The conflict in Vietnam

Recap
•July 21st agreement reached between France, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.
•Vietnam was split along the 17th parallel
•However, the US refused to sign the agreement.

•The North was governed by Ho Chi Minh & the Vietnamese Communist Part.y
•The South was ruled by Ngo Dinh Diem with the figurehead emperor Bao Dai

Eisenhower, Dulles and American support
•The newly elected President Eisenhower was a firm believer in the ‘Domino Theory’.
•After Dien Bien Phu Eisenhower & his Secretary of State Dulles led the creation of an assistance programme for the South Vietnamese.
•September 1954 SEATO is formed with South Vietnam placed under its protection.
•They subverted the French colonial rule and were able to ensure it’s withdrawal by April 1956.
•Military advisors, financial aid and equipment were all supplied to Diem’s regime to prevent the first ‘Domino’ falling.

Ngo Dihn Diem & Nation Building in South Vietnam

•Diem’s regime faced vast amounts of opposition within South Vietnam, particularly politico-religious sects known as the Cao Dai & Hoa Hao.
•Through American aid he was able to overcome his opponents, either by buying them off or ruthlessly crushing them.
•October 1955 Diem holds elections to determine the President of a newly established Republic of Vietnam (RVN). Most certainly rigged he wins overwhelmingly, defeating and removing Bao Dai.
•By 1955 Diem’s regime was seemingly secure and he began a campaign to root out communist sympathisers in the rural areas of the South.
•In 1956 Diem refused to go forward with the reunification elections agreed at the Geneva Accords, cementing the division of North & South between the 17th parallel.

Ho Chi Minh &The Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV)

•Determined that Vietnam would be reunited Ho Chi Minh first concentrated on consolidating and improving the infrastructure of the North.
•In particular land reform & increased focus on agricultural production was placed at the forefront of Communist’s aims.
•Re-unification however was their primary goal and several Vietminh agents had remained in the South after the Geneva agreements.
•When Diem rejected the re-unification elections in 1956 Ho Chi Minh & the North began subverting Diem’s regime and consolidating their support in the South.

The National Liberation Front
& People’s Liberation Armed Forces

•In 1960 the communist’s in the south formed the National Liberation Front (NLF), otherwise known as the Vietcong (VC).
•Increasingly the VC drew support from the rural areas in the south and from those opposed to Diem’s corrupt regime, not just from communist sympathisers.
•They undertook a series of terrorist / freedom fighter acts actively working to bring down the southern government.
•In support the North formed the People’s Liberation Armed Forces (PLAF) who supported the VC smuggling weaponry around the DMZ down the Ho Chi Minh Trail.

President Kennedy & Increased American Involvement in Vietnam

•By 1960 it was clear that Diem’s regime was struggling to meet the new threat from the VC & PLAF.
•In 1960 over 2,500 southern government officials were assassinated and VC attacks numbered on average 100 a month.
•In 1961 Kennedy sent two advisors to Vietnam to assess the situation, Walt Rostow and Maxwell Taylor.
•Both sent back damning reports on Diem’s regime and its capability to defeat the VC.
•In a report labelled the ‘Rostow-Taylor Report’ they recommended immediate escalation of US support and in particular a programme of counter terrorism.
•US military advisors in Vietnam rose under Kennedy to over 16,000 and financial aid numbered over $400 million per year, they set about bolstering & training the South Vietnamese forces (ARVN).
Why Did Kennedy Increase US Involvement In Vietnam?

•Several key factors played into why President Kennedy increased US involvement in Vietnam, these include:

•The Bay of Pigs Fiasco
•The Neutralisation of Laos
•The Weakness of the ARVN
•Opposition to Diem’s regime
•Increased subversion from the North

These events demonstrate the inter-related nature of the Cold War, no one aspect can/should be viewed in isolation

The downfall of Diem
•By late 1963 it was clear to the American government that Diem’s regime was proving ineffective, and ultimately was turning more towards supporting the VC.
•The Strategic Hamlet Programme: Created by joint US-RVN efforts the idea was to secure South Vietnamese villages and settlements from VC infiltration.
•Barbed wire fences, watchtowers and checkpoints were created around created settlements and entire families and communities moved to be under their protection, quarantining the population from the VC.
•The idea was disastrous, it drove the settlements against Diem’s forces and the VC quickly infiltrated them.
•Buddhist Protests to Diem’s Catholic bias: Diem’s regime had always favoured Catholics, placing them in positions of power and undermining other religions.
•As a result the Buddhist temples organised a series of protests, practicing self immolation and leading demonstrations.
Diem’s reaction was extreme, sending in army forces to disperse the protestors triggering further violence and acts of brutality from the ARVN

Diem’s assasination
•Opposition to Diem continued to grow and by late 1960 included a number of influential generals among the ARVN.
•They would not act without a green light from the US however, and they received it.
•Through the CIA the US government made it clear that its support was to the Republic of Vietnam, not a single leader.
•
•On the 1st November 1963 the ARVN staged a coup, assassinating Diem and his brother Nhu. In their stead a Military Revolutionary Council was installed.
•Far from solving any issues however the situation was to deteriorate further and increasingly the US would be drawn into Vietnam for another two decades.

Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower was the 34thpresident of the United States of Americaand during the Second World War of thecommanders in chief of the allied armedforces in Europe. During his militaryservice he got the nickname‚ Ike‘. Hisforefathers came from Germany fromSaarland. Johann Nicolaus Eisenhaueremigrated in 1741 with his family toPennsylvenia where from the name Eisenhower Eisenhower became. Dwight D. Eisenhower was born in Denison Texason the 14.10.1890 and was the third child of the family