The Vietnam War was fought from 1957 to spring of 1975. It was struggle between the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam), which the United States supported, and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, which was controlled by communists. The war was a continuation of the Indochina War, when Vietnamese nationalists were overpowered by Communists and defeated France’s attempt to reestablish colonial rule. The U.S. became involved when President Harry S. Truman started the Mutual Defense Assistance Act of 1949, providing aid to French forces in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. The primary reason for U.S. involvement was to stop the spread of Communism and encourage French involvement in the national defense of Europe.
Even though the U.S. provided materialistic aid and had a Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG), the French were not able to defeat Viet Minh due to their guerilla warfare and conventional attacks. The Indochina War resulted in the division of Vietnam at the seventeenth parallel with a three-mile Demilitarized zone, according to the Geneva Accords of 1954. This division created the two nations of the northern Democratic Republic of Vietnam, and the southern Republic of Vietnam.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower provided aid to Ngo Dinh Diem’s government in South Vietnam. The MAAG helped build Diem’s army, and, with the support of Eisenhower, Diem did not participate in the national elections stated in the Geneva Accord, stating that South Vietnam had not acceded to the agreement and that it was impossible to hold free elections in the north. Diem then proceeded to declare himself president of South Vietnam.
Ho Chi Minh, the leader in North Korea, anticipated gaining control of South Vietnam due to the elections and the internal problems the government contained. He wanted to liberate all of Vietnam. He was reluctant to sign the Geneva Accords; he only signed it because he was pressured by the Russians and the Chinese. He moved slowly to liberate South Korea in order to hide his motives from his allies and the United States.
In 1957, the southern Viet Minh started a campaign of political subversion and terrorism, leading to a guerilla war against Diem’s government. The people behind the campaign were named the Viet Cong (VC) by Diem. In response, North Vietnam created a political organization in the south called the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam (NLF), consisting of elements that opposed Diem, but was controlled by communism in the North. Soldiers and political cadres were then sent to the south from Hanoi. The majority of the Viet Cong consisted of native southerners, who gained most of their weapons and supplies by capturing government forces.
The Viet Cong was able to quickly gain their political control of the country by building on the organizational base left over from the French war and by exploiting already popular grievances about Diem. As fighting became more intense, two American soldiers of the MAAG were killed during a Viet Cong attack on Bien Hoa, north of Saigon. When President John F. Kennedy took office in 1961, the Americans needed to provide help to their ally. Kennedy believed that the fighting in Vietnam was a test for Communist expansion through local wars, leading to national liberation. Because of this reason, along with keeping the policy of containment, Kennedy sent more advisors to strengthen Diem’s army, provided money and supplies, and sent American helicopters and other specialized units. In order to carry out the enlarged program, Kennedy made a new joint army headquarters in Saigon, known as the Military Assitance Command, Vietnam (MACV). However, the programmed failed due to Diem’s rule as a dictator. It undermined the effectiveness of the South Vietnamese military. Also, the effort to relocate the rural population failed due to poor planning and ineffective execution. With support from the Kennedy administration, Diem’s general overthrew and assassinated Diem on November of 1953.
After Diem’s death, Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963. The Viet Cong then continued to advance from guerilla warfare to larger attacks that were meant to destroy the South Vietnamese Army. Lyndon B. Johnson, the successor of Kennedy, increased American military power in South Vietnam. However, political chaos in Saigon and the Viet Cong dominating strength frustrated Johnson’s efforts. He then decided to directly pressure North Vietnam through raids and air strikes. North Vietnam carried out two torpedo attacks on the U.S. destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin, and Johnson used this event to get authorization from Congress to use armed forces against any attack against the forces of the U.S. Johnson then authorized the bombing of the Ho Chi Minh Trail; 13 Americans were then killed by the Viet Cong. He also officially committed the American combat forces t to the war. Johnson looked to defend air bases used in Operation Rolling Thunder. There were many American lives lost, the enemy showed no sign of backing down, and Johnson eventually tried to look for a way out of the war. Johnson rejected the military request for additional U.S. troops and stopped the bombing in the north. He withdrew from the presidential race to devote the rest of his term to look for peace in Vietnam. Because of the partial bombing being stopped, North Vietnam agreed to open negotiations, however, the talks were very unproductive.
When President Nixon took office in 1969, he began withdrawing U.S. troops from South Vietnam while building up Saigon’s forces in order to fight with only American advice and material assistance, known as “Vietnamization.” He also continued with the Paris talks. However, the American troop strength weakened at the end of 1971. The American and South Vietnamese offensive against the enemy sanctuaries in Cambodia, and an ARVN raid against the Ho Chi Minh Trail helped gain more time for Vietnamization. However, due to some of the troop withdrawals, the U.S. army dealt with indiscipline, drug abuse, and racial conflict.
In spring of 1972, North Vietnam launched an Eastern Offensive with 12 divisions, strengthening the tanks and artillery in order to gain fortunes in the south. President Nixon was withdrawing American troops while strengthening the Air Force to support the AVRN. Nixon resumed bombing in North Vietnam and mined its harbors. During autumn of 1972, Nixon’s advisor, Henry A. Kissinger, and North Vietnamese representative Le Duc Tho made an agreement. The U.S. would drop their demands for total withdrawal of North Vietnamese troops from South Vietnam, and Hanoi dropped its demand for the Thieu government to be replaced by a Communist government. After a final U.S. air campaign against Hanoi in December, the cease fire finally went into effect on January 28, 1973. Military prisoners and American troops returned. Besides combat deaths, the U.S. lost 1,333 missing men and 10,298 men died in non-battle causes. The total cost of the war was $138.9 billon. The war also cost the trust of many Americans in their government and the demoralization in the U.S. army.
Even though the U.S. provided materialistic aid and had a Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG), the French were not able to defeat Viet Minh due to their guerilla warfare and conventional attacks. The Indochina War resulted in the division of Vietnam at the seventeenth parallel with a three-mile Demilitarized zone, according to the Geneva Accords of 1954. This division created the two nations of the northern Democratic Republic of Vietnam, and the southern Republic of Vietnam.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower provided aid to Ngo Dinh Diem’s government in South Vietnam. The MAAG helped build Diem’s army, and, with the support of Eisenhower, Diem did not participate in the national elections stated in the Geneva Accord, stating that South Vietnam had not acceded to the agreement and that it was impossible to hold free elections in the north. Diem then proceeded to declare himself president of South Vietnam.
Ho Chi Minh, the leader in North Korea, anticipated gaining control of South Vietnam due to the elections and the internal problems the government contained. He wanted to liberate all of Vietnam. He was reluctant to sign the Geneva Accords; he only signed it because he was pressured by the Russians and the Chinese. He moved slowly to liberate South Korea in order to hide his motives from his allies and the United States.
In 1957, the southern Viet Minh started a campaign of political subversion and terrorism, leading to a guerilla war against Diem’s government. The people behind the campaign were named the Viet Cong (VC) by Diem. In response, North Vietnam created a political organization in the south called the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam (NLF), consisting of elements that opposed Diem, but was controlled by communism in the North. Soldiers and political cadres were then sent to the south from Hanoi. The majority of the Viet Cong consisted of native southerners, who gained most of their weapons and supplies by capturing government forces.
The Viet Cong was able to quickly gain their political control of the country by building on the organizational base left over from the French war and by exploiting already popular grievances about Diem. As fighting became more intense, two American soldiers of the MAAG were killed during a Viet Cong attack on Bien Hoa, north of Saigon. When President John F. Kennedy took office in 1961, the Americans needed to provide help to their ally. Kennedy believed that the fighting in Vietnam was a test for Communist expansion through local wars, leading to national liberation. Because of this reason, along with keeping the policy of containment, Kennedy sent more advisors to strengthen Diem’s army, provided money and supplies, and sent American helicopters and other specialized units. In order to carry out the enlarged program, Kennedy made a new joint army headquarters in Saigon, known as the Military Assitance Command, Vietnam (MACV). However, the programmed failed due to Diem’s rule as a dictator. It undermined the effectiveness of the South Vietnamese military. Also, the effort to relocate the rural population failed due to poor planning and ineffective execution. With support from the Kennedy administration, Diem’s general overthrew and assassinated Diem on November of 1953.
After Diem’s death, Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963. The Viet Cong then continued to advance from guerilla warfare to larger attacks that were meant to destroy the South Vietnamese Army. Lyndon B. Johnson, the successor of Kennedy, increased American military power in South Vietnam. However, political chaos in Saigon and the Viet Cong dominating strength frustrated Johnson’s efforts. He then decided to directly pressure North Vietnam through raids and air strikes. North Vietnam carried out two torpedo attacks on the U.S. destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin, and Johnson used this event to get authorization from Congress to use armed forces against any attack against the forces of the U.S. Johnson then authorized the bombing of the Ho Chi Minh Trail; 13 Americans were then killed by the Viet Cong. He also officially committed the American combat forces t to the war. Johnson looked to defend air bases used in Operation Rolling Thunder. There were many American lives lost, the enemy showed no sign of backing down, and Johnson eventually tried to look for a way out of the war. Johnson rejected the military request for additional U.S. troops and stopped the bombing in the north. He withdrew from the presidential race to devote the rest of his term to look for peace in Vietnam. Because of the partial bombing being stopped, North Vietnam agreed to open negotiations, however, the talks were very unproductive.
When President Nixon took office in 1969, he began withdrawing U.S. troops from South Vietnam while building up Saigon’s forces in order to fight with only American advice and material assistance, known as “Vietnamization.” He also continued with the Paris talks. However, the American troop strength weakened at the end of 1971. The American and South Vietnamese offensive against the enemy sanctuaries in Cambodia, and an ARVN raid against the Ho Chi Minh Trail helped gain more time for Vietnamization. However, due to some of the troop withdrawals, the U.S. army dealt with indiscipline, drug abuse, and racial conflict.
In spring of 1972, North Vietnam launched an Eastern Offensive with 12 divisions, strengthening the tanks and artillery in order to gain fortunes in the south. President Nixon was withdrawing American troops while strengthening the Air Force to support the AVRN. Nixon resumed bombing in North Vietnam and mined its harbors. During autumn of 1972, Nixon’s advisor, Henry A. Kissinger, and North Vietnamese representative Le Duc Tho made an agreement. The U.S. would drop their demands for total withdrawal of North Vietnamese troops from South Vietnam, and Hanoi dropped its demand for the Thieu government to be replaced by a Communist government. After a final U.S. air campaign against Hanoi in December, the cease fire finally went into effect on January 28, 1973. Military prisoners and American troops returned. Besides combat deaths, the U.S. lost 1,333 missing men and 10,298 men died in non-battle causes. The total cost of the war was $138.9 billon. The war also cost the trust of many Americans in their government and the demoralization in the U.S. army.