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The Vietnam War: Escalation, Protest and End

The Vietnam War: Escalation, Protest and End. Operation Rolling Thunder. Feb. 1965 Vietcong forces attack a military base in South Vietnam, killing 8 Americans

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The Vietnam War: Escalation, Protest and End

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  1. The Vietnam War: Escalation, Protest and End

  2. Operation Rolling Thunder • Feb. 1965 Vietcong forces attack a military base in South Vietnam, killing 8 Americans • LBJ orders the bombing of major bases, roadways and railways, including the Ho Chi Minh Trail (a supply line of dirt roads and trails, which supplies flowed from North Vietnam through Laos and Cambodia into South Vietnam)

  3. US Troop Deployment to Vietnam

  4. Fighting the War • At first, Americans were optimistic about ending the war quickly • High Vietnamese body count led many Americans to believe we were winning • US greatly underestimated Vietcong and Vietminh resiliency • “You can kill 10 of my men for every 1 of yours, but in the end, it is you who will tire of this war” ---Ho Chi Minh

  5. The Air War • The US relied heavily on air power (cost fewer lives than ground war) • 108,000 bombing raids in 1967 • By 1967, the US dropped more bombs on Vietnam than the Allies did during all of WWII • To evade the bombs, the VC developed an extensive network of underground tunnels

  6. The Ground War • Miserable conditions • Suffocating heat, mosquitoes, leeches, etc. • Muddy trails, intense rain, jungles • Farmers by day, Vietcong by night (didn't know who the enemy was)

  7. Guerilla Tactics • Vietnamese avoided open-air battles • Relied on ambushes, hit-and-run raids and sabotage • Vietcong had 2 major advantages: 1) Knew the terrain 2) Support of the peasants who provided them with food, shelter and information

  8. The Tet Offensive, January 1968

  9. The Tet Offensive • January 1968, the Vietminh and Vietcong attacked the south simultaneously (cities, bases and the US embassy in Saigon) • Took every major southern city and surrounded major US base at Khe Sanh for 2 months • Vietnamese were ultimately pushed back and suffered large casualties, but this battle turned the tide of war and the tide of public opinion in America

  10. Impact of the Tet Offensive • President Johnson decides not to seek another term as President due to overwhelming negative response against war …I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your President.

  11. American Morale Begins to Dip • Disproportionate representation of poor people and minorities • Severe racial problems • Major drug problems • Men in combat for 12 months • Average age of a US soldier was 18

  12. Anti-War Demonstrations Columbia University1967

  13. Hell No! We Won't Go!

  14. Anti-War Demonstrations • May 4, 1970 • 4 students shot dead • 11 students wounded • Jackson StateUniversity • May 10, 1970 • 2 dead; 12 wounded Kent State University

  15. Nixon on Vietnam • 1968, Nixon ran on the idea of ending the Vietnam War “with honor” • Vietnamization—Expansion of the conflict into Cambodia (The Secret War) • Agent Orange (chemical defoliant)

  16. The Cease-fire • 1973, Cease-fire agreed to by South Vietnam, North Vietnam and US • Conditions: 1. US to remove all troops 2. North Vietnam allowed to leave troops in S.V. 3. No provision for POWs or MIAs

  17. Last US troops left South Vietnam on March 29, 1973 • 1975 North Vietnam defeats South and Vietnam is united under a communist government

  18. The Fall of Saigon April 30, 1975 America Abandons Its Embassy

  19. A United Vietnam

  20. The Costs • 58,000 Americans killed • 300,000 Americans wounded • 3,000,000 Vietnamese killed • Under funding of social programs at home (Johnson's Great Society) • US morale, trust in government and confidence destroyed

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