The Vietnam War

Trouble in Southeast Asia

• Since the late 1800s, much of Vietnam had been a colony of France.

• During WWII, communist fighters under the leadership of Ho Chi Minh began to resist the French.

• In 1945, Ho Chi Minh declared Vietnam independent from the French.

Vietnam is Divided

• There was an international conference in Switzerland to try and solve the problem.

• The agreement stated that Vietnam should become independent.

• Elections were to be made in two years, but until then, Vietnam would be divided into North Vietnam and South Vietnam.

Vietnam

North and South

• All the Vietminh soldiers, the communists fighting with Ho Chi Minh, were to go north.

• All the Vietnamese soldiers who had fought for the French were to go to the south.

The Fighting Begins

• North Korea had the support of the Soviet Union and Red China.

• North Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh began fighting to unite all of Vietnam under one communist government.

• South Vietnamese did not want communism and resisted the communists.

US Aid

• The US aided South Vietnam by sending money and weapons to the government.

• American soldiers were sent to train South Vietnamese army

• Even with all of this, the communists were still winning the war.

Lyndon Johnson

• Lyndon Johnson became President after Kennedy’s assassination in 1963 was determined to not allow the communist forces to win.

• “I’m not going to lose Vietnam,” he said.

• Over the next few years, the American involvement in Vietnam grew quickly.

The Land

• The Vietnam Conflict would be one of the most difficult wars ever fought by Americans

• Much of the land was covered with mountains and thick jungles.

• American soldiers often had to cut their way through the vegatation to get from place to place.

• Sometimes a new chemical called Agent Orange was sprayed from planes to make the plants wither and dies.

Guerrilla Warfare

• North Vietnamese soldiers often used guerrilla warfare tactics.

• Guerrilla warfare includes random, surprise attacks that come from any direction at any time, day or night.

• Sometimes they did not wear uniforms, so they could be difficult to identify.

• General William Westmoreland was the leader of the troops from 1964 until 1968.

• He served during WWII and the Korean War.

Communists in Control

• Even though he had all of this experience, he still found the guerrilla tactics difficult to beat.

• It seemed as if the communists could not be stopped.

The Conflict at Home

• This was the first time that Americans could watch scenes from a war on television.

• The fighting seemed more real and harsh than any other war before.

• It soon became very clear that the United States and South Vietnam were not winning.

Should the United States continue

fighting?

Ticket-Out-The-Door

Explain what you know about the Vietnam War so far using

at least three details.