Conflict and Tension in Asia
Communism – political system in which all the resources and businesses of the state are
owned by state and shared ‘equally’ amongst its citizens. The government is very strong and
controls much of society, and no other political parties exist.
Capitalism – political system in which people are free to own their own business/property,
and people compete against one another to make money, with little control by the state.
People are free to vote for whichever political they like.
Vietnam War (1955 -1975)
Domino Theory – the idea that if one country falls to communism, the surrounding
countries would also fall to communism.
French IndoChina – colonies controlled by Franc in the far East.
Ho Chi Minh – Communist president and resistance fighter in North Vietnam
Nguyen Vo Giap – Vietnamese General
US Presidency
Eisenhower John F Kennedy Lyndon B Johnson Richard Nixon Gerald Ford
1. In the 18th Century, France took over large parts of South East Asia as they sought to
extend their Europe.
2. These colonies became known as French IndoChina and consisted of Vietnam, Laos and
Laos.
3. The French exploited these colonies for raw materials like coal, zinc and rubber.
4. During WW2, Germans invaded France and Japan invaded IndoChina.
5. By 1945, Japanese had starved 2 million Vietnamese to death.
6. In response, a Vietnamese resistance force led by Ho Chi Minh and Nguyen Vo Giap
fought guerrilla warfare against the Japanese.
7. The resistance known as the VietMinh successfully controlled the North of the country
by the end of WW2 and Japan’s surrender led to unification of whole country.
8. On September 2nd 1945, VietMinh declared Vietnam to be independent with Ho Chi
Minh as President.
9. The French didn’t accept this and set about restoring their colonial rule and national
pride. In 1946, they sent an army to Vietnam to fight the VietMinh. This brutal war
lasted for 8 years until 1954.
10. After falling to communism in 1949, China supplied the VietMinh with equipment.
11. US feared that communism would take over all of SE Asia due to Domino Theory.
12. To stop this, Harry S Truman sent aid to the French to fight the communist VietMinh. In
July 1950, $15m was sent. Within 4 years, America had sent $3bn and 80% of the
equipment used by the French.
Dien Bien Phu – lasted 55 days. Surrounded it on May 7th 1954. 3,000 French were killed and
8,000 wounded. 8,000 VietMinh were killed and 12,000 wounded. French punished
Vietnamese villages as a result = increased support for commies. French controlled ports
and cities, Vietnamese used guerrilla warfare and used “hit and run” tactics to harass the
French. Vietnamese took control of the countryside and jungle. 50,000 VietMinh
surrounded it and attached with artillery and rockets. Destroyed runway to stop supply lines
and stopped air superiority.
French Prime Minister resigned. French Parliament voted 471 to 14 to withdraw from all of
French IndoChina, over 400,000 soldiers and civilians had been killed in war.
Outcome of the Geneva Accords – Vietnam is divided along the 17th Parallel with Ho Chi
Minh ruling Communist North and Ngo Diem Dinh ruling the capitalist South.
1962: Strategic Hamlet Program – tried to starve the VC of peasant support and supplies.
Peasants were told they needed ‘protection’ from VC. Villagers were forced to move from
their villages and fields. Camps surrounded by barbed wire and ditches, no freedom to leave
at night. By 1963, 2/3 of peasant population were moved. They were angry and turned to
the VC.
Ngo Dinh Diem – corrupt and unpopular South Vietnamese leader, was assassinated on 2 nd
November 1963.
Madame Nhu – BBQ girl.
Why Diem was unpopular:
- Had his political opponents.
- Used Strategic Hamlet Program.
- Used nepotism.
- VietCong offered peasants freedom.
- Rigged 1956 election so that he had 98.2% of the votes. Also held them a year earlier
and held them in 1955.
- Persecuted Buddhists who made up 80% of the population (he was Catholic). Lead to
self-immolation.
Vietcong (National Liberation Front) – VC were lead by Hua, used guerrilla tactics. Blended
in with peasantry as they had no uniform and supplied by Soviet and Chinese weapons.
Supported by HCM and supplies were smuggled using the HCM trail.
ARVN (Army of the Republic of Vietnam) – They are part of Diem and his generals. They use
conventional warfare tactics. US supplied and trained the ARVN, fought for Diem’s regime.
Red Scare – fear of the dangerous spread of Communism across the world. Propaganda in
USA fuelled this idea.
McCarran Act – Laws that limited employment for communists in the USA.
House of Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) – All US communist groups had to
register with this body.
Joseph McCarthy – Senator who claimed to have a list of 200 communists government
workers, his accusations escalated the Red Scare and led to many sackings.
Reasons for US involvement:
- HCM is very popular and very powerful if left alone. Vietnam would vote for him =
makes people like communism.
- After an American loss at Korea, they want to repair their reputation.
- Domino Theory: LaosCambodiaThailandIndiaetc.
- DKE + JFK both elected + both say they’ll fight communism.
- Wanted to preserve American ideals of capitalism, freedom and democracy.
- Cold War is still happeningDKE is concerned of USSR spread in SE Asia, try to make
them back off if successful.
After assassination of Diem, reports of continued VC activity in SV are still coming in,
showing that it has not helped reduce discontent with the capitalist regime. Due to this,
they send some US destroyers to monitor the waters around Vietnam and deter further
Chinese support for the communist rebels.
Gulf of Tonkin Incident – 3rd August 1964. A military incident occurs in the middle of the
night, a US destroyer (the USS Maddox) was attacked, North Vietnamese torpedo boats
approached it and were fired upon by the Maddox. They returned fire and the Maddox was
hit, managed to sink one of the ships. 4 th August 1964. Further reports state that the North
are preparing another attack, US jets have also confirmed this. The Maddox captain is no
longer sure that the attack will happen and can’t confirm if communist forces were even in
the area. 7th August 1964. The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution is passed which gave LBJ permission
to take any power necessary to “defend freedom in SE Asia”.
Ho Chi Minh continued to support Vietcong with supplies, despite US escalation Vietcong
attack a US helicopter base (Camp Holloway) in February 1965 – killing 8 marines and
wounding 100. USA decided to escalate involvement through Operation Rolling Thunder –
key principle was to reduce moral of North Vietnamese, not to fight VC.
Operation Rolling Thunder – February 1965, LBJ authorises a 3 year major bombing
campaign of NV and communist military facilities. US marines were also deployed in SV.
1. Assassination of Diem.
2. Destroyers sent to monitor Vietnamese waters.
3. Gulf of Tonkin incident and fallout of further ‘reports’.
4. Gulf of Tonkin Resolution on 7th August 1964.
5. Camp Holloway incident. March 1965. 3500 US troops are sent in Operation Rolling Thunder
commences.
Guerrilla Warfare – method of warfare relying on surprise raids/ ambushes and hit and run
tactics in order to defeat a stronger enemy.
VC Tactics:
- Underground Tunnel System – Vietnamese realised anything outside would become a
bombing target. The VC built extensive underground bunkers that stretched over 300km
under the jungles of Vietnam. They had living quarters and booty traps to pressure US.
- Ho Chi Minh Trial – A series of paths that went through Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam,
became a vital supply route for the North Vietnamese, ran through the thick jungle so that
Americans struggled to find it, the trial would also be constantly repaired.
- “Hanging on the belts” – The Vietcong launched surprise attacks on the Americans. The use
of guerrilla tactics meant that they couldn’t launch full scale attacks against the US. Used this
tactic to avoid bombing.
- No standard uniform – The Vietcong didn’t wear uniforms and disguised themselves as
Vietnamese peasants. They also generally used Soviet weapons (AK-47s).
- Punji traps and bouncing betties– Punji traps were sharpened bamboo sticks hidden in
shallow pits and covered with leaves. They covered them with faeces to infect wounds.
Bouncing betties were mines that when triggered would launch into the air and explode near
the groin area.
- Propaganda and civilian recruitment – they relied on the support and hel of villagers but
also used terror tactics to make sure they what they wanted.
By 1968, there are ½ million G.Is in Vietnam with an average age of 19. The vast majority were
drafted in to serve a ‘tour of duty’ (1 year). A disproportionate amount of them were black (41%
recruited by 1969) despite only 11% of the population being black. Relied on superior air power,
technology and training to overcome VC’s guerrilla tactics.
US Tactics:
- Operation Rolling Thunder – Enormous bombing campaign.
- Hearts and Minds Programme – to win over the South Vietnamese to capitalism.
- Search and Destroy raids – also known as ‘zippo raids’ where Americas would search villages
for VC soldiers.
- Napalm – a gelling agent, it could burn through anything.
- Agent Orange – chemical defoliant
- Body count – the idea that for every US solider killed, another VC should be killed as well.
Army recruitment – usually employed young inexperienced soldiers (cherries).
Cherries – young, inexperienced soldiers (usually with no formal training).
Fragging – soldiers turning on and killing their commanders.
Drug use – many soldiers turned to alcohol, marijuana and later cocaine to deal with the horrors
of the war in Vietnam.
Tet Offensive
Public approval in August 1965 – 61%, Public approval in 1968 – 42%, Public approval in May
1971 – 28%
By December 1967, the USA had almost 500,000 troops in Vietnam. The ‘kill ratio’ was high: the
VC/ NLF had lost approximately 100,000 men in 1967. There had been very little negative
coverage in the media (so far), so American support was relatively high (48%). Westmoreland
(and LBJ) were confident: they predicted US success was imminent. US Marine base near the
border with the North. Encircled and besieged by NVA on 21 st January 1968, was a 5 month
siege. Operation Niagara launched by USA to retaliate (100k tonnes of bombs 5x of Hiroshima)
costing over $1bn. NVA lose but they draw US attention away from the cities. Tet Offensive
started in 31st January 1968, which was Lunar New Year, a lot of ARVN were off due to this. They
attacked 100s of cities, two of the main ones were Hue and Saigon. Hue lasted a month. Saigon
lasted 6 hours. Hacked a radio tower and tried to start a popular uprising whilst the US embassy
was attacked, this was all broadcasted on live TV. At the end, the summary execution of VC
officer causes US public opinion to plummet.
Mylai Massacre – Saturday 16th March 1968. US troops arrive at 7:30am and immediately began
firing at buildings they thought might have Vietcong fighters. Killed 500 unarmed civilians. They
reported 22 civilians were killed by accident whilst the rest were VC fighters. During the
massacre, Hugh Thompson, a US pilot was flying nearby, he landed his helicopter in between US
troops and villagers and ordered his gunner to shoot if US troops tried to attack. As many 347 to
504 unarmed civilians were killed. William Calley lead Charlie Company. The events were
brought into light by Ronald Ridenhour who heard rumours from soldiers of Charlie Company.
Seymour Hersh published the story onto the news, on the New York Times.
