American Involvement in Vietnam, 1955–75 (Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE History)
Revision Note
Author
Zoe WadeExpertise
History
Why Did the USA get Involved in Vietnam?
Before the Second World War, France owned Vietnam
Vietnam was a colony in the French empire known as Indochina
During the Second World War, Japan occupied Vietnam
In 1941, a Communist armed force called the Viet Minh under the leadership of Ho Chi Minh fought the Japanese
In 1945, Vietnam declared independence
After the Second World War, France wanted to own Vietnam again
France fought the Viet Minh
Fearing Communism in Vietnam, the USA funded the French involvement
The Viet Minh defeated the French at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954
The Geneva Peace Accords agreed to temporarily split Vietnam
The Communist Viet Minh gained North Vietnam
South Vietnam created an anti-Communist government
A free election in 1956 would decide who permanently governed Vietnam
Exam Tip
Students often need clarification on the divisions of Vietnam and Korea. There are many similarities. For example, the North of each country was Communist and the division occurred as the result of war. However, the Allies divided Korea on the 38th Parallel while the Geneva Agreement split Vietnam on the 17th. Also, the split in Vietnam was temporary while the division of Korea was more permanent.
Reason | Why did this cause US intervention in Vietnam? |
|---|---|
Domino Theory | Eisenhower and his Secretary of State John Dulles feared that Ho Chi Minh would win the election. This would make Vietnam Communist. They believed that if Vietnam turned Communist, other countries in Southeast Asia would fall too |
Containment | Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson all believed in containment. They justified their actions in Vietnam as part of their mission to stop the spread of Communism |
Distrust of the USSR and China | The USA blamed the USSR and China for North Vietnam’s attempt to spread Communism |
Raw materials | Vietnam had a wealth of useful raw materials like tungsten, tin and rubber. If the USA could make Vietnam capitalist, it could access these raw materials |
The Development of War in Vietnam
In 1957, the Viet Minh began attacking South Vietnam
The Viet Minh established the Ho Chi Minh Trail to transport weapons to the South
In 1959, Ho Chi Minh declared a full-scale war against the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN)
He stated his intention to overthrow Diem’s government
Many South Vietnamese supported the actions of North Vietnam
In 1960, Ho Chi Minh created the National Liberation Front (or the Vietcong)
Its members included Communists from North Vietnam and peasants from South Vietnam
In reaction, President Kennedy sent more aid to support Diem’s government
Diem’s government became more unpopular
Diem introduced the Strategic Hamlets programme in 1962
It aimed to create villages protected from the Viet Cong’s influence
In reality, it destroyed people’s homes and forced them to move. This gained support for the Viet Cong
He treated his people poorly by:
Discriminating against Buddhists, the largest faith group in South Vietnam
Taking land from peasants to give to rich landlords
Running a corrupt government and giving key positions to his family members
The USA could no longer support Diem’s government
Kennedy cut off aid to Diem
In November 1963, a coup overthrew and assassinated Diem
The Events of the Vietnam War
Worked Example
What was the Gulf of Tonkin incident?
4 marks
Answers:
The Gulf of Tonkin incident took place in 1964 (1). The US claimed that North Vietnamese ships attacked two US ships in the Gulf of Tonkin (1). The Gulf of Tonkin incident caused the American Congress to give President Johnson authority to act (1). After this incident, Operation Rolling Thunder began (1).
Exam Tip
This question in Paper One requires you to state information you know about the Gulf of Tonkin incident. The Cambridge IGCSE gives you a point for each relevant piece of information that you write. Therefore, do not spend any additional time trying to describe or explain each reason.
Vietcong Tactics
Tactic | Explanation of tactic |
|---|---|
Guerrilla warfare | The Viet Cong knew that the US would win in open warfare. Instead, the Viet Cong:
The USA struggled to fight against these tactics |
Use of civilians | Many South Vietnamese citizens helped the Viet Cong. They attacked South Vietnamese government officials. The Viet Cong did not wear a military uniform. As a result, US soldiers struggled to identify troops from civilians |
Ho Chi Minh Trail | The North Vietnamese used the Ho Chi Minh Trail to transport supplies. Despite constant US bombing, supplies continued to move southwards on this route |
US Tactics
Tactic | Explanation of tactic |
|---|---|
Bombing | The US undertook large-scale bombing campaigns on North Vietnam’s capital city, Hanoi, key military bases and the Ho Chi Minh Trail. During the war, the USA dropped three million tonnes of bombs |
Chemical warfare | The USA had a huge technological advantage over the North Vietnamese. They used chemicals like Napalm and Agent Orange. The aim was to destroy the dense forest that the Viet Cong hid in. This type of warfare caused high civilian casualties |
Conscription | From 1967, the US government introduced conscription (or ‘the draft’). A large proportion of the US Army were young and Black Americans. Most of these soldiers had no choice but to fight in Vietnam. This meant that the US soldiers had low morale and wanted to return to the USA |
Search and Destroy | The US sent troops in helicopters to find and attack Viet Cong bases. This method caused many deaths. Viet Cong traps killed US soldiers. US troops attacked innocent villagers in the belief they were Viet Cong. Search and Destroy pushed many Vietnamese to support the Viet Cong |
Why Did Public Opinion Turn Against the Vietnam War?
The US public turned against the Vietnam War because:
Conscription was unpopular
Around 2.8 million US soldiers fought in Vietnam
The draft affected black Americans disproportionately
The police prosecuted over 9,000 young men for ‘draft dodging’
The Tet Offensive (1968) caused the media to question if the war was worthwhile
It was the first televised war
The US public saw photographs and news reports of the Vietnam War in graphic detail
Scandals like the My Lai Massacre were uncovered, changing the public’s perception of the US Army
Anti-war protests peaked 1968-70
Students were the key opposition group to the war
In November 1969, 700,000 anti-war protesters marched in Washington
In May 1970, the National Guard shot dead four student protestors at Kent State University
The media coverage of the shootings caused 2 million students in 400 schools to go on strike
The Consequences of the End of the Vietnam War
President Nixon won the 1968 presidential election on the promise to end the Vietnam War
Nixon and his National Security Adviser, Henry Kissinger, wanted to pull out of the war with dignity
After the unsuccessful bombing campaigns of Laos and Cambodia, Nixon began the process of US withdrawal
In January 1973, the US and the North Vietnamese government signed the Paris Peace Accords
This officially ended US involvement in Vietnam
Nixon declared the US withdrawal was ‘peace with honour’
By 1973, only 30,000 US troops remained in Vietnam
The conflict between North and South Vietnam continued
On 30th April 1975, the South Vietnamese capital, Saigon, fell to North Vietnamese forces
Positive consequences | Negative consequences |
|---|---|
The US public was happy to see the end of the ‘unwinnable war’ | Containment had failed militarily. While the USA had stronger weapons, the communist Viet Cong had better tactics |
Containment had failed politically. By 1975, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia became Communist. The USSR and China, who had given money and technology to North Vietnam, had gained new Communist allies | |
Containment had failed in the propaganda war. The use of chemical warfare and disregard for Vietnamese civilians ruined the USA’s international reputation. Over 58,000 US soldiers died with millions of Vietnamese casualties | |
Containment had failed economically. The Vietnam War cost the USA around $168 billion |
As a result, the US government abandoned the policy of containment
Nixon pursued détente with the USSR and China
Worked Example
Study Source D
How useful is this source as evidence about American involvement in Vietnam? Explain your answer using details of the source and your knowledge
7 marks
Source D: From ‘In Retrospect, The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam’ by Robert S McNamara, published in 1995. McNamara was Secretary of Defence in the governments of Kennedy and Johnson from 1961 to 1968 when he resigned over Vietnam By the time the United States finally left South Vietnam in 1973, we had lost over 58000 men and women, our economy had been damaged by years of heavy war spending, and the political unity of our society had been shattered. Were such high costs justified? Many conclude that without US intervention in Vietnam, Communism would have spread farther through South and East Asia. I seriously question such judgements. I question whether either Soviet or Chinese behaviour and influence in the 1970s and 1980s would have been different had we not entered the war or had we withdrawn from Vietnam in the early or mid-1960s. By then it should have been clear that the two conditions underlying President Kennedy’s decision to send military advisers were not being met, and could not be met: political stability did not exist; and the South Vietnamese were incapable of defending themselves. I do not believe that US withdrawal in 1963 would have led West Europeans to question our support for NATO. On the contrary, it is possible we would have improved our credibility by withdrawing from Vietnam and saving our strength for more defensible stands elsewhere. |
Partial answer:
Source B is useful for a historian because it shows that the US military had doubts about the value of US involvement in Vietnam (1). McNamara states that he would ‘seriously question’ that Communism would have spread in South and East Asia without US intervention (1). In the 1960s and 1970s, the US government was following a policy of containment in an attempt to stop the spread of Communism, causing the US military to become involved in a civil war in Vietnam (1). However, McNamara made this judgement in 1995, many years after the US withdrawal from the conflict. His opinion may have been different if the USA succeeded in preventing Vietnam from becoming Communist (1).
Exam Tip
All sources are, in some way, useful for a historian. To achieve full marks for this question, you need to comment on the nature, origin and purpose of the source
Nature - The source is a published account by Robert McNamara. As a published account, it is intended for a worldwide audience. As a result, McNamara may be telling a less honest version of events as he would if this was a diary
Origin - Robert McNamara was Secretary of Defence in the governments of Kennedy and Johnson from 1961 to 1968. This gives him useful inside knowledge of the government’s attitude during a key stage of the Vietnam War
Purpose - Written in 1995, the book may be an attempt by McNamara to repair his damaged reputation from the Vietnam War
This method of source analysis ensures you are using details from the source and your own knowledge in your answer.
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