Vietnam Essay
The Geneva Agreement of 1954 divided Vietnam in two at the 17th parallel, Communist North
Vietnam under the leadership of Ho Chi Minh, and Capitalist South Vietnam under Ngo Diem. It
also stipulated that general elections would be held in 1956 to create a united Vietnam.
Diem, the leader of South Vietnam was corrupt and brutally persecuted the Buddhist majority. He
refused to hold the elections in the South in fear that the majority of people would vote to join a
communist government. The US supported Diem because they feared the domino theory. This
angered the South Vietnamese, and they formed the Vietcong to overthrow Diem. The Vietcong
was helped by the Vietminh which sent supplies down the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
America became involved in the Vietnam war because they were determined to stop the spread of
communism and to win the Cold War. They believed that South East Asia would in turn collapse to
communism. The Vietcong fought a very effective guerrilla war against Diem and also had the
support of the peasants. Kennedy wanted to ‘win the hearts and minds’ of the people but it was
difficult because Diem was corrupt, oppressive and unpopular. Nevertheless he supported Diem
by sending military advisors and supplies.
He also introduced ‘safe village’ (Strategic Hamlets) policy where local peasants were moved into
fortified villages, in order to have control over peasant communities, leaving the Vietcong isolated
outside. This was a failure as most of the Vietcong were peasants who operated inside these
villages. They did not wear uniform, so it was difficult for the US soldiers to identify them. When
Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, American policy in Vietnam changed drastically.
Johnson believed that the war could be won easily with a massive increase in American
involvement but he would have to justify this to American Congress. In 1964 an American
destroyer was attacked by North Vietnamese boats in the Gulf of Tonkin. This persuaded the
Congress to support the sending of more troops to Vietnam. By 1967 there were 500 000 US
soldiers in Vietnam.
Johnson launched Operation Rolling Thunder (ORT) in 1965 to destroy the Ho Chi Minh Trail. US
dropped more bombs on North Vietnam than all the bombs dropped by both sides during WWII.
This proved to be unsuccessful because it did not stop the Vietcong, it only slowed down their
supplies. US also adopted a chemical warfare (1962-1971); Agent Orange, Agent Blue and Napalm
were used, but still unsuccessful.
Johnson believed that in order to win the war, they would have to gain the support of the
peasants. As a result, he distributed food and medical supplies to villages as part of their WHAM
strategy. In reaction to this the Vietcong ruthlessly killed approximately 27 000 peasants who co-
operated with the US. It became increasingly difficult to stop the Vietcong.
The Vietcong did not use the conventional war strategies. They adopted the guerrilla tactics,
operating in the thick, dense jungles, setting up a vast amount of booby traps, and killing many US
soldiers. The Vietcong were extremely difficult to find, they had no bases or camps, they would
disappear into a network of tunnels. Their tactics were highly effective against the young
inexperienced US troops who did not know the landscape, and were trained to fight a
conventional war.
The Vietcong unleashed the Tet Offensive in 1968, a massive surprise attack during the Tet, new
year religious festival. They captured almost 80% of all towns and villages. The Tet Offensive
proved to be a turning point in the Vietnam war because it showed that the Vietcong had the
ability to strike in the heart of American-held territory. It also managed to turn the American
public opinion against the war. By 1969, 14 000 Americans were killed. Johnson became the focal
point of the anti-war protests back home.
The Vietnam war became a media war in the US, with television news broadcasts, newspapers and
magazines featuring Vietnamese citizens being massacred by American troops in 1968, Lieutenant
Calley launched an assault on the village My Lai, killing hundreds of unarmed Vietnamese civilians.
US atrocities were exposed – horrors of war. Photographs of the massacre shocked the American
public and more and more people turned against the war.
Nixon introduced the policy of Vietnamisation. It aimed to arm and train the South Vietnamese
Army to fight the Vietcong and gradually withdraw US troops letting the Vietnamese do their own
fighting. In 1970 he ordered bombing of Laos and Cambodia in order to cut off Vietcong’s supplies
from Ho Chi Minh Trail. North Vietnam responded by invading Laos and Cambodia and set up
communist governments there. In 1973 ceasefire was agreed upon – Paris Peace Accords. The last
American forces left Vietnam. In 1975 the Vietcong captured Saigon. South Vietnam and North
Vietnam were re-united under one communist government.
