-
The growth of American involvement in French Indochina
The United States involvement in the struggles of French Indochina began in 1945 at the Potsdam Conference and continued through many phases, culminating in a final withdrawal from Vietnam in 1975. Billions of dollars spent in military aid and equipment from the United States ended after more than 58,000 American lives were lost and another 153,000 were wounded in what is sometimes called “The Impossible War." -
Ho Chi Minh
Ho Chi Minh was a Vietnamese communist and revolutionary leader who, throughout much of the 20th century, sought to free his nation from colonial influence. He led Vietnamese troops against Japanese, French, and American occupying forces, as well as against rival factions of Vietnamese.Ho and his Viet Minh forces were victorious against the French in the 1st Indochina War.In the Vietnam War, he led the N. Vietnamese trying to expel U.S. forces, crush the S. Vietnamese, and reunify the country. -
The expansion of American involvement in the war
The U.S decided to escalate its involvement in the war and under Westmoreland, the expansion of American troop strength in South Vietnam took place. American forces rose from 16,000 during 1964 to more than 553,000 by 1969. It began its involvement to aid the French in the First Indochina War. America’s involvement in Vietnam, that was to lead to a full-scale military attack on North Vietnam, was all part of the Cold War scenario that had enveloped world politics. -
Dien Bien Phu
The Battle of Dien Bien Phu was the decisive engagement in the first Indochina War (1946–54). After French forces occupied the Dien Bien Phu valley in late 1953, Viet Minh commander Vo Nguyen Giap amassed troops and placed heavy artillery in caves of the mountains overlooking the French camp. Boosted by Chinese aid, Giap mounted assaults on the opposition’s strong points beginning in March 1954, eliminating use of the French airfield. -
The assassination of Diem
He was assassinated in South Vietnam. Following the overthrow of his government by South Vietnamese military forces the day before, President Ngo Dinh Diem and his brother are captured and killed by a group of soldiers. The death of Diem caused celebration among many people in South Vietnam, but also lead to political chaos in the nation. The United States subsequently became more heavily involved in Vietnam as it tried to stabilize the South Vietnamese government. -
course of the war from 1964 to 1975, including bombing campaigns of the North
U.S. and South Vietnamese forces relied on air superiority and overwhelming firepower to conduct search and destroy operations, involving ground forces, artillery, and airstrikes. In the course of the war, the U.S. conducted a large-scale strategic bombing campaign against North Vietnam. The North Vietnamese viewed the conflict as a colonial war and a continuation of the First Indochina War. The U.S. viewed its involvement in the war as a way to prevent a communist takeover of South Vietnam. -
Gulf of Tonkin incident
The U.S. destroyer Maddox exchanged shots with North Vietnamese torpedo boats in the Gulf of Tonkin. Two days later, the Maddox and another destroyer reported once again coming under fire. U.S. involvement in Vietnam remained largely in the background. But in the pre-dawn hours of July 31, 1964, U.S.-backed patrol boats shelled two North Vietnamese islands in the Gulf of Tonkin, after which the Maddox headed to the area. -
American support for and opposition to the war in Vietnam
Americans opposed the war b/c of the devastation and violence of the war. Some claimed the conflict was a war against Vietnam independence, or an intervention in a foreign civil war; others opposed it because they felt it lacked clear objectives.The movement began small w/ peace activists and intellectuals on college campuses but gained national prominence, after the U.S began bombing N.Vietnam. Anti-war marches and protests gained support after the successful Tet Offensive by N.Vietnam troops. -
Tet Offensive
The Tet Offensive was a coordinated series of North Vietnamese attacks on more than 100 cities and outposts in South Vietnam. The offensive was an attempt to foment rebellion among the South Vietnamese population and encourage the United States to scale back its involvement in the Vietnam War.North Vietnam achieved a strategic victory with the Tet Offensive, as the attacks marked a turning point in the Vietnam War and the beginning of the slow, painful American withdrawal from the region. -
The incursion into Cambodia
The Cambodian Campaign (also known as the Cambodian Incursion and the Cambodian Invasion) was a series of military operations conducted in eastern Cambodia during 1970 by the United States and the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) as an extension of the Vietnam War and the Cambodian Civil War. The invasions were a policy of President Richard Nixon; 13 major operations were conducted by the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. -
The Paris Peace Accords
The United States, South Vietnam, Viet Cong, and North Vietnam formally sign “An Agreement Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam” in Paris. It was signed to establish peace in Vietnam and end the Vietnam War. It ended direct U.S. military combat, and temporarily stopped the fighting between North and South Vietnam. It basically officially ended the Vietnam War. -
its effects on the political, economic, and social situation in the United states during this time.
The Vietnam War damaged the U.S. economy severely. The U.S. had poured some $168 billion into the war, but the real cost of the conflict was its impact on the economy. The conflict also led Congress to end the military draft and replace it with an all-volunteer army as well as reduce the voting age to 18. Besides, Congress also passed the War Powers Act which restricted the president’s power to send American troops into combat for more than 90 days without explicit Congressional consent. -
The fall of Saigon
The fall of Saigon, April 30, 1975, marked the end of the Vietnam War & the capture of Saigon by North Vietnamese forces. Chaos ensued as the North Vietnamese advanced southward leading to that momentous event. The fall of Saigon (capital of S.Vietnam) came just over 2 years after the United States, ally of South Vietnam, pulled out of the Vietnam War with the signing of the Paris Peace Accords. The agreement created a cease-fire between North and South Vietnam, but it did not end the conflict.
