Ch+31+Vietnam+War

The United States of America would be involved in Vietnam from 1954, when the French left the country, to 1973, when American forces finally pulled out of Saigon. The intensity of the war would grow from aiding allies in the southern part of the country to a full scale war of attrition. The war itself was a result of America’s desire to contain the spread of communism. China had begun to funnel both supplies and communist ideology into North Vietnam. America feared that the communist ideals would spread to neighboring Southeast Asian countries and set out to combat the communist forces. The Vietnam war had begun.

The Enemy After the French were forced out of Vietnam by the Vietminh, the //Geneva Conferenc//e was organized. In this conference, Vietnam was divided by the 17 th parallel. The Vietminh would control a communist nation to the north of this divide. The southern sector was run by a capitalist regime. The North established a capital at Hanoi. The North was easier to govern and had a higher population density. It was controlled by [|Ho Chi Minh]. In 1960, a force known as the //National Liberation Fron//t (NLF) began attacking the south’s government. This was alarming for America. Although throughout the war northern forces suffered more numerous casualties, their soldiers and government were far more committed to the war effort than most Americans. For this reason, and the use of unconventional use of guerilla warfare tactics, Northern Vietnam was able to resist the onslaught of the superior technology of the American Military.

The War At first, American forces only sought to aide their southern allies. Slowly but surely, as the fighting continued, American involvement in the conflict began to escalate. [|President Lyndon Johnson] responded to the aggression with the passage of the //Gulf of Tonkin Resolution//, which authorized Johnson to “take all necessary measures” to resist the Vietminh. This aggression culminated on January 31, 1968 when the communist army launched a large scale attack against American bases in South Vietnam. This attack is known as the //Tet Offensive// (January 31 is the Vietnamese new year, or “Tet”). Although American troops repelled the offensive and inflict large blows on the communist troops, the battle was perceived as a defeat by the American public. By the late 1960’s the war had developed into a War of Attrition. This meant that territory was not the objective; inflicting casualties on the enemy was. As this war of attrition progressed, America began to transfer more control to their South Vietnamese allies. This process was called //V [|ietnamization] //. In addition to the brutal jungle combat, this process was continued until American troops began to leave the country. American involvement officially ended on January 27, 1973. The South Vietnamese capital, Saigon, finally fell on April 30, 1975.

The Home Front The Vietnam War was an enormously unpopular conflict for the American home front. It was commonly viewed as an unjust war that America had involved itself in. Opposition to the war, or the Peace Movement, ran parallel to the growing counterculture of the era, or the //New Left//. Many students participated in anti-war rallies at their universities. One such rally ended tragically: the notorious //Kent State protest//. In this instance, the National Guard opened fire on protesters, killing four. This event fueled the anti-war/government movement and protests sprang up around the nation in response to the killings. The war was also enormously expensive. The government poured massive sums of money into it. This funding diverted revenue from domestic concerns, hindering the effectiveness of President Johnson's Great Society programs//.// Until the end of the war, the counterculture was vehemently opposed to American involvement in Vietnam.

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