Vietnam War
1963 - 1975
Background:
- France colonised Vietnam
1939 (WWII):
- France overrun by Germany ® no longer have control over them
- Japan takes over Vietnam
1939 – 1942:
- Japan and Germany extremely powerful
- Japan bombs Pearl Harbour ® shows their strength and power
- Japan takes over French-Indo China
1942 –
- America joins war ® angry because of the bombing of Pearl Harbour
- Huge sense of American nationalism e.g. Uncle Sam
1944
- Germany lose the war
- USA, Britain etc. win the war
1945
- Atomic bombs dropped in Japan
® Hiroshima
® Nagasaki
- Japan forced to give up Vietnam
- America starts aiding Vietnam in fighting against Japan
- Ho Chi Minh studied in Russia
- Comes back with communist ideals ® starts spreading them in Vietnam (dominant in North Vietnam)
- French come back into Vietnam and try reclaim Vietnam to display their “power”
- Vietnam go to war with France
- France lose war against Vietnam
- France funded by America at the time
- America wants to continue to fund France in order to prevent the spread of communism
- Vietnam always in a colony ® France ® Japan
- Vietnam can’t fight this because sense of independence not strong. Nationalism hadn’t fully set in.
- Changes when France comes back again after WWII, Ho Chi Minh, wave of nationalism takes over
- Nationalism kicks off stronger as soon as America get involved ® sparks wave of nationalism
- America just landing in Vietnam - sparks the nationalism just because of US giving money to France
- US got support of people during WWII during Pearl Harbour
, Geneva Accords:
- 1954
- Official split of Vietnam along the 17th parallel
- France already fighting Vietminh
- North Vietnam – pro communist
- South Vietnam – Anti-communist
- America aligns themselves with South Vietnam because anti-communist/capitalist regime forming
- National vote as to who is going to be their leader ® same leader = meant to unify
- USA doesn’t allow them to vote
- America put in Diem as puppet government in South
- North would have voted for Minh
- South would have voted for Minh too
- America knew this and therefore stopped vote ® to prevent domino theory and spread of
communism
Divided into two countries (North and South)
North Vietnam:
- Communist
- Ruled by Ho Chi Minh
- Wanted to unite North and South under his control
- Supported Vietcong
South Vietnam:
- Ruled by Diem
®puppet government for USA
® strongly anti-communist, brutal, unpopular
- South not capitalist
® Leaders capitalist (not the citizens)
® USA in Vietnam capitalist
® France capitalist
Nationalism:
DEFN: A sense of belonging to and identifying with a nation
- Common identity ® even with people don’t actually know (but united by common idea)
- Extreme version of patriotism
Nationalism in the war:
- Vietnamese nationalistic war for independence
- America fighting for ideology
- Role of nationalism in allowing Vietnam to win
- Turns from proxy war between capitalism and communism into a war for independence
- Far more likely to win a war if you are fighting a war for independence as opposed to a proxy war
between communism and capitalism
- Proxy war ® a war instigated by a major power which does not itself become involved/ a war for
others
- Independent war ® fighting for selves
1963 - 1975
Background:
- France colonised Vietnam
1939 (WWII):
- France overrun by Germany ® no longer have control over them
- Japan takes over Vietnam
1939 – 1942:
- Japan and Germany extremely powerful
- Japan bombs Pearl Harbour ® shows their strength and power
- Japan takes over French-Indo China
1942 –
- America joins war ® angry because of the bombing of Pearl Harbour
- Huge sense of American nationalism e.g. Uncle Sam
1944
- Germany lose the war
- USA, Britain etc. win the war
1945
- Atomic bombs dropped in Japan
® Hiroshima
® Nagasaki
- Japan forced to give up Vietnam
- America starts aiding Vietnam in fighting against Japan
- Ho Chi Minh studied in Russia
- Comes back with communist ideals ® starts spreading them in Vietnam (dominant in North Vietnam)
- French come back into Vietnam and try reclaim Vietnam to display their “power”
- Vietnam go to war with France
- France lose war against Vietnam
- France funded by America at the time
- America wants to continue to fund France in order to prevent the spread of communism
- Vietnam always in a colony ® France ® Japan
- Vietnam can’t fight this because sense of independence not strong. Nationalism hadn’t fully set in.
- Changes when France comes back again after WWII, Ho Chi Minh, wave of nationalism takes over
- Nationalism kicks off stronger as soon as America get involved ® sparks wave of nationalism
- America just landing in Vietnam - sparks the nationalism just because of US giving money to France
- US got support of people during WWII during Pearl Harbour
, Geneva Accords:
- 1954
- Official split of Vietnam along the 17th parallel
- France already fighting Vietminh
- North Vietnam – pro communist
- South Vietnam – Anti-communist
- America aligns themselves with South Vietnam because anti-communist/capitalist regime forming
- National vote as to who is going to be their leader ® same leader = meant to unify
- USA doesn’t allow them to vote
- America put in Diem as puppet government in South
- North would have voted for Minh
- South would have voted for Minh too
- America knew this and therefore stopped vote ® to prevent domino theory and spread of
communism
Divided into two countries (North and South)
North Vietnam:
- Communist
- Ruled by Ho Chi Minh
- Wanted to unite North and South under his control
- Supported Vietcong
South Vietnam:
- Ruled by Diem
®puppet government for USA
® strongly anti-communist, brutal, unpopular
- South not capitalist
® Leaders capitalist (not the citizens)
® USA in Vietnam capitalist
® France capitalist
Nationalism:
DEFN: A sense of belonging to and identifying with a nation
- Common identity ® even with people don’t actually know (but united by common idea)
- Extreme version of patriotism
Nationalism in the war:
- Vietnamese nationalistic war for independence
- America fighting for ideology
- Role of nationalism in allowing Vietnam to win
- Turns from proxy war between capitalism and communism into a war for independence
- Far more likely to win a war if you are fighting a war for independence as opposed to a proxy war
between communism and capitalism
- Proxy war ® a war instigated by a major power which does not itself become involved/ a war for
others
- Independent war ® fighting for selves
