Notes
Background to Vietnam War
- Originally a French colony (Indochina)
- Ho Chi Minh and his communist supporters resisted Japanese occupation during WWII
- After WWII the French reoccupied
- Ho Chi Minh fought the French and defeated them in 1954 (Dien Bien Phu)
- Laos, Cambodia granted independence
- Vietnam divided along the 17th parallel
- US saw this as another situation in which containment was necessary (SEATO)
- The US had supported the French (military advisors)
- Kennedy increased troops in 1962 from 500-10,000
- CIA overthrows Diem in 1963 (corruptness)
Summary
In 1965, President Johnson claimed that an American destroyer was allegedly torpedoed. This allegation meant that US troops were deployed to Vietnam. As a result, the Tet Offensive was launched on the American troops by the North Vietnam army.
Video |
Audio |
Subjunctive Question
If the TET offensive was never launched, would the war have become so big?
Quotes
"If I left [the war in Vietnam] and let the Communists take over South Vietnam, then I would be seen as a coward and my nation would be seen as an appeaser, and we would both find it impossible to accomplish anything for anybody anywhere on the entire globe."- New York Times 1963