Vietnam War
Objectives and strategies
NORTH VIETNAM
Objective:
● Unification of North and South Vietnam under Communist government
Strategies: (w/ VC)
1. Convince the people of South Vietnam to get rid of their government
2. Destroy morale of the ARVN
3. Inflict enough damage on the USA to convince it to withdraw
4. Never give in
VIETCONG
Objective:
● Build up support in South Vietnam in order to help achieve North Vietnam’s objective
SOUTH VIETNAM
Objective:
● Keep control over South Vietnam and keep US support
Strategies:
1. Remove the Vietcong from villages
2. Defend South Vietnam from invasions
3. Rely on massive amounts of US money
US
Objective:
● Stop communists from taking over in South Vietnam
Strategies:
1. Force North Vietnam to give up the war
2. Make North Vietnam agree an acceptable solution to the conflict
3. Make sure the USSR or China are not drawn into the conflict
4. Protect South Vietnam while building support among its population
1.The struggle against France for independence 1945-54
What was the First Indochina War?
● December 1946 to August 1954
● The First Indochina War saw the Viet Minh and French colonial forces battle for control
of Vietnam
, - The Viet Minh wanted Vietnam to be independent while the French seeked to
colonise Vietnam once again
Causes of the war from 1945-54 (First Indochina War)
● Tension and hostility between the Viet Minh and the French led to the outbreak of the
First Indochina War in late 1946
Battle of Dien Bien Phu
VIETMINH
Who were the Vietminh?
● A national liberation movement by Ho Chi Minh in 1941
What were the aims of the Vietminh?
● To drive the French out of Dien Bien Phu
● Fight against French and Japanese control of Vietnam
GENERAL GIAP
● A war general who led the Vietminh at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu
● Was in command of all police and internal security forces and commander in chief of the
armed forces
GIAP’S TACTICS
● Camouflage
● Consistently bringing more men
● Surrounded French base - closer little by little
● Used trenches and tunnels to get closer to the French while being protected
INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMACY
The art or practice of conducting international relations, as in negotiating alliances, treaties, and
agreements.
● The US, China and Russia tried to negotiate the end of the Indochina wars
FRENCH DEFEAT
● The French were defeated because they significantly underestimated the Vietminh
● They thought they had superior military skills and technology
- Set up camp around village in open space to lure Vietminh out → Vietminh
surrounded their camp
- Vietminh came through tunnels and trenches
- Vietminh soldiers kept arriving → there ended up being 70,000 Vietminh
surrounding village, 5x French soldiers
- Vietminh pushed the French back and attacked their posts one by one until
French occupied a very small area
, ● The French surrendered 7th May 1954
Immediate consequences of Dien Bien Phu defeat
● Geneva agreement (July 21, 1954)
- Providing for a temporary division of the country between a
communist-dominated north and a US-supported south.
2. US policy and intervention 1954-64
AIMS OF THE GENEVA CONFERENCE
● It was intended to settle outstanding issues resulting from the Korean War and the First
Indochina War.
● The terms were:
1. Cease-fire
2. French troops to withdraw from Vietnam
3. Vietnam divided into North and South Vietnam at the 17th parallel (w/ a
demilitarised zone between the two)
→ North was Communist (led by Ho Chi Minh)
→ South was Democratic (led by Ngo Dinh Diem)
4. Laos and Cambodia = independent states
5. National elections to be held in two years (by July 1956) throughout Indochina
6. No foreign bases
→ President Eisenhower did not respect this as he sent American troops in to
replace the French
7. Freedom of movement between North and South Vietnam for 300 days
→ resulted in fluxes of refugees moving North and (mostly) South
US REACTION TO THE GENEVA CONFERENCE
● They agreed to the elections but they knew Ho Chi Minh would most likely win
● They didn’t want to follow through bc of concern for the Domino Theory
● They weren’t allowed foreign bases but the US broke this law
DOMINO THEORY
● The US leaders were worried that Vietnam would be the start of a chain of communist
takeovers in the whole region
● If Vietnam became communist, then it might topple a whole row of countries
FORMATION OF SOUTH VIETNAM - three key factors of how it formed
● French withdrawal
- When the French withdrew, there was a lack of power that needed to be filled, so
South Vietnam was introduced as ‘democratic’, with a lot of its power coming
from US support
Objectives and strategies
NORTH VIETNAM
Objective:
● Unification of North and South Vietnam under Communist government
Strategies: (w/ VC)
1. Convince the people of South Vietnam to get rid of their government
2. Destroy morale of the ARVN
3. Inflict enough damage on the USA to convince it to withdraw
4. Never give in
VIETCONG
Objective:
● Build up support in South Vietnam in order to help achieve North Vietnam’s objective
SOUTH VIETNAM
Objective:
● Keep control over South Vietnam and keep US support
Strategies:
1. Remove the Vietcong from villages
2. Defend South Vietnam from invasions
3. Rely on massive amounts of US money
US
Objective:
● Stop communists from taking over in South Vietnam
Strategies:
1. Force North Vietnam to give up the war
2. Make North Vietnam agree an acceptable solution to the conflict
3. Make sure the USSR or China are not drawn into the conflict
4. Protect South Vietnam while building support among its population
1.The struggle against France for independence 1945-54
What was the First Indochina War?
● December 1946 to August 1954
● The First Indochina War saw the Viet Minh and French colonial forces battle for control
of Vietnam
, - The Viet Minh wanted Vietnam to be independent while the French seeked to
colonise Vietnam once again
Causes of the war from 1945-54 (First Indochina War)
● Tension and hostility between the Viet Minh and the French led to the outbreak of the
First Indochina War in late 1946
Battle of Dien Bien Phu
VIETMINH
Who were the Vietminh?
● A national liberation movement by Ho Chi Minh in 1941
What were the aims of the Vietminh?
● To drive the French out of Dien Bien Phu
● Fight against French and Japanese control of Vietnam
GENERAL GIAP
● A war general who led the Vietminh at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu
● Was in command of all police and internal security forces and commander in chief of the
armed forces
GIAP’S TACTICS
● Camouflage
● Consistently bringing more men
● Surrounded French base - closer little by little
● Used trenches and tunnels to get closer to the French while being protected
INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMACY
The art or practice of conducting international relations, as in negotiating alliances, treaties, and
agreements.
● The US, China and Russia tried to negotiate the end of the Indochina wars
FRENCH DEFEAT
● The French were defeated because they significantly underestimated the Vietminh
● They thought they had superior military skills and technology
- Set up camp around village in open space to lure Vietminh out → Vietminh
surrounded their camp
- Vietminh came through tunnels and trenches
- Vietminh soldiers kept arriving → there ended up being 70,000 Vietminh
surrounding village, 5x French soldiers
- Vietminh pushed the French back and attacked their posts one by one until
French occupied a very small area
, ● The French surrendered 7th May 1954
Immediate consequences of Dien Bien Phu defeat
● Geneva agreement (July 21, 1954)
- Providing for a temporary division of the country between a
communist-dominated north and a US-supported south.
2. US policy and intervention 1954-64
AIMS OF THE GENEVA CONFERENCE
● It was intended to settle outstanding issues resulting from the Korean War and the First
Indochina War.
● The terms were:
1. Cease-fire
2. French troops to withdraw from Vietnam
3. Vietnam divided into North and South Vietnam at the 17th parallel (w/ a
demilitarised zone between the two)
→ North was Communist (led by Ho Chi Minh)
→ South was Democratic (led by Ngo Dinh Diem)
4. Laos and Cambodia = independent states
5. National elections to be held in two years (by July 1956) throughout Indochina
6. No foreign bases
→ President Eisenhower did not respect this as he sent American troops in to
replace the French
7. Freedom of movement between North and South Vietnam for 300 days
→ resulted in fluxes of refugees moving North and (mostly) South
US REACTION TO THE GENEVA CONFERENCE
● They agreed to the elections but they knew Ho Chi Minh would most likely win
● They didn’t want to follow through bc of concern for the Domino Theory
● They weren’t allowed foreign bases but the US broke this law
DOMINO THEORY
● The US leaders were worried that Vietnam would be the start of a chain of communist
takeovers in the whole region
● If Vietnam became communist, then it might topple a whole row of countries
FORMATION OF SOUTH VIETNAM - three key factors of how it formed
● French withdrawal
- When the French withdrew, there was a lack of power that needed to be filled, so
South Vietnam was introduced as ‘democratic’, with a lot of its power coming
from US support
