How was Ho Chi Minh significant to Vietnamese history?
Why is the Vietnam War Traditionally viewed as a Cold War proxy war?
What was the most significant impact of the Vietnamese War?
Transcribed Image Text: War Breaks Out in Vietnam
Much like its involvement in the Korean War, the involvement of the
United States in Vietnam stemmed from its Cold War containment
Containment p
refers to the U
policy. After World War II, stopping the spread of communism was the
principal goal of U.S. foreign policy.
foreign policy
stopping the
communism
financial and
The Road to War In the early 1900s, France controlled most of
aid to anti-c
groups.
resource-rich Southeast Asia, (French Indochina included what are now
Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.) But nationalist independence
movements had begun to develop. A young Vietnamese nationalist, Ho
Chi Minh (pictured), turned to the Communists for help in his struggle.
During the 1930s, Ho's Indochinese Communist party led revolts and strikes against the French.
Ho Chi Mic
communis
North Vie
eventualL
Vietnam.
The French responded by jailing Vietnamese protesters. They also sentenced Ho to death. He
fled into exile, but returned to Vietnam in 1941, a year after the Japanese seized control of his
country during World War II. Ho and other nationalists founded the Vietminh (Independence)
League. The Japanese were forced out of Vietnam after their defeat in 1945. Ho Chi Minh
believed that independence would follow, but France intended to regain its colony.
Thinking
How wa
signific
Vietna
The Fighting Begins Vietnamese Nationalists and Communists joined to fight the French armies.
The French held most major cities, but the Vietminh had widespread support in the countryside.
The Vietminh used hit-and-run tactics to confine the French to the cities. In France the people
began to doubt that their colony was worth the lives and money the
struggle cost. In 1954, the French suffered a major military defeat at
Dien Bien Phu. They surrendered to Ho.
Th
Id
The United States had supported France in Vietnam. With the defeat
of the French, the United States saw a rising threat to the rest of
Asia. President Eisenhower described this threat in terms of the
St
fa
domino theory. The Southeast Asian nations were like a row of
dominos, he said. The fall of one to communism would lead to the
fall of its neighbors. This theory became a major justification for U.S.
foreign policy during the Cold War era.
Transcribed Image Text: the future of Indochina. Based on these talks, Vietnam was divided at 17 north latitude.
iers from North Vietnam,
TOTAL
Vietnam-A Divided Country After France's defeat, an international peace conference met to
discuss the future of Indochina, Based on these talks. Vietnam was divided at 17 north latitude.
North of that line, Ho Chi Minh's Communist forces eoverned. To the south, the United States
and France set up an anti-Communist government under the leadership of Ngo Dinh Diem (NOH
dihn DYEM).
unoA pa
on the other side of the worid
Thinkimg s y read
What was the moa
Varficant impact of
the Vietnamese War
massive bombing campaign against North Vietnamese bases and supply
Diem was a western educated Catholic and
established one-party rule. Opposition to his
government grew. Communist guerrillas,
called Vietcong, began to gain strength in
the south to overthrow Diem's government
The Vietcong were
tes He also authorized bombings in neighboring a
communists in South
Vietnam
Sing places
and join the South with the communist
North Vietnam. While some of the Vietcong
were trained soldiers from North Vietnam,
most were South Vietnamese who hated
Diem. Gradually, the Vietcong won control
of large areas of the countryside. In 1963, a
group of South Vietnamese generals had
Diem assassinated. But the new leaders
n than15 million Vietnamese and S8,000 Americans lost theis
CAMB
were no more popular than he had been. It
appeared that a takeover by the Communist
Vietcong, backed by North Vietnam, was
inevitable.
The United States Gets Involved
Faced with the possibility of a Communist victory, the United States decided to escalate, or
Increase, its involvement. Some U.S. troops had been serving as advisers to the South
Vietnamese since the late 1950s. But their numbers steadily grew, as did the numbers of planes
and other military equipment sent to South Vietnam.
Thinking as you read:
Why is the Vietnam
War traditionally
viewed as a Cold War
proxy war?
U.S. Troops Enter the Fight in August 1964, U.S. President Lyndon Johnson told Congress that
North Vietnamese patrol boats had attacked two U.S. destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin. As a
result, Congress authorized the president to send U.S. troops to fight in Vietnam. By late 1965,
more than 185,000 U.S. soldiers were in combat on Vietnamese soil. U.S. planes had also begun
to bomb North Vietnam.
By 1968, more than half a million U.S. soldiers were in combat there. The United States had a
well-equipped, advanced army. Yet it faced two major difficulties. First, U.S. soldiers were
fighting a guerrilla war in unfamiliar jungle terrain. Second, the South Vietnamese government
that they were defending was becoming more unpopular. At the same time, support for th
Vietcong grew, with help and supplies from communist leaders: Ho Chi Minh, the Soviet Union,
and China. Because of this, Vietnam is traditionally viewed as a Cold War proxy war -a war
fought between groups or smaller countries that represent the interests of larger countries.
However, the larger countries do not engage in direct fight against each other.
Proxy wars refer to a
war started by a major
power that does not
itself become directly
Unable to win a decisive victory on the ground, the United States turned to air power. U.S. forces involved.
bombed millions of acres of farmland and forest in an attempt to destroy enemy hideouts. This
bombing strengthened peasants' opposition to the South Vietnamese government.
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