US involvement in Vietnam

• if a country falls to communism so will other one by one
• sept 1945 leader ho chi minh (N) vs french backed south 
• president truman (US) provides france with aid
• US provided greece and turkey with aid to cotain communism (1940s)
• if vietnam fell to communism so would asia 
• US didnt realise ho chi minh wasnt interested in spreding communism
• only laos and cambodia fell to communism in s asia

• march-july 1954
• agreements to decide future of vietnam after french defeat
• cold war paranoia led to not all countries directly negotiating 
• USA and s vietnam refused
• n and s divided by 17th parallel
• elections scheduled for 1956 to decide leader
• military had to go back to country of origin 
• US relocated civilians-humanitarian and propaganda 

• july 21st before formal agreement 
• laos, cambodia and vietnam given independence (former french colonies) after 75 yars
• temporarily divded for 2 years (end hostilities)
• elections would be held 1956 to reuinte vietnam
• during this period n and s agreed to not form alliances with foreign military

• april 1954 diplomats from around the world meet
• talk of korea, berlin, vietminh taking over dien bien phu
• france retreats and gets rid of colonial administrations
• french withdraw from vietnam due to defeat 
• vietnam would be vulnerable to domino theory
• wanted to reunite vietnam 
• agreements known as geneva accords created to map out independence 
• vietnam divided into n and s by 17th parallel
• failed to communicate (countries such as US and china disagreeing)
• bound to fail (no trust)

• japan takes over vietnam 
• take from french (former colonies)
• japan rule harshly
• 'Vietminh' created as a way of fighting new japanese rulers
• Ho chi minh returns from 30 years exile to lead vietminh
• vietminh use geurilla tactics (hiding, traps, small groups of soldiers, not traditional)
• vietminh fight japanese supported by USA and china
• famine strikes hanoi (2 ml deaths)
• country divided as japanes forced out by china and UK
• france get collonies afterwards
• bombing leads to japanese surrender
• vietnam want independence-france want to reclaim vietnam
• france regain s with UK aid 

strategic hamlets

• made to stop vietcong winning over s vietnamese villages
• relocated villages to prison camps called strategic hamlets if US (CIA) and diem thought village was in danger of being influenced by vietcong 
• failed as vietcong were already in villages 
• US and diem could not tell who was viet cong and who wasnt

advisors

• eisenhower wanted to stop communism spreading 
• gave s aid ($)
• sent 'advisors to train s army

• president 1954-1963
• won election (rigged)
• got 605,000 votes in saigon despite the fact only 450,000 were allowed to vote 
• catholic (rich) 
• prosecuted buddhists
• supported bu US- let election date passed and didnt allow reuification od vietnam 
• ho chi minh (hero) more popular and would of won election
• 1960 national liberation front formed supported by ho chi minh to combat diem
• NLF want rid of diem (use geurilla tactics)
• 1961- 20,000 viet cong in s
• US backed new leader of s
• brutal but non communist
• could unite s against communism (good for US)
• 1963- JFK approved the s vietnamese generals being paid $40,000 to overthrow diem (opperation coup)
• diem an his brother were killed (not planned)

• concern to allies (soviet expansion)
• communism could spread (domino theory)
• vietnam wanted independence but france wanted vietnam to br their colony
• France, UK, US on one side
• dien bien phu would be used to lure vietminh in
• 1953 (parachutes) built bases
• vietminh surrounded bases
• allies sent airoplanes for supplies
• allies airoplanes shot vietminh but were shot dowm by weather
• march 13th 1954 attacks begin in dien bien phu
• france run out of food
• eisenhower refuses to send in US troops to aid
• post 'isabell' cut off
• vietminh use trenches to hide from enemies around posts
• n ran by hanoi
• s by saigon

2nd august 1964

• n torpedo attacks USS Maddox (US warship)
• torpedo doesnt detonate
• USS Maddox attacks torpedo ships 
• air forces sink torpedo ships and attack others

4th

• USS maddox and USS turner joy report attcks by torpedo boats
• no evidence (conspiracy)
• Johnson orders air force to attack n vietnamese bases

gulf of tonkin resolution

• ships reported to be attacked
• public outraged against n vietnam (unprovoked despite US being in n territory)
• johnson proposes gulf of tonkin resolution- gives him the power to defend US interests however he sees as neccessary
• was passed