Vietnam – a brief history
939 - Independence from China
1862 – 1945 French colonial rule
1945 Ho Chi Minh declares independence, country renamed Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV)
1946-1954 First Indochina War (“French War”)
1954 – Geneva accords (chaired by British PM Eden) – partition into communist north, with Ho Chi Minh as ruler, and not so communist south Vietnam with Diem as ruler. The capital cities were Hanoi and Saigon respectively.
1964-75 Second Indochina War (“American War”, “Vietnam War”)
1975 North Vietnamese troops invade South Vietnam and the south capitulates
1976 Reunification and foundation of Socialist Republic of Vietnam (capital Hanoi)
At the end of the 2nd World War most colonial powers assisted their colonies into democratic local rule – but the French opted to fight to retain their rule over Indochina. In the process they succeeded in alienating almost the entire Viet population, such that there would be no possibility of a Frenchman living outside a fortress in Vietnam if they had won the first Indochinese war.
The Geneva accords agreed a 3-month period in which people from the south who wished to live under communist rule could migrate north and those from the north who did not wish to live under communist rule could migrate south. And that democratic elections involving the whole of Vietnam would occur in July 1956 and result in reunification under a single government. When it became apparent that such democratic elections would result in communist rule for the whole of Vietnam, US government (under President John Kennedy) decided to breach the accord and started building up an American presence and large amounts of funding in support of the dictatorial rule of Diem in the south.
The reason for American interest rests in its government’s paranoia about the “domino theory” – which held that if Vietnam became communist this would herald a communist take-over of south-east Asia and beyond.
The north became a one party (communist) state and all production was put under state control. There was rigorous cleansing of all anti-revolutionary behaviour, with denunciation and execution of alleged traitors.
In the south Diem was universally unpopular, but he was pro-west, Christian, anti-communist and a US puppet. His violence against political dissidents and Buddhists was tolerated by the US government as they were unable to find a more suitable ruler to replace him. He was eventually overthrown and assassinated in a (US approved) military coup in 1963.
The Vietcong was a South Vietnamese communist guerrilla organisation, from 1956 onwards, and backed by the north Vietnamese government. It merged into an underground political opposition, the National Liberation Front in 1960. The main supply line from north to south was through the Annamite mountains along the “Ho Chi Minh Trail” mainly on the Laos side of the border. The Chinese were heavily involved in covertly supplying arms to the Vietcong.
The Vietminh were official South Vietnamese government forces. They were generally less committed to the war effort than the Vietcong as they were neither very supportive of their own leadership or of instruction from foreign invaders.
The pretext that was engineered to permit the start of the American invasion of Vietnam was the Gulf of Tonkin incident. A US destroyer (Maddox) engaged in secret manoeuvres off the north Vietnam coast reported that it was engaged in a gun battle with north Vietnamese torpedo boats. There is no good evidence that any such engagement actually occurred.
During the period from 1965 to 1968 more bombs were dropped on Vietnam and neighbouring parts of Laos and Cambodia than in all theatres of WW2 combined – causing extensive destruction of villages, towns and cities.
The natural environment was devastated by the Americans, first by the use of the defoliant “Agent Orange” which was used to remove large swathes of the forest the Vietcong used as shelter and later by the fairly indiscriminate use of napalm, which burnt everything in its wake. It is unlikely that the forest will ever truly recover from these war crimes.
Although there were some much publicised cases of draft-dodging, most Americans considered it their duty to accept the call to arms.
Eventually the war was lost by the Americans, and Lyndon Johnson lost his presidency, when the majority of public opinion in the USA turned against the war. This occurred for several reasons:
In the end the war terminated following a cynical collusion between President Nixon and secretary of state Henry Kissenger - to the effect that the Americans had to get out of Vietnam whilst saving as much face as possible, and never mind the consequences for Vietnam. They were unable to overcome North Vietnamese insistence that the only way the war would end would be with complete withdrawal of American presence in Vietnam and reunification under communist rule. The best the Americans could hope for was a 'decent interval' between these two requirements.
The Paris accords eventually agreed on American withdrawal, exchange of prisoners of war and North Vietnamese agreement that they would not invade the South. In order to get the north Vietnamese to agree, they were informed that they were not actually expected to cease hostilities and that it was unlikely that any American presence would be re-established. In order to get the south to agree they were informed that the Americans would not tolerate any incursions from the North Vietnamese, a promise they had no intentions of honouring. Essentially the incompetent government of South Vietnam was sold out by American diplomacy - and Henry Kissenger got the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts.
1862 – 1945 French colonial rule
1945 Ho Chi Minh declares independence, country renamed Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV)
1946-1954 First Indochina War (“French War”)
1954 – Geneva accords (chaired by British PM Eden) – partition into communist north, with Ho Chi Minh as ruler, and not so communist south Vietnam with Diem as ruler. The capital cities were Hanoi and Saigon respectively.
1964-75 Second Indochina War (“American War”, “Vietnam War”)
1975 North Vietnamese troops invade South Vietnam and the south capitulates
1976 Reunification and foundation of Socialist Republic of Vietnam (capital Hanoi)
At the end of the 2nd World War most colonial powers assisted their colonies into democratic local rule – but the French opted to fight to retain their rule over Indochina. In the process they succeeded in alienating almost the entire Viet population, such that there would be no possibility of a Frenchman living outside a fortress in Vietnam if they had won the first Indochinese war.
The Geneva accords agreed a 3-month period in which people from the south who wished to live under communist rule could migrate north and those from the north who did not wish to live under communist rule could migrate south. And that democratic elections involving the whole of Vietnam would occur in July 1956 and result in reunification under a single government. When it became apparent that such democratic elections would result in communist rule for the whole of Vietnam, US government (under President John Kennedy) decided to breach the accord and started building up an American presence and large amounts of funding in support of the dictatorial rule of Diem in the south.
The reason for American interest rests in its government’s paranoia about the “domino theory” – which held that if Vietnam became communist this would herald a communist take-over of south-east Asia and beyond.
The north became a one party (communist) state and all production was put under state control. There was rigorous cleansing of all anti-revolutionary behaviour, with denunciation and execution of alleged traitors.
In the south Diem was universally unpopular, but he was pro-west, Christian, anti-communist and a US puppet. His violence against political dissidents and Buddhists was tolerated by the US government as they were unable to find a more suitable ruler to replace him. He was eventually overthrown and assassinated in a (US approved) military coup in 1963.
The Vietcong was a South Vietnamese communist guerrilla organisation, from 1956 onwards, and backed by the north Vietnamese government. It merged into an underground political opposition, the National Liberation Front in 1960. The main supply line from north to south was through the Annamite mountains along the “Ho Chi Minh Trail” mainly on the Laos side of the border. The Chinese were heavily involved in covertly supplying arms to the Vietcong.
The Vietminh were official South Vietnamese government forces. They were generally less committed to the war effort than the Vietcong as they were neither very supportive of their own leadership or of instruction from foreign invaders.
The pretext that was engineered to permit the start of the American invasion of Vietnam was the Gulf of Tonkin incident. A US destroyer (Maddox) engaged in secret manoeuvres off the north Vietnam coast reported that it was engaged in a gun battle with north Vietnamese torpedo boats. There is no good evidence that any such engagement actually occurred.
During the period from 1965 to 1968 more bombs were dropped on Vietnam and neighbouring parts of Laos and Cambodia than in all theatres of WW2 combined – causing extensive destruction of villages, towns and cities.
The natural environment was devastated by the Americans, first by the use of the defoliant “Agent Orange” which was used to remove large swathes of the forest the Vietcong used as shelter and later by the fairly indiscriminate use of napalm, which burnt everything in its wake. It is unlikely that the forest will ever truly recover from these war crimes.
Although there were some much publicised cases of draft-dodging, most Americans considered it their duty to accept the call to arms.
Eventually the war was lost by the Americans, and Lyndon Johnson lost his presidency, when the majority of public opinion in the USA turned against the war. This occurred for several reasons:
- The Tet offensive (January 1968). The north Vietnamese invaded south Vietnamese cities and briefly captured the American Embassy in Saigon. Although the north Vietnamese were soon repulsed and suffered heavy losses in the action, the American public understood that they had been repeatedly lied to when told that US troops were winning the war.
- The My Lai massacre in which US troops killed 504 elderly people, women, children and babies in a 90-minute search and destroy operation
- Increasing numbers of American casualties
- Repeated complaints by American soldiers that their standard issue rifles kept jamming.
- An understanding that destruction of Vietnam may not be the best way of saving it.
- An understanding that the war was doomed to failure.
In the end the war terminated following a cynical collusion between President Nixon and secretary of state Henry Kissenger - to the effect that the Americans had to get out of Vietnam whilst saving as much face as possible, and never mind the consequences for Vietnam. They were unable to overcome North Vietnamese insistence that the only way the war would end would be with complete withdrawal of American presence in Vietnam and reunification under communist rule. The best the Americans could hope for was a 'decent interval' between these two requirements.
The Paris accords eventually agreed on American withdrawal, exchange of prisoners of war and North Vietnamese agreement that they would not invade the South. In order to get the north Vietnamese to agree, they were informed that they were not actually expected to cease hostilities and that it was unlikely that any American presence would be re-established. In order to get the south to agree they were informed that the Americans would not tolerate any incursions from the North Vietnamese, a promise they had no intentions of honouring. Essentially the incompetent government of South Vietnam was sold out by American diplomacy - and Henry Kissenger got the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts.