1. The United States initially got involved in Vietnam to contain the spread of communism according to the Domino Theory and policy of containment. They supported France in fighting the Viet Minh and later the South Vietnamese government against the Viet Cong. 2. After the French defeat at Dien Bien Phu in 1954, Vietnam was divided and elections were to reunite the country but the US feared communism would spread so they increased support for South Vietnam. 3. US involvement escalated throughout the 1960s despite growing opposition until all US troops left Vietnam in 1973 after failed policy of Vietnamization showed South Vietnam could not stand on its own against the North.

1. Why did America get involved?
1. The DominoTheoryand Containment –The Domino theory stated that when one country fell
to Communism a country next door would swiftly fall too. Containment stated that America
should‘contain’Communismbysupportingany countrythreatenedbyaCommunisttakeover.
(Think about the Truman Doctrine).
2. Originally supporting the French – America started off by providing the French with $500
millioninordertohelppreventaCommunisttakeover by the Viet Minh who were supported
by China.
3. Dien Bein Phu 1954 – After this French defeat, Vietnam was divided into North and South
Vietnam. Elections were meant to be held within 2 years to reunite the country (the North
became Communist). However, America were not willing to allow the South to become
Communist(whichitalmostcertainly would have), so they supported Ngo Dinh Diem in 1955
when he set up a Republic of South Vietnam. During the 1950’s the USA gave Diem $1.6
billion.
What happened next?
- These actions increasedoppositiontothe SouthVietnamgovernmentamongstthe ordinarypeople.
In turn, this increased support for the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam (more
commonly known as the Viet Cong, set up in 1960)
- The Viet Cong also started a guerrilla war against the South Vietnamese government. By 1962
President Kennedy was sending military personnel ‘advisors’ to support the South Vietnamese
government against the Viet Cong.
- American involvement continued to increase from there:
- 1962 = 11,500 troops
- 1964 = 23,000 troops
The Gulf of Tonkin: August 1964
North Vietnamese patrol boats opened fire on US ships in the Gulf of
Tonkin (or did they?!!). The US Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin
Resolutionwhichgave Johnsonthe powerto ‘take all necessary measures
to prevent further aggression and achieve peace and security’. March
1965 saw 3,500 US marines (combat troops, not advisors) arrived in
Vietnam

2. Key facts to remember:
- $110 billionwasspent whichover10
yearsworksout at $2000 persecond.
- 5,000 helicopterswere destroyedand
3,500 fixedwingaircraft.
- 2/3 of Americanbombsdroppedwere
on SouthVietnam,the countrythey
were meanttobe protecting!
- About10,000 shellswere firedevery
day.
Key Dates:
1964 – Gulf of TonkinResolution
1965 (Feb) – OperationRolling
Thunderbegins
1965 (March) – FirstUS Combat
troopsarrive
1968 (January) – Tet Offensive.
1968 (Oct) – OperationRolling
Thunderends
1969 – Americanpolicyof
Vietnamisationbegins.
1973 – CeasefiresignedinParis
29th
March 1973 – all US troops
are removedfromSouthVietnam.
1975 – Saigonfallsto
Communists,USevacuate last
officialsbyhelicopter.
American Tactics:
Bombing (Operation Rolling Thunder)
The idea behind this was to bomb the Viet Cong
into submission. They thought that if they
bombedthe suspectedtunnels(HoChi Minh trail)
that the Viet Cong would no longer be able to
carry theirsuppliesintoSouthVietnam.Evenafter
the air raids the Viet Cong could launch the Tet
Offensive. 14,000 US and South Vietnamese
planes were shot down. It was estimated that it
took $400,000 to kill one Viet Cong fighter
(including 75 bombs and 400 artillery shells)
Chemical Weapons
The US found it difficult to see where the Viet
Cong were working since much of Vietnam was
jungle. As a result they developed Agent Orange
to destroy the jungle where the Viet Cong hid.
They sprayed thousands of square km of jungle
whichdestroyedthe foliage. It also burnt through
cloths and skin however and killed many soldiers
and civilians.
Search and Destroy
Bombing wasn’t working so the US commander
General Westmoreland developed this policy.
These raids did kill Viet Cong soldiers but there
were problems. For every one Viet Cong weapon
capturedthere were 6 bodies.Mai Lai is the worst
example of these failings.

3. Vietcong tactics:
- Ho Chi Minh onlyhad 170,000 VietCongand NorthVietnamese Army(NVA) soldiersin1965, this
was far lessthanthe AmericansandSouthVietnamese.
- Openwarfare wouldonlyresultinan Americanvictorydue tosuperiorUSfirepowereg.LaDreng
Valley(2000 VietConglost,300 US)
- Guerrillawarfare wasthe orderof the dayeg. boobytraps:bouncingBettylandmine,tripwiresetc.
These caused11% of US causalities.
- Ambusheswere akeypartof the Guerrillawarand these accountedfor51% of US losses.These
were foughttokeephe Americansatclose quartersand to stopthemfromusingtheirsuperiorair
support.It wasnicknamed‘hangingontoAmericanbelts’.
- The VietCongmaintainedthe supportof the peasantsbybeingpolite tothemand helpingthemat
busytimes.TheyalsoruthlesslykilledSouthVietnamese governmentofficials(estimatesare as
highas 27,000)
- Theyusedthe Ho Chi Minhtrail to move troopsand suppliesaround.Althoughthe USrelentlessly
bombed thisover40,000 VietCongfightersworkedtokeepthiscrucial supplylineopen.
American Problems:
1. Low Morale and inexperience –manyAmericantroopsweren’tentirelysure whytheywere in
Vietnamandthisbecame muchmore of a problemafterthe introductionof the draft(compulsory
militaryservice)wasintroducedin1967. Many of those draftedwere inexperiencedand60% of US
soldierskilledinVietnamwere aged17-21. The majorityof those draftedwere poorAmericans
(those richenoughcoulduse universityto delaythe draft).Some unitseventurnedagainsttheir
officersandevidencesuggeststhatasmanyas 3% of officerswere ‘fragged’(killedbytheirown
men.18% of US causalitieswere causedbyfactorsotherthancombat (egillness) andthere were
over500,000 incidencesof desertion.
2. Vietnam’sneighbours –these countrieswere sympathetictothe Vietcong.Americanforceswere
not at war withthese countriesandcouldnotenterthem.The factthat the Ho Chi Minh trail went
throughthese countriesmeantthatthe US couldneverdeal withitfully.
3. Hearts andMinds – The US knewthe importance of winningthe supportof the Vietnamesepeople,
but theirtacticsfailedtoallowthemtodo this.Americantacticsalsocausedciviliandeaths,and
these turnedthe people of SouthVietnamagainstthe Americans.Lookatthe nextexample…
4. Cost of the war: More than 50,000 US deathsinVietnam, 300,000 wounded,armyestimatesheroin
use at 30%, 2.8 Americansservedinthe VietnamWar.

4. My Lai Massacre
Date: March 1968
Task:Search and DestroymissioninSouthVietnam
Background:Intelligence toldthemthatMyLai was a Viet
CongHQ and home to200 guerrillafighters.
Events:Orderswere to destroyall the housesand
livestock.Theyhad beentoldthatthe villagerswould
have leftfora Saturday market.Most believedthatthey
were tokill all theyfoundthere.
300-400 civilianswere killed,mostlywomen,childrenand
oldmen.Only3 weaponswere recovered.
Aftermath:Ittook12 monthsfor thisto come out but
whenphotographsof the eventappearedinLife
magazine andsome US papers,Congresswasaskedto
investigate.
Trial: LieutenantWilliamCalleywastriedformass
murderinSeptember1696. The Armypinnedthe blame
on Calley(saidhe hadn’tbeenactingunderorders) who
was foundguiltyof 22 counts inMarch 1971.
The Media and public protest
- To start withthe mediasupportedthe warand the military.The militarycreatedthe MACV (Military
Assistance Command,Vietnam) toliaise withjournalists.
- 1967-8 saw a change inattitude however.
- Televisionbegantotake overfromnewspapersandthe footage of the streetexecutionof aVietCong
suspect(see photobelow) byColonelNguyenNocLoanhorrifiedAmerica.
- Doubtsabout the war were increasing,ithadbeengoingonfora while now afterall.One of the most
famousreportersWalterCronkite declared(asaresultof the Tet Offensive –see nextbox!) thathe
thoughtthe war was unwinnable.AtthispointJohnsonknew thathe hadlostthe supportof ‘middle
America’.
- Johnsonhadpromiseda‘Great Society’athiselectionbutthe costof the VietnamWarunderminedthis
promise.30%of blackAmericanswere draftedcomparedto19% of whites!
- Studentstookupthe protestand the chant ‘Hey,Hey,LBJ, how manykidsdidyou kill today’became
well known.Manystartedto‘draft dodge’andinNovember1969 there were 700,000 anti-war
protestersdemonstratinginWashingtonDC.
- The KentState universityprotestsawthe National Guardopen fire andkill 4studentsandinjure 11. The
presswere horrifiedandupto2 millionstudentswentonstrike.

5. Thiswas reallyimportantbecause ittookthe Americanscompletelybysurprise.Ittookplace at a point
whenthe Americanpublicwere beingledtobelievethattheywere winningthe war.The American
reporterswere generallytobe foundinSaigon(the capital of SouthVietnam).Fromthere theywouldbe
escortedtocarefullyselectedcombatzoneswheretheywould(hopefully) see the effectsof superiorUS
equipmentandfirepower.However,the TetOffensive broughtthe realityof the warhome and was
broadcast intomillionsof homesacrossAmerica.Here are some keyfactsto remember:
1. It was a NorthVietnameseArmy(NVA) andVietCongattackonSouthVietnam(andthe
Americansoldiersthere).
2. It was a complete surprise tothe Americans –ittookplace duringthe religiousfestivaland
traditional truce whichsurroundedthe TetHolidayperiod.
3. The attack wasa complete change of tactics,it wasno longera guerrillawar,butone inwhich
the NVA targetedover100 cities andothermilitarytargets inSouthVietnam.
4. EvenSaigon,the capital of SouthVietnamwasattacked.Thiswaswhere manyUS supporters
got to see the fightingfirsthand.
5. The Americanembassywasbreached,althoughthiswasdescribedassome ‘piddlingplatoon
action’by an Americangeneral,this shockedthe Americanpublic– how couldthishappenwhen
the US were meanttobe winning??!!!
6. It was duringthisoffensivethatAmericanviewerssothe photofromthe previouspage –the
summaryexecutionof aVietCongsuspectbySouthVietnamese police chiefColonel Nguyen
Ngoc Loan – where Americaevensupportingthe rightside,if stuff like thiswashappening?
7. The VietConglostaround 10,000 experiencedfightersandwere badlyweakenedbythe
offensive –the US had wonthe militaryengagement,theyhadlostfarfewertroopsand
regainedall of theirpreviouslyoccupiedlandrelativelyeasily –thiswasthe kindof war they
knewhowto fight…
8. The NVA and VietCongwonthe propagandabattle,the US had nearly500,000 troopsin
Vietnambythisstage and were spending$20 billionperyearonthe war – how couldtheybe
caught bysurprise bythis.
9. WalterCronkite summedupthe view of the Americanmediawhenhe said“whatthe hell is
goingon? I thoughtwe were winningthiswar.”
10. Afterthe Tet Offensive PresidentJohnsonconcludedthatthe warcouldnot be wonmilitarily.
He reducedthe bombingcampaignagainstNorthVietnamandinstructedhisofficialstobegin
peace negotiations(althoughthese wouldbe concludedunderPresidentNixonunder
‘Vietnamisation’).
However:
Don’toverestimate the impactof the media,forexample:from1965-70 only76 outof 2,300 TV reports
showedheavyfightingandlessthan25% of TV reportsshowedthe deador woundedandusuallynotin
detail.Infactin a sample of 800 broadcasts on16% of criticismsof governmentpolicycame from
journalists,the majoritycame fromofficialsorthe general public.Infact,warwearinessandcasualty
figureswere the keyreasonforthe dropinsupportfor the war, the publichadmade up their mindby
1967, notafter it….

6. Stage 1: Nixonand Vietnamisation
- November1968 saw he electionof
RichardNixonasPresidentof the United
States.
- From 1969 to 1973 he and hisNational
SecurityAdvisorHenryKissingerworked
to endUS involvementinVietnam.
- 1972 saw anotherbigoffensive from
NorthVietnam,buttheywere unable to
conquerthe South(rememberthatitwas
the Souththat the US supported).
- January1973 saw Le Duc Theo(North
Vietnamese official),Nixonandthe South
Vietnamese PresidentThieusignapeace
agreement
- Nixoncalledthis‘Peace withhonour’
- By 29th
March 1973 the last American
troopshad leftVietnam.
Refugeestryingtoboarda transportplane,April 1975. An
Americanofficial ispunchingamanin the face to make him
letgo.
What can we infer? – We can inferthat
Vietnamisationwasafailure.Thiscartoonsis
criticisingthe policy.Thisisshownbythe crowsall
peckingatthe scarecrow labelledVietnamistaion.
They’re notscaredof the scarecrow,justas the
NVA weren’tscaredof SouthVietnamonce the US
pulledout.
Stage 2: Afterthe US had left
- Nixonhadpromisedtocontinue to
provide financialaid(andmilitary
support,justnottroops) to South
Vietnam, butCongressrefusedtoallow
it.
- 1974 – Nixonwasforcedtoresignover
the Watergate scandal.
- WithoutUS air power,or militaryback
up and lackingthe supportof the
majorityof the population,the South
Vietnamese governmentwasintrouble.
- December1974 saw anotherNorth
Vietnamese offensive (attack).
- April 1975 saw the capital of South
Vietnamfall tothe Communists.
- Once again,the mediawere there to
show the last Americanofficialsfleeing
(see picture left)

7. Key Questions to get you thinking!
1. Which theory encouraged the USA to get involved in Vietnam?
2. Which key battle did the French loseto causeincreased American involvement in 1954?
3. What was meant to happen within 2 years of the 1954 Geneva Peace Treaty? Why didn’t it?
4. Who was the leader of North Vietnam?
5. Who was the leader of South Vietnam?
6. Why was the leader of South Vietnam unpopular?
7. What did the USA put into Vietnam before ground troops (can you give specific numbers)?
8. What was (and when) the Gulf of Tonkin incident? Why was it important?
9. Who was the president of America in 1964?
10. What was Operation RollingThunder?
11. What’s the difference between Napalmand Agent Orange?
12. What proportion of US bombs were dropped on South Vietnam?
13. What was the Vietnam tactic that helped them to avoid the superior US air power?
14. What was the other key American tactic?
15. What percentage of US causalities were caused by Viet Cong ambushes?
16. Give an example of a Viet Cong Booby trap?
17. What percentage of US casualties were caused by booby traps?
18. What was the most feared position in a US patrol? Why?
19. How longwas the average tour of duty for a US soldier in Vietnam? Why was this a problem?
20. How much did it costthe USA to kill oneViet Cong Soldier?
21. How much did the US spend on the Vietnam War (could go for costper second)?
22. How old was the average combat veteran duringthe Vietnam War (think Paul Hardcastle) – there’s
another fact you could use if you don’t know this!
23. What was the worst example of a US ‘Search and Destroy’ mission (additional detailsneeded)?
24. What was the name of the bigNVA and Viet Cong offensive in 1969?
25. Which buildingdid this assultbriefly reach in Saigon thatshook the US public to the core?
26. Who won the military victory of the Tet Offensive?
27. Why did the Viet Cong win the publicity battle?
28. What did Walter Cronkite say that worried PresidentJohnson so much (why did it worry him)?
29. How many protesters turned up to the Washington protest?
30. When was this protest?
31. What happened at Kent State (and when)?
32. Why should we not overestimate the importance of the media in causingtheUS withdrawal from
Vietnam?
33. What was Nixon’s policy to withdraw US troops called?
34. When did US troops leave Vietnam?
35. Who blocked further US fundingfor South Vietnam?
36. When did Saigon fall?
37. What were the final images of the US withdrawl?

8. Additional noteson Nixon’spolicyin Vietnam
Vietnamisation:
- By 1969 more than 36,000 Americanshadbeenkilled.
- Vietnamisationwasmeanttomove the focusof the fightagainstthe Northonto the ARVN (South
Vietnamese army).A keypartof thiswas the removal of US troops fromVietnam.
- The firstremoval of US troopswouldbe inJune 1969 (25,000).
- The air supportand financial supportwouldcontinue.
- Thispolicywasnot successful because the SouthVietnamese armywasnotmatch for the NorthVietnamese
army.
The Madman Theory:
- Thiswas Nixon’splantomake the USSR and the NorthVietnamese believethathe waswillingtouse the
nuclearbombinNorth Vietnam.The ideawasthatthiswouldmake the NorthVietnamese more willingto
negotiate.
The NixonDoctrine:
- Thiswas where Nixonannouncedthatthe US wouldhonourtheircurrenttroopcommitmentsbutwouldnot
sendtroopsanywhere else.
Attackson CambodiaandLaos:
- Nixonorderedthe bombingof Cambodiasince thiswasbeingusedbythe Vietcongandthe NVA asa supply
base and a safe havenforattackingacross the border.
- Spring1970 saw NixonalsosendUStroopsacross the borderwithouttellingCongressorthe US public.
- WhenCongressandthe US publicfoundout a furtherwave of protestswere sparked.
- However,publicopinionstill seemedtosupportNixon’spoliciesforthe war(see factonpublicsupport)
- 1971 saw the ARVN invade Laoswhere theywere soundlybeatenbythe NVA.
- The US increasedairraidsto try to stopthe NVA – itwas the firsttime the northhad beenbombeddirectly
since 1967.
- October1972 saw ‘OperationLine-backerII’whichsaw 12 daysof consecutive bombingof NorthVietnam
(aside fromChristmasday) – thisdidhelptosecure concessionsat the ParisPeace conference.
The Peace Process:
- Followingthe TetOffensive PresidentJohnsonsuggestedthatpeace negotiationsshouldbegin,andthe
NorthVietnamese(tohissurprise!) accepted.
- Johnsonhaltedthe bombingof the Northtotry to helpthe discussions.
- For monthsno progresswasmade as the two sidesarguedaboutthingslike:the size of the table,where
people sat,whethertheywouldhave small flagsonthe table etc
- There wasalso the questionof whethertoallow the Vietcongtothe discussions.The AmericansandSouth
Vietnamese were veryagainstthis.
- July1969 sawPresidentNixonsendHenryKissinger(USNational SecurityAdvisor) toopensecret
negotiationswiththe NorthVietnamese only.He hopedthatthiswouldgive abetterchance of a deal.
- As the discussionswentnowhere,bothsidesusedmilitaryactiontotryto improve theirnegotiating
position.
The demandsof both sides
USA:
- Withdrawal of US and NorthVietnameseforcesfromSouthVietnam

9. - Hopedto allowthe SouthVietnamese people toworkouttheirownpolitical problemswithoutinfluence or
invasionfromthe North.
- Wantedall prisonersof warreleased.
South Vietnam:
- Demandedthe immediate andunconditional removalof NorthVietnamese force
- Wantedthe SouthVietnamesetohave one leader,notacoalitiongovernment
North Vietnam:
- Demandedthe USA remove itsforcesimmediatelyandunconditionally.
- Requestedthe resignationof PresidentThieu
South VietnamCommunists(Vietcong)
- Demandedthe immediate removal of USforces.
- Vietcongforcesmustbe allowedtostayinpositionsalreadyundertheircontrol
- Requestedthe resignationof PresidentThieu
Early problems:
- The peace movementinthe USA gave the NorthVietnamese hope thatif theykeptfightingforlongenough
thenthe US publicwouldforce theirleaderstoremove theirtroops.
- As a resultthe peace talkswentonfor fouryearswithlittle progress.
The breakthrough:
- The keychange waswhenNixonvisitedChinainFebruary1972.
- Nixonusedthe triptohelpdivide Chinaandthe USSR who bothsupportedthe NorthVietnamese(theywere
all Communist),butdidn’treallytrusteachother.
- Nixonandthe leaderof the USSR (Brezhnev) werebuildingamore positive relationship(calledaperiodof
‘détente’whichalsomade apeace treatymore likely.
The Paris Peace Agreement,1973
- An agreementwasreachedinOctober1972 (justbefore the Presidential election).
- The agreementwas:
- NorthVietnamdroppeditsdemandthatPresidentThieube replacedbyacoalition
- NixonandKissingeragreedtoallowthe NorthVietnamesearmytoremaininany areastheycontrolled.
- The Vietcongwere tobe allowedtoparticipate inthe final settlement.
- A ceasefire agreementwasreachedandthe USA agreedtowithdraw all remainingtroops.
- All US prisonersof warwould be freed.
PresidentThieurejectedthe agreement –he couldsee the US were abandoninghim.
However,eventually(27th
January1973) a ceasefire wassignedinParisthatfollowedthe termsabove.Thieuhadno
optionbutto signit.NixonandKissingeralso promisedtocontinue tosupporthim.
By 29th
March 1973 all US troopshad beenwithdrawn.
However,afterthe US leftthe ceasefirecollapsed.
December1974 saw the Northlauncha massive attackonthe South.PresidentThieuaskedthe new PresidentFord
for $300 million –he wasrefused.
March 1975 saw a keyvictoryforthe Northat Ban Me Thuot – surrenderfollowedamonthlater.
2nd
July1976 – Northand SouthVietnamunitedtoformthe SocialistRepublicof Vietnam