The Vietnam War - Part 1

Summary

This script explores 19th century Vietnam's colonization by France, leading to widespread poverty and illiteracy. It follows Nguyễn Sinh Cung's journey to France, his ideological shift towards communism, and his return as Ho Chi Minh to lead Vietnam's fight for independence. The narrative encompasses the struggle against Japanese occupation, the complex relationship with the US, the First Indochina War, and the Vietnam War's escalation, highlighting key figures, political maneuverings, and the human cost of conflict.

Takeaways

• 🏛️ The 19th century in Vietnam was marked by French colonization, where natural resources were exploited and the local population suffered under harsh conditions with limited education and widespread poverty.
• 👨‍🎓 Nguyễn Sinh Cung, later known as Ho Chi Minh, sought education in France and was influenced by Marxist and Leninist ideologies, which shaped his views on imperialism and capitalism.
• 📜 Despite Ho Chi Minh's efforts to gain American support for Vietnamese independence post-WWI, his petitions to President Woodrow Wilson were ignored.
• 🔥 The rise of Japanese occupation during WWII and its subsequent defeat of French forces in Vietnam led to a power vacuum and a brief period of Vietnamese autonomy.
• 🛑 Post-WWII, the French attempted to reassert control over Vietnam, leading to a resurgence of the Vietnamese independence movement under Ho Chi Minh's leadership.
• 🤝 The OSS (predecessor to the CIA) provided support to Ho Chi Minh's Viet Minh forces during their fight against Japanese occupation, with promises of future U.S. support for an independent Vietnam.
• 💣 The First Indochina War saw the French employing brutal tactics against the Vietnamese, including the use of guillotines against strike leaders and the reinstallation of Emperor Bao Dai as a puppet leader.
• 🌏 The involvement of global powers like the U.S. and China in the conflict had significant impacts, with the U.S. financially supporting the French and China aiding the Viet Minh.
• 🗳️ The Geneva Accords of 1954 temporarily divided Vietnam and planned for future reunification elections, which were ultimately never held due to U.S. and South Vietnamese opposition.
• 🚫 The U.S. employed psychological warfare and sabotage tactics to weaken North Vietnam's influence and prevent the spread of communism in the region.

Q & A

What was the primary motivation for France to colonize Vietnam in the 19th century?

France was motivated to colonize Vietnam due to its valuable natural resources such as tea, rice, copper, pepper, zinc, tin, and rubber, which they sought to exploit for their economic gain.

How did the French maintain control over Vietnam during their colonization?

The French maintained control by striking deals with powerful landowners, allowing them to keep their power and privileges in exchange for helping the French keep the population under control.

What was the impact of French colonization on the Vietnamese people's literacy and poverty rates?

Under French colonization, only 25% of the Vietnamese people could read, and 90% lived in poverty, working for large landowners, French farms, or factories with little opportunity for social advancement or education.

Why did Nguyễn Sinh Cung, later known as Ho Chi Minh, leave for France in 1911?

Nguyễn Sinh Cung left for France in 1911 to get an education and later became influenced by the works of Marx and Lenin, which shaped his views against capitalism and imperialism.

What was the outcome of Ho Chi Minh's petition to President Woodrow Wilson's team in 1919?

Ho Chi Minh's petition for help in turning Vietnam independent was ignored by President Woodrow Wilson's team.

How did World War II and the Japanese occupation affect the Vietnamese independence movement?

The Japanese occupation interrupted the French control and sent a message that Europeans were not invincible. Ho Chi Minh returned to Vietnam, founded the Viet Minh, and began guerrilla warfare against the Japanese occupiers.

What was the role of the OSS in supporting the Viet Minh during World War II?

The OSS, precursor to the CIA, supplied the Viet Minh with weapons, ammunition, food, and medical supplies and promised to support an independent Vietnam, aligning their interests against the Japanese.

What was the significance of the French defeat at Dien Bien Phu in 1954?

The French defeat at Dien Bien Phu marked a turning point, leading to the Geneva Conference where Vietnam was temporarily divided, and it highlighted the limits of French military power in maintaining colonial control.

Why did the United States refuse to sign the Geneva Accords and recognize the independence of North Vietnam?

The United States refused to sign the Geneva Accords and recognize North Vietnam's independence because they were against the spread of communism and did not want to legitimize a communist government in Vietnam.

What was the strategy behind the United States' involvement in South Vietnam during the presidency of John F. Kennedy?

President Kennedy increased military aid to South Vietnam, sending more personnel and logistical support to build up its military strength, in an effort to prevent the spread of communism and support the South against the communist North and Viet Cong.

How did the Gulf of Tonkin incident influence the United States' decision to escalate its involvement in Vietnam?

The Gulf of Tonkin incident, whether a genuine attack or a misinterpretation, led to the Gulf of Tonkin resolution by the U.S. Congress, which authorized President Johnson to increase military presence in Vietnam, escalating U.S. involvement in the conflict.

Outlines

00:00

🌏 Colonialism and the Rise of Vietnamese Nationalism

The paragraph discusses 19th century Vietnam, a feudal state rich in natural resources like tea, rice, and metals. Despite the Vietnamese resistance, the French colonized the country, exploiting its resources while offering power to local landowners in exchange for control over the population. This period saw limited literacy and widespread poverty among Vietnamese. Nguyen Sinh Cung, later known as Ho Chi Minh, sought education in France, where he was influenced by Marx and Lenin's ideologies against capitalism and imperialism. His petition for Vietnamese independence to President Woodrow Wilson was ignored, and upon returning to Vietnam, he led the Viet Minh in guerrilla warfare against Japanese occupation during World War II. The Viet Minh gained support by aiding villagers during a famine, while the French, upon their return, reneged on promises of independence.

05:00

🔄 The Struggle for Independence and the First Indochina War

This paragraph covers the French rebranding their colonization as a fight against communism to justify their control over Vietnam's resources. The French reinstated Emperor Bao Dai and turned the conflict into a civil war. With the support of China, the Viet Minh received military aid and training, while the US, under President Truman, provided financial support to France. Despite Ho Chi Minh's attempts to engage with the US for support, the US sided with France against the communists. The war saw brutal tactics by both sides, with the Viet Minh controlling the countryside and the French holding the cities. The French attempted to force a decisive battle at Dien Bien Phu, which ended in a crushing defeat and led to peace negotiations in Geneva.

10:03

🏛 The Geneva Accords and the Division of Vietnam

The paragraph describes the outcome of the Geneva negotiations following the French defeat at Dien Bien Phu. Vietnam was temporarily divided at the 17th parallel, with Ho Chi Minh leading the north and Bao Dai the south. The agreement allowed for freedom of movement for Vietnamese to choose their residence and prohibited external military aid. The US and South Vietnam did not sign the accords, and the US, under President Eisenhower, set up covert operations to weaken the north, including psychological warfare and sabotage. The US also supported Ngo Dinh Diem as the leader of South Vietnam, leading to a rigged election and the imprisonment of thousands of political opponents.

15:07

🚩 The Escalation of Conflict and the Emergence of the Viet Cong

This paragraph details the growing unrest in South Vietnam under President Diem, whose pro-Catholic policies led to protests and violence. The US, under President Kennedy, increased military aid and personnel in Vietnam. The Viet Cong, sponsored by the North, began insurgent activities in the south, leading to a shadow government in rural areas. The US supported a coup that resulted in Diem's death, and President Johnson escalated US involvement following the Gulf of Tonkin incident, which led to the Gulf of Tonkin resolution and a significant increase in US military presence.

20:08

🛫 The Intensification of the War and US Involvement

The paragraph discusses the US taking control of the war efforts in Vietnam, relegating South Vietnamese forces to secondary roles. The US focused on bombing campaigns like Rolling Thunder and attempted to build infrastructure to support their military operations. Despite initial successes, the war took a heavy toll on both the Vietnamese and American forces. The North Vietnamese Air Force showed resilience in aerial engagements, and the Viet Cong continued to challenge US and South Vietnamese forces on the ground, leading to a protracted and costly conflict.

Keywords

💡Colonization

Colonization refers to the establishment of a colony in one territory by people from another territory, often involving the exploitation of the colonized land's resources and people. In the video, colonization is a central theme, illustrating how France took control of Vietnam, exploiting its resources and maintaining power through a system that benefited the French and the local elite but left the majority of Vietnamese in poverty and without access to education or social advancement.

💡Imperialism

Imperialism is a policy or ideology of extending a country's rule over foreign nations, often by military force or by gaining economic and political control. The video discusses how powerful capitalist nations, like France, relied on imperialism to sustain their way of life, exploiting the resources of underdeveloped nations such as Vietnam.

💡Nguyễn Sinh Cung (Ho Chi Minh)

Nguyễn Sinh Cung, better known as Ho Chi Minh, is a key figure in Vietnamese history. He is depicted in the video as a young Vietnamese who sought education in France and became influenced by Marxist and Leninist ideologies. He later led the fight for Vietnamese independence under the name Ho Chi Minh, founding the Viet Minh and becoming a symbol of resistance against colonialism and imperialism.

💡Viet Minh

The Viet Minh, short for the League for the Independence of Vietnam, was a communist-led organization that fought for Vietnamese independence from colonial rule. The video highlights the Viet Minh's guerrilla warfare against Japanese occupiers during World War II and later against the French in the First Indochina War.

💡Dien Bien Phu

Dien Bien Phu is a significant battle mentioned in the video that took place during the First Indochina War, where the Vietnamese forces led by Ho Chi Minh defeated the French army, marking a turning point in the war and demonstrating the French were not invincible.

💡Geneva Accords

The Geneva Accords refer to a series of agreements reached in 1954 that ended the First Indochina War and temporarily divided Vietnam into North and South. The video explains how the accords were meant to lead to elections for reunification but were ultimately not honored by the South, with the U.S. supporting the South's refusal to hold elections, thus maintaining the division.

💡Ngo Dinh Diem

Ngo Dinh Diem is presented in the video as a controversial figure installed as the leader of South Vietnam with U.S. support. Diem is depicted as an authoritarian leader who rigged elections, suppressed opposition, and favored Catholic policies, leading to his eventual downfall and assassination.

💡Viet Cong

The Viet Cong, short for the National Liberation Front's Liberation Army of South Vietnam, was a communist guerrilla force that fought against the South Vietnamese government and its U.S. allies during the Vietnam War. The video describes how the Viet Cong operated as a shadow government in the countryside and was a formidable force that the U.S. struggled to combat.

💡Ho Chi Minh Trail

The Ho Chi Minh Trail was a network of supply routes used by the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong to transport supplies and troops into South Vietnam during the Vietnam War. The video mentions the trail as a critical infrastructure that allowed the North to support the Viet Cong in the South, despite U.S. efforts to bomb and disrupt it.

💡Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was a supposed attack on U.S. naval vessels by North Vietnam, which led to a U.S. congressional resolution escalating U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. The video script alludes to the controversy surrounding the event's legitimacy and its role in escalating U.S. military engagement in Vietnam.

Highlights

19th century Vietnam was rich in natural resources but was colonized by France, leading to minimal benefits for the Vietnamese people.

Nguyễn Sinh Cung, later known as Ho Chi Minh, sought education in France and was influenced by Marxist and Leninist ideologies.

Ho Chi Minh's petition for Vietnamese independence was ignored by American President Woodrow Wilson after WWI.

The Vietnamese communist party, despite being a minority, gained widespread support due to the desire for independence.

The Japanese occupation of Vietnam during WWII and their defeat of the French changed perceptions of European invincibility.

Ho Chi Minh, under the name of the Viet Minh, began guerrilla warfare against Japanese occupiers with support from the OSS, a precursor to the CIA.

The Viet Minh's efforts to alleviate the 1945 famine in Vietnam garnered significant public support.

Ho Chi Minh declared the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, inspired by the American Declaration of Independence.

France re-invaded Vietnam post-WWII, leading to a resurgence of conflict and the beginning of the First Indochina War.

The French attempted to rebrand their colonization efforts as a fight against communism to maintain control over Vietnam.

China's support for Vietnam during the First Indochina War was driven by both ideological and national security interests.

The US financially supported France in the Indochina War, effectively turning the conflict into a proxy war in the Cold War.

The Battle of Dien Bien Phu was a turning point, leading to French surrender and negotiations in Geneva.

The Geneva Accords temporarily divided Vietnam and planned for future reunification elections, which were ultimately not held.

The US, through the CIA, engaged in psychological warfare and sabotage to weaken North Vietnam's influence.

South Vietnam's political instability and President Ngo Dinh Diem's authoritarian rule led to increased US involvement.

The Viet Cong, supported by North Vietnam, operated as a shadow government in South Vietnam, challenging the US-backed regime.

The Gulf of Tonkin incident, whether real or fabricated, led to an escalation of US involvement in the Vietnam War.

US military strategy in Vietnam focused on cutting supply lines and undermining the Viet Cong's infrastructure.

Despite initial victories, the US faced significant casualties and challenges in battles like Operation Starlight and Ia Drang.

Transcripts

This is 19th century Vietnam, a feudal  state with a butt ton of valuable natural  

resources (tea rice, copper, pepper, zinc, tin  and rubber), Hey Vietnam, do you mind if we  

colonize you and steal all your resources? The Vietnamese did mind, but the French  

colonized them anyways. France went to  the powerful landowners and was like,  

how about you keep your power and privileges,  but you help us keep everyone under control.  

this was a sweet deal for the French, who  got rich off Vietnamese resources, but the  

Vietnamese people benefited very little. Only  25% of them could read, and 90% lived in poverty,  

working for large landowners, French farms  or factories. There were no opportunities  

for social advancement or education. A young Vietnamese, called Nguy?n Sinh Cung,  

thought that this was deeply uncool, and in  1911 left for France to get an education. There  

he came across the works of Marx and Lenin,  who described that in a capitalist system,  

the landowners and wealthy individuals  would team up to systematically oppress  

the workers and poor farmers, and that powerful  capitalist nations relied on the exploitation of  

the resources from underdeveloped nations to  sustain their way of life, and that thus, the  

only way to end imperialism and the colonialism  that came with it was to end capitalism itself.  

This made a lot of sense to young Nguyen, who  became a big fan. In 1919, after the end of WWI,  

he contacted American president Woodrow Wilson  s team in Versailles and gave them a petition  

asking for help in turning Vietnam  independent. The request was ignored.  

At the same time, independence movements were  growing in Vietnam. Although they were led by  

the communist party, they had wide support from  people who wished to see a free Vietnam. In 1930,  

workers at a Michelin plant in Phu Rieng went  on strike to protest their terrible working  

conditions. The French brutally crushed the  strike and executed the leaders by guillotine.  

The movement was interrupted when  mustache-man decided to invade Poland,  

and then France, which severely limited France  s ability to manage its colonial empire.  

Yoink said Japan, immediately taking  over Vietnam and its resources.  

Although they too were brutal in their occupation,  

the Japanese victory over the French sent a clear  message: the Europeans were not invincible.  

Nguyen returned to Vietnam and took on the name  Ho chi Minh. He then founded the league for an  

independent Vietnam, or Viet Minh, for short, and  soon began guerrilla warfare against the Japanese  

occupiers. Ring ring  

Who is this? I m the OSS  

The what? Sigh the predecessor to the CIA  

Oh, you should ve just said that! Listen, I heard you re fighting the Japanese.  

We re fighting the Japanese too! Wouldn t it be like super cool  

if we fought them together? Hmm.. how do I know I can trust you?  

I ll give you tons of weapons You son-ofa-bee. I m in.  

the OSS supplied the Viet Minh with weapons,  munitions, food and medical supplies and  

promised that the US would later support  an independent Vietnam. The fighting was  

devastating for the Vietnamese, and in late  1945, Japanese appropriation of rice farms,  

accompanied by floods and poor weather conditions,  led to a terrible famine that caused the death of  

between 1 and 2 million Vietnamese. The Viet Minh did their best to help,  

often stealing food from the Occupiers and  distributing it among the starving villagers,  

saving countless people and gaining  incredible amounts of support.  

After Japan surrendered,  Vietnam was finally free.  

On September 2nd, Ho declared the Democratic  republic of Vietnam. He was reportedly a huge  

fan of the US, even having a picture of George  Washington and a copy of the US declaration of  

independence on his desk. He even sought  the advice of an OSS officer in framing  

the declaration of independence. The Vietnamese  declaration begins with All men are created equal.  

They are endowed by their creator with certain  inalienable rights, among these are life, liberty  

and the pursuit of happiness. Sounds familiar? France: wow, that is so moving! You totally made  

me reconsider my stance on colonialism! Ho: Really?  

France: No (laughs and invades  Vietnam like in opening scene)  

The moment allied forces left the country,  the French army began retaking Vietnam. They  

recognized the DRV above the 17th parallel, but  demanded it became part of the French Union.  

Okay, let s agree that Cochinchina will get to  vote on whether to unite with me or join the  

French Union, deal? Deal.  

What are you doing? Oh, Cochinchina is joining the French union.  

But we just agreed to I ve no idea what you re talking about.  

Negotiations broke down. The Viet Minh wanted  nothing short of Vietnamese independence,  

while the French were unwilling to  lose control of their former colony.  

By December 1946, violent skirmishes broke out  across the border, and the French attempted  

to reoccupy the north by force. But the  north resisted. They had bled and died for  

independence against the Japanese, and were  not going to give it up without a fight.  

Alright boys. The Vietnamese are resisting  our occupation, so we need a new approach.  

Nuke them! How about we  

rebrand? The Viet Minh are communists,  right? So we are not colonizing them,  

we are liberating them from communism! And  maybe in the process take all their resources  

Can t we just let them be free? I mean, we have  already extracted enough resources from them,  

don t they have a right to self-deter You. Let s go with your idea  

The French returned the former emperor bao dai  to Vietnam from Hong Kong and recognized him  

as the leader of the republic of Vietnam. Bao  Dai received support from the upper classes of  

Vietnam, and the war turned into a civil war In 1949, mao zedong came to power in China.  

Whatever Vietnam needs, and  China has, we will provide  

He recognized the DRV as an independent country  and began sending tons of weapons and munitions to  

Vietnam, and even helped train their fighters. China had its own reasons to help Vietnam.  

After all, they were seeing an anticommunist  crusade just a few miles from its own border,  

and they were getting a little nervous.  For them, defending Vietnam was not just  

about defending a fellow communist country,  it was a matter of national security.  

(door bell) What s that? Harry  

Truman is now president of the US, and he is  really scared that communism will take over  

the world. So he gave western Europe a bunch of  money (write: with strings attached) so that they  

would depend on them and not the USSR. He then  founded Nato and in 1950 joined the war in Korea.  

Well if you want me to join your F*** Russia club,  you will have to help me against the Vietnamese  

Deal. Truman didn t need much convincing, and by  

the early 1950s, the US was paying for 80% of the  French expenses. American support got to the point  

that the French air force was mostly comprised  of american planes. The war in Indochina became  

france s number 1 dollar earning export . But it didn t have to be like this  

In 1945 and 46, ho chi minh had written  at least 8 letters to president Truman  

asking for his help in bringing the matter of  Vietnamese independence to the united nations.  

Despite the fact that ho chi minh and his  followers had worked closely with the Americans  

against Japan, and despite the fact that Ho  was much closer to the US than to the USSR,  

the us didn t answer any of the letters  and instead sided with the French.  

Ho, was after all, a communist.  And Ho, ho, ho, he had to go.  

When the war began The French controlled  most of the large cities in south Vietnam,  

where the rich elites granted them full support.  But the Viet minh controlled the countryside.  

The war was brutal and bloody. And  neither side was making real progress.  

Hey, how about we talk this out? Okay, but let me ask my mom first.  

Mom, can I go to peace  negotiations with North Vietnam?  

Well, I don t know. Did you  kill all the commies yet?  

No, but.. You can go to peace  

negotiations After you kill the commies, okay? The US threatened to withdraw all economic and  

military aid if France even negotiated with the  Vietminh, so the French delegation never arrived  

Despite American aid, the guerrilla warfare  was incredibly costly for the French, and their  

grip on Vietnam loosened year after year. Bao dai was an absent leader and little more  

than a French puppet. There was low morale and  chronic desertions within south Vietnam s army,  

and even in France, the conflict  was becoming very unpopular.  

To turn things around, The French came up with a  plan to force the Viet Minh into an open battle,  

where they believed their superior  military would prevail. In 1953,  

they airlifted troops to a valley called Dien  Bien Phu to cut the communists supply lines.  

The fighting was so fierce and the losses  so terrible, that even the Viet Minh began  

to lose morale. Even if they defeated the french  at dien bien phu, the Viet Minh knew they couldn  

t kick the superior French military out of  Vietnam, and the French were aware that they  

could never take control of the countryside. Finally, both sides decided to meet in Geneva  

to negotiate. But they both wanted to be  in as good a position as possible on the  

ground before negotiations started. The viet minh gathered their anti-air  

artillery in the hills around the valley  and sieged the base for months. Their  

camouflaged cannons were incredibly hard  for the French to spot, and they harassed  

the French air supply with virtual impunity. With their forces at Dien Bien Phu cut off from  

the rest of their army, the French realized  that they had put their head into a noose.  

On march 13th 1954, the Viet Minh began a  direct assault. They used their cannons to  

weaken the French defenses and dug tunnels to  get as close as possible, before storming the  

base. The viet minh took terrible casualties.  But slowly, they took over the French position  

The French desperately pleaded to the us for aid,  hoping for a direct intervention. Then president  

Eisenhower, another firm believer in the domino  theory, considered several possibilities to  

help them. Nuke them!  

Stop suggesting that! Eisenhower considered joining the war,  

but a military assessment determined that  the US would have to commit at least half  

a million military personnel just to stabilize  the situation. Knowing that the American public  

wouldn t support another war in Asia so  soon after Korea, he decided against it.  

After months of fighting, the French  surrendered at dien bien phu on may 7th.  

The next day, negotiations began in Geneva. -Vietnam would be divided at the 17th parallel  

with a demilitarized zone on both sides. -Ho chi minh would keep control of the  

north and bao dai of the south -Vietnamese people would have  

freedom of movement between north and south  for 300 days to choose where they wanted to be  

-Neither north nor south vietnam  could receive outside military help  

-An international commission, comprised of Canada,  Poland and india would supervise elections in 1956  

to choose if the Vietnamese people wanted  to unify under Ho chi Minh or bao dai.  

All things considered, The deal was quite  good for the French, as it allowed many of  

its economic interests, such as the Michelin  rubber plantation, to continue operating.  

But the Viet minh were disappointed. They wanted  a united Vietnam, nothing less. And they had  

momentum after their victory at dien bien phu,  many of their leaders wished to keep fighting  

to reach a better deal. Okay, all in favor?  

I agree Sigh. I agree.  

I ag.. WE don t agree  

Neither the US nor SV signed  the Geneva Accord. the US even  

refused to recognize the independence of NV While negotiations were still taking place,  

the US setup a special paramilitary unit inside  Vietnam led by CIA operative Edward Lansdale  

And their first mission: Weaken the north  by making as many people as possible migrate  

south through Psychological warfare. The CIA created propaganda slogans and  

leaflets appealing to the devout catholic  with themes such as christ has gone to  

the south and the virgin mary has departed  from the north. But they didn t stop there.  

Gather round, everyone, look what  I just found! I hold in my hand an  

official Vietminh document detailing the  horrors they want to do to all of you!  

But why is it in English?  We all speak Vietnamese.  

(what do you mean in English  I specifically told them to)  

Dammit Thomas you had one job! In the days following this massive campaign,  

refugee registration to the south tripled. The CIA also infiltrated paramilitary forces in  

the north, contaminated the oil supply of the  bus company of Hanoi to wreck the bus engines,  

sabotaged the railroad, and much more! Just four days before the reunification election,  

prime minister ngo dinh diem of SV issued  a statement making it clear that he had no  

intention of carrying them out. C mon man, we had an agreement!  

No. Diem,  

just like Eisenhower knew that ho chi minh  would easily win any national election.  

Eisenhower wrote in his memoirs I have never  talked or corresponded with a person knowledgeable  

in Indochinese affairs who did not agree that  had elections been held as of the time of the  

fighting, possibly 80 percent of the population  would have voted for the communist ho chi minh  

as their leader (quote 31). So, The Eisenhower  administration ensured that Diem postponed the  

elections as long as possible (quote 32). This was only possible due to the threat of  

US intervention. Without it, the South could  have NEVER refused the elections without being  

immediately overrun by the Vietminh armies The US justified their support for Diem by  

claiming that elections wouldn t be free.  But that didn t really make sense. Ho was  

so popular that he didn t need to resort  to fraud to win elections, and besides,  

the United Nations and an International control  commission set up by the Geneva accords had  

already agreed to supervise the elections. In the end, the elections for unification never  

took place, and Vietnam remained divided. In the north, the communists implemented land  

reform and collectivization. They also repressed  class enemies, killing several thousand people.  

ho chi minh later admitted that they had gone  too far, and gave some of the land back.  

Still, the reforms were a success. Food  production increased by 60% and the economy  

surpassed its peak under French rule. It  also made the party incredibly popular.  

At the same time the south was in political  turmoil, filled with powerful warlords and  

religious factions clashing for power. President Eisenhower chose Diem as the  

man to build South Vietnam around.  In 1955, Diem challenged Bao Dai for  

leadership and heavily rigged the votes. US advisor: Just go for like 60%. We don t  

want to be obvious. Diem:Mhm  

US: You promise to be discrete? Diem: Mhm. Yes. Absolutely. Very  

discrete. No one will suspect a thing! And the winner of the election is:  

Ngo Dinh Diem! With.. wooow 98.2% of the votes! Thank you! What a surprise! I want to thank  

everyone who totally voted for me!  And those who didn t, watch it! Haha  

No. Seriously. I m coming for you, you bleeping  bleep commies and your bleep bleep bleep.  

Diem immediately imprisoned 20.000 political  opponents, many of whom he inaccurately accused  

of being communists, and in complete violation of  the Geneva Accords, the US sent 350 military men  

to Saigon to begin building up its military. By 1959, the country was still divided,  

and Ho Chi Minh and his party really didn t  like that. To them, it appeared that the only  

thing the war had achieved was to replace  their French colonizers for American ones.  

Okay guys, we need to do something  about those pesky Americans.  

We ve had enough wars. Let us focus on the  NORTH FIRST. Let s become prosperous and  

successful. That will inspire our  comrades in the south to join us!  

LE Duan: Yeah right. The americans will never  allow it. We all know that they have one goal:  

To destroy us and everything we believe in. Well, what do you propose then?  

We go for the SOUTH FIRST. We will show them  our peaceful ideas and way of life. By force!  

The Viet minh went with this guy s idea, and  formed the national liberation front (NLF), a  

formal political face for the insurgency they were  sponsoring in the south. Their military arm became  

known as the liberation army of south Vietnam. President diem dubbed them Vietnamese  

Communists, or Viet Cong . The Viet Cong began assassinating  

Saigon government officials and ambushing  government troops. They had so much control  

over the countryside, that they often functioned  as a shadow government. To supply their fighters  

in the south, the north built a massive network  of supply routes that went from North Vietnam  

through Laos and Cambodia and into South Vietnam.  This was the beginning of the Ho Chi Minh trail.  

Diem was quickly losing control over  South Vietnam. The new US president,  

John F. Kennedy increased military aid from  700 to 16.000 military personnel by the time  

he was assassinated. He also gave them millions  of dollars, and logistical and air force aid that  

allowed the SV army to expand to 200k strong. On January 2nd, 1963, the south attacked a viet  

cong position around the village of ap bac. And  got pummeled. 3 americans died in the fighting.  

In the meantime, Diem was becoming  increasingly unpopular. He was a  

devout catholic, and continuously favored  pro catholic policies. He banned the public  

display of the flag of other religions. And the Law into effect right on a Buddhist  

holiday. This led to massive demonstrations, which  were brutally suppressed, which lead to even more  

protests, during which a Buddhist monk immolated  himself. Diem s sister-in-law, who had the role  

of first lady, openly mocked the dead monk. Let them burn and we shall clap our hands  

If the Buddhists wish to have another barbecue, I  will be glad to supply the gasoline and a match.  

*actual quote This was too much for  

the US ambassador in Vietnam, who determined  that Diem had become a liability. The US then  

supported a coup that ended up killing Diem. Kennedy was assassinated a few weeks later,  

and Lyndon B. Johnson became president. The VC exploited the power vacuum and increased  

aggression in south Vietnam. They even sank  an American ship moored on the Saigon river.  

During a Storm on August 4th, US ships at  the Gulf of Tonkin claimed to be under attack  

by the north Vietnamese while in international  waters. As a response, congress authorized the  

Gulf of Tonkin resolution which allowed LBJ  to increase military presence in Vietnam.  

We now know that there was no real attack  on US ships. But whether it was an honest  

mistake due to a system malfunction or  if it was a deliberate lie to escalate  

involvement in Vietnam, remains unknown. It is now 1965 and the pentagon estimated  

that there were between 20.000 and 100.000 VC  and North Vietnam soldiers present in the south.  

LBJ wanted to avoid an escalation  with China and the Soviet Union,  

so he decided to start out with small  attacks and increase the strength as needed.  

To intimidate the north into surrendering,  LBJ authorized a series of bombing  

raids just north of the 17th parallel Then, in operation Rolling Thunder, American  

planes bombed key military infrastructure Heyy, I know that you guys are kind of getting  

rekt by our airstrikes, so I ll offer you a deal:  I ll call off RT and initiate a massive aid deal  

for the north if you agree to stop supporting  the VC and recognize the south as an independent,  

non communist state. Le duan: Okay  

Wait, really?? LD: No  

RT failed to achieve its goal. In June 1965, The VC overwhelmed  

several regiments of the southern army,  including three US trained ranger battalions,  

and captured the provincial capital at  Dong Xoai, just 60 miles from Saigon.  

To add to the chaos, there  was another coup in Saigon  

With South Vietnam in such a fragile state,  president Johnson now had to choose between  

losing Vietnam and sending American troops.  You may be able to guess what he chose to do.  

The American army took control of the battles and  relegated the ARVN to improving relations in the  

countryside. But the south Vietnamese  were not pleased with being shunted  

aside while Americans took over the war. Besides, they were prone to corruption and  

violence, which often undermined  the purpose of the operation  

The country didn t have the infrastructure  to support such a large military operation,  

so the US had to build it themselves. With thousands of American troops arriving  

in Vietnam, Rolling Thunder now focused  on bombing the Ho Chi Minh Trail to cut  

the Viet Cong s supply lines. But the north, with a lot of help  

from China and the Soviet union, was getting  very good at defending their skies, and their  

antiaircraft system was becoming formidable. On April 3, 1965, the Northern Airforce  

intercepted the US bombing of the Thanh Hoa Bridge  in one of the war s first air-to-air engagements.  

Although they lost all their planes, the  Vietnamese did manage to take down two  

supersonic American warplanes in a dogfight. The  message was clear: The North was not going to let  

the americans control the skies without a fight. During Operation Starlight, the US launched a  

surprise attack on a Viet Cong position at  the village of Van Toung. The Vietnamese  

fought ferociously, and although they  were defeated and lost 600 fighters,  

the US also took hundreds of casualties. Americans got another costly victory at  

Ia Drang, where 3 North Army divisions tried  to cut South Vietnam in half. The Americans  

were beginning to grasp the magnitude  of the casualties they would face.