Tìm hiểu lịch sử Vietnam war

France controlled “Indochina” Vietnam since the late 1800’s 1 Ho Chi Minh leads Communist Party in a number of failed revolts against French rule.. 2 1940 – WWII Japanese take control of

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I French and Vietnam

A France controlled “Indochina” (Vietnam) since the late 1800’s

1) Ho Chi Minh leads Communist Party in a number of failed revolts against French rule

2) 1940 – (WWII) Japanese take control of Indochina

3) 1945 – Japanese defeated and leave Vietnam

a) Ho Chi Minh leads the Northern Communists (Vietminh) in declaring Vietnam an independent nation

Ho Chi Minh

B French Battle the Vietminh

1) France regains control of South Vietnam with a Billion dollars in aid from United States

a) President Eisenhower’s Domino Theory

keeps U.S aid coming to France2) 1954 – Despite U.S aid, French surrender at

Dien Bien Phu

3) Geneva Accords divide Vietnam along the 17th

Parallel

a) Ho Chih Minh/Communists control Northb) Ngo Dinh Diem/Nationalists control Southc) Capitols: (South = Saigon) (North = Hanoi)

17 TH Parallel DMZ

Saigon

II United States steps In

A Diem cancels nation-wide elections ordered by

C Diem fails to uphold his end of the bargain

1) Eliminated any opposition

2) Restricts Buddhist religion

a) Majority of Southerners = Buddhists

D Southern Communists (Vietcong) begin attacks,

killing thousands of government officials

E Northern Communists use the Ho Chi Minh Trail to supply weapons to the Vietcong in the South

Communist soldiers preparing for an attack

ia

ia Laos

III Kennedy and Vietnam

A JFK immediately increases aid to Vietnam along with thousands of advisors to train the South

Vietnamese troops

B Diem’s persecutions continue

1) Harasses villagers to expose Vietcong2) Kills hundreds of Buddhist leaders, destroys Buddhist temples

C Buddhist monks set themselves on fire to protest atrocities

1) American officials order Diem to stop persecutions but Diem refuses

D Nov 1963 – Kennedy orders military overthrow of Diem

1) Against JFK’s wishes, Diem is assassinated

2) Realizing that the situation is out of hand, JFK announces intent to withdraw all U.S military from South Vietnam

3) Three weeks later JFK is assassinated

4) Lyndon B Johnson inherits crisis in Vietnam

IV President Johnson Expands the Conflict

A South grows more chaotic after Diem’s death

1) String of ineffective military leaders2) Vietcong grows stronger in countryside

B Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

1) After alleged attack on U.S.S Maddox by North Vietnamese ship, LBJ asks Congress for power to take “all necessary measures to repel any attack against the forces of the U.S and to prevent

further aggression.”

2) Unknown to Congress, Johnson had already secretly ordered raids on North Vietnam

3) Feb 1965 – Eight Americans are killed in a

North Vietnamese attack

4) LBJ responds with Operation Rolling Thunder

a) sustained bombing raidsb) 50,000 American combat troops arrive in South Vietnam

5) America officially enters the Vietnam War!

“You do some thinking You hallucinate You look ahead a few paces and wonder what your

legs will resemble if there is more to the earth in that spot than silicates and nitrogen Will the pain

be unbearable? Will you scream and fall silent? Will you be afraid to look at your own body, afraid

of the sight of you own red flesh and white bone?

You decide to be ultra-careful You try to

second-guess the mine Should you put your foot

to that flat rock or the clump of grass to its rear? Paddy dike or water? You wish you were Tarzan, able to swing on the vines You trace the

footprints of the man to your front You give up

V Fighting in the Jungle

A Jungle conditions = 100+ degrees, 100% humidity,

Leeches in water, tropical diseases, etc

3) Enemy lived amongst friendly civilians

a) difficult to identify friend from foe

“Two days ago four guys got killed and about 15

wounded from the first platoon Our platoon was 200 yards away on top of a hill One guy was from New

York City He had five days left to go before being sent home He was standing on a 250-lb bomb that a

plane had dropped and didn’t explode So the North Vietnamese Army wired it up Well, all they ever found

of him was a piece of his wallet.”

-Specialist Fourth Class Salvador Gonzalez

4) Tunnels of Vietcong

a) elaborate system of underground tunnelsb) allowed them safety from bombing raids

VI War of Attrition

A American strategy was to destroy the Vietcong’s morale and will to fight

1) Continuous harassment2) Keep body count totals3) Was not as effective as we hoped

B Vietcong saw the war as a battle for existence and were ready to pay any price for victory

C Napalm and Agent Orange

1) Napalm = gasoline-based bomb that set fire to the jungles

2) Agent Orange = leaf-killing toxic chemical

3) Used to clear jungle and expose Vietcong

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VII Psychological War

A Frustration began to take its toll on U.S troops

1) Unable to combat guerrilla warfare2) Miserable jungle conditions

3) Prolonged war (supposed to be quick victory!)4) Fighting among Southern Vietnamese (Civil War within a Civil War)

B Soldiers morale began to drop

1) Drugs and alcohol to ease stress and pain2) Murder of superior officers

3) Abandoning platoons