Vietnam War: Origins, Involvement, and Tactics
The Vietnam War: Origins of the Conflict
Vietnam had been ruled by France and was called Indochina. French rule was unchallenged except for a rebellion in 1930. The first major blow to French power came in 1940 when France was defeated in World War II. The Japanese (German ally) took control of the main resources in Vietnam. During the war, an anti-communist movement emerged under the leadership of Ho Chi Minh, a remarkable individual. In 1920, he studied communism in the USSR. In 1930, he founded the Indochinese Communist Party, inspiring the Vietnamese to fight for their independence. In 1945, the Viet Minh entered the city of Hanoi and declared Vietnamese Independence. The French came back wanting to rule Vietnam again. In 1946, war broke out between France and the Viet Minh, who cleverly kept quiet about wanting a communist Vietnam, so countries such as the USA were quite sympathetic to them.
In 1949, the communists took over China and helped Minh. They were seen as the puppets of Mao Tse-Tung and Chinese communists, and there were fears of a plan to dominate South-East Asia. The USA poured millions into the French war effort and helped them to set up a non-communist government in the South. The war dragged on from 1946 to 1954. France controlled towns, but the Viet Minh controlled the countryside, and their guerilla tactics made them impossible to beat. French raids against peasant villages only increased support for the Viet Minh.
The decisive event came in 1956 at Dien Bien Phu, where a large, well-armed French force was defeated. Consequences:
- France lost 3,000 dead in battle and 8,000 in captivity.
- Viet Minh forces defeated France in open battle with the help of modern weapons from the USSR and China.
- A small Asian state had defeated a rich European state through a combination of effective leadership, right tactics, and sheer determination.
- At the 1954 peace conference held in Geneva, the country was effectively divided into North and South Vietnam until elections could be held to decide the future.
America’s Involvement in Vietnam
- Domino Theory: If one country fell to communism, the others would also fall.
- America set up an anti-communist government in the South (Ngo Dinh Diem: landlord, anti-communist, anti-Buddhist).
- Peasants supported the Communist party: National Front for the Liberation of S.V.
- Viet Cong: South Vietnamese opponents to the government & North Communist Vietnamese.
Viet Cong Tactics
Aims:
- Retreat when the enemy attacks.
- Raid when the enemy camps.
- Attack when the enemy tires.
- Pursue when the enemy retreats.
No headquarters, no uniforms.
Booby traps.
It was difficult to find/recognize/identify them. Well-organized.
Same methods they used at the Korean War.
American Tactics
- Bombing (Operation Rolling Thunder – Hanoi & Hue)
- Chemical weapons (Agent Orange & Napalm)
- Search and destroy
The Tet Offensive, 1968: A Turning Point
In 1968, the communists launched a major offensive. The Viet Cong fighters attacked over 100 cities, and they tried to capture the US embassy in Saigon. The Tet Offensive was a disaster because they hoped that the people of South Vietnam would rise up and join them, but they did not. However, the Tet Offensive proved to be a turning point in the war because it raised hard questions about the war in the USA.
Ending of the War
March 1968: Peace Conference in Paris