Vietnam war: Background
· Vietnam was part of French Empire called Indo China. French rule had not been popular. The French soon began to change the Vietnamese way of life dramatically. For example, people converted to Catholicism, abandoning Buddhism. French customs were introduced and those who resisted were punished.
This created a new elite class who helped the French keep control of the 30 million people living in Indochina.
· During WWII Japan took over economy of Vietnam
· Communist resistance movement formed under the leadership of Ho Chi Minh – Vietminh
· 1945 Japan defeated
· When WWII ended in 1945, the Viet Minh controlled the north of the country (they set up an independent Vietnam with its capital at the northern city of Hanoi.)
The French refused to accept independence and for 9 years French troops fought against the Viet Minh troops. Ho kept quiet about wanting a communist country so many countries, such as the USA were sympathetic towards him.
However in 1949 the communists took over China and began to help Ho Chi Minh. The USA feared a communist takeover of South-East Asia and poured $500 million a year into the French war effort. They helped the French set up a non-communist government in South Vietnam.
· The war dragged on from 1946-1954. The French effectively controlled the towns and the Viet Minh the countryside.
· The decisive event came in 1954 at Dien Bien Phu. A large, well-armed force of French paratroopers was comprehensively defeated.
Dien Bien Phu:
There were several important consequences:
• The French lost 3000 dead in the battle and 8000 more died in captivity.
• The Viet Minh forces had defeated the French in open battle with the help of modern weapons from the USSR and China.
• A small Asian state had defeated a rich European state through a combination of effective leadership, the right tactics and sheer domination.
• At the 1954 peace Conference, the country was effectively divided into North and South Vietnam until elections could be held to decide its future.
1954 – Geneva Conference – Vietnam divided along 17th parallel. North =communist. South = Anti-communist
Under the terms of the cease fire, elections were to be held within two years to reunite the country.
However the USA prevented the elections from taking place because it feared that the Communists would win.
President Eisenhower was convinced that China and the USSR were planning to spread Communism throughout Asia. The idea was often referred to as the Domino Theory. – If Vietnam fell to Communism, then other Asian countries might also – like a row of dominoes.
The USA saw Vietnam first in the line of the dominoes and was determined not to let it fall.
1964 USA committed to protecting South Vietnam – threat from North Vietnam (Vietminh) and communists in south (Vietcong)
Guerrilla warfare:
Aim: avoid a pitched battle with the enemy. The Vietcong used this as they could never hope to defeat the might of US forces in a battle.
What did success depend upon? The support of the local people was essential. They were needed to hide the Vietcong, as well as provide food and shelter.
What was the eventual hope of the guerrillas? The Vietcong hoped to wear down the Americans and destroy their morale in fighting an enemy that they could not see. This would allow the Vietcong to take control of areas, such as towns and cities, where the Americans were stronger.
Guerrilla Tactics:
Recruitment of Vietcong: They were recruited mainly from men and women who lived in South Vietnam. Some recruits came from North Vietnam. The Vietcong lived and worked in the village and became part of the village.
Importance of the villages: support from the villagers was key to the guerrilla tactics used by the Vietcong – without it they would have had no place to hide.
Code of conduct: the code of conduct ensured the villagers were treated with respect. The code included:
- Be polite
- Be fair
- Return anything borrowed
- Do not damage crops
- Do not flirt with women
How would they persuade villagers to join? The Vietcong would target the officials of the South Vietnam government who would be unpopular with the villagers – the tax collector or the police – and kidnapped and murdered them.
Tactics used: ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, to harass a larger and less-mobile traditional army, or strike a vulnerable target, and withdraw almost immediately
Tunnel network: An important aim of the Vietcong was to remain safe from US attack. They built tunnel networks as they could not always assume that they would be safe in the villages or safe from American bombing.
These tunnels catered for the Vietcong – they included weapon stores, sleeping quarters, kitchens and hospitals. They were strongly protected. They were booby trapped and trip wired at the entrances and throughout the tunnel.
US propaganda claimed the tunnels were built because American bombing tactics were working. The opposite was true. The tunnels showed the level of organisation and determination of the Vietcong.
How were the Vietcong supplied? The Vietcong needed equipment and weapons. These supplies could only come from North Vietnam. Thousands of routes were developed all across the countryside linking North Vietnam to the South. The routes were often bombed by American planes and the supplies were destroyed which had a damaging effect on the war effort.
Communists developed supply routes from North Vietnam through neighbouring countries of Laos and Cambodia and then into South Vietnam. This was called the Ho Chi Minh trail. It was over 600 miles on length and in some places more than 50 miles wide. It had bridges to cross streams and embankments to cut through hills. There were also ‘dummy’ routes leading from it to confuse the aerial photography of the Americans. The dense tropical forest it passed through also provided good cover.
Despite all the difficulties of enemy bombing, monsoon rains and the constant damp of the rainforest, the supply routes never closed.
Gulf of Tonkin Incident
· 1964 reports in US newspapers that US destroyer Maddox attacked by N. Vietnamese patrol boats
· No damage done – but President Johnson exaggerated the incident to launch an offensive
· USA launched bombing raid on N. Vietnamese patrol boat bases
· Incident became an excuse for further US action
· Second incident at US base of Pleiku
· USA reacted with “Operation Rolling Thunder”
American Response to guerrilla tactics
Investment
America put investment into South Vietnam to improve the conditions of the people there.
Peasants in the countryside were helped to improve their methods of farming, for example by digging drainage ditches. Communications were improved by the building of roads, canals and bridges.
In the towns, schools and clinics were built. Refugees fleeing from North Vietnam were provided with homes.
Local democracy – the election of local officers – was encouraged.
This was done in order to show that the USA was on South Vietnam’s side – to win the ‘hearts and minds’.
This had some success especially in the towns and cities. Far more resources were used to try to defeat the communists than to win over the South Vietnamese.
Military response:
Operation Rolling Thunder
A concentrated bombing campaign on key strategic targets in North Vietnam, such as bridges, roads, railway lines and supply depots.
US hoped N.Vietnam would back down once it had experienced military power of USA
Did not happen. USA switched to “blanket or saturation” bombing of huge areas. Using B-52 bombers (carrying 28 x two tonne bombs)
Bombing was devastating to North Vietnam but did not force them to surrender
Search and destroy
What was it? Helicopters from US bases carried small numbers of troops for surprise attacks on Vietcong controlled villages
Advantages: Fast helicopters gave the Vietcong little warning/chance to escape
If Vietcong were found the village was completely destroyed
Vietcong were interrogated – usually brutally ending in their death
Reasons the tactic failed:
- Use of extreme violence by the US troops – village destroyed and villages tortured and murdered in act of revenge for lost colleagues
- Difficult to tell who the Vietcong were and who were loyal South Vietnamese. This resulted in innocent deaths.
Chemical warfare: Agent Orange and Napalm
Agent Orange = a chemical used to “defoliate” jungle vegetation, it was sprayed to reveal hidden bases of the vietcong. Burns skin and causes birth defects
Napalm= an oil that sets anything it touches on fire, used to burn down villages believed to support the Vietcong.
Agent Orange was used from 1966, Napalm first used in 1965.
Chemical warfare continued until 1970.
How it affected the war:
· Made little difference to the fighting.
· Human cost immense – estimated over half a million children have since been born with birth defects.
· Great impact in the USA and across the world with reporting.
Case study: Search and destroy: The My Lai Massacre,1968
Described by President Nixon as “Inexcusable and terrible”, and “a sickening tragedy”.
Events
· 16 March 1968, 3 platoons landed near the village on a search and destroy mission
· 700 people lived there
· Thought to be a Vietcong stronghold
· Lt. Calley led a platoon into the village ordering that the village and those living there should be destroyed.
· No males other than old men and young boys in the village
· No resistance made by the people
· 500 unarmed people killed in 2 hours
Summed up the problems the US had in fighting the Vietcong and trying to defeat the guerrilla tactics
Why is My Lai important in the Vietnam War?
· American public learned of the killings 18 months after the event – investigation held, statements from the troops were taken and photos released to the media
· American opinion was shocked and horrified, although some were willing to accept the killings
· American troops were compared to the Nazis!
· Key event that turned American opinion against the war
How did the coverage of the Vietnam War in the USA lead to demands for peace?
TV and media coverage of the war
· “first media war” and “first war fought on TV”
· Previous wars (WW2) had information censored or had “spin” put on it.
· TV and media reported the war as they saw it. This was not always favourable to the US
· My Lai massacre exposed by media
· News bulletins and TV footage of the war was broadcast every night.
· Newspaper and magazines gave full coverage including photographs.
· Result was to turn the American public against the war
· Very little reported on the atrocities committed by N.Vietnamese
· North Vietnamese government kept a tight control on information
Protest movements in the USA 1968-73
Despite the impact of the media some Americans still supported the war. It was out of Patriotic duty (my country right or wrong) and fear of communism.
Media led to questioning of the war in other parts of American society. The Draft (conscription) added to opposition, many did not want to fight.
Some were able to avoid the draft – richer, middle-class. They obtained a medical disability certificates or left the country.
Anti-war protests took a number of different forms:
· Burning of Draft papers in Public display of opposition
· Anti-war slogans “hey, hey, LBJ, How many kids did you kill today”
o “eighteen today, dead tomorrow”
· Demonstrations and protest marches.
Aug 1968, 10,000 demonstrators, in Chicago, at the Democratic Party Convention. Police used violence to break it up.
Nov 1968, 35,000 protested at White House
1967 Vietnam Veterans against the war formed.
1971, over 300,000 Vietnam Veterans march. Demonstrators had been injured in war, wore medals won in the war. On speaking against the war they had a deep effect on Americans.
Protests triggered by key events, e.g. Invasion of Cambodia 1970, and trial of Lt. Calley for My Lai massacre in 1970
Protest movements in universities:
60’s &70’s was a time when many young people protested against the establishment.
Many even joined hippie communes.
Vietnam was one of the main areas of protest as this was the age group most affected by the draft. There were other moral reasons they were against the war – ‘make love not war’ was a key slogan of the time.
Many protests took place in universities. Students were well organised, most were peaceful, however there were some clashes with the National Guard.
All protests attracted media attention and helped to focus attention against the war. The greatest media attention was towards the Kent State University protest in 1970
Kent State University Protest 1970
· 2nd May 1000 students were protesting, damage to a building.
· 4th may, further protests – more students.
· The Governor of Ohio called out the National Guard to stop the protests. They used tear gas at first but once that had run out they retreated and rocks were thrown at the guardsmen.
· The Guardsmen fired and killed 4 students, wounded 9 others.
· Governor said that the demonstrators were communists and condemned their actions.
Why was it important?
· The actions the governor took were against a key right – the right to protest
· Images of the demonstrations and shootings were broadcast across the world.
· Led to further protests and condemnation of the USA
· Made the US government of Richard Nixon realise even more that victory was unachievable with the opposition from in the USA.
· Showed that the age group who were expected to fight were against the war – making it difficult to continue
The Fulbright Hearing 1971
· William Fulbright, Chair of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee – a powerful body in the government.
· 1971, considered proposals and advice to end the Vietnam War.
· Fulbright said “This war,…, started and continues as a Presidential war in which congress has not played a significant role”. Foreign policy was meant to be a shared responsibility.