The Vietnam War or the trauma of the first War lost by the United States of America

Antoine                                                                                                                                                                              

De Rore

L3 Histoire  

American Civilization

Subject: The Vietnam War or the trauma of the first War lost by the United States of America

                                                                     [pic 1]

           [pic 2]

[pic 3][pic 4]

Summary

I- The Origins of the Vietnam War (1954-1963)

        A) The foreign origins (1954-1959)

        B) The immediate origins (1961-1963)

II- The progress of the Vietnam War (1964-1975)

        A) The USA in the Vietnam War (1964-1967)

        B) The TET Offensive and the retreat of USA (1968-1969)

        C) The extension of the conflict and the American failure (1970-1973)

III- Consequences of the Vietnam War

        A) Political Consequences

        B) Economic and Material consequences

        C) Human and Moral consequences

« Vietnam was as much an experience of laboratory as a war. » - John Pilger

      The Vietnam War was entering in the continuity of the War in Indochina, which lasted from 1946 till 1954 and is representative conflicts by interposed countries where is engage the USSR and the USA during the Cold war. Indeed, The War in Indochina is an armed conflict which took place from 1946 till 1954 in French Indochina (current Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia). It ends in the dissolution of this Federation, as well as in the release of the French colonial Empire of the countries composing it and in the division into two rival States of the Vietnamese territory. This conflict made more than 500 000 victims. It is during this War that taken place the famous battle of Dien Bien Phu or the French legionaries in spite of their courage had slaughtered. The communist aspect of the Viêt Minh, the release of the Korean War in 1950, the advent of Communist China in 1949 provided an important logistic help for Viêt Minh and the confrontation more and more admitted between the United States and the allied countries of the USSR, finished getting for the War in Indochina, the face of a representative armed conflict of the conflicts by country interposed during the Cold war. Further to the Geneva Agreements, signed in July, 1954 by the General de Gaulle, the French people leave the North of Vietnam (Tonkin) and divide Vietnam into two, limit being the 17th parallel. The Democratic Republic of Vietnam in the North, communist, was created. The center as well as the South was under French administration, with elections planned in 1956 for the reunification of the country. However, in 1955, « a coup d’état » in the South of Vietnam organized by president Diem, a Catholic who does not accept the Communist Republic of the North-Vietnam, created a Republic of Vietnam supported financially, and militarily by the United States. The French people leaved definitively Indochina because of the events in Algeria. This is the beginning of the Vietnam War.

      So, we can ask ourselves, how the Vietnam War is a representative conflict of the tensions existing between the western block and the Eastern bloc and what are the consequences of this War? First of all, I will deal with the origins of the conflict, then the progress of the Vietnam War and finally, the consequences of the Vietnam War.

I- The origins of the Vietnam War (1954-1963)

1. The foreign origins (1954-1959)  

       Indeed, Asia did not wait for the break between the USSR of Stalin and The USA of Harry Truman with the "Cold War", inaugurated on March 5th, 1946 by a speech of Winston Churchill to Fulton, or he denounced the implementation of the "Iron Curtain" of Stalin, to be the place of confrontations between the communist ideology and the western capitalist. China seen for example the confrontation, since 1931, of the nationalist Tchang Kaï-Tchek and the communist of Mao Tse Tung although these created a union during the Second World War against Japan which invade China since 1937. The nationalist Party receives weapons of Washington, Mao receives weapons from Moscow, there is already here a kind of conflict interposed between Russia and the USA. In 1949 Beijing is taken by Mao and the Popular Republic of China is decreed. A second conflict of the same kind bursts between North Korea supported by Russia and South Korea supported by the USA, between 1950 and 1953. Even there it’s a conflict by interposed country between Both Major powers. Japan, Filipina and Formosa are the allies of the United States. China, North Korea, and since 1954 the Republic of North-Vietnam are the allies of Moscow. Furthermore, the difficult application of the Geneva Agreements of July 21st, 1954 because of the refusal of the South Vietnam, supported by the USA and managed by Diem who refuses to envisage the reunification of both Vietnam from its « coup d’états in 1955 ». It leads to the birth in December, 1954, of the FLN by Ho Chi Minh so replacing Viet-Minh for the independence and against the anti-communist dictatorship of Diem. The armed forces of the FLN or Vietcong’s is fast supported by the North-Vietnamese which received weapons by the USSR and China. They practise since 1959 a guerrilla warfare against Diem. This is when intervenes the USA.

1. The immediate origins (1961-1963)

     Indeed, the "domino theory" defending the idea that a country should not fall under the communist influence, otherwise it will entail all the bordering countries in its fall as it was the case for the Popular Republic of China. The USA decide to pass in an unlimited commitment contrary to what was planned by the Geneva Agreement as the article on this matter on herodote.net illustrates It: " the United States dissociate themselves from the final statement but agree not to hinder the agreements while reserving the right to intervene in case of communist aggression. " President D.D Eisenhower will say about the theory of dominoes : « You have a row of dominoes set up, you knock over the first one, and what will happen to the last one is a certainty that I will go over very quickly » (www.history.com). In November, 1963, it raised a military « coup d’états » in the South Vietnam ending by the murder of Diem, with the complicity of CIA. Indeed, the USA multiply the secret military operations in Vietnam which aim at the FLN with the complicity of the American President, John Fitzgerald Kennedy. From the spring 1961, the official commitment of the USA in the second War of Indochina, operations of sabotage and piece of information was organized in the North of the 17th parallel when John F. Kennedy, send 400 servicemen in Vietnam to support the army of Vietnam of the South as instructors. It had only been designed as support of the military councillors, but was in charge from 1964 to commanding all the army. Diêm is murdered with his brother on November 2nd, 1963. It allowed the USA to have an advantage on the rebels of the Viêt-Cong who didn’t have highly technical armed system, but bet much more on the tenacity, the iron discipline and the pugnacity of the troops and the officers. Besides, contrary to the South Vietnam army led by the American councillors, with corrupt officers, the communist military established themselves in the population "like a fish in the water", according to the slogan of Mao Tse Tung.

...