1. Vietnam
“No event in American history is more
misunderstood than the Vietnam War. It
was misreported then, and it is
misremembered now.” –Richard.Nixon,1985
3. Dien Bien Phu
• 13 March - 8 May 1954
French defeat during First Indochina War.
• French are loosing, ask for aid from US
• French withdraw troops and loose imperial
power in Vietnam
• Vietnam is divided between North and
South
4. •
Ho Chi Minh
Young Man when first
tries to unite country and
liberate from France
• Asked the US for support
• Became president of the
Democratic Republic of
Vietnam, 1955 after the
defeat of France
• Communist
• Agreed to hold election in 1956
in order to unite Vietnam under
on government. It was
estimated that Minh might have
received 80% of the vote.
5. Ngo Dinh Diem
• Democratic president of South Vietnam
• Supported by the US, (lesser of 2 evils)
• Cruel dictator-like actions, (Buddhist Monks)
• Weak and corrupt
• Refused to participate in the election of 1956,
claiming the elections would not be “free”
• Devout catholic and anti-communist
• Overthrown by a coup, (supported by the US),
1963
6.
7. Gulf of Tonkin
• Mystery shots heard two nights in a row by
US ship off the coast. August 1964
• Prompted the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
• Recently released information stated that
the Maddox fired warning shots and on the
second night there was no enemy shots fired
19. Operation Rolling Thunder
• blast the Viet Cong “back to the Stone Age”
• 1965-1968 (supposed to last only 8 weeks)
• Enacted months after LBJ took presidency
• Military Tactic to bomb North Vietnam and
force surrender.
• Air strikes followed by Napalm
• Unsuccessful
20. Operation Ranch Hand
• Agent Orange
• Attempt to destroy forests to force guerrilla
tactics to end
• Long term affects cause chromosomal
disorders in humans
• Agent blue sprayed on crops to destroy
agriculture
21. Cu Chi
• US forces not only had
to fight guerrilla war
above ground, but
below as well.
• Tunnel cities with
traps
22. Tet Offensive
• 1968
• During the Tet holiday when US troops thought
the Viet Cong would be least likely to attack
• At Home the US thought that The Viet Cong were
ready to surrender and were weak
• Changed perspective in the US
• Dropped US troop morale
• War of psychology
• US troops actually defeated the Viet Cong during
this Offensive
23. Fall of Saigon
• 1975- last of US troops leave Vietnam
• Led to the reunification of Vietnam under
communist rule, 1976
27. Bay of Pigs
• Where: Cuba, 1961
• Who were the leaders involved: President Kennedy,
USA; Soviet Premiere Khrushchev; Communist Premiere
Castro
• What started the conflict: Fidel Castro took over Cuba,
became a communist sympathizer, and an ally of USSR.
The USA was trying to prevent the spread of
Communism and Cuba is 90 miles away from USA
• How did the conflict end: USA tried a surprise attack
on Fidel Castro in Cuba at the Bay of Pigs, Castro found
out and the plot failed. 90 died and over 1000 taken
hostage. Increase tensions between USA, Cuba and
USSR
29. Korean War
• Where: Korean Peninsula, 1950-1953
• Who were the leaders involved: President
Truman, USA; Soviet Premiere Stalin
• What started the conflict: North Korea,
supported by communist China and USSR,
invades the southern part of the Peninsula to
turn the entire country communist
• How did the conflict end: Fighting lasted 3
years. No major gains made. Tug-o-war between
the North and the South. Ended in a cease fire
and the country remained divided at the 38 th
parallel
31. Vietnam War
• Where: Vietnam, 1954-1975
• Who were the leaders involved: Presidents
Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon USA; Ho Chi
Minh, North Vietnam; Diem, South Vietnam
• What started the conflict: North Vietnam, lead by
communist Ho Chi Minh and supported by China,
invaded the southern part of the country to turn the entire
country communist and rid the country of the French rule
• How did the conflict end: Fighting lasted 21 years.
Over 60,000 American casualties. US troops withdrew in
1975 and the Viet-Cong took over South Vietnam capital,
Saigon, uniting the country under communism
33. Berlin Wall
• Where: Berlin, Germany 1961-1989
• Who were the leaders involved: President Kennedy-Reagan,
USA; Soviet Premiere Khrushchev-Gorbachev
• What started the conflict: Built to keep unhappy East Berliners
from escaping to democratic West Berlin controlled by USA
• Economy in East was terrible, Economy in West, thanks to Marshall
Plan, was booming, Wall became symbol of Cold War and the
division between democracy and Communism Stalin tried to block
Berlin in the 50’s, Khrushchev built the wall Average height of wall:
about 11 feet, Length, approximately 96miles
• How did the conflict end: Russia could not financially run it’s country, needed
aid;
• War with Afghanistan and money spent on Space and Weapons destroyed the
strength of the USSR
• 1989, Gorbachev negotiated with Ronal Reagan and allowed for the wall to come
down “Mr. Gorbachev, TEAR DOWN THAT WALL!” Berlin finally unified after 28 years
35. Communist China
• Where: China, 1934-1949,(1949 was when
China was made Communist)
• Who were the leaders involved: Jiang Jieshi
(Democratic leader) v. Mao Zedong (Communist
leader)
• What started the conflict: Civil War in China against
the Democratic leader, Jieshi, who wanted to unite China under
democracy, and slaughtered the communists, which lead to 22
years of fighting
• How did the conflict end: Mao Zedong eventually lead
China to a communist victory in 1949. Lead the “Long March” retreat
from Jieshi, where thousands of Communist died marching home,
BUT gave Communists hope, and the “Great Leap Forward” a plan
to rapidly industrialize China. Mao lead China until his death in the
1976.
37. Cuban Missile Crisis
• Where: Cuba, 1962
• Who were the leaders involved: Nikita
Khrushchev, USSR; President Kennedy, USA;
(Fidel Castro, Cuba)
• What started the conflict: Castro was afraid of another
US invasion after the Bay of Pigs, so the Soviets placed missiles in
Cuba to prevent another invasion. US discovered the missiles and
asked for their removal immediately
• How did the conflict end: This was the closest the
world has ever come to Nuclear war. There was an intense stand-
off between Khrushchev and Kennedy for 13 days waiting for either
the removal of the missiles or an attack. The missiles were removed
and there is now a hot line placed in the White House as a direct
line. Cold War tensions died down after that.
