Vietnam War:
Notes
-Originally a French colony (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
Background to Vietnam War
-Originally a French Colony (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
A Divided Country
-South Vietnam led by a Catholic named Ngo Dinh Diem
-The mainly Buddhist south had opposition in the form of the National Liberation Front(NLF) and the Viet Cong (a guerrilla force)
-The North (Ho Chi Minh) supported both of these groups
-The North never accepted the Geneva agreement of 1954
American Involvment in Vietnam
-U.S. saw this as another situation in which containment was necessary (SEATO)
-The U.S. had supported the French (military advisors)
-Kennedy increased troops in 1962 from 500-10,000
-CIA overthrows Diem in 1963 (corruptness)
The Gulf of Tonkin Incident, 1964
The Ho Chi Minh Trail
-The National Liberation Front (NLF) supported the North
-Sent supplied on a route from the 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
The Tet Offensive, 1968
-Offensive launched by the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) in 1968
-Surprises Americans
-Is played up as a major victory for the North although very little is achieves
-Public relations victory
-Anti-war demonstrations increase as a result
-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
Background to Vietnam War
-Originally a French Colony (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
A Divided Country
-South Vietnam led by a Catholic named Ngo Dinh Diem
-The mainly Buddhist south had opposition in the form of the National Liberation Front(NLF) and the Viet Cong (a guerrilla force)
-The North (Ho Chi Minh) supported both of these groups
-The North never accepted the Geneva agreement of 1954
American Involvment in Vietnam
-U.S. saw this as another situation in which containment was necessary (SEATO)
-The U.S. had supported the French (military advisors)
-Kennedy increased troops in 1962 from 500-10,000
-CIA overthrows Diem in 1963 (corruptness)
The Gulf of Tonkin Incident, 1964
- A fabricated incident was set up; an American destroyer (USS Maddox) was torpedoed
- Led President Johnson to install the Tonkin Gulf Resolution
- Led to the commitment of regular ground troops and air support
- 200,000 troops in 1965- 600,000 in 1968
The Ho Chi Minh Trail
-The National Liberation Front (NLF) supported the North
-Sent supplied on a route from the 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
The Tet Offensive, 1968
-Offensive launched by the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) in 1968
-Surprises Americans
-Is played up as a major victory for the North although very little is achieves
-Public relations victory
-Anti-war demonstrations increase as a result
Audio Link
Summary
In 1965, the US deployed troops to Vietnam. The the reason why the troops were deployed was actually a fabricated incident.
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"I saw courage both in the Vietnam war and the struggle to stop it. I learned that patriotism includes protest not just military service." John Kerry
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Would the war have been as big or go on for so long if the Tet offensive hadn't been launched?
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