The Peace Process to End the Vietnam War (Edexcel GCSE History): Revision Note

Summary

There had been calls for a negotiated peace to the Vietnam War from the very start. However, both sides had demanded that the other side found unacceptable meaning no progress was ever made. By 1972, the situation had changed for both sides and they sat down in France and agreed to the Paris Accords in 1972. This led to American troops leaving Vietnamese soil. It also led to the invasion of South Vietnam by North Vietnam and the final unification of the nation.

Vietnam War Peace Negotiations by 1972

• There had been calls for peace negotiations since 1965 but these had all failed to make any progress

• The reasons for the lack of progress include:

  • North Vietnam refusing peace talks until American troops leave

  • America refusing to stop bombing

  • North Vietnam refusing to stop Vietcong activity

Reasons for negotiation about the Vietnam War, 1972-1973

• In October 1972, the two sides finally reached an agreement and signed the Paris Peace Accords early in the following year

• There were several reasons why the two sides were motivated to reach an agreement in 1972

American reasons for negotiating

• President Richard Nixon had been voted in to bring about ‘peace with honour’

• Congress had started to restrict funding available to fight the war

• Protests were erupting all over American college campuses

• The US feared the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) were weak and ineffective fighters

North Vietnamese reasons for negotiating

• The heavy bombing campaigns of Operation Linebacker and Operation Linebacker II in 1972 inflict enormous casualties and damage

• The Easter Offensive launched by the Vietcong failed to overthrow  the South Vietnam government and North Vietnam feared the war might continue for years to come

• China and the USSR began to pressure North Vietnam into negotiating.

What was agreed at the Paris Peace Accords?

• The Paris Peace Accords of 1973, agreed to: 

  • An immediate ceasefire

  • The withdrawal of American troops, and advisors and the closure of US military bases

  • The withdrawal of troops from Laos and Cambodia

  • The USA would provide funds to Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos to recover from the war

  • The reunification of Vietnam without any foreign nations interfering in the process

The significance of the Paris Peace Accords

• The Paris Peace Accords were significant for several reasons:

  • They led to America being able to withdraw its troops from Vietnam whilst being able to claim they had not been defeated

  • They led to the South Vietnamese economy crashing as it no longer benefitted from American funding

  • Poverty and unemployment made the South Vietnam government even more unpopular

• When North Vietnam grew with the South Vietnamese government for failing to talk, fighting resumed in late 1974

  • The Vietcong and North Vietnamese troops were welcomed by many in the South and the ARVN could not prevent the invasion

  • With American troops now out of Vietnam, Congress was unwilling to send them back to protect the South

• In April 1975, Saigon fell to North Vietnamese forces and Vietnam became a united, communist nation

The American public’s reaction to returning veterans of the Vietnam War

• The men who risked their lives fighting for America in Vietnam often received abuse and hostility rather than respect and gratitude when they returned home

  • Events such as the My Lai massacre led to them being called ‘baby killers’ and even being physically attacked

• Many Vietnam veterans reported feeling like outcasts and found it difficult to find work

International consequences of the Vietnam War

• America’s reputation as the ‘leader of the free world’ was badly damaged by the Vietnam War

• Involvement in the war had come at an enormous cost

  • $168 billion spent

  • 58,000 US soldiers killed

  • 300,000 US soldiers injured

  • 850,000 US soldiers suffering from severe mental trauma

• Despite paying such a heavy price in both human lives and funds, the war had utterly failed and Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia became communist nations 

• The experience of Vietnam made America extremely reluctant to intervene in any other foreign conflicts around the world