The Vietnam War by Abbie Lairson

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The Vietnam War

Published on Dec 12, 2018

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By: Abbie Lairson

When Japan surrendered to the Allies in 1945, they gave up Vietnam.
French troops returned to Vietnam to gain control back and they drove the Vietminh into hiding.
When the fighting escalated, France appealed to the U.S. for help.
Even though the United States opposed colonialism, they feared communism more.
Eisenhower decided to aid the french and defended his decision with the domino theory, which is the idea that if Vietnam fell to communism, the rest of Southeast Asia would follow.

On August 2, 1964, Johnson announced that North Vietnamese torpedo boats had fired on two U.S. destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin. Two days later, another attack was reported.
President Johnson asked Congress for the authority to defend American forces and allies in Southeast Asia.
Congress agreed and passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution that authorized the president to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the United States forces and to prevent further aggression.

For Vietcong, North Vietnamese support was a major factor for winning.
North Vietnam sent arms and supplies south by a way of a network of jungle paths known as the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
The trail wound through Cambodia and Laos, bypassing the border between North and South Vietnam.

Opposition towards the war began to grow as the months passed.
Despite all of the valid points the people opposed to the war made, Johnson was determined to continue fighting. He recognized this as a resistance to communism.
He was not alone in his views, and the nation divided into to different camps.
The Doves wanted the United States to leave Vietnam, and the Hawks wanted the nation to stay and fight.

On January 30, 1968, during the Vietnamese New Year known as Tet, the Vietcong and the North Vietnamese launched a massive surprise attack.
In the Tet Offensive, guerrilla fighters attacked most American airbases in South Vietnam and most of the major cities.
Vietcong even fought their way into the American embassy in Saigon.

When Nixon was elected president, he began Vietnamization.
This was the process of the gradual withdraw of the United States troops while the South Vietnamese assumed more of the fighting.
He announced the withdrawal of 25,000 soldiers in June.

In April 1970, Nixon announced that American troops had invaded Cambodia to destroy Vietcong bases there.
A lot of people believed this invasion expanded the war, which set off man protests.
On May 4, 1970, Ohio National Guard soldiers armed with tear gas and rifles fired at Kent State University, killing four students

America paid a heavy price for the involvement in the Vietnam war.
There was an estimated $173 billion in direct costs. Approximately 58,000 young Americans died, and around 300,000 were injured.
An estimated 1 million North and South Vietnamese soldiers died, as did millions of civilians.

While the U.S. aided the French, the Vietminh used hit-and-run and ambush tactics. These are tactics of guerrillas.
They used irregular troops who blend into the civilian population and are difficult for regular armies to fight.
A guerrilla is a member of an armed band that carries out surprise attacks and sabotage rather than open warfare.

An important event came from the mountain town of Dien Bien Phu.
By taking control of the town, the French planned to cut the Vietminh's supply lines and force them into open battle.
A huge Vietminh force quickly followed and bombarded the town.
On May 7, 1954, the French forces fell to the Vietminh and the defeat convinced the French to make peace and withdraw from Indochina.