Vietnam War
Role of France
France rules Vietnam since late 19th century. Vietnam wanted independence from the French
Ho Chi Minh
A strong anti-Japanese movement formed under the leadership of Ho Chi Minh . They were called the Viet Minh
Japan took control of Vietnam's main resources
The Viet Minh fought the Japanese and began the war in 1946
President Eisenhower
He supplied South Vietnam with resources and money
and sent military troop advisers to help train the Vietnamese
Diem
Diem was a catholic which was a downside since most people in Vietnam were Buddhists so he wasn't well respected
Diem had support from the US government
Kennedy Strategic Hamlets
This was a plan to move peasant villagers into new villages which were under the control of South Vietnamese soldier
Kennedy did this to try isolate the influence of the rural population by the Viet Cong
This program failed and increased influnce towards Viet Cong
Gulf of Tonkin
Why did the US become more involved?
President Johnson was afraid of the domino theory. He thought that if Vietnam became a communist country then neighbouring countries would also become communist
August 1964 the US Maddox fired at a North Vietnamese
boat which came too close
In the 7th of August President Johnson has a congress meeting to escalate the US involvement