Dumont 1

Zachary Dumont
World History Honors
Period 6
17 May, 2013
Independence at all Costs
The entire Vietnamese people are determined to mobilize all their physical and
mental strength, to sacrifice their lives and property in order to safeguard their
independence and liberty (Ho 37). This quote is a direct statement and promise from
the Vietnamese Declaration of Independence. Ho Chi Minh declared Vietnamese
independence with a burning passion; he grew tired of French and Japanese
oppression and the starvation his people went through. Fired by the fuel of rebellion, Ho
Chi Minh held the Tonkin Revolutionary Military Conference, which unified and created a
mass military entity titled the Peoples Army of Vietnam. This would grow to become the
opposing force in the Vietnam War. In this paper the topics that are going to be
discussed are the elements of what led to the war, how it started, the conflict itself, the
political warfare, and the final outcome and lessons that we should learn from this war.
(Early Days: The Development of the Vietminh Military;Major Problems in the History of
the Vietnam War)
The Vietnam War started, believe it or not, because of The Indochina Wars.
Before, the French controlled Indochina, which is the modern state of Vietnam in todays
world. They had handed power over to the Japanese during World War II to avoid
conflict. The Vietnamese people were caught in the middle of this. They had already
received horrible treatment from the French, and now they were getting it twice as

Dumont 2

worse with the Japanese in the area as well. When World War II ended, Vietnam
declared independence. The head of this rebellion was Ho Chi Minh who grew to
become the leader of the Vietnamese military. He declared this independence because
the oppression that the Vietnamese felt was the worst of its time. They had been
massacred, raped, and over two million citizens starved to death. At the end of World
War II the British and Chinese returned with the French and restored them to power,
instead of hearing out the Vietnamese for their own control because they did not want
the country being run by red bandits. The Vietminh, in a civilized manor, kept trying to
meet with the French, Ho Chi Minh was the one mainly attending these unsuccessful
meetings. The French finally agreed and acknowledged Vietnam as an independent
entity. This was short lived. Things went back to the way they were and Vietnam was
tired of it. Thus, the beginning of the Indochina Wars. (The First Indochina Wars; Major
Problems in the History of the Vietnam War)
This conflict had eight major battles, but three stood out as the chapters of this
war. French Naval ships attacked the harbor of the Vietnamese town Haiphong, the
civilians couldnt even flee, and over six thousand citizens were killed. The Vietminh
retaliated by gathering thirty thousand soldiers to raid the city in hunt for French soldiers
but their advanced weaponry was too much and the Vietminh retreated into the jungles
and mountains. This first battle was actually a preview of how this war was going to be
fought. After this conflict, the Vietminh decided on the plan to never indulge themselves
into open military contact. They devised the plan to only fight in spurts, and battles they
knew they could win. They moved their operations into the jungle, and each passing day
the French tried everything in their power to find them. When they went to the jungles

Dumont 3

they were ambushed by the guerrilla tactics of the Vietnamese army. These tactics
involved only fighting at night, retreating to the hills, and picking battles. The French
also tried to gain intel by flying overhead, but all they saw was the thick, un-tampered
jungle. Most of the conflicts were fought, in little spurts and territory raids. The third
battle was a real punch in the gut. The French tried to attack politically, and officially
recognized Vietnam as an independent state. The Vietminh did not buy it. The leader
they appointed to the new found state was Bao Dai, a sell out to the other ordeals that
involved the French and Japanese. Ho Chi Minh stated that he wanted real
independence, not Bao Dai independence. The Vietminh also gained China as a
support when an ally of Minh conquered the country around the same time, they now
had full military garrisons. This gave them new confidence, they started to attack the
French more and gained new military positions. At the same time, they lost vast
amounts of their army; at one battle in particular at least six thousand soldiers were lost
and as many as eight thousand were wounded. (The First Indochina Wars)
The last battle, The Battle of Dien Bien Phu, was the most decisive. Its the final
chapter of the Indochina Wars and the battle that shifted the war into the favor of
Vietnam. General Henri Navarre and General Rene Cogny were in charge of this event
on the French side. Their Colonel, Louis Berteil introduced the hedgehog concept;
which involved making French camps at Vietminh supply routes. These camps would
prove to block the Vietminh routes that were supplied by air. Their plan was to force the
Vietminh into an open military battle, which they knew they would win. They found Dien
Bien Phu to try this new tactic, and despite the protest, Navarre carried on with
planning, and on November 20, 1953, nine thousand soldiers were dispensed into Dien

Dumont 4

Bien Phu. On this land they built eight strongholds, gave them female names, and
quickly disposed of any Vietminh activity in the area. The military commander of the
Vietminh, Vo Nguyen Giap, saw this opportunity at Dien Bien Phu and dispatched fifty
thousand men into the hills around the French stronghold. Over two weeks of constant
fighting favored the Vietminh, they were capturing and sieging the eight positions. The
positions of Dominique and Eliane proved to be the bloodiest. When the Vietminh
gained a foothold in Dominique, they were quickly intercepted by concentrated fire from
the French. Though they were stopped at that moment, the fighting raged between the
two sides, with the French desperately trying to defend their camps. Giap was forced to
call for reinforcements from Laos. On May 7, 1954, the final French position had fallen
and French resistance ended. (First Indochina War: Battle of Dien Bien Phu)
The aftermath that came with this victory was discussed at the Geneva Accords.
The state of Vietnam had been partitioned into two parts: the Communist state in the
north and the Democratic state in the south. The conflicts that came from these two
sides grew into the infamous Vietnam War.
The Vietnam War was the effect of Ho Chi Minh launching a campaign to try and
conquer the entire state and forcefully convert it into a communist nation with the
Vietcong1. The United States were obligated to aid our South Vietnamese allies in their
time of need. The political warfare that was going on behind the battlefield was quite
conflicting. Over the duration of the Vietnam War we had three presidents: Eisenhower,
Kennedy, and Johnson. All three of them had their own opinions and reasons on why
1

The Vietcong was the guerrilla force that joined the Communist movement with
North Vietnam. They were weak at the start of the conflict, but as the duration
increased, they gained many supporters and soldiers.

Dumont 5

they interfered in the North-South Vietnamese conflict. Eisenhowers reason was that it
was a War on Communism, and that if they did not aid, it would result in the infamous
Domino theory2. Kennedy was also a firm believer in the Domino Theory, but his
involvement actually proved to be more negative and more of a save my image
involvement. Johnson was in it to keep Americas image and to stick with his guns.
Also the newly elected head of state in Vietnam, Ngo Dinh Diem, lost many supporters
during the three presidents terms. (The Causes of the Vietnam War)
American involvement became apparent in the Vietnam War with a gradual
climb. It first started with Eisenhowers Domino Theory, and when the French left
Vietnam. The U.S. took responsibility for training the South Vietnamese forces against
the Communist invaders. North Vietnam took a more secretive approach toward South
Vietnam and started insurgency operations inside the state. Within a year they had
killed more than four hundred officials in South Vietnam and thirty seven armed squads
formed along the Mekong Delta in South Vietnam. North Vietnam then began infiltrating
the South Vietnamese camps that were training troops and transported weapons to the
opposing guerrillas via the Ho Chi Minh trail. When Kennedy became president he
carried on the policy that Eisenhower had begun. Around this time, North Vietnam had
formed the Vietcong, as the democratic leader Diems government named them.
Kennedy was convinced, and figured that American forces would be much more
prepared for the Vietnamese than the French had been at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu.
Kennedy and his party thought that a little more support for the Diem government would
result in Democratic success. In this state of mind, he increased the size of the South

Domino Theory- The theory that if one states falls to Communism, the rest of them will also fall.

Dumont 6

Vietnamese army from one hundred fifty thousand, to one hundred and seventy
thousand. He also sent one thousand military advisors to South Vietnam to train the
army. The other side of his brilliant plan was the strategic hamlet program. This was
the idea of transporting all of the citizens and peasants away from the Communist
forces and put them in protected, isolated hamlets. This gave the Vietcong more
supporters. After the failure of this program, he sent more forces to South Vietnam,
totalling in twelve thousand military advisors along with three hundred helicopters and
U.S. pilots. Diems intolerance towards different religions did not help in gaining any
support for him or his allies. Diem was a Christian and had removed most of the
Buddhist community from key government points. This resulted in Buddhist suicides that
involved lighting themselves on fire. Seeing that Diem was never going to replenish or
even help Vietnam, Kennedy organized a plan to have Diem killed; then three weeks
later he himself was assassinated. From Kennedys death, the Vietnam War was
dropped into the lap of Kennedys Vice President, Lyndon B. Johnson. (John F.
Kennedy and Vietnam)
The Gulf of Tonkin incident proved to be Johnsons clutch moment to make a
decision on whether the U.S. will go in full force or pull out. On August 2nd, 1964, three
Vietcong PT boats torpedoed a USS destroyer ship thirty miles off the coast of North
Vietnam. This attack seemed like a counter action because six months before the
United States and the South Vietnamese were involved in naval operations. How we
reacted to the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, was discussed in the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. It
was an act that had to be passed by congress, which did in a unanimous decision.
Johnson decided the action we took and it allowed him to "take all necessary measures

Dumont 7

to repel any armed attack against forces of the United States and to prevent further
aggression" (qtd. in Major Problems in the History of the Vietnam War). The choice
that given to Johnson was whether to start a war or not, without actually declaring war.
The first U.S. military operation was Rolling Thunder, when American bombing raids of
North Vietnam were continuous and were virtually never ending for over three years.
Marines arrived in North Vietnam to defend the U.S airfield at Danang. Conflict began
between the Vietcong and Marines at the Ia Drang Valley, and heavy casualties were
reported on both sides. By the end of 1965, U.S. troops in Vietnam topped two hundred
thousand. (A Vietnam War Timeline; Major Problems in the History of the Vietnam War)
The Vietnam War proved to be one of the grittiest, violent, and useless wars of all
time. Boots hit the ground in 1965 and would stay there until 1975. Ten years of
continuous fighting and torment for both sides. The conflict reached no ends; air, land,
or sea. Aerial conflict was made mostly by the United States, starting in 1965 with
operation Rolling Thunder and progression into more aggressive assaults. B-52s
bombed North Vietnam, and later in that same year the South Vietnamese troops took
the North Vietnamese outposts of Hue and Danang. A year later bombing is labeled as
ineffective and it stops. (A Vietnam War Timeline)
The land warfare is where most of the action really takes place. Operation Cedar
Falls begins and is meant to destroy Vietcong operations and supply sites. In the
discovery of these supply sites they found a massive system of Vietcong tunnels that
were home to most Vietcong personnel. Life in these tunnels was just as strenuous to
the Vietcong as it was to the Americans, soldiers could expect limited air, food, and
water supply. Soldiers could also expect to be surrounded by ants, poisonous

Dumont 8

centipedes, scorpions, spiders, and many vermin. As an American traveling in these

death traps, one could expect to be ambushed by a Vietcong soldier with a knife to their
throat, or fall through a pile of leaves and dirt to their death. Another mind-wrecking
experience that the American soldiers had to endure was the conflict in the jungles of
Vietnam. Walking through the jungles of Vietnam infantry could be ambushed by a
squad of Vietcong at any moment, every step that was taken was with Vietcong traps
set everywhere. Camouflage was an essential key in this type of warfare, sleeping was
a need but mostly discarded. Being open to the elements, the choice of location for
camp could be their grave, because sleeping in their territory was like having the fear of
being prey to a lion. (A Vietnam War Timeline)
The year 1968 was an effective year for the Vietnam War. The North Vietnamese
launched the Tet Offensive, where Vietcong forces swept down onto several cities in
South Vietnam, including the Democratic capitol, Saigon. American forces counteracted
and recaptured most of the cities. The Battle for Hue was another battle worth
recognition. After the Tet Offensive, Hue was still in the hands of the Vietcong and for
twenty-six days this battle enraged between the South Vietnamese and United States
side and the Vietcong. When the South Vietnamese and U.S. won, mass graves were
discovered at the site of where the Communists laid siege and executed thousands of
people. William Westmoreland was the head of the American military entity in Vietnam.
During the Tet Offensive he got into a War of Attrition with the Vietcong. As the war
progressed, the Vietcong obtained more positions in South Vietnam, as a result
Westmoreland requested over two hundred thousand more troops to be sent, forming
an army count of over five hundred thirty five thousand troops ready for battle. The My

Dumont 9

Lai Massacre was the point where Americans started withdrawing their support for the
war. On March 16, 1968, the Charlie Company 11th Brigade entered the village of My
Lai. Their superior officers stated that This is what youve been waiting forsearch and
destroyand youve got it, (qtd. in A Vietnam War Timeline). A short moment after this
was stated the killing began. Between three hundred to five hundred civilians were
massacred in this event. The victims included women, men, children, and even infants.
Some of the women were gang raped by American soldiers, and most of their bodies
were mutilated. Following this event, these actions were made public in 1969, gaining
us a home town hatred and titles such as baby killer being handed out at free will.
(Television Coverage of the Vietnam War; The My Lai Massacre)
Lyndon B. Johnson withdrew as a possible candidate for reelection and Richard
Nixon won the vote by a miniscule measure. With his new presidency, Nixon conducted
secret bombings in Cambodia without the acknowledgement from Congress. During this
time, the policy of Vietnamization was announced, this tried to shift the responsibility of
defeating the Communists to the South Vietnamese Army, and to reduce U.S.
involvement to nothing. In 1970, the number of U.S. troops dropped to two hundred
eighty thousand, opposed to over five hundred thousand that it was intially at. In 1971,
Nixon went to talk with the Peoples Republic of China and North Vietnam saw this as
an effort to split the allied force of China and North Vietnam. Progress was being
displayed in the exporting of soldiers out of Vietnam, by 1972 Nixon had cut the level of
troops by seventy thousand. In the same year, the Secret Peace talks were revealed to
the public, North Vietnam did not respond to any of the proposals. Nixon, having the
power that he had, bombed Hanoi and Haiphong to try and force North Vietnam into the

Dumont 10

negotiations. In 1973, a cease-fire was signed in Paris and according to Nixon brings
peace with honor in Vietnam and Southeast Asia (qtd. in A Vietnam War Timeline), and
in 1973 the last American troops left Vietnam. This may have been a great time for the
world, but the Communists still had a plan in their minds and were planning their major
attack on South Vietnam. In 1975, the plan was in motion. First, they raided and
captured the Phuoc Long Province, resulting in twenty planes being taken from the
South Vietnamese Army. The Hue province that they had fought for was retaken and
the final approach was the taking of Saigon, the last Democratic standpoint in Vietnam.
During this time, America thought the Vietnam War was finished on their part and cut off
all relation to South Vietnam. During the final days of Saigon, the President delivers a
whole-hearted surrender to the Communists. In response the Communists accept the
surrender, and reassure them that Only the Americans have been beaten. If you are
patriots, consider this a moment of joy. (qtd. in A Vietnam War Timeline). The last
Americans were evacuated while Saigon fell to the Communists. What America had set
to destroy had beaten them in the end. (A Vietnam War Timeline; Vietnam War Peace
Talks)
The lessons that could be learned from this war are quite substantial and need to
be reviewed in any conflict that the U.S. might interfere in or start. One of the lessons
that needs to be taught in any conflict is to know your enemy. In this war, the U.S. did
not expect a hard conflict, and figured since it was better equipped than the French that
it would result in quicker success. The second lesson we can learn from this war is,
whether or not it is worth winning at the expense of your country. The aftermath of the
Vietnam War was atrocious, most of the South Vietnamese were sent to reeducation

Dumont 11

camps3, and the new government that was formed killed civilians as well. The Vietnam
Land was torn apart, and chemicals were ravaging the ecosystem from the Agent
Orange4 spraying and guerrilla fighting that both sides were involved in. Another lesson
that can be learned from this war is that if ones home doesnt support what their doing
theres no real inspiration to fight. The media during the Vietnam War was positive in the
beginning, showing the soldier as a hero and showing the intense battles that the U.S.
were in. Until 1967, when frustration grew in the war, the media went into the same
direction. As the Tet Offensive was underway, more negative criticism was given
towards the war. It was portrayed as a bloody stalemate with no real conclusion. The
soldiers image also went down with civilian casualties being shown an average of 3.9
times per week (qtd. in Television Coverage of the Vietnam War). Another reason why
their image was going down is the negative references that included normal drug use
among the soldiers, the racial conflictions, and the disobedience with the U.S. soldiers.
The anti-war rallies were constantly rising, especially after the My Lai incident, U.S.
citizens were actually being killed at these rallies which combined into more negative
looks at the war and why we are even there. From the media, the war turned from a
War on Communism to a mindless campaign of death and destruction. (Television
Coverage of the Vietnam War)
The final Lesson that should be learned from this is that the Vietnam War
knocked us back down to size. After World War II, America felt invincible and as if it
could destroy anything that stood in its way. Even after the Korean War, which the U.S.
did not lose or win, we still felt fairly invincible and battle hardened. If this war would not
3

Reeducation camps were the Vietnamese concentration camps. The prisoners were mostly
criminals, or the former soldiers with the South Vietnamese Army. They had to fulfill such
tasks as minesweeping, physical labor, and trench digging.

Dumont 12

have happened then this country might not have been as cautious to join a war as it is
now. The Vietnam War proved to be a military crusade that was negative on both sides
and no real winner could be chosen. Pay any price, bear any burden, meet any
hardship, support any friendto assure the survival and success of liberty. (qtd. in
John F. Kennedy and the Vietnam War). This statement was Kennedys early validity for
the Vietnam War interference and ultimately the meaning of this war. The Vietnam War
was the most useless war in American history, but one of the needed failures as well.

Dumont 13

Work Cited
Rotter, Andrew J. "The Causes of the Vietnam War." English.illinois.edu. N.p., n.d. Web.
"The My Lai Massacre." Pbs.org. N.p., 29 Mar. 2005. Web.
Small, Melvin. "The Domestic Course of the War." English.illinois.edu. N.p., n.d. Web.
Moise, Edwin E. "The First Indochina Wars." Clemson.edu. N.p., 4 Nov. 1998. Web.
"Vietnam War Peace Talks." Alphahistory.com. N.p., n.d. Web.
Trueman, Chris. "John F. Kennedy and Vietnam." Historylearningsite.co.uk. N.p., n.d.
Web.
"The First Indochina War." Alphahistory.com. N.p., n.d. Web.
"Early Days: The Development of the Vietminh Military Machine." Indochine54.free.fr.
N.p., 7 Mar. 2001. Web.
Hickman, Kennedy. "Battle of Dien Bien Phu." Militaryhistory.about.com. N.p., n.d.
Web.
"A Vietnam War Timeline." English.illinois.edu. N.p., n.d. Web.
McLaughlin, Erin. "Television Coverage of the Vietnam War." Warbirdforum.com. N.p.,
Dec. 2012. Web.
McMahon, Robert J. Major Problems in the History of the Vietnam War. N.p.: n.p., n.d.
Print.