2. the war

LEARNING INTENTIONS

• Describe how different US Presidents dealt with Vietnam

US troops were first sent to Vietnam in 1955 and the final one left in 1975. What happened

during those two decades?

Five Presidents were involved in sending US

troops to Vietnam:

• Dwight Eisenhower• John F Kennedy• Lyndon Johnson • Richard Nixon• Gerald Ford

Each of them dealt with the issue differently.

The USA was worried about a Communist takeover in Asia.

The fact that many countries –

including China – were Communist meant they felt they had to take action to stop

this.

At first the US wanted France to keep control

of Indochina.

Then they offered economic and military support i.e. weapons.

Eventually they decided to send in US

troops.

After the French exit from Asia, US

President Dwight Eisenhower offered

support to help South Vietnam.

In 1955, he agreed to send ‘advisors’ (US soldiers) not to fight but to help train the South Vietnam army.

The South Vietnam Army training wasn’t

effective.

The US soldiers trained in Texas and knew nothing of jungle

warfare.

The rebel group the Vietcong were still

able to fight a successful guerrilla

war.

US President John F Kennedy was reluctant to send more troops but felt he had no

choice.

During his presidency he sent 16,000 US

advisors to Vietnam. Most notable were the Green Berets (Special

Forces).

Kennedy also started the

Strategic Hamlets initiative.

This involved forcing

Vietnamese peasants to live

in guarded villages. 3000 of these were set

up.

After JFK’s assassination, new

President Lyndon Johnson sent even more troops.

The US public was against this but the

Gulf of Tonkin incident changed their mind, when the US Navy was said to have been attacked by

North Vietnam.

Johnson set up Operation Rolling

Thunder.

This meant that the US would bomb important

sites in North Vietnam.

The Soviet Union and China gave military support to North

Vietnam to shoot down US planes.

Johnson also sent the first US troops to Vietnam that were

there specifically to fight, not just train.

By 1968 there were 535,000 US troops

fighting in Vietnam.

The US soldiers were involved in different activities, including:

• Search and destroy missions

• Air attacks• Chemical attacks (using Agent Orange)

Although the US had a huge military presence in Vietnam, they were

not winning.

The US public was against sending more

troops. Other countries (including SEATO) would not send

more soldiers.

In 1968, new US President Richard

Nixon announced a new policy called

‘Vietnamisation’.

This involved giving more weapons and training to South

Vietnam troops so that US soldiers could then

go home.

This policy ultimately proved unsuccessful

too, mainly because the USA did not win South Vietnam ‘hearts and

minds’.

The US also forced a change of government in Cambodia, which led to

as civil war and 3 million people’s

deaths.

National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger

agreed a truce with North Vietnam at Paris

Peace Talks in.

However South Vietnam rejected the agreement and fighting continued.

The Communists soon took over more of South

Vietnam.

After Nixon’s resignation, his Vice-President Gerald Ford

became President.

Ford struggled to deal with North Vietnamese

attacks. The US Congress also refused to give more funds to keep the fight going.

Eventually it became clear that the US could not win in

Vietnam.

Millions of people were dead and the country had been

destroyed by fighting.

The last US soldier left in 1975.