Nixon’s Vietnam policy

1. Chapter 13: Nixon’s WarFQ: Did Nixon achieve ‘Peace with honour’? Nixon’s Vietnam policy • Bombing: A secret bombing campaign began on the Ho Chi Minh trail. This involved bombing of neutral Cambodia. • Pacification: Basing United States personnel in villages so that they could work with and assist the South Vietnamese in their daily lives, thus improving relations between the Americans and the South Vietnamese people (winning them over) • Vietnamization: The gradual removal of United States troops and their replacement with South Vietnamese troops. The USA would continue to supply weaponry to Sth Vietnam. • Phoenix Programme: The United States trained South Vietnamese agents to infiltrate the Viet Cong and compile information for arrests. There was no corruption which saw innocent people suffer, however Phoenix did harm the Viet Cong. Peace Talks • Due to protests Nixon was under pressure to reach a settlement (Boosted by the My Lai massacre of 1968 when over 300 Sth Vietnamese villagers were murdered by US soldiers). • From Feb 1970 Henry Kissinger began talks with Le Duc Tho of Nth Vietnam. The talks were on the make-up of the South Vietnamese government.

2. Chapter 13: Nixon’s WarFQ: Did Nixon achieve ‘Peace with honour’? Invasion of Cambodia and Laos: • April 1970 Nixon ordered troops into Cambodia to attack communist bases. • In 1971 the South Vietnamese army with US air support invaded Laos and tried to cut the Ho Chi Minh trail. • Both of these set off new protests in the USA against the war The NVA strikes: • In response to the Americans and to strengthen their own bargaining position the NVA launched a major invasion of South Vietnam in March 1972. This lasted for several months and the communists made many gains. Ceasefire: • In October 1972 Kissinger and Le Duc Tho agreed on a draft treaty. President Thieu demanded amendments and the talks about the treaty went until December. • In order to speed up the process Nixon ordered a massive bombing attack on North Vietnam from mid-December. This “Christmas” bombing helped to bring about a ceasefire which was as signed Paris on 27 January 1973.

3. Chapter 15: The Fall of SaigonFQ: Why did the Saigon regime fall so rapidly to the NVA? American Withdrawl • Despite the ceasefire of 1973 the struggle between North and South never really stopped. From 1973 the South Vietnamese army was fighting on its own with the use of American weaponry. • The USA wanted to forget the Vietnam war as soon as possible. • In August 1974 Nixon resigned over the Watergate scandal. His successor President Ford was keen to divorce the USA from Vietnam and from March 1975 no further American aid was given to Indochina. The fall of Saigon • During 1974 the NVA attacked South Vietnam’s northern provinces. As each collapsed they came closer to Saigon. • An airlift removing American citizens and friends from Saigon city took place. • Many others who wanted to escape couldn’t and there were desperate scenes of people trying to escape in the streets Saigon fell on April 30 1975. The second Indochina war was over.

4. Things that peeved the Vietnamese: Post Geneva Conference 1954