1. THE VIETNAM WAR 1950s to 1975

3. French fought to keep control of Vietnam

4. US supported France from 1945-1951

5. Ho Chi Minh—communist who led the independence of Vietnam against French

6. Dien Bien Phu—last stand of the French in Vietnam

7. French were surrounded and turned to the US for aid but Eisenhower said no

8. May 1954—Dien Bien Phu fell and the French were forced to leave VietnamFrench Soldiers surrender at Dien Bien Phu

10. US feared Ho Chi Minh taking communist power and believed in the domino theory: US followed the idea that if Vietnam fell, then all other countries in Southeast Asia would fall as well

12. NON-COMMUNIST SOUTH VIETNAM South Vietnam was led by a repressive regime run by Ngo Dinh Diem. The US supported him because he was fighting North Vietnam, not because he was a good leader. On Nov. 3rd 1963 he was assassinated by a CIA backed coup.

13. The Ultimate Anti-Government Protest One of the reasons US supported the assassination of Diem was world opinion questioned the US support of an oppressive government. Questions arose after Vietnamese Buddhists Monks set them selves on fire and burned in the streets as a way to protest Diem’s government. (Ironically, 20 days later, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in the U.S.

15. Gulf of Tonkin Resolution:

16. Johnson told Congress that two US destroyers were bombed in the Gulf of Tonkin in North Vietnam.

17. Congress passed the resolution to authorize the President to “take all necessary steps including armed conflict,” in Vietnam.

20. There were no battle fronts. There was the use of guerilla tactics and the Vietcong used hit and run tactics, ambushes and booby traps.

21. American Tactics:

22. search and destroy: bombed enemy positions to try to forced soldiers out into open combat

23. Napalm: jellied gasoline that explodes, clings, and burn whatever it touches

25. AGENT ORANGE Agent Orange was a chemical/pesticide used to burn the leaves off trees Used in both Korean and Vietnam War. By 1967--1.5 million acres were being doused annually.

27. January 30, 1968—communist guerillas launched a major offensive against the US and the South.

28. US embassy in Saigon was attacked.

29. Both sides suffered heavy casualties.

34. Vietnamization: term for Nixon’s plan to withdraw from the war.

35. Vietnamization had two phases—phased withdrawal of US troops and training and equipping South Vietnamese to replace US troops

37. As the North Vietnamese moved into Saigon, supporters of the US scrambled to get out of the capital.

39. A SHAMEFUL HISTORY American Soldiers returned home from Vietnam to a hostile public. Soldiers were harassed, spit on, called “baby killers” There were no welcome home parades.