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Decolonisation of Vietnam - Coggle Diagram
Decolonisation of Vietnam
Part A : Aftermath of the Geneva Accord
Unhappiness over the Geneva Record
While the Geneva Accord marked the end of French colonial rule in Vietnam, Vietnam remained temporarily divided
North : Under Ho Chi Minh's communist government
South : Under Bao Dai's government
The goal of reunification and independence was still not achieved, which was a major disappointment for the Vietnamese
The two governments in Vietnam had different visions for an independent and reunified Vietnam, which led to conflict and instability in Vietnam
Discontentment over the Geneva Accords in the North
Under the Geneva Accords, Vietnam would be reunified under one government after national elections were held in 1956
The elections would be overseen by an International Control Commission and provide a fair means to determine which government Vietnam would be unified under
However, Ho Chi Minh and the Viet Minh were dissatisfied with this arrangement
By 1954, the Viet Minh had defeated the French and controlled more than half of Vietnam, and Ho Chi Minh was a more popular leader than Bao Dai
Ho Chi Minh and the Viet Minh felt that they were forced to accept the division of Vietnam by the Soviet Union and China
This caused further delay for Vietnam to be reunified as an independent country under one government
Failure to carry out national elections in 1956
The national elections which were scheduled for 1956 failed to occur
Both the governments in North and South Vietnam were unwilling to give up their control of Vietnam and wanted reunification to be carried out according to their own terms
South Vietnam : Wary that national elections might result in the victory of Ho Chi Minh and his communist party, and Vietnam would be unified under a communist government
North Vietnam : reluctant to hold national elections since the Viet Minh were popular in the North
worried they might lose overall if it came down to national elections
The 1956 national elections proposed by the Geneva Accords was thus never carried out and Vietnam remained divided and led by two separate governments
Developments in South Vietnam
In South Vietnam, Bao Dai who remained as Head of State, was ousted by his prime minister, Ngo Dinh Diem in 1955
In 1955, Diem called for a plebiscite to remove Bao Dai from power and establish himself as President of a new republic that would be known as the Republic of Vietnam
Despite Bao Dai's protests, elections were held in South Vietnam and rigged in Diem's favour
Diem's government received the support of the USA as he was strongly anti-communist and was prepared to imprison or exile Communists
Developments in North and South Vietnam from 1956
Both Ho Chi Minh and Ngo Dinh Diem attempted to strengthen their own governments in the North and South respectively
However, both leaders experienced varying degrees of success in garnering domestic and international support for their own government
Subsequently, the North began to take advantage of the growing instability in the South by supporting armed struggle against Diem's government
Consolidation of communist control in North Vietnam
To consolidate communist influence in the North, Ho Chi Minh introduced reforms to re-distribute land from the landowners to the peasants
Those who opposed his reforms were persecuted
A large number of Vietnamese Catholics also fled from the North to the South
Nevertheless, support for the communist government in the North remained strong
Instability in South Vietnam + Unpopularity of Diem
Support for Diem's government in the South was eroding
Diem belonged to the landlord class, which treated the Vietnamese peasants with contempt
Landowners were allowed to retain their holdings, much to the disappointment of landless peasants who had hoped that land reform would improve their standard of living
President Diem had little regard for democracy
rapidly established a dictatorship and practised nepotism (The practice of unfairly giving the best jobs to members of one's family when one is in a position of power) by assigning the majority of important government positions to close friends and family members
The Americans were concerned and frustrated by his actions, but said, 'We knew of no one better'
He was a Catholic and showed little respect for the Buddhist religion of most Vietnamese peasants
He gave preference to fellow Catholic believers for government jobs
1963 Buddhist Crisis : One of Diem's unpopular policies was the declaration of Catholicism as the state religion as the majority of Vietnamese were Buddhists
On 7 May 1963, the day before Buddhist followers in Hue celebrated Vesak Day, the Diem government invoked a previously ignored law prohibiting the display of religious flags
The South Vietnamese police tore down Buddhist flags and this ignited waves of protest from the Buddhists
Many participated in marches and demonstrations calling for religious equality
The South Vietnamese police fired shots and grenades to disperse the protesters, resulting in severe casualties
The crisis ultimately caused Diem to lose the support of the USA
Opposition to his rule, including Viet Minh supporters, Buddhists and intellectuals in the South, was suppressed
In a bid to escape Diem's rule, many fled to the North, or the jungles in the South where they launched an armed struggle against Diem's regime
Extensive economic and military aid by the USA to prop up the Diem government failed to bring about stability in the South
American funds and military advisers helped to establish the South Vietnamese Army (SVA) against possible invasion attempts from the North
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Part B : Insurgency in South Vietnam
Support from the North for the insurgency in the South
The actions of these anti-Communist governments increased support among the ordinary peasants for the Communists
By 1959, the communist government in the North authorised armed struggle against Diem's regime, which included supporting armed groups that were carrying out guerrilla attacks on Diem's government officials
Ho Chi Minh encouraged these armed groups to join together in a collective resistance organisation to overthrow Diem's government and subsequently unify Vietnam
In 1960, the National Liberation Front (NLF) was established in the South
South Vietnamese opponents of the government (of various religious, political and ethnic minority groups)
Large numbers of Communist North Vietnamese taking their orders from Ho Chi Minh
The military arm of the NLF, the People's Liberation Armed Forces (PLAF), was formed in 1961 to coordinate the insurgency in the South
These insurgents came to be known as the Viet Cong, a derogatory term used by the Diem regime and the USA, meaning Vietnam Communists
1) Strategies of the Viet Cong (Armed Struggle):
Reinforcements and supplies to the guerrilla fighters were transported from the North to the South via a trail known as the Ho Chi Minh Trail
They attacked South Vietnamese government military forces, officials and buildings, gradually making the countryside unsafe for government forces
They also attacked American air force and supply bases to undermine American support for the Diem regime
2) Strategies of the Viet Cong (Winning Hearts and Minds) :
Their promises of land reform to the peasants contrasted sharply with Diem's unpopular policies and practices, further undermining Diem's control of the countryside
Support for the NLF grew, with villagers readily supporting the guerrillas by providing food, shelter and information
Many others even joined the guerrilla forces
A network of anti-Diem and communist supporters began to form in the South, strengthening communist influence in the area
Part C : External intervention in Vietnam
The context of the Cold War complicated the process of establishing an independent unified Vietnam as other countries took sides in the conflict in Vietnam in a bid to spread their influence
USA : Supported South Vietnam
Soviet Union and China : Supported North Vietnam
Support from China for North Vietnam
Mao's vision was for China to be recognised as the leader of international revolutionary communism
was keen to extend communist influence and control in Southeast Asia by supporting wars of national liberation
Mao was also concerned that increased American military intervention in South Vietnam would pose a threat to Chinese security
This led the Chinese to continue to provide economic and military aid to the North Vietnamese, which helped post-war reconstruction in North Vietnam and the advancement of North Vietnam to a socialist society
Support from the Soviet Union for North Vietnam
Support from the Soviet Union for North Vietnam remained lukewarm through the 1950s and early 1960s
The Soviet Union provided information, technical advisers and moral support to North Vietnam
Stalin and Khrushchev were careful not to get too involved in the conflict, as they were managing tense relations with the USA regarding Cold War developments in Europe, the Korean War and the Cuban Missile Crisis
Soviet interest in Vietnam increased markedly only when the USA escalated its involvement in the mid-1960s
Leonid Brezhnev, increased Soviet support for North Vietnam, providing moral and political support for the Vietnamese struggle against American aggression
This also helped to prevent a loss of Soviet influence in Southeast Asia and bolstered its position as the authority in the world communist movement
Support from USA for South Vietnam
In the 1950s and early 1960s, the USA's attention was focused on dealing with the Soviet Union in Europe and the Cuban Missile Crisis
not much focus on Vietnam
However, American President Eisenhower was worried that there would be a major crisis in Asia, if South Vietnam was to fall to communist rule
Domino Theory : He was convinced that if Vietnam fell to communism, other parts of Asia such as Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Burma and possibly even India would follow suit.
By 1962 President Kennedy was sending military personnel ('advisers') to fight the Viet Cong
In 1963 and 1964 tension between North and South Vietnam increased and so did American involvement (11,500 troops by the end of 1962; 23,000 by the end of 1964)
In 1963, Diem was assassinated, leaving no strong leader to succeed him
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Part D : Outbreak and Development of the Vietnam War
Outbreak of War - Guilt of Tonkin Incident
On 2 August 1964, North Vietnamese patrol boats attacked the USS Maddox, an American destroyer in the Gulf of Tonkin
Johnson announced to the US Congress that American ships were attacked by hostile forces, and it was necessary to take decisive action in reply
The US Congress reacted by passing the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, giving Johnson the power to 'take all necessary measures to prevent further aggression and achieve peace and security'
This time, US marines and combat troops, instead of advisers, were deployed to engage in battle in Vietnam
The Gulf of Tonkin Incident marked the escalation of American involvement in South Vietnam, which led to direct US military intervention
The incident escalated into a full-scale war, pitting American and South Vietnamese forces against North Vietnamese forces
On 8 March 1965, 3500 US marines, combat troops rather than advisers, came ashore at Da Nang. America was at war in Vietnam
Strategies to fight the Vietnam War (Viet Cong)
In early 1965 the Viet Cong had about 170,000 soldiers
They were well supplied with weapons and equipment from China and the USSR, but they were heavily outnumbered and outgunned by the South Vietnamese forces and their US allies
The Communist forces were no match for the US and South Vietnamese forces in open warfare. In November 1965 in the La Dreng Valley, US forces killed 2000 Viet Cong for the loss of 300 troops
1) Guerrilla Warfare
Ho Chi Minh changed tactics to guerrilla warfare
Believed that superior forces could be defeated by guerrilla tactics
Retreat when the enemy attacks; raid when the enemy camps; attack when the enemy tires; pursue when the enemy retreats
Guerrilla warfare was a nightmare for the US army
Guerrillas did not wear uniform
They had no known base camp or headquarters
They worked in small groups with limited weapons
They were hard to tell apart from the peasants in the villages
They attacked and then disappeared into the jungle, into the villages or into their tunnels
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2) Support from civilians
Ho knew how important it was to keep the population on his side
The Viet Cong fighters were expected to be courteous and respectful to the Vietnamese peasants
They often helped the peasants in the fields during busy periods
But the Viet Cong could be ruthless - they were quite prepared to kill peasants who opposed them or who co-operated with their enemies
They also conducted a campaign of terror against the police, tax collectors, teachers and any other employees of the South Vietnamese government
Between 1966 and 1971 the Viet Cong killed an estimated 27,000 civilians
3) Commitment + Continuous Access to supplies
The greatest strength of the Viet Cong fighters was that they simply refused to give in
The Viet Cong depended on supplies from North Vietnam that came along the Ho Chi Minh trail
US and South Vietnamese planes bombed this constantly, but 40,000 Vietnamese worked to keep it open whatever the cost
The total of Viet Cong and North Vietnamese dead in the war has been estimated at 1 million - far higher than US losses
A price that Ho Chi Minh was prepared to pay
Whatever the casualties, there were replacement troops available
Strategies to fight the Vietnam War
1) Bombing
The USA stepped up its military presence in South Vietnam by increasing the number of troops deployed in Vietnam from 23,300 at the end of 1964 to 184,300 at the end of 1965
On 7 February 1965 the USA launched operation Rolling Thunder which lasted till 1972
Rolling Thunder involved extensive bombing raids on military and industrial targets in North Vietnam, transportation networks and ports to damage and disrupt North Vietnam's supply routes as well as towns and cities in North and South Vietnam
To some extent bombing was effective
Damaged North Vietnam's war effort and it disrupted supply routes
Enabled the USA to strike at Communist forces even when it was reducing US ground forces in Vietnam after 1969
From 1970 to 1972, intense bombing campaigns against Hanoi (North Vietnam's capital) and the port of Haiphong forced the North Vietnamese to the negotiating table
However, US air power could not defeat the Communists - it could only slow them down as the Viet Cong continued to operate its supply lines
Even after major air raids on North Vietnam in 1972, the Communists were still able to launch a major assault on the South