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Viet Minh Founded
The Viet Minh was founded and lead by Ho Chi Minh in Pac Bo. The Viet Minh was an organization created to help lead the Vietnamnese independence struggle from the French. This organization was mostly ran by communists but accepted any political preferences. In the beginning, the Viet Minh was supported by the United States, Soviet Russia and China against the Japanese. Later into the war they were able to defeat the French at the battle of Điện Biên Phủ, -
Ho Chi Minh becomes the Chairman of the Provisional Government
Ho Chi Minh after becoming the chairman asked the American president, Harry S. Truman to support the Vietnam independence movement but was repeatedly ignored. Even though the Viet Minh helped him into this position his government wasn't taken into consideration from any country. -
Beginning of the Vietnam War
The vietnam war was a fight between North and South Vietnam.The North was supported by the other communist countries like China and Soviet Russia while the South was backed up by anti-communist countries like the United States. Originally the war was a colonial war against the French but soon became a war between the North and South. The South was called "The U.S. puppet state" because they follow the US's orders dispite having their own strength. The North fought in a more conventional warfare. -
The Geneva Accords
This conference took place in Switzerland. The agreement stated that there would be a cease to hostilities and that foregin troops will be involved with the battle. There was also a cease fire line along the 17th parallel which divides Vietnam in half; 300 days for both sides troops to withdraw to behide their lines while they hold nation wide elections in vietnam to unify the country. The US refused to sign and so did the South. US attempted to build a seperate anti-communist state in Vietnam, -
French Defeated at Dien Bien Phu
The battle of Dien Bien Phu was between the French. Dien Bien Phu was an mountain outpost near the Vietnam border near Laos. The French wasn't popular compared to the rising popularity of the Viet Minh. The French wanted to use this to cut off supplies from the North into Laos but instead they were the ones who had their roads into Dien Bien Phu cut off so supplies could only reach them by air. They were sure they could hold their position but was soon surrounded and taken. This was humiliating. -
Ngo Dinh Diem's Presidency
Ngo Dinh Diem expelled the emperor,Bao Dai and made himself the president of the South. Diem didn't follow the Geneva Accords, which required there be free elections in 1956 to create a national government.Diem created an autocratic regime that had high positions given to family members. He had US economic aid he helped northerners settle in the south but he was partial to Catholics which made him unfavored to Buddhist.He also didn't fulfill his promise of land reforms. His popularity decressed. -
Viet Cong
The Viet Cong was a political party and army located in South Vietnam but trained and fought under the directions and support of North Vietnam. They fought against the United States and the Vietnam government using guerrilla forces. The party supported the North by initiating plans to overthrow the South's government with open warfare and bombings. They also joined with the North while they were pushing into the South, which helped unifiy North and South Vietnam in 1975. -
Ho Chi Minh Trail
The Ho Chi Minh Trail is a complicated system of pathes through the mountain and jungle trails that lead into South Vietnam; these trails were used by the North. The trail was based off of old pathes used by Northern panhandler that traveled into the south.The trail took more than a month to go from the North to the South. The trail was used to supply troops in the South and since they wern't affected by the US bombings it soon became a well marked out map of routes, storage areas and hospitals. -
Agent Orange
Agent Orange is a herbicid and defoliant used by the US military during the Vietnam War. It was later know to have an extremely toxic substance that caused Vietnam 400,000 people to be killed, and 500,000 children born with birth defects.The purpose was to remove foliage to reveal the guerrillas troops and to force urbanization by destroying the farmlands so they must rely on the US instead of crops and farming animals.This plan back fired because most of them ended up living in slums in Saigon. -
Agent Orange
Agent Orange is a herbicid and defoliant used by the US military during the Vietnam War. It was later know to have an extremely toxic substance that caused Vietnam 400,000 people to be killed, and 500,000 children born with birth defects.The purpose was to remove foliage to reveal the guerrillas troops and to force urbanization by destroying the farmlands so they must rely on the US instead of crops and farming animals.This plan back fired because most of them ended up living in slums in Saigon. -
Assassination of Ngo Dinh Diem
Ngo Dinh Diem previously had assassination atempts made on his life but this one was sucessful. The CIA gave assurance to the generals that the US will not be protecting Diem so their coup woud be easy. So on Nov1 Diem and his brother only had one guard and was escaping through an underground passage but was caught on Nov2. They were assassinated in the back of an armoured personnel carrier with a bayonet and revolver by Captain Nguyễn Văn Nhung. -
Comments on Ngo Dinh Diem's Death
Hồ Chí Minh said, "I can scarcely believe the Americans would be so stupid."
The North Vietnamese Politburo said: "The consequences of the 1 November coup d'état will be contrary to the calculations of the U.S. imperialists... Diệm was one of the strongest individuals resisting the people and Communism. Everything that could be done in an attempt to crush the revolution was carried out by Diệm. Diệm was one of the most competent lackeys of the U.S. imperialists... Among the anti-Communists..." -
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
This recolution was sudgested by the US Congress. Its purpose was to support the president, to do whats necessary to stop any attacks against the United States and to keep international peace in Southeast Asia. This let the president freely interveen as he saw fit into the affairs in Vietnam. As the war dragged on and the American public was tired of the war, may congressmen started seeing this as letting the president have a "blanket power" to wage war. The resolution was soon repealed in 1970. -
Operation Rolling Thunder
Operation Rolling Thunder was the name of the US 2nd Air Division, Navy, and Republic of Vietnam Air Force (VNAF) aerial bombardment campaign created to go against North Vietnam. The objectives was to boost morals in Saigo, stop the North's material supply into the South without actually sending in groud troops, and to blow the North's transportation systems. The North Vietnam found effective air-to-air and ground-to-air weapons to fend from the US aviators. This proved to be a hard operation. -
Operation Rolling Thunder
Operation Rolling Thunder was the name of the US 2nd Air Division, Navy, and Republic of Vietnam Air Force (VNAF) aerial bombardment campaign created to go against North Vietnam. The objectives was to boost morals in Saigo, stop the North's material supply into the South without actually sending in groud troops, and to blow the North's transportation systems. The North Vietnam found effective air-to-air and ground-to-air weapons to fend from the US aviators. This proved to be a hard operation. -
The Tet Offensive
The Tet Offensive was executed during the Tet festival (lunar New Year). This bold idea was meant to damage the Saigon government and America's expectations for success. To diverge their attentions the North set up smaller attacks prior to the one on Tet. The communist couldn't hold a town for more then a couple of days but was just enough to bring a wave of shock to the US, since many citizens had though the war was near its end when really it was not. TV coverage on Saigo and Hue showed truth. -
My Lai Massacre
The My Lai Massacre was a mass murder that happened during the Vietnam war. This even took place in Quang Ngai, an area that was believed to be a stronghold of the Viet Cong. A group of US soldiers were sent on a search and destroy mission but found no viet cong members but still continued onto killing over 500 unarmed villagers mostly elderly women, men, children and infants. Some women were even found out to be raped before getting killed. This was intially covered up by the higher ups. -
My Lai Massacure - William Calley's comment (2009)
On August 19, 2009, Calley made a public apology for the My Lai Massacure:
"There is not a day that goes by that I do not feel remorse for what happened that day in My Lai", "I feel remorse for the Vietnamese who were killed, for their families, for the American soldiers involved and their families. I am very sorry." -
Vietnamization
Vietnamization is a policy by Richard M. Nixon during the Vietnam War that states to "expand, equip, and train South Vietnam's forces and assign to them an ever-increasing combat role, at the same time steadily reducing the number of U.S. combat troops." This refers to the US only being supports to the South and not actually fighting on land but will continue to support them in the air. This allows the US army to be in a safer position and to be able to withdraw troops when needed. -
Operation Linebacker
Operation Linebacker was the name of a US 7th Air Force and US Navy Task Force 77 aerial interdiction campaign to go against North Vietnam. The purpose was to stop or slow the transportation of supplies and materials to Nguyen Hue.This was the first non-stop bombing against the North since the bombing stop instituted by President Lyndon B. Johnson in November 1968.134 American Air crafts were shot down. Air craft usage was commonly used to stop transportation and bombardments on enemy territory. -
The Fall of Saigon - The End of the War
The capture of Saigon indicated the end of the long battle and a new period for unifiying both states into one communist Vietnam. The North lead by Senior General Văn Tiến Dũng started their final plan to attack and seize important points within the city using heavy artillary bombardment. The US was declared the losing side so early in the morning on April 30 the US embassy was evacuated by helicopter while civilions were left on their own to save themselves first.
