Background Info-Vietnam was deeply immersed the in Cold War struggle of Capitalism VS. Communism.
-After WW2 the country had to endure the battle between Japan and France, who were both trying to control it -The Japanese took over Vietnam from French rule, which then led to the leader Ho Chi Minh declaring its independence from the Japanese with the Vietnamese Declaration of Independence |
Fighting the French-The French were embarrassed by this easy defeat and sought to reconquest their powerful statues by claiming their previously imperialism lands.
-Armed with British and US weaponry, the French were able to recapture most of South Vietnam by 1945 -However, the quest for North Vietnam was brutal, faced to battle the national communist, they led to bombing and killed thousands to civilians -1947 it seemed the French had won -But the Vietnamese resistance forces (led by Ho Chi Minh and General Vo Nguyen Giap) resorted to guerrilla warfare, became influential against the imperialist, and got aid from communist China |
Analysis: Although the French were an global superpower and had been a strong force, the several loses from both world wars hindered the country. As well, the continual loss of colonies brought humiliation that brought the nations spirits down. This combined with resistance to imperialism from the Vietnamese who had aid from China and used guerrilla warfare tactics resulted in a loss for the French. Guerrilla warfare alone is difficult to fight against since it includes attacks like ambushes, sabotage, raids, pettywarfare, hit-and-run tactics that the French army were unprepared to fight against and the Vietnamese had the advantage of being in their own territory.
The Geneva Conference and Partial Independence-The French lost at the fortress Dienbienphu and had to sue for peace at the conference table
-1954: Peace conference held in Geneva, determined Vietnam would be temporally divided at the 17th parallel -North Vietnam: Communist controlled by Ho Chi Minh -South Vietnam: non communist -The continual spread of communism from the Korean and Cold War encouraged America to lend support to the French and South Vietnam -Going against the Geneva Agreements, the Southern leaders with the US avoided the elections that would bring the communist to power and instead sought to build a government that would contain communism in North Vietnam. -The new Republic (South Vietnam) and its leaders (Ngo Dinh Diem as the president) did not have the public's support and guerrilla war began in the south. -1960: Vietnamese nationalist formed the National Liberation Front (NLF) to fight for freedom from South Vietnamese rule -The organization was mostly made of Vietnamese from the south and received aid (weapons and troops) from the north -The north got help from the Soviet Union and China |
Cold War Stalemate-The lack of support for the Republic and US democratic reforms helped the nationalist communist to win -1965 President Johnson ordered a bombing campaign against North Vietnam and send US ground troops to supplement the South Vietnamese army -However even with the massive firepower and manpower the best the US and South Vietnamese could get against the Viet Cong was a tie -North Vietnam accepted the stalemate |
Analysis: The United States had declared to fight or resist communism in the world, and this cause led to the Cold, Vietnam, and Korean War. Specifically in the Vietnam War, America wanted to at least contain communism in North Vietnam so it wouldn't spread to South Vietnam and other parts of Asia in a domino effect. This is because if communist continued to spread throughout the world there would be an unbalance of capitalist and communist countries. Would lead to the USA being at an political, economical, and military disadvantage to countries like Russia and China who at the time were our enemy.
Geneva, SwitzerlandThis was the location of the Geneva Conference which got Vietnam's freedom from France and divided the country from Communist and non communist.
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Works Cited
http://www.kingsacademy.com/mhodges/03_The-World-since-1900/08_Post-War-Problems/08c_Asian-Struggle-for-Independence-2.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geneva_Conference_(1954)
http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/lyndon-johnson-civil-rights-racism
http://www.authentichistory.com/1961-1974/4-vietnam/1-overview/2-1945-1955/
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/ho-chi-minh-in-newhaven-from-pastry-chef-in-east-sussex-to-patriotic-leader-of-vietnam-10157622.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geneva_Conference_(1954)
http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/lyndon-johnson-civil-rights-racism
http://www.authentichistory.com/1961-1974/4-vietnam/1-overview/2-1945-1955/
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/ho-chi-minh-in-newhaven-from-pastry-chef-in-east-sussex-to-patriotic-leader-of-vietnam-10157622.html