The Vietnam War - Part 1
Summary
TLDRThis 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
🌏 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.
🔄 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.
🏛 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.
🚩 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.
🛫 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.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Colonization
💡Imperialism
💡Nguyễn Sinh Cung (Ho Chi Minh)
💡Viet Minh
💡Dien Bien Phu
💡Geneva Accords
💡Ngo Dinh Diem
💡Viet Cong
💡Ho Chi Minh Trail
💡Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
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.
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