"When I grew up, in Taiwan, the Korean War was seen as a good war, where America protected Asia. It was sort of an extension of World War II. And it was, of course, the peak of the Cold War. People in Taiwan were generally proAmerican. The Korean War made Japan. And then the Vietnam War made Taiwan. There is some truth to that."
- Ang Lee
- Ang Lee
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
Summary: The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975.
•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
Summary: The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975.
A Divided Country
•South Vietnam was led by a Catholic named Ngo Dinh Diem
•The mainly Buddhist south had opposition in the form of the National Liberation Front (NLF) and the Viet Cong (a guerrilla force)
•The North (Ho Chi Minh) supported both of these groups
•The north never accepted the Geneva agreement of 1954
Summary: The VC (Viet Cong) operated in south Vietnam in small sanctions. The North constantly tried to support these small groups of VC. There were essentially two different civil wars occuring in the north and the south. The concern was that if the South when communist, so would everyone else (Domino theory).
•The mainly Buddhist south had opposition in the form of the National Liberation Front (NLF) and the Viet Cong (a guerrilla force)
•The North (Ho Chi Minh) supported both of these groups
•The north never accepted the Geneva agreement of 1954
Summary: The VC (Viet Cong) operated in south Vietnam in small sanctions. The North constantly tried to support these small groups of VC. There were essentially two different civil wars occuring in the north and the south. The concern was that if the South when communist, so would everyone else (Domino theory).
American Involvement in Vietnam
•U.S. saw this as another situation in which containment was necessary (SEATO)
•The U.S. had supported the French (military advisors)
•Kennedy increased troops in 1962 from 500-10,000
•CIA overthrows Diem in 1963 (corruptness)
Summary: The Americans saw the situation in Vietnam as a necessity to be a part of. In order to get involved, Kennedy increased the troops from 500 to 10,000 in 1962.
•The U.S. had supported the French (military advisors)
•Kennedy increased troops in 1962 from 500-10,000
•CIA overthrows Diem in 1963 (corruptness)
Summary: The Americans saw the situation in Vietnam as a necessity to be a part of. In order to get involved, Kennedy increased the troops from 500 to 10,000 in 1962.
The Gulf of Tonkin Incident, 1964
•A fabricated incident was set up; an American destroyer (USS Maddox) was torpedoed
•Led President Johnson to install the Tonkin Gulf Resolution
•Lead to the commitment of regular ground troops and air support
•200,000 troops in 1965 - 600,000 in 1968
Summary: The Gulf of Tonkin incident (or the USS Maddox incident) is the name given to two separate confrontations, one actual and one false, involving North Vietnam and the United States in the waters of the Gulf of Tonkin. The Tonkin Gulf Resolution was led by President Johnson after this incident. By allowing this to happen, he essentially started the Vietnam War.
•Led President Johnson to install the Tonkin Gulf Resolution
•Lead to the commitment of regular ground troops and air support
•200,000 troops in 1965 - 600,000 in 1968
Summary: The Gulf of Tonkin incident (or the USS Maddox incident) is the name given to two separate confrontations, one actual and one false, involving North Vietnam and the United States in the waters of the Gulf of Tonkin. The Tonkin Gulf Resolution was led by President Johnson after this incident. By allowing this to happen, he essentially started the Vietnam War.
The Tet Offensive, 1968
•Offensive launched by the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) in 1968
•Surprises Americans
•Is played up as a major victory for the North although very little is achieved
•Public relations victory
•Anti-war demonstrations increase as a result
Summary: The Tet Offensive was a military campaign during the Vietnam War that was launched on January 30, 1968 by forces of the Viet Cong and North Vietnam against South Vietnam, the United States, and their allies. It was a campaign of surprise attacks that were launched against military and civilian command and control centers throughout South Vietnam, during a period when no attacks were supposed to take place
•Surprises Americans
•Is played up as a major victory for the North although very little is achieved
•Public relations victory
•Anti-war demonstrations increase as a result
Summary: The Tet Offensive was a military campaign during the Vietnam War that was launched on January 30, 1968 by forces of the Viet Cong and North Vietnam against South Vietnam, the United States, and their allies. It was a campaign of surprise attacks that were launched against military and civilian command and control centers throughout South Vietnam, during a period when no attacks were supposed to take place