Vietnam war
Notes
Background
- Originally a French colony as Indochina
- Ho Chi Minh and his communist supporters resisted Japanese occupation during WWII
- After WWII the French reoccupied
- Ho Chi Minh fought the French and defeated them in 1954 ( Dien Bien Phu )
- Laos, Cambodia granted independence
- Vietnam divided along the 17th parallel
Divided Country
- South Vietnam was led by a Catholic named Diem
- Mainly Buddhist south had opposition in the form of the NLF and the Viet Cong ( guerrilla force )
- The north Ho Chi Minh supported both of these groups
- The north never accepted the Geneva agreement
Americas Involvement
- U.S saw this as a situation where containment was necessary and enacted seato
Gulf of Tonkin
- A fabricated incident known as the gulf of Tonkin took place to allow america to invade
- American destroyer was torpedoed
- Put in place the Tonkin Gulf Resolution
- Lead to the commitment of regular ground troops and air support
- 200,000 troops in 1965 - 600,000 in 1968
Ho Chi Minh Trail
- The national liberation front supported by the north
- Sent supplies on route from north through Cambodia, Laos and behind lines into south Vietnam
- The U.S refused to fight on Cambodia or Laotian territory so supplies remained safe
Turning point, Tet offensive 1968
- Offensive launched by the North Vietnamese Army in 1968
- Surprises Americans
- Is played up as a major victory for the North although very little was achieved
- Public relations victory
- Anti-war demonstrations increase as a result
Background
- Originally a French colony as Indochina
- Ho Chi Minh and his communist supporters resisted Japanese occupation during WWII
- After WWII the French reoccupied
- Ho Chi Minh fought the French and defeated them in 1954 ( Dien Bien Phu )
- Laos, Cambodia granted independence
- Vietnam divided along the 17th parallel
Divided Country
- South Vietnam was led by a Catholic named Diem
- Mainly Buddhist south had opposition in the form of the NLF and the Viet Cong ( guerrilla force )
- The north Ho Chi Minh supported both of these groups
- The north never accepted the Geneva agreement
Americas Involvement
- U.S saw this as a situation where containment was necessary and enacted seato
Gulf of Tonkin
- A fabricated incident known as the gulf of Tonkin took place to allow america to invade
- American destroyer was torpedoed
- Put in place the Tonkin Gulf Resolution
- Lead to the commitment of regular ground troops and air support
- 200,000 troops in 1965 - 600,000 in 1968
Ho Chi Minh Trail
- The national liberation front supported by the north
- Sent supplies on route from north through Cambodia, Laos and behind lines into south Vietnam
- The U.S refused to fight on Cambodia or Laotian territory so supplies remained safe
Turning point, Tet offensive 1968
- Offensive launched by the North Vietnamese Army in 1968
- Surprises Americans
- Is played up as a major victory for the North although very little was achieved
- Public relations victory
- Anti-war demonstrations increase as a result
Quote: "No event in American history is more misunderstood than the Vietnam War. It was misreported then, and it is misremembered now" - Richard Nixon
BIG Question: Whas there a proper reason for the americans to even enter the war?
Summary: Vietnam was originally a french colony. In WW2 Ho Chi Minh and his communists followers managed to prevent a Japanese takeover. Ho Chi Menh fought the french and defeated them then taking complete control of the country. The country was divided at the 17th parallell. The south was led by a Catholic named Diem and the North was contolled by the communist Ho Chi Minh. The US saw that containment was needed so they were seperated and enacted seato. A fabricated incident known as the gulf of Tonkin took place to allow america to invade because American torpedo was destroyed. 200,000 troops in 1965 - 600,000 in 1968 were sent t the country. Offensive launched by the North Vietnamese Army in 1968 which suprises the Americans. This was a major victory for the North. The war was in many ways a public relation victory and there were anti-war protests all over the world.