GCSE History
Vietnam Research Project
Introduction
The Vietnam War was the longest and most unpopular war in American history, the toll they paid wasn't just monetary, it cost the people involved dearly physically and mentally. Causing suffering, sorrow, and national turmoil because of bad press meant that Americans were divided. Which is why this project will be split into questions, which means I can concentrate on one aspect of the Vietnam War at a time. I shall endeavour to delve into to these questions, answering as best I can (with the help of varied historical resources from the Internet, books etc). Which leads me on to tell you the aims of this project, which are:
. To RESEARCH, SELECT and PRESENT information from a variety of historical sources: narrative accounts, maps, photos, eyewitness accounts; government documents, statistics, etc.
2. To make critical use of historical sources to answer specific historical questions.
3. To understand and be able to explain the causes, key features and consequences of the Vietnam War for America, and her status as a superpower.
4. To recognize and explain different interpretations of the conflict.
Why did the USA become involved in Vietnam?
Vietnam was originally a French colony, during the Second World War it was taken form the French, and consequently after WW2 it was returned to the French. Shortly after all this happened the French became locked in a struggle with a communist machine, the Vietminh (The Vietnam Revolutionary League). In 1950 the French asked the USA for some kind of support, basically they wanted some military might behind them because the communist threat was too large for them alone. By 1953 it was found that the USA was paying 70% of the costs ($300,000,00).
It was in the USA's interest to stop areas in the Far East falling under the influence of communism, as the Cold War was at its peak late in the 1940s- early 1950s, which meant another possible Korea in the eyes of the US government. Gradually the US became more and more involved, which meant that they sent in more aid in the hope of stopping some if not all investments from being lost. Around 1954 the French left, but this didn't deter the Americans who continued to support South Vietnam, even when Diem seized control. Politicians in the USA believed that if one country fell to communism, its neighbours would follow like dominoes, (which is why it's called the 'Domino Theory').
In John Kennedy's book, (which he had written in 1956) he said that he was positive about South Vietnam being the key to freedom for the entire region of South East Asia. Even though South Vietnam was anything but free under Diem who ruled like a dictator. It was actually Eisenhower who had the scope to send US military advisors to help the army of South Vietnam, however these advisors didn't physically take part in the combat. When Kennedy became president (in 1961), the number of advisors was increased form 700-15000. Firstly because Kennedy had been discredited for the failure at the Bay of Pigs, secondly he needed some way in which he could retaliate for the construction of the Berlin Wall.
By 1963 Diem's control of South Vietnam was so corrupt; that he was constantly being challenged or facing opposition, several Buddhist monks even burned themselves (for more information as to why see below) A general strike was called, as Diem faced opposition from them (so they used their influence to their advantage for a change). Threats were made by Kennedy to withdraw military aid; Kennedy then backed a plot the South Vietnamese generals to arrest Diem. He was actually murdered just 3 weeks before Kennedy.
The Self-Immolation
On June 11, 1963, Thich Quang Duc, a Buddhist ...
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By 1963 Diem's control of South Vietnam was so corrupt; that he was constantly being challenged or facing opposition, several Buddhist monks even burned themselves (for more information as to why see below) A general strike was called, as Diem faced opposition from them (so they used their influence to their advantage for a change). Threats were made by Kennedy to withdraw military aid; Kennedy then backed a plot the South Vietnamese generals to arrest Diem. He was actually murdered just 3 weeks before Kennedy.
The Self-Immolation
On June 11, 1963, Thich Quang Duc, a Buddhist monk from the Linh-Mu Pagoda in Hue, Vietnam, burned himself to death at a busy intersection in downtown Saigon, Vietnam. Eye witness accounts state that Thich Quang Duc and at least two fellow monks arrived at the intersection by car, Thich Quang Duc got out of the car, assumed the traditional lotus position and the accompanying monks helped him pour gasoline over himself. He ignited the gasoline by lighting a match and burned to death in a matter of minutes. David Halberstam, a reporter for the New York Times covering the war in Vietnam, gave the following account:
"I wish never to see that sight again, but once was enough. Flames were coming from a human being; his body was slowly withering and shrivelling up, his head blackening and charring. In the air was the smell of burning human flesh; human beings burn surprisingly quickly. Behind me I could hear the sobbing of the Vietnamese who were now gathering. I was too shocked to cry, too confused to take notes or ask questions, too bewildered to even think.... As he burned he never moved a muscle, never uttered a sound, his outward composure in sharp contrast to the wailing people around him."
Thich Quang Duc had prepared himself for his self-immolation through several weeks of meditation and had explained his motivation in letters to members of his Buddhist community as well as to the government of South Vietnam in the weeks Leading up to his self-immolation (suicide). In these letters he described his desire to bring attention to the policies of the 'Catholic Diem regime' that controlled the South Vietnamese government at the time. Before his self-immolation, the South Vietnamese Buddhists had made the following requests to the Diem regime, asking it to:
. Lift its ban on flying the traditional Buddhist flag;
2. Grant Buddhism the same rights as Catholicism;
3. Stop detaining Buddhists;
4. Give Buddhist monks and nuns the right to practice and spread their religion; and
5. Pay fair compensations to the victim's families and punish those responsible for their deaths.
Why couldn't America fight the war 'on their terms'?
The North Vietnamese army (the NLF or Viet Cong) very rarely fought battles like you would in a normal war. They used something called 'guerrilla warfare'. Therefore it was impossible to identify the Viet Cong soldiers because they blended in with civilians, because they didn't actually wear a uniform. After a fight they could run, and effectively disappear into the jungle and not be found. The Viet Cong also constructed hundreds if not thousands of miles of tunnels, which could contain whole camps underground, where they could hide safely. When the tunnels were found by US troops, they were often heavily 'booby-trapped'. The Viet Cong were soon found to be masters of setting 'booby-traps', using pits with sharpened stakes in them and mines to construct hundreds of various traps and security devices. Due to this fact, US soldiers were never able to relax, Even when the troops of the US were in city of Saigon it was possible to be attacked. To make matters even worse the Viet Cong were getting supplies from the North by the Ho Chi Minh trail, which ran all the way through Laos and Cambodia. The Soviet Union and China, communist countries sent up to 6000 tonnes of supply a day.
President Kennedy ordered the building of (strategic towns) 'strategic hamlets', which were heavily defended villages that the South Vietnamese people were moved to. The main idea of these hamlets was to get them away from the Viet Cong; many didn't want to leave their villages so they naturally went to the Viet Cong. Operation Rolling Thunder led to the bombing of North Vietnam, which was in fact worse than anything that had been seen or experienced in WWII. The aim was to destroy military bases and equipment in the North of Vietnam, however in the North the aim was to destroy the Ho Chi Minh Trail\ supply line.
The forces of the US also tried to win the 'hearts and minds' of the South Vietnamese, in a propaganda build through special projects i.e. doctors drugs (aid bribes) etc. But theses were usually shrugged off, and thought of as foreign interference. Many South Vietnamese people simply supported the Viet Cong because their government was unpopular, which meant the Viet Cong could hide almost anywhere and attack whenever they wanted to. This meant that nowhere was really safe for the US, at any moment they could have been attacked without warning even by children. So called search and destroy missions were sent into the jungles, the success of their missions was rated on how many people they killed. It was normally impossible to tell which side the people, who the US soldiers killed were on.
Jungle fighting proved to be arduous, especially since the US forces were made up of draftees, whose average age was 19 years of age. They were inexperienced and unwilling to fight; they would spend about a year in Vietnam and then return home. Vietnam was seemingly all jungle \ forest, which made finding the Viet Cong a seemingly endless job as they moved about undetected. The US Air Force started to use defoliants such as 'Agent Orange' and even Napalm, which stripped th4e leaves form the trees or burnt them. Napalm was used to force Viet Cong into the open, by setting fire to villages. Both Napalm and 'Agent Orange' could be dropped from planes. Another chemical 'Agent Blue' was used to destroy crops; bombs with petrol and other chemicals were also dropped amongst all of this.
The Tet Offensive
This was a massive attack by the Viet Cong on South Vietnam; it started on the 30th January 1968. All of the main cities of South Vietnam (totalling over 100 cities) were attacked; even the city of Saigon was attacked. A 'suicide squad' seized the US embassy in Saigon; they were only pushed back by the force of paratroopers. The Viet Cong sent 4,500 troops into Saigon to try and hold the city for two days, until reinforcements arrived. They hoped that the South Vietnamese people would support them, but they were shocked to find that hardly anyone supported them. Consequently they were cut off and killed by the US forces. It took 11,000 troops a week to drive the Viet Cong resistance out of Saigon, eventually the Americans managed to beat the Viet Cong killing 100,000 of them.
Impact the war had on the people of the US and Vietnam
The most important event in the war, which changed some of the US opinion, was the Tet Offensive. The reason being that the Tet offensive happened at a time when it looked as if the US were winning the war, which then made the shock even greater. Even though the Viet Cong suffered heavy losses, it really was a defeat for the military machine that was America's army. The reason being that the Viet Cong could strike anywhere and there was nothing the Americans could really do ontop of this it became apparent that the war in Vietnam couldn't be won.
Other effects of the war
The number of US causalities rose, by 1967 approximately 160 soldiers a day were being brought home in coffins and body bags. Drug taking amongst the troops in Vietnam became extremely common, 'fragging' (injuring officers with frag grenades began in 1969). To make matters even worse, out of the 10,000000 drafted soldiers more than 500,000 deserted. There was more opposition in the USA by Civil Right's leaders, because money was being taken away from the 'Great Society'. In other words money was being taken away from domestic concerns, which meant the war was now interfering with American life. From 1968 there was a mass issue of protest across the US, especially at universities, students were even shot when the National Guard were called in to end the disturbances. Students dodging drafting became common, as word spread of the 'hard life' in Vietnam getting killed by unseen enemies.
News slowly got back to the US of the fighting (conflict) in Vietnam, each soldier served in the Vietnam War for one year. Over 3,000,000 US soldiers served in Vietnam. The Vietnam was also the first war to be shown in colour on television, people at home saw a GI start a fire in a peasant hut with his cigarette lighter. Secondly in 1968 viewers also watched as a Viet Cong prisoner was shot, a GI was also shown being ripped apart by bullets. In the end around 58,000 US troops died in Vietnam.
In 1969 Richard Nixon began peace talks, which lead to the removal of US forces but at the same time increased the attack on North Vietnam. Although he began the withdrawal of US forces, he didn't want this fact revealed to the North. So to hide the withdrawal, he pushed forward with 'Operation Rolling thunder'. One air raid on Hanoi lasted 7 days, killing around 2000 people. The US also invaded and bombed both Laos and Cambodia; they also stepped up the use of defoliants, which uncovered enemy supply lines. All of these things were attempts to try and stop the Viet Cong from entering South Vietnam.
After the US forces withdrew, negotiations between the USA and North Vietnam lasted for about 5 years. In 1973 a compromise was made, When the US fully withdrew their forces. Southern Vietnam defence was taken over by the ARVN (the Army of the Republic of Vietnam), which held out until May 1975. North was reunited with the South; when South Vietnam fell, Saigon was even renamed Ho Chi Minh City. Cambodia also succumbed to communism along with Laos.
Consequences of the fighting in Vietnam were great...
* Over 2000,000 innocents were killed.
* 7000,000 tonnes of bombs were dropped on Vietnam (three times the amount that were dropped in W.W.II.
* Large areas of countryside were ruined.
* Vietnam went from a major exporter of rice, to a country that couldn't feed itself.
* 2000,000 fled to escape hunger and the communist government.
* Many traps were left, and still are there in many cases.
* The suffering from the chemicals used is still being felt today.
The war cost the USA a staggering $120,000,000,000; and damaged America's image very badly, leaving it with little of it's past prestige. Veterans (around 700,000) have suffered from psychological illness since returning to the US, the reason being they had to live in treacherous conditions always having to stay alert. The number of people who have killed themselves, out numbers the amount of people actually died in the fighting.