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2nd Indo China War 1959-75 - Coggle Diagram
2nd Indo China War 1959-75
Damage to Vietnam;
1 in 7, 6.5million vietnamese were killed.
country destroyed by agent orange and bombing campaigns
countless casualties
used coercion and indoctrination to engage support
most chose sides by necessity, few were ideological.
no option to remain neutral
whichever side got to village first took all able men
conscription led to limited agriculture practices by women, children and elderly
food shortages
Vietcong;
assassination of public official- 1957
largely autonomous cells working independently from one another and north Vietnam
to keep cadres from being identified
main advantage- anonymity, ability to strike anywhereunexpectedly
received military assistance from north
operations were designed locally
1960's became increasingly powerful
ARVN;
traditionally trained army- difficulty in combatting guerilla tactics
lacked military leadership- officers, nepotism, corruption
infiltrated by vietcong, were their servants, reported to communists
Vietcong found ot to easy to destroy them
spring 1959- felt Vietcong strong enough to directly confront AVRN
they formalised hostages- didn't use initial methods of ambush and assassination.
decision of renewal war- July 1959- Committee workers party
establish socialism in north, unification w/ south was necesarry.
USA provide weapons to South, intesification of US involvement made war escalate- wanted to Expel USA
Tet Offensive;
January 1968
Turning point of US public opinion
turning point of vietcong and north vietnamese army in the course and outcome of the war.
vietcong, 70k-100k conducted formal attacks, was a surprise, holiday is usually ceasefire.
AVRN - held out until received US troops
After, USA, AVRN recovered quickly, American confidence was shaken, increasing pressure to negotiate and withdraw.
vietcong- 40k-50k dead
never managed to regain strength
after offensive, vietcong lost power, most fighting was done by AVRN, USA against the North Vietnamese Army.
Negotiations;
American diplomats in Moscow were used in secret talks to intimate this US willingness.
At the same time, US President Nixon began to phase in US withdrawal, with an announcement that 25 000 soldiers would be coming home in 1969, and plans for a further 150 000 in 1970.
This mollifed the public at home but contributed to demoralisation of those troops still stationed in Vietnam.
Paris peace talks- 1968-73
The main participants in these talks were US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger
and North Vietnamese Le Due Tho.
North Vietnam insisted on complete withdrawal of American forces and the replacement of the South Vietnamese regime with a coalition government. Their position was strengthened by an increasing number of military defeats and the pressure that the US government felt from the public to withdraw from Vietnam.
Civil War from 1973;
USA responded bombing campaign- succeeded to bring north Vietnamese back to negotiation table- 27th January 1973.
The USA agreed to withdraw all its forces in 60 days, and a cease re was scheduled to being on 28 January.
By March 1973 all US troops were gone from Vietnam and war among the Vietnamese was renewed. The North Vietnamese already had numerous troops in South Vietnam, and they gained momentum after the withdrawal of American forces and an end to US bombing campaigns.
the regime in the South was plagued with inflation, corruption and food shortages, making it even less popular than it had been. The situation was exacerbated by massive desertions from the ARVN.