history

After the battle of Dien Bien Phu in may 1954, Britain, France, China, the USSR and the USA met up in Geneva , Switzerland to decide the future of vietnam and to reach a settlement for the whole of what had been Indochina. the conference produced a set of documents know as the Geneva Accords. These agreements temporarilt separated vietnam into two zones , a northern zone governed by the viet minh and a southern zone to be governed by the state of Vietnam. A conference Final Declaration, issued by the British chairman of the conference provided that a general election be held by July 1956 to createa unified vietnamese state.

The theory (prominent from the 1950s to 1980s) that if one country fell under the influence of communism then the surrounding countries would follow in a domino effect.

Affect on US Foreign Policy

The theory proposed thata communist takeover over of one country would quickly lead neighbouring countries to fall to communism, like dominos falling in succession. cold war foreign policy was enveloped in the domino theory, which led to policies such as containment, the marshall plan and the wars in Korea and Vietnam. 

Cold War-

The state of political hostility netween eastern block countries and western powers that existed from 1945 to 1991characterised by threats propoganda and other measures

Containment-

keeping the communist countries the same but, not letting anyone else join to stop it from spreading.

The Marshall plan-

The idea of giving away to poorer countries to stop them from turning communist.

The battle fought around Dien Bien Phu was the last major campaign by a European state in the region.

The French defeat in 1954 signalled the end of French influence in Indochina.

The Dien Bien Phu was used by the french to try and defeat the vietminh.

Alot of bombs, aeroplanes were stored here so that they could drop bombs on the surrounding areas to try and defeat the Vietminh.

Ngo Dinh Diem gained the support of the USA because hewas very anti-communist.With the support of the United States government, Diem led southvietnam from 1954 to 1963, when he was assassinated.

During 1963 American dissatisfaction with Diem's government grew. At the beginning of the year, the United states'policy of providing military and financial age to Diem remained in place. but as the months passed president kennedy and his administration reluctantly concluded that Diem's government was too deeply flawed to survive. 

August 2nd to the 4th. The Guld of Tonkin is a busy waterway.There was attacks on US ships on these waters:

Noth Vietnamese torpedo boats attacked US warships USS Maddox is hit but the torpedo didint explode.

USS Maddox fires at the torpedo boats and US fighter planes sink one torpedo boat and damage 2 others.

On the 4th August 1964, USS Maddox and USS Turner joy report that they had been fired upon and attacked by torpedo boats but no sailor on board ship or fighter pilot in the air saw any evidenceof thesecond attack. Johnson ordered airforce to attack north Vietnamese bases.

Johnson proposed the Gulf of Tonkin resolution.

In September 1954, right after the Geneva Accords were signed on the 20th july 1954 dividing Vietnam, President Dwight D. Eisenhower wrote to the new Prime Minister of the Bao Dai government, Ngo Dinh Diem, promising United States support to ensure a non-communist Vietnam.United States aid to South Vietnam began in January 1955, and American advisors began arriving in February to train the South Vietnamese army.

The strategic hamlets programme was a pln by the governments of south Vietnam and the United states during the Vietnam war to combat the communist insurgery by pacifying the countryside and reducing the influence of the communists among the rural population.