5. KEY EVENTS
• L-Zone X-Ray: the first major combat
operation in Vietnam involving almost
exclusively American troops against NVA
units. Watch "We Were Soldiers" for more
information and a pretty good movie.
• My Lai Massacre: a massacre of South
Vietnamese civilians by US troops due to
faulty intelligence and a long series of bad
choices made by the US commanding
officers involved. This was another huge
setback for the war back in the US as it
happened in the same year as the Tet
Offensive, even though it was not revealed
for almost two years. Between 300-500
civilians were shot dead by American
troops because they believed they were
working with the Viet Cong. The resulting
cover up also helped tarnish American
reputation in Vietnam and in the world.
6. KEY EVENTS/TERMS
• Tet Offensive: During the Buddhist
holiday of Tet beginning in late
January, 1968, it was assumed that
there would be little to no military
action taken until the VC, along with
elements of the NVA, attacked virtually
every city in South Vietnam along with
several major American military
installations. Though a tactical failure,
the reaction by the US media was so
depressing and gloomy, that
nationwide morale and desire to
continue the war sank considerably.
This is considered one of the turning
points of the war.
• Gulf of Tonkin Resolution of Aug. 7,
1964: gave President Johnson
essentially a free hand to deploy
American military forces to Vietnam
without Congress' authorization
Viet Cong:
Communist-
sympathizers
in South
Vietnam who
often
performed
guerrilla/
sabotage/
spy
operations
against
American
and South
Vietnamese
forces
7. HOW IT HAPPENED
• Vietnam was a colony of
France till 1954
o Vietnam divided into
Communist North and
Democratic South causing
the French to lose control
of Vietnam.
• The US feared that the entire
Southeast of Asia would be
lost to the Communist block,
so the U.S. went in trying to
stop the Communism from
spreading to other countries.
8. KEY PLAYERS
• Ho Chi Minh (1890 - 1969)
Vietnamese Communist and
revolutionary leader
• Vo Nguyen Giap (1912-)
Vietnamese military
commander most revered for
his role in liberating Vietnam
from French colonial rule
• Bao Dai (1913 - 1997) was the
reigning emperor of Vietnam
from 1926 to 1945
• Dwight D. Eisenhower
(1890-1969) Republican, was
the popular 34th President of
the United States
10. U.S. POLICIES REGARDING
VIETNAM WAR
Containment
• Purpose: to prevent the spread of communism by
limiting and containing it geographically
• All of the presidents leading up to and during the war
followed the containment policy, but each adopted
different strategies to achieve the goal of containment of
communism.
• President Kennedy was determined to "draw a line in
the sand" and prevent a communist victory in Vietnam.
He sent US military advisors to try to help the Republic
of Vietnam defeat communist insurgents which were
known as the Viet Cong.
11. U.S. POLICIES REGARDING
VIETNAM WAR
Escalation
• Under Johnson there was a great expansion of the Vietnam War. In
1964 Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which
allowed the President to send a full military force to fight the
communists in Vietnam without a formal declaration of war.
Vietnamization
• Facing increased opposition to the Vietnam war at home, and
recognizing that the military escalation pursued by Johnson was
not successful, President Nixon adopted a new policy called
Vietnamization, which aimed to wind down the US military
involvement in the war
• The purpose of this policy was to “expand, equip, and train South
Vietnam’s forces and assign to them an ever-increasing combat
role, at the same time steadily reducing the number of U. S.
combat troops.”
12. WHY IT HAPPEN
• The Vietnam War started because the U.S. President
Eisenhower did not want communism to spread
throughout America.
• Communism was seeking to expand in Vietnam much
the way it had attempted to expand in Korea
• When Chinese communists won the civil war in China,
the U.S. feared all of Southeast Asian countries to fall
into communism.
13. WHY WAS THIS A SIGNIFICANT
COLD WAR EVENT?
Proxy war: a
war that results
when opposing
powers use
third powers as
substitutes for
fighting each
other directly
14. WHY WAS THIS A SIGNIFICANT
COLD WAR EVENT?
•North being aided
by the Soviets
and the south by
the U.S. minus
the Viet Cong. It
was the first war
the the U.S. "lost"
because the
North still ended
up becoming
communist.
15. OUTCOMES OF THE WAR
• North Vietnam was victorious
over South Vietnam and allied
force
• War officially ended when
Paris Peace Accords was
signed to establish peace and
an end U.S. military
involvement
16. OUTCOMES OF THE WAR
• Veterans from the war
formed an organization
know Vietnam Veterans
Against the War (VVAW)
• VVAW promotes peace,
justice, and rights of all
United States military
veterans
17. WHAT THIS EVENT TELLS US ABOUT
THE CONFLICT BETWEEN THE
SUPERPOWERS
• Even though there was a "Cold War" between the
Superpowers, which meant no direct military action between
them, it resulted in several proxy wars in poorer, less powerful
nations, resulting in many deaths.
• While over 58,000 U.S. troops died in the Vietnam War, it is
estimated that between 250,000-500,000 Vietnamese soldiers
and civilians died during the war.
• Therefore Cold War was sometimes more damaging and
costly to third countries caught up in the conflict between
the Superpowers.
18. HOW DID THIS CONTRIBUTE TO
THE COLD WAR TENSIONS?
• It relates to the Vietnam War because communists
wanted to take over South Vietnam, and since the US
had made opposing communism one of its goals the US
is of course going to help South Vietnam fight
communism.
• Domino theory: If it fell to communism then surrounding
countries would as well. The US was trying to halt the
spread of communism which the Soviets were trying to
spread.
19. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Websites:
• Burkett, B.G., Glenna Whitley, Verity Press, Inc., Dallas, TX, and
1998. Book review. "Facts of the Vietnam war.."Vietnam
Helicopter Crew Member Association. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr.
2013. <http://www.vhcma.org/fact.html>.
• "VNW Facts Archive - The Vietnam War."The Vietnam War -
Vietnam War History, Timelines, Pictures, Facts & Questions.
N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2013. <http://thevietnamwar.info/
vietnam-war-facts/>.
• https://www.boundless.com/history/sixties-1960-1969/john-f-
kennedy-administration/growing-war-in-vietnam/
• http://www.defense.gov/specials/secdef_histories/bios/laird.htm
Books:
• Fincher, Ernest Barksdale. The Vietnam War. New York: Watts,
1980. Print.
• Lewy, Guenter. America in Vietnam. New York: Oxford University
Press, 1978. Print.
20. BIBLIOGRAPHY (CON'T)
Books:
• Murray, Stuart. Vietnam War. New York: DK Publishing, 2005.
Print.
• Thayer, Thomas C. War Without Fronts: The American Experience
in Vietnam. Boulder: Westview Press, 1985. Print.
Primary:
• "Excerpts from the Paris Accords, January 27, 1973 - The Wars
for Viet Nam - Vassar College." Home - Vassar College. N.p., n.d.
Web. 22 Apr. 2013. <http://vietnam.vassar.edu/overview/doc
