Unit 6 Lesson 5 The Vietnam War Part 1 - Mr.Nick Sullivanmrnicksullivan.weebly.com/uploads/1/7/3/3/17330980/... · supply lines (Ho Chi Minh Trail) to force an enemy surrender II.

WARM UP ① Create an episode map on the Civil

Rights Movement in the U.S.A.

② You have 15 minutes to do this assignment with one another before we review as a class

③ You will also turn in the JFK/LBJ Episode Map today

THE VIETNAM

WAR

Where is Vietnam?

FRENCH INDOCHINA (VIETNAM)

I.  Vietnam is a nation in southeast Asia that was controlled by France from 1890s-1940s

II.  Japan took control of

Vietnam during WWII

III.  France wanted Vietnam back following WW2

HO CHI MINH & VIETMINH I.  Ho Chi Minh wanted Vietnamese

independence & created the Communist Party to accomplish his goal

II.  Vietminh à organization whose goal was to win independence for Vietnam

III. The USA supported France in an

attempt to keep communism from spreading

A.  The USA fears the domino theory and spread of communism

A DIVIDED VIETNAM I.  The Vietminh fought against the French takeover in

Vietnam A.  Vietminh want independence from France

II.  However the French army successfully took over the majority of South Vietnam by 1950

III.  In 1954 a peace agreement divided Vietnam in half at

the 17th parallel. A.  North Vietnam à Led by Ho Chi Minh’s communist forces

and supported by the USSR and China B.  South Vietnam à Led by Ngo Dinh Diem capitalist

government and supported by the U.S. and France.

CANCELLED ELECTIONS CAUSE WAR

I.  North and South Vietnam were supposed to have a democratic election in 1956 to determine whether Vietnam would be communist or capitalist

II.  South Vietnam canceled these elections that were created to unify Vietnam in 1956 A.  Everyone knows the communist government would easily win the

election

III.  The Vietcong were supporters of communism in S. Vietnam and began attacking the capitalist government (terrorism)

IV.   The S. Vietnamese government then attacked Buddhist monasteries they believed were hiding communist A.  Some Buddhist monks burned themselves alive to protest the S.

Vietnamese government

THE U.S.A. ENTERS VIETNAM I.  Even though the S. Vietnam

government was corrupt the USA supported the anti-communist nation

II.  In 1963 JFK’s assassination left the problems in Vietnam to LBJ

III.  The Cold War was still happening and the USA feared the spread of communism to Vietnam

IV.   The U.S. sent military advisors, aid

supplies, weapons and money to S. Vietnam to stop the spread of communism A.  Truman Doctrine, Domino Theory,

Containment = stop communism

America sent planes, tanks and other military equipment to South Vietnam

THE GULF OF TONKIN RESOLUTION I.  By the 1960s the communists in N.

Vietnam seized much of the nation II.  By 1964 the U.S. wanted to go to

war but needed justification for a military conflict in Vietnam

III.  In 1964 LBJ told Congress that N. Vietnamese naval boats had attacked American ships in the Gulf of Tonkin.

IV.   Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution: A.  Gave LBJ the ability use

American soldiers to defend Vietnam from communism

B.  Allowed America to enter the Vietnam War

ESCALATION OF THE VIETNAM WAR

I.  In 1965 LBJ sent the first U.S. troops to Vietnam to contain the spread of communism A.  By 1968 over 500,000 U.S. soldiers

were fighting in Vietnam

II.  Ho Chi Minh and the Vietminh were supported with troops and weapons from the Soviet Union and China

III.  In “Operation Rolling Thunder,” the U.S. air force began bombing N. Vietnam

CAUSES OF THE VIETNAM WAR I.  The Cold War: the battle between

capitalism and communism

II.  Containment/Domino Theory: the USA wanted to stop the spread of communism in Asia

III.  The Gulf of Tonkin Resolutions: the U.S. government believed that N. Vietnam attacked American ships

IV.   LBJ was given the power to take the USA to war and so he did

FIGHTING THE WAR IN VIETNAM I.  The goal of U.S. military was

to defeat the Vietcong & support capitalism in S. Vietnam:

II.  The Problem: A.  The Vietcong lived with civilians

in Vietnamese in cities & villages B.  The enemy in Vietnam was not

clear and U.S. soldiers struggled in this style of war

C.  The Vietcong used guerilla tactics to combat U.S. military superiority

D.  Jungles made fighting difficult

AMERICAN EFFORTS IN VIETNAM

I.  The air force bombed villages & supply lines (Ho Chi Minh Trail) to force an enemy surrender

II.  The military used napalm to

destroy villages & pesticides (Agent Orange) to destroy crops

III.  Soldiers were sent on deadly search & destroy missions into the jungles to find the Vietcong and kill them

THE FIGHTING IN VIETNAM

I.  The majority of the Vietnam War was Jungle Warfare

A.  Ambush :hiding & attacking B.  Guerilla tactics C.  No front lines D.  Booby-traps, mines, tunnels

II.  The North Vietnamese used psychological warfare to convince their enemies to surrender

THE STRUGGLE IN VIETNAM

I.  American soldiers struggled to succeed in Vietnam A.  The Vietnamese people did not support a foreign army B.  The guerilla warfare left many confused about their

enemy and left them on edge at all time C.  The lack of battlefield victories led to low morale and

lackluster support from home

II.  The Vietnam War became a very different conflict than the U.S.A. had every fought before