The History of Vietnam War - Research Paper Example

History of Vietnam War OUTLINE I. Introduction II. Origin of the War a. French colonization of Vietnam b. First Indonesian War c. The Geneva Accord d. Division of Vietnam into South and North Vietnam III. U.S involvement into the war a. U.S. military aid to French occupation in Vietnam b. Formation of National Liberation Front c. U.S. military intervention d. Operation Rolling Thunder IV. The Attrition strategy a. Creation of “free-fire zones” b. Increased number of dead soldiers c. Anti-war protests in the U.S. V. The Tet Offensive a. Beginning of U.S. – North Vietnam peace talks VI. End of the War a. Vietnamization b. Signing of Paris Peace Agreement c. Total withdrawal of American forces from Vietnam d. Capture of Saigon and formation of Socialist Republic of Vietnam History of Vietnam War INTRODUCTION Vietnam War was one of the most expensive wars in the history of the world in terms of materials and loss of lives. In fact, Vietnam War was the fourth costliest war in terms of loss of lives that United States has ever been involved. The war registered 45,943 U.S. battle deaths, with 1333 men going missing and 10,298 dead of non-battle causes. In terms of money, United Stated government lost 138.9 billion dollars, which is only comparable to the amount of money spent in World War II. South Vietnam, an ally of United States in the war, lost 166,000 soldiers and an estimated 415, 000 civilians. On the other hand, it is estimated that Northern Vietnam and Viet Cong combined registered more than 937,000 deaths. Other than loss of lives and resources, the war also witnessed the loss of morals among soldiers at the war front. Citizens also lost faith in their governments. This was largely affected the Americans. During the war, American soldiers became undisciplined. They engaged in drugs and racial conflict. Generally, all the warring parties suffered from the war. This paper looks into the history of Vietnam War and the events that lead to the war in Vietnam. The paper discusses the origin of Vietnam War, the entry of United States into the War, the strategy of attrition, the Tet offensive, and the end of the War. ORIGIN OF THE WAR Vietnam had been colonized by the French since 19th century. During the Second World War, Japan attacked and established its authority of Vietnam. In the course of this struggle, Ho Chi Minh, a Vietnamese nationalist, formed Viet Minh Party to help him fight the Japanese and the French occupation of Vietnam. He was assisted by Soviet and the Chinese communists. In August 1945, the Japanese were overpowered by the Viet Minh and they withdrew their forces from Vietnam leaving the French in control of Vietnam. During this time, Viet Minh’s superiority was on the rise. They captured the northern town Hanoi and declared independence of Democratic Republic of Vietnam in September 1945 with Ho Chi Minh as the president (Christian, 31). The French soldiers were pushed to the south. In July 1949, they formed the state of Southern Vietnam with its capital in Saigon under the leadership of Bao Dai. The war between the French and the Viet Minh called the First Indonesian War continued for the next eight years. The war ended in May 1954 when the French forces were defeated by the Viet Minh forces at Dien Bien Phu. The ensuing peace talks in Geneva led to the signing of the Geneva Peace Accord. The Accord divided Vietnam into North Vietnam under the leadership of Ho and South Vietnam under the leadership of Bao. The Geneva Accord also stipulated that nationwide elections were to be held in 1956. The elections were aimed at unifying North and South Vietnam into one nation. However, in 1955,  Ngo Dinh Diem, a strong anticommunist, ousted Bao as the leader of Southern Vietnam and formed the Government of the Republic of Vietnam with him as the president (Le Duan, 51). U.S INVOLVEMENT INTO THE WAR United States joined the struggle in 1950 when President Truman assisted the French forces in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. United States provided the French forces with materials and a Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG) without being actively involved in the war. President Truman wanted to stop the spread of communism and to encourage participation of France in the international defense of Europe. At around 1954, the American Government was shouldering about 75% of the cost incurred by the French in the war (Dommen, 131). In addition, President Dwight D. Eisenhower promised his support to Diem. Diem received military and police equipments and training from United States that helped him crack down the Viet Cong who were sympathizing with the Viet Minh. The Viet Cong reiterated by attacking Diem’s regime. They were supported by other anti-Diem groups. By 1959, the Viet Cong and its allies were fighting a real war with the South Vietnamese soldiers. In addition, North Vietnam started sending soldiers towards the south to support the Viet Cong. As time went on, Viet Cong intensified their insurgency towards Diem’s government by mounting larger assaults with battalions and larger infantry units. Diem’s administration became unpopular in Southern Vietnam. In December 1960, his opponents formed the National Liberation Front (NLF). NLF was formed by both proponents and opponents of communism in South Vietnam. The group was formed to oppose against Diem’s administration. Although the majority of NLF members were non-communist, United States viewed it as an operative of Viet Minh in South Vietnam. As a result, United States sent more military advisors under the banner of MAAG to the assist Southern Vietnam. Acting on the advice of MAAG, President John F. Kennedy increased America’s support of South Vietnam though he did not commit to a large-scale military intervention. President Kennedy increased both economic and military support to South Vietnam. By 1962, United States had about 9000 soldiers in Vietnam. Diem’s administration continued to lose popularity among the southern Vietnamese. The regime had become increasingly dictatorial, more family-based and lacked legitimacy. Diem attacked Southern Buddhists and suppressed riots using his soldiers. This made President Kennedy rethink his support for Diem’s administration. In 1st November 1963, Diem was ousted from the presidency and assassinated by a coup organized by military leaders in Southern Vietnam. After the withdrawal of Diem, Kennedy was assassinated three weeks later. By this time, there were about 16,000 American military advisors in Southern Vietnam (Dunnigan, and Nofi, 284). John F. Kennedy was succeeded by Lyndon B. Johnson. Like his predecessor, President Johnson increased United States economic and military aid to Southern Vietnam. This was motivated by the growing political instability in Southern Vietnam and America’s resolve to stop the spread of communism in Vietnam. The generals who succeeded Diem were ineffective. The Viet Cong assisted by Ho’s administration were gaining grounds in the south. In August 1964, torpedo boats belonging to North Vietnam attacked an American Vessel in the Gulf of Tonkin. Unconfirmed reports suggested that there Northern Vietnamese boats also attacked another American vessel after days after the first attack. Shortly after, two United States installations in the south were attacked resulting in death of eight American soldiers. United States responded by commanding intensified air raid on Viet Cong and Viet Minh’s troops. The operation was branded the Operation Rolling Thunder (Tilford, 71). This period also witnessed deployment of American combat soldiers in Vietnam in 7th March 1965. By June 1965, there were more than 82,000 American combat soldiers in Vietnam under the command of General William Westmoreland. By the end of July 1965, United States sent other 100,000 soldiers to Vietnam. This was followed by deployment of another 100,000 American soldiers in 1966 and entry of Thailand, New Zealand, South Korea and Australia into the war though at a smaller magnitude. At around November 1967, there were over half a million American soldiers operating in Vietnam. THE ATTRITION STRATEGY Unlike in the north where United States attacked the Viet Minh’s territories by air, war in the south was largely fought on the ground under the leadership of General Westmoreland. The American soldiers in the south, in collaboration with South Vietnamese forces under the leadership of General Nguyen Van Thieu, targeted at killing the enemy forces instead of capturing territories. This was called the policy of attrition. By 1966, “free-fire zones” were created in Southern Vietnam. This was to allow heavy bombing and shelling by B-52s, America’s jet bombers. In these “free-fire zones” all innocent civilians were evacuated leaving behind only the enemy. Despite the loss in the war, the Viet Minhs and Viet Congs continued fighting. In the meantime, Ho’s camp regroup together strengthened its air force with the help of the Soviet and the Chinese (Nulty, 65). Towards the end of 1967, United States had lost about over 15,000 soldiers to the war while more than 100,000 were wounded. At this point, the American soldiers had lost trust with their government. They could not understand why the government was still keeping them in Vietnam. As a result, there was deterioration of discipline in the American camp. American soldiers resulted to drug use, racial conflict mutinies, low morale and anxiety of not being killed in Vietnam. The soldiers even attacked the officers. In October 1967, there was a massive protest against the War in United States. More than 35,000 demonstrators were calling for an end to the war. THE TET OFFENSIVE In January 1968 during the Tet, over 80,000 Viet Congs and Viet Minh’s soldiers attacked almost all large towns in Southern Vietnam in what was referred to as the Tet Offensive. The communists lost heavily. Half of their men were killed. Viet Cong’s insurgent base was also significantly weakened. During this time, American involvement in the war had become unpopular with the American public. As a result, President Johnson declined to increase American soldiers to Vietnam despite a request by General Westmoreland for additional 200,000 troops. In a dramatic turn of events, President Johnson initiated peace talks between United States and North Vietnam on 3rd May 1968. END OF THE WAR Richard M. Nixon took over the presidency of United States from Johnson. Johnson decided not to seek reelection. Instead, he decided to dedicate his time in search for a solution to the Vietnam crisis. The American casualties in Vietnam had significantly increased. In order to minimize the number of American soldiers dying from the war, Nixon order a programmed withdrawal of American troops from Vietnam. At first, a total of twenty five thousand American soldiers were withdrawn from Vietnam. This occurred after President Nixon had met with South Vietnamese President Thieu. In addition, he increased aerial strikes and artillery shelling while gradually reducing ground combat. American soldiers also started relinquishing ground operations to South Vietnamese soldiers in a process called Vietnamization. During the process of Vietnamization, majority of military bases formerly occupied by Americans and military equipments were handed over to the Southern Vietnamese forces. By 1971, American soldiers in Vietnam had reduced to about 156,000 from over half a million just two years earlier. As the war continued, there was increased mass protest by American public calling for an end to the war. Questions were raised as to why United States was engaging in other combative operations such as an attack on Hamburger Hills in May 1969 and invasion of Cambodia in April 1970. In Vietnam, there was growing indiscipline among American soldiers. In March 1972, the North Vietnamese troops attacked South Vietnam in an operation called Easter Offensive. This followed attacks of North Vietnam and Haiphong Harbor in early 1972. During this time, United States and North Vietnam were engaging in peace talks. Henry Kissinger, United States Secretary of State and North Vietnamese representatives drafted a peace treaty to end the war, but it was rejected by South Vietnamese. In order to force negotiations with North Vietnam, United States bombed Hanoi and Haiphong in December 1972. The bombings were referred to as the “Christmas Bombings”. On January 27, 1973, United States and North Vietnam signed a Peace Agreement in Paris. United States withdrew all its forces from Vietnam after the signing of the Peace Agreement. In addition, the American prisoners of war were returned by April 1973. Despite the withdrawal of American troops from Vietnam and signing of the Paris Peace Agreement, the war North Vietnam and South Vietnam continued. In 30 April 1975, North Vietnam captured Saigon spelling the end of the prolonged Vietnam War. In 1976, North and South Vietnam were unified again as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Herring, 103). It was estimated that the war resulted to death of over two million Vietnamese while three million others were wounded. The economy and infrastructure in Vietnam deteriorated during the war. In United States, the war divided the country and weakened the economy. United States lost many soldiers estimated to be in the region of 57,939. It also suffered heavy financial loss. In addition, the American soldiers returning from the war suffered psychologically and found it hard to resume their normal lives. In conclusion, the war was extremely costly for all warring parties. Work Cited Christian, G. Appy. Vietnam: The Definitive Oral History, Told From All Sides. London: Ebury Press, 2008. Print. Dommen, Arthur J. The Indochinese Experience of the French and the Americans: Nationalism and Communism in Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. Indiana University Press, 2001. Print. Dunnigan, James & Nofi, Albert. Dirty Little Secrets of the Vietnam War: Military Information you’re not supposed to Know. St. Martin's Press, 2000. Print. Herring, George C. America's Longest War: The United States and Vietnam, 1950–1975. Boston: Massachusetts McGraw Hill, 1986. Print. Le Duan. The Vietnamese Revolution, Fundamental Problems, Essential Tasks. Hanoi: Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1970. Print. Nulty, Bernard. The Vietnam War. New York: Barnes and Noble, 1998. Print. Tilford, Earl L. Setup: What the Air Force did in Vietnam and Why. Maxwell Air Force Base AL: Air University Press, 1991. Print. Read More