conflict and tension in Asia 1950-1975

Before WW2 Vietnam had been part of the French Empire.

During Second World War, Southeast Asia had been under Japanese control, but in 1945 the French re-occupied Indo-China.

This was very unpopular with the people. 

Ho Chi Minh was the leader of Vietminh, a resistance army which fought for vietnamese independance.

The French were defeated by the Vietminh at Dien Bien Phu.

The French objective had been to support the soldiers at Dien Bien Phu deep  in the hills of Northwestern Vietnam to cut off Vetminh supply lines.

The vietminh however, were able to drag heavy artillery through the jungle and position them overlooking the French encampment.

A force of 40,000 Vietminh surrounded 15,000 French soldiers causing the French to fall to Vietminh

Vietminh casualties were estimated: 7,900 killed and 15,000 wounded.

Period of battle of Dien Bien Phu: 13 March- 7 May 1954

This battle marked the end of the French involvement in Southeast Asia. 

Peace was discussed at Geneva in 1954 and the Treaty of Geneva agreed that the French would leave Vietnam and the country would be split along the 17th parallel until elections could be held.

The USA took part in the Geneva Accords and agreed to the dividing up of Vietnam. They asked for a delay on elections as they were worried about Ho Chi Minh winning. 

The elections never held and the country remained divded.

North Vietnam were communist, lead by Ho Chi Minh

South Vietnam were capitalist, lead by Ngo Dinh Diem

The USA supported the leader Diem- depite him being a brutal leader, the fact that he was anti-communist was enough to gain support from USA. 

Domino theory- this was a belief that if one country fell to communism others would follow.

China had become communist in 1949 and communists were in control of North Vietnam.

USA were afraid communism would spread to South Vietnam and then the rest of Asia.

The USA then decided to send lots of financial aid to help support the governemnt and millitary advisers to support diem. These advisers were to help train a South Vietnamese army. 

Diem was a corrupt leader who refused to give peasants land.

He did not like Buddhism and treated mainly the Buddhist population badly. As a result, much of the South Vietnam's population was rebelling against him. The pesansts wanted communism and supported the Vietminh and NLF.

1963 President John F Kennedy sent 16,000 millitary adivisers to help the South Vietnamese army. Kennedy agreed to a CIA operation that gave a group of South vietnamese army generals $40,000 to overthrow Diem's gpvernment (called a 'coup'). Although this was not apart of Kennedy's plans , Diem and his brother ended up getting shot.

The USA had hoped that by overthrowing the unpopular Diem, it would strengthen the oppostion to the communist Vietcong 

1960-3:Strategic Hamlets: led by Diem's government and CIA. It was designed to stop the vietcong winning over South Vietnamese villagers. 

If a village was seen in 'danger', US troops would turn peasants out of homes and put them in "strategic hamlets". This was a camp with ditches, barbed wire fences, and were guarded by local non-communists.

This meant people were taken away from their ancetral homes and their farms they had tended for generations.

However it was hard for the USA to tell who was a village and who was Vietcong, so it could never be determined fully whether they were stopping communism spreading or simply moving it to a new area.

During 1964, millitary planners had a plan for major attacks on the North but at that time President Johnson and his advisers feared the public would not approve with the expansion of Vietnam war.

August 2; on North Vietnamese coast by South vietnamese gunboats, US destroyer maddox was fired on by North Vietnamese torpedo boats. Two days later maddox and another destroyer reported they were attack, but sent another after that saying they werent sure. 

Johnson ignored the second report. He gathered congressional leaders and accused the North of 'open agression on the high seas'. He submitted to the senate a resolution that authorized him to take 'all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States and prevent further agression'. The resolution was approved by congress.