1945-1954:

Ho Chi Minh and First Vietnam Conflict

• Ho Chi Minh returns to Vietnam (Frenchindochina) after 30 years in exile
• Japanese defeat the French Colonial government of Vietnam and take control
• Massive Famine struck the country
• Ho Chi Minh and the Vietminh help overthrow Japanese rule in Vietnam
• French attacked the Ho Chi Minh and North Vietnam in 1946
• In First Vietnamese war, South was backed by France, North was Ho Chi Minh
• French and U.S. backed forces in the South lost the War

Domino Theory

U.S. believed that if one country became communist, that every other surrounding country would fall too. Felt they needed to save Vietnam from this.

Geneva Agreements:

• Ended the first Vietnamese war
• France agreed to take troops away from the fighting
• French split Indochina into Cambodia, Loas, and Vietnam split into North and South

Ho Chi Minh Trail:

• Trail that ran from North Vietnam to South Vietnam by way of Laos
• Provided material and military support to the Vietcong

1956:

President Eisenhower:

• First President to cite Domino Affect as motive for Vietnam
• Sent 350 American military Adviors to help Ngo Dinh Diem build and army in South Vietnam

Ngo Dinh Diem:

• Became President of South Vietnam
• Was a Catholic and an anit-communist
• Persecuted and killed Buddhists causing the U.S. to stop supporting him

Mao Zedong:

• Made China a communist state in Asia as the the leader of China
• Worried the U.S. that other countries in Asia would fall to Communism due to the Domino Affect
• Pledged more than 100 million dollars in support of North Vietnam
• Inspired Ho Chi Minh and Vietminh

Vietcong

• These were Communist supporters of North Vietnam in the South who were originally Vietminh
• Used Guerrilla Warfare tactics to fight South Vietnamese by using ambushes, sabotage and petty raids

1961-1963:

President Kennedy

• Sent Inspection team to evaluate the situation in Vietnam
• Increased military support by sending 1000 more military advisors into South Vietnam to train the South Vietnamese army
• Approved Coup of Diem in reaction to Diem's failed military leadership in South Vietnam

1964-1968:

Gulf of Tonkin Incident:

• CIA planned, South Vietnamese carried out attacks on North Vietnamese radar stations
• North Vietnamese responded with attack on U.S. ships
• U.S. made it seem as though the North had attacked them for no reason

Lyndon Johnson:

• Publicly said that he did not support Vietnam, but didn't see a way out of it
• By end of his presidency there were 535,000 troops in Vietnam
• Approved Rolling Thunder, the sustained bombing of North Vietnam in which B52's dropped deadly Napalm strikes to clear parts of the Jungle

Tet Offensive:

• 70,.000 North Vietnamese and Vietcong launched this offensive against the South
• Ended being a great victory for the North
• Attacked over 100 Southern Vietnamese cities

Agent Orange:

• Mix of chemicals used by the United States military to keep destroy parts of the Vietnamese Jungle
• Was also Used to wipe out crops in North Vietnam to destroy their food source

1969-1975:

Richard Nixon:

• Campaigned getting out of the War
• Focused on Strengthening South Vietnamese army instead of using more U.S troops
• This whole plan was called Vietnamization
• Invaded Cambodia to destroy a Vietcong base
• Invaded Laos to destroy another Vietcong base