HIST 2112 Hearts and Minds America and Vietnam Vietnam has been known historically to be resistant to invasion o Very tough o Very proud Our invasion started with 1800s imperialism ideals French went in and seized Vietnam o Guns blazing o Wanted money Rubber French resistance o Ho Chi Minh and the Viet Minh o Pinnacle of anti French resistance o Communists o Marxists Explained why the French were dominating them o Want a Vietnam with French absence Free Vietnam was their goal Their communism was a tool to reach that goal Not under the control of Chinese or Soviet Union o They were ruthless o Popular amongst the peasants Set up education and healthcare programs in poor areas Divide up plantations and give the people their farms back Land reform Fight the French o WWII happens French is taken over by the Nazis Japanese take over Vietnam We defeat the Nazis and Japan so they leave Vietnam Power vacuum in Vietnam No one is there Viet Minh claim power Ho Chi Minh loved Thomas Jefferson o Admirer of U S revolution Asked for U S help o Denied o He was a communist Midst of the Cold War o Don t want to hurt the French Allies in WWII French would need them if there was a WWIII Look for support elsewhere o Soviet Union o Chinese Need more weapons French goes back and tries to reclaim Vietnam 1947 1954 o Second Indochina War o French lose We had to stop them o Idea of containment Viet Minh and French meet in Switzerland o Make decisions based off the war o Temporarily create North Vietnam and South Vietnam North Communist South Democratic Election in 2 years in the UN Winner will be in charge of the newly reunited Vietnam Ho Chi Minh will win U S cannot allow this o Does not want this election to happen o South Vietnam is a country now o Has U S support o New French in South Vietnam Not colony Protectorate Election will not happen o War resumes Diem o South Vietnam leader o Catholic o Spoke French o Basically a jerk Dictator Brutal to Buddhist population Corrupt Greedy U S is not a fan Supports him though He attacks communism JFK sent 16 000 green berets military advisors o Train locals how to fight o Eventually lead fights Very involved Slippery slope nd August 2 1964 o 2 U S destroyers sitting off the coast of Vietnam in the middle of the night o Attacked by Vietnamese gun boats in the middle of the night o Starts an idea for war LBJ wants a war Retaliation Congress gives him a blank check to do what he needs o Massive air campaign begins Very intense war for the next 5 or 6 years o Many killed from both sides o Dropped 4 times the amount of ordinance than we did on the Nazis and Japan in WWII combined o Guerilla warfare o Couldn t use bombs like we did in WWII Not many targets Not an industrial country o Warfare tactic Find them Kill as many as you could Kill them faster than they could replace them Don t hold the land just kill the enemy o Based on body counts Causes a mentality to kill and ask questions later Many innocent civilians are killed Tet Offensive January 1st 1968 o 33 simultaneous attacks on U S military bases in Vietnam o 84 000 Vietcong troops Makes Americans believe the war is being lost and the government is lying to them o Beginning of some really intense anti government ideals o Never quite got over it Sign a peace treaty 1975 o We lose o Failed to stop Communism Vietnam reunifies o Communism reigns