonial rule was politically repressive and economically exploitative. The French claimed to modernise Vietnam with a network of infrastructure, but they also introduced forced labour, heavy taxes and a centralised government. Life for the Vietnamese peasants was hard. Vietnamese resistance was initially passive in nature, but as nationalism grew, resistance grew too. After World War I, Ho Chi Minh began coordinating the resistance: went to live in Paris in the 1920s where he became active in the French Communist Party. visited Moscow in 1924 and became convinced that a Communist inspired revolution was needed in Vietnam to shake off the yoke of colonialism. realised that nationalism would awaken an anti-colonial revolt. he operated from a base in China close to the border of Vietnam (faced arrest in his own country). organised Vietnamese nationalist exiles = Vietnam Revolutionary League. Japan occupied Vietnam during World War II and the natural resources were used to fuel the Japanese war effort. He returned to Vietnam (1941) → set up Viet Minh (Vietnam Independence League). He formed an alliance with the US to fight the Japanese in the Vietnam jungle. When Japan was defeated in 1945, the occupied territories were returned to France as French colonies. © Via Afrika Publishers » History 12 Study Guide eBook 13 Case study Unit XX 2 Ho Chi Minh’s guerrilla fighters occupied Hanoi and proclaimed a provisional government and he declared himself president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam → The US refused to recognise his state. After World War II: In September 1945 about 1 400 French soldiers freed from Japanese internment camps went on the rampage attacking and killing many Viet Minh guerrillas as well as innocent civilians. The Viet Minh retaliated by organising a general strike → shut down commerce and electricity and water supplies. In October 1945 French reinforcements helped to restore French control. → For four months Ho Chi Minh tried to negotiate full independence for the Vietnamese. BUT → French ships bombarded and occupied the port of Hai Phong. → Led to the start of a guerrilla campaign against the French by the Viet Minh. The French Indochina War: 1946–1954 The first few years consisted of low-level guerrilla wars against the French. Once China was taken over by the Communists in 1949, Ho Chi Minh’s guerrillas could count on Chinese support against the French. The war became more conventional as the USA backed the French and the USSR assisted Ho Chi Minh’s troops. In 1949 the French backed Bao Dai as the leader in the South but he was weak. The Vietnamese National Army was set up in the South. China continued to back the Viet Minh in the North. Truman authorised $15 million to contain communism in Vietnam. Eisenhower replaced Truman in 1953 → increased US military aid to the French. General Giap – a brilliant military strategist – led the Viet Minh. The French set up a defensive complex at Dien Bien Phu, but Genl Giap introduced a siege that lasted for 57 days before the French were forced to surrender. The US did not get involved in rescuing the French and, as a result, French colonial rule ended. In 1954 the Geneva Peace Accord was signed between France and Vietnam. 14 This Accord agreed to a temporary division of the country along the 17th parallel: Ho Chi Minh gained control of the North while Ba Dai controlled the South. Elections were to be held within two years to reunify the country. Ho Chi Minh set up a ruthless Communist state in the North and imposed a cleansing of the countryside. Land was confiscated and made into communes. Landowners were tried and brutally executed by people’s tribunals. In 1955 Diem replaced Bao Dai as president. The USA formed SEATO – a regional organisation to contain communism. The USA wanted to entrench capitalism and democracy in the region to counter the spread of communism. © Via Afrika Publishers » History 12 Study Guide eBook Case study Unit XX 2 Stages in the Vietnam War After their defeat at Dien Bien Phu and the Geneva Accords, the French withdrew their troops to fight the anti-colonial struggle in Algeria. President Diem appealed to the US for aid against the People’s Liberation Armed Forces (PLAF also known as the Viet Cong) who were Communists. The Communists in the North supplied the Viet Cong with weapons, guidance and reinforcements. PHASE 1: Struggle between the South Vietnamese army and the Viet Cong January 1957: the USSR proposed the division of Vietnam into two parts → plan rejected by the USA. Oct 1957 Viet Minh (Communists from the North) launched a campaign of destruction, bombings and assassinations in the South. The Viet Cong backed by the US were too strong and Ho Chi Minh adapted his strategy to guerrilla warfare. The Ho Chi Minh Trail became the major supply route to the South and guerrillas sometimes crossed the border into Laos and Cambodia. Corruption, autocracy and low morale led to support for the Viet Cong in the South. Increased opposition grew from the intellectuals, Buddhists, peasants and students against Diem’s regime. After two unsuccessful coup attempts, Kennedy increased the number of US troops in the South to prop up Diem’s regime. 1962 = over 11 000 US troops in Vietnam. Meanwhile the USSR began airlifting supplies to the Viet Minh in the North. 1963: Crisis year WHY? Diem’s oppression of the Buddhist community, which was denied religious freedom. Buddhist marchers were targeted and in protest a Buddhist monk set himself alight. The US tried to intervene to get the rights of the Buddhists restored, but government troops raided religious sites. Some of Diem’s generals launched a coup on Diem’s regime with US consent, and arrested Diem and his brother. Diem and his brother were assassinated November 1963. © Via Afrika Publishers » History 12 Study Guide eBook 15 Case study Unit XX 2 After Kennedy’s assassination in Dallas, Texas, Lyndon B. Johnson became the US president. GULF OF TONKIN RESOLUTION In Aug 1964 North Vietnam launched an attack on an American ship in the Gulf of Tonkin. The US bombed North Vietnam in retaliation after the US Congress passed the Tonkin Resolution. The US used the Tonkin Resolution, backed by the DOMINO THEORY to enter the war more fully to counter the spread of Communism. PHASE 2: The North Vietnamese–USA struggle Many juntas succeeded Diem’s government. Eventually Nguyen van Thieu became president in 1965. China and the USSR supplied arms and support to North Vietnam. March 1965 – 3 500 US marines arrived in South Vietnam. The USA did not have enough volunteer soldiers and introduced conscription (known as the draft). After another attack on US bases in the south in 1965, Johnson ordered Operation Rolling Thunder to bomb the Communists into surrendering. This operation lasted three years and the US dropped one million tonnes of bombs on Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Despite destruction of major military targets the North Vietnamese would not surrender. 1967 = new constitution set up in the South = civilian government under Thieu The US introduced Operation Ranch Hand, a chemical warfare strategy to defoliate the jungles and expose the Ho Chi Minh trail. What were Agent Orange and Agent Blue? 16 Agent Orange was a chemical that caused defoliation and also chromosomal damage in humans. Agent Blue was a chemical used to destroy crops so that the NLF did not have food. © Via Afrika Publishers » History 12 Study Guide eBook Case study Unit XX 2 Climax of the war: Tet Offensive WHAT WAS IT? An offensive by the North Vietnamese and the NLF. WHEN? 1968 WHY? To reach Saigon and force the South Vietnamese government to capitulate and the US forces to withdraw. WHO? North Vietnamese and NLF vs. South Vietnamese army and US troops. WHERE? Launched attacks across 17 degrees North into the South as far south as Saigon. WHAT HAPPENED? President Thieu introduced conscription in an effort to resist the attacks. Thousands of non-Communists in the South were murdered by Communists from the North. US troops suffered casualties and trauma as Communist forces had infiltrated the South. The Communists from the North suffered terrible casualties. The My Lai Massacre illustrated the madness of war as US troops wilfully and deliberately killed innocent villagers during a mad killing spree. WHY did the US decide to stop the war? Increasing civilian opposition in the USA as a result of the media making more and more Americans aware of the impact of the war. Student, anti-war and disarmament groups called for the war to end. Marches and protests increased, calling for the end to war. The cost in both lives and money made the continuation of the war untenable. It led to a polarisation in US society and many claimed the war was unjustifiable. Women and students led opposition movements. Photojournalists showed photos of killing and destruction that led to more opposition, e.g. the killing of a NLF officer by General Ngoc Loan. HOW did it end? Peace talks began in Paris in May 1968. Russia approved but not China. President Johnson ordered the bombing raids to stop. In 1969 President Nixon, Johnson’s successor, formulated the Nixon Doctrine to end the war in Vietnam. Vietnamisation was applied so that trained troops and officials could replace US ones. In 1971 thousands of war veterans marched to the White House and threw their medals and decorations on the steps in protest against the war. © Via Afrika Publishers » History 12 Study Guide eBook 17 Case study Unit XX 2 The official ending of the war Kissinger used a direct approach in talks with the North Vietnamese. By 1972 an agreement had been brokered between him and Xuab Thuy and Le Duc Tho from North Vietnam → BUT: President Thieu and other leaders in the South as well as the NLF rejected the draft peace agreement. Nixon authorised intensified bombing raids against the largest cities in the North in December 1972. There was widespread condemnation of the US attacks. On 23 January 1973 the final draft peace treaty was signed after the US promised to assist the South. Although the hostilities between the USA and North Vietnam had ended, the civil war did not. On 30 April 1975 the Vietnamese War ended when North Vietnamese troops occupied Saigon and captured the presidential palace. Why did the US not win the Vietnam War? Why did the US not win the Vietnam War? 18 The Americans misjudged the war and knew little of the terrain where they were fighting. US belief they could not lose the war. Guerrilla tactics used by Ho Chi Minh. Cuban Missile Crisis: Johnson thought the North Vietnamese would back down when threatened. © Via Afrika Publishers » History 12 Study Guide eBook