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A History of the Vietnam War

In January 1950, the People’s Republic of China recognised the Vietminh’s Democratic Republic of Vietnam as the government of Vietnam. At the same time the non-Communist nations of the world recognised the France supported State of Vietnam led by former Emperor Bao Dai. The Battle of Dien Bein Phu of 1954 marked the end of French involvement in Indo-China and the independence was granted to Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia by the Geneva Accords. The Accords also resulted in the partition of Vietnam along the 17th parallel, with Ho Chi Minh’s communist Vietminh in control of the north and the French-backed State of Vietnam in control of the south. Elections were to be held throughout the country, according to the Geneva Accords, but they were blocked by the South Vietnamese president, who feared a communist victory. Following a powerful propaganda campaign marshalled by the Americans, over one million people fled the North, mainly Catholics who feared communist persecution. In the North, the Vietminh who had come under the control of the Lao Dung Party consolidated their power under the leadership of Ho Chi Minh, collectivised agriculture and began planning about how to gain control of the South. In Saigon, Bao Dai was deposed in a referendum by the US backed Ngo Dinh Diem in late 1955, he immediately launched an anti-communist sweep of the south. The Vietminh cadres, dismissively dubbed the Vietcong by Diem found their backs to the wall and appealed to the North for support. A low key insurgency developed in the South, it was originally aimed at local government officials but it soon broadened to include other symbols of the status quo including teachers, health workers and agricultural officials.

In May 1959, the Lao Dung Party sanctioned an armed revolution against Saigon, thousands of insurgents began to stream down the Ho Chi Minh Trail to help form Vietcong units, this was the beginnings of the National Liberation Front. By the early 1960s, the NLF’s campaign had burgeoned and was scoring defeats on the Army, Republic of Vietman (ARVN). Diem and his mafia-like family were incapable of dealing with the growing crisis, the US administration began to seek ways of removing them from the reigns of power. The US diplomatic regime in Saigon approved if not planned a coup d’etat in May 1963 which resulted in the assassination of Ngo Dinh Diem and his brother Ngo Diem Nhu. Chaos followed the coup, one military government toppled another in quick succession while the North Vietnamese government took advantage of the instability by pouring support into it’s guerrilla movement. A controversial incident that occurred in the Gulf of Tonkin in 1964, would have a profound impact on the war. The US destroyer, Maddox was fired upon by North Vietnamese torpedo boats, it was later reported that their crews were inexperienced and were simply responding to sonar and radar anomalies. However, the Johnson administration, used the incident to gain congressional support for increased military action in South-East Asia. The war began to escalate from 1965, in retaliation to Vietcong attacks on the US airbase at Pleiku, the US air force began bombing North Vietnam. In the summer of that year, General Westmoreland, Commander of the US Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV), ordered the first US ground offensive ground operation. US troops began pouring into the country, and Washington encouraged its SEATO allies to send troops and Austrailia, New Zealand, South Korea, Thailand and the Philippines all sent troops, although America’s NATO allies, most notably Canada and the United Kingdom refused to contribute troops.

Westmoreland launched a series of large-scale ‘Search and Destroy’ operations, targeting Vietcong operating bases. Vietcong units often managed to evade US incursions by retreating to sanctuaries in Cambodia and Laos, though the attacks did take their toll on Vietcong forward-supply bases. The political situation in South Vietnam began to stabilise with the coming to power of Vice-President Nguyen Cao Ky and President Nguyen Van Thieu in 1967. The Johnson administration employed a ‘policy of minimum candour’ when dealing with the media, this policy damaged the trust of the American public in the administration and large scale public protests began in the States as the ’credibility gap’ widened. By mid-1967, US forces were gaining the upper hand until Hanoi launched the Tet Offensive in January 1968 with the intention of launching a military and civilian uprising in the South, that failed to materialise, however the offensive proved to be a political triumph for Hanoi because the American military and by extension the American public had believed the war to be almost over, they were shocked by the scope and intensity of the attack. It caused Lyndon B. Johnson’s job, home support for the effort began to seriously stumble and US policy-makers became increasingly determined to devise an exit strategy that would not simply abandon South Vietnam to PAVN; they began negotiations with North Vietnam in Paris, though little progress was made. The Nixon administration began a policy of Vietnamization, where ARVN forces were bolstered as American troops began to withdraw. In March 1969, US forces launched a massive bombing campaign of Cambodia with the goal of destroying PAVN sanctuaries, this violated a long succession of pronouncements from Washington supporting Cambodian neutrality.

However, in May 1970, the US began ground incursions into Cambodia; this action sparked nationwide protests on the home front culminating in the tragedy at Kent State University when four students were shot and killed by soldiers of the Ohio National Guard. The public were outraged, but the Nixon administration appeared indifferent, launching ARVN incursions into neutral Laos in early 1971 with the intention of cutting the Ho Chi Minh supply line. These incursions proved disastrous with the ARVN forces who were easily routed, retreating pell-mell, abandoning vehicles and equipment and requiring a bail-out by American airpower; the chaos clearly emphasised the failure of the policy of Vietnamization. Morale amongst US troops was at its lowest ebb - Australia and New Zealand pulled out their troops, many soldiers developed drug habits, there were problems with race relations and insubordination and cases of courts-martial soared. Vietnamization was again tested by the Easter Offensive of 1972, the VPA and NLF overran the northern provinces and other forces attacked from Cambodia, threatening to cut the country in half but US airpower again came to the rescue. It was now clear that South Vietnam could not survive without the support of American airpower, though the remaining American ground troops were withdrawn in August. After peace negotiations had broken down, Nixon ordered a massive bombing of Hanoi and Haiphong to pressurize North Vietnam back to the negotiating table. It worked, at huge cost, although the Paris Peace Accords were signed in January 1973, the offensive had destroyed much of the remaining industrial and economic capacity of North Vietnam. The Peace Accords enforced a cease-fire, it was stated that US POW’s would be released, national elections would be called for in the North and the South and a sixty day period was instigated for the complete withdrawal of American forces. However, the fighting in South Vietnam continued, the POW issue runs to this day and elections were never held. Many South Vietnamese fled to the United States in one of the largest war refugees migrations in history. There was no peace movement to protest the renewed bloodshed nor was there much media coverage. Early in 1975, the North Vietnamese launched their final offensive, South Vietnam rapidly collapsed. North Vietnamese troops entered Saigon, only hours after the US completed an emergency airlift of embassy personnel and thousands of South Vietnamese who feared for their lives under the communists. Hanoi gained control of South Vietnam, and its allies won in Cambodia, where the government surrendered to insurgent forces on 17 April 1975, and Laos, where the Communists gradually assumed control.

About the Author

Russell Shortt is a travel consultant with Exploring Ireland, the leading specialists in customised, private escorted tours, escorted coach tours and independent self drive tours of Ireland. Article source Russell Shortt, http://www.exploringireland.net http://www.visitscotlandtours.com