A summary on the events in Vietnam with relation to the Cold War as the Cold War extension per the IEB Curriculum includes Vietnam War. The summary was completed with information from the Oxford in Search Of History Grade 12 Learners Book and information handed out by my teacher.
The struggle between the South Vietnamese army and the Viet Cong:
- Geneva
- Vietnam divided into two
- Communist North Vietnam and non-communist south Vietnam
- Elections to be held in 1956
The democratic republic of North Vietnam:
- Communist Viet Minh government of Ho Chi Minh ruled North of country from
Hanoi
- Popular programme of land reform – large estates broken up, distributed
amongst peasants
- Later formed into collective farms and industries were nationalised
- Attempts to improve education
- Effective government propaganda appealed to the Vietnamese peasants in
South Vietnam
- Harsh measures against landlords who opposed reforms
- Large number of Catholics fled to South Vietnam – escape persecution
- Ho Chi Minh had built up support amongst the peasants in the struggle
against the Japanese in WW2
The Republic of South Vietnam:
- Anti-communist Ngo Dinh Diem set up the Republic of South Vietnam –
Saigon
- Government oppressive and corrupt
- Used detention and torture to stamp out opposition
- Failed to introduce land reforms – 70% of population owned 13% of land
- Supported landlords against peasants and rents were raised higher than what
under the French
- Diem appointed family members to important positions
- Was a Christian in a country 90% Buddhist – showed little respect
- USA supported him because he was anti-communist
, - USA prevented the elections taking place in south as they suspected a
communist win
The Formation of the Viet Cong:
- Late 1950’s – more and more peasants began to support the communists who
became known as the Viet Cong
- 1960 – Viet Cong formed the National Front for the Liberation of South
Vietnam – 80-90% were South Vietnamese – supported by North Vietnam –
aim to reunify Vietnam
- Fought a guerrilla war against Diems government – received supplies from
North Vietnam smuggled through the jungle by the Ho Chi Minh trail
- Diems Government relied on economic and military aid from the USA
- North Vietnam received assistance from USSR and China
- USA became involved when the Viet Cong began to attack American supply
bases
- Crisis point in South Vietnam 1963 – Student protests and monks burning
themselves as public protest. Diem imposed Martial Law – detained many
protestors
- Diem overthrown and killed in a coup by army generals in November 1963 –
was little change to government policies
- Support for the Viet Cong grew
The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution:
- August 1964 US government accused North Vietnamese patrol boats of firing
on US warships in the Gulf of Tonkin off the coast of North Vietnam
- US congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution – gave president the right
to take whoever steps felt necessary to ‘prevent further aggression’
- This gave Johnson the right to commit US on a full-scale war in Vietnam –
The Vietnam War (in Vietnam it is known as the American War)
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