The Vietnam Conflict Begins

How did the U.S. become involved in Vietnam?

•French Rule in Vietnam (Indochina)

•U.S. assists WWII ally France in controlling the colony

•The Vietminh, under Ho Chi Minh, are a Communist group pushing for independence

How did the U.S. become involved in Vietnam?

•Vietminh attack the French as a Communist army and the U.S enforces the Truman Doctrine to stamp out the Communist ideology around the world

•U.S. joins the conflict through the idea of the Domino Theory

What is the domino theory?

•*Domino Theory – countries would fall to Communism in a domino fashion of one after another until the whole world is in Communist control

How did the U.S. become involved in Vietnam?

•Ho Chi Minh calls for a popular election oCommunist in the North vs. anti-

Communists, under Ngo Dinh Diem, in the South

•Anti-Communists and the U.S. cancel the popular elections in VietnamoU.S. later supports an

assassination of Diem (anti-Communist) and Vietnam fractures

How did the U.S. become involved in Vietnam?

•The Tonkin Gulf ResolutionoU.S.S. Maddox is attacked by the North

Vietnamese 2 days later 2 American ships are attacked…though

no sailors report it (?)

oLyndon Johnson calls for U.S. bombing and involves ground personnel

How did the U.S. become involved in Vietnam?•American Conscription

oAmerican has a small standing Army after WWII and the Korean War so a draft is instituted

oAll men aged 18-26 are entered into the draft lottery Ways out: physical, mental, student, or draft dodging

•Known as the war of the “working-class”oMassive protests, sit ins, and

demonstrations rage in the U.S. over forced military service

oRiots and protests break out all over the U.S.

U.S. Troop Strength

The Vietnam Conflict

What was combat like in Vietnam?

•DiscouragingoThe Vietnamese, both our ally and enemy,

were difficult to keep separate The majority of the Vietnamese fought as civilian

militia (no uniforms)

•DeadlyoAside from combat

Americans had to deal with disease, combat suicide, and terrorism

What military technology was created for the Vietnam conflict?

•NapalmoIncendiary gel used by the military to burn

dense jungle (sometimes enemy personnel)

What military technology was used in the Vietnam conflict?

•Guerilla tactics (used by the Viet Cong)ounpredictable ounconventional odeceitful odepriving

"The enemy advances, we retreat; the enemy camps, we harass; the enemy tires, we attack; the enemy retreats, we pursue.“ – NVA general

What military technology was used in the Vietnam conflict?

•P.O.W. TortureoAmericans were knowingly tortured by the Viet

CongoIn retaliation the American GIs resorted to

torturing Vietnamese prisoners (and sometimes civilians)

What was the result of the Vietnamese guerilla tactics?

•Psychological stressoU.S. soldiers turned to alcohol and drugs to

escape the hellish conditions of Vietnam

•Psychological breakdownoU.S. soldiers “snapped” and performed horrific

acts against Vietnamese soldiers, civilians, and prisoners Ear necklaces, scalping, rape, murder, & torture

What was the result of the Vietnamese guerilla tactics?

•Hatred at homeoExtreme actions by a few

were seen as the norm for all military personnel Some soldiers were

starting to be seen as baby killers, rapists, and sadists who lusted for blood and enjoyed taking lives

The End of the Vietnam Conflict

What events led to the end of the Vietnam conflict?

•The Tet OffensiveoPrior to the 1968 Viet Kong advance the U.S. primarily supports

the war in VietnamoAfter the offensive the U.S. is in opposition to the conflict

•President Lyndon Johnson is blamed for the failure of American forces and his popularity plummetsoHe decides not to run for

re-election

•Nixon is then elected to office and begins his VietnamizationoThe gradual withdrawal of U.S.

forces from Vietnam

What events led to the end of the Vietnam conflict?•Mai Lai Massacre

oU.S. platoon executed over 150 innocent Vietnamese women and children in the village of Mai Lai

o“We huddled them up…and I poured about four clips into the group…the mothers were hugging their children and we just kept on firing.” - 22 year old Private Paul Meadlo

oU.S. citizens are outraged and the evacuation of Vietnam speeds up

What events led to the end of the Vietnam conflict?

• Invasion of CambodiaoU.S. troops are pulling out of Vietnam but Nixon pushes

them into Cambodia (Domino Theory in use here)oCollege students strike across the nation

Kent State University experiences the only violence in the protest as the National Guard kills 2 students and wounds 12 others with machine gun fire

What events led to the end of the Vietnam conflict?

•Peace is at HandoAmerica officially ended its longest continual

conflict in October of 1972 The last U.S. military regiment pulled out of Vietnam

in March of 1973

•Vietnam then united into one Communist nationo1st U.S. military loss

in armed conflict

What were the effects of the Vietnam conflict?

•58,000 American’s killed in action

•365,000 wounded or missing

•1.5 million Vietnamese killed

•Cambodia fell to a Communist takeover in a bloody civil war won by the Khmer Rouge

•1973 War Powers ActoLimited the power of the

President in war time