VIETNAM WAR 1955-1975

ORIGINS

¡ 1862-1940-
French colony.

¡ 1940-1945-
Japan controls

¡ 1946-1954 First
Indochina War
§ Fought between
the French and
the communist
Viet Minh
ORIGINS

¡ 1954 End of First

Indochina war
§ Vietnam divided in 2
parts

§  North
Vietnam=Communist
§  Leader: Ho Chi Minh

§  South
Vietnam=democratic
§  Leader: Ngo Dinh Diem
 MAP COLORING

¡  On Main World map color

Vietnam Purple

¡  On Vietnam map:
§  Draw division line between
North and South
§  Color N. Vietnam RED
§  Color S. Vietnam Blue

¡  Identify and label

countries of Laos and
Cambodia.

¡  Label cities of Hanoi and

Saigon
 DOMINO THEORY

¡  Prominent theory during the Cold War.

¡  States that: if one country in a region came under the

influence of communism, then the surrounding countries
would follow in a domino effect.
 START OF THE WAR

¡ S tarted: Nov.

1, 1955

¡ V iet Cong

attack South
Vietnam

¡ U S supplies
military
advisors to
South Vietnam
 US INVOLVEMENT

¡ A ug 4, 1964
§ USS Maddox
attacked

¡ G ulf of Tonkin

Resolution
passed

¡ Troop Numbers
§ 1964: 23,000
§ 1968: 536,000
THE WAR AND THE MEDIA

¡ F irst war shown

on television
¡ A mericans
shocked at the
brutality of the
war
¡ A nti-war
protests grow at
home
 END OF THE WAR

¡  Paris Peace
Agreement
reached: January
1973
§  Americans remove
troops from
Vietnam

¡  1973-1975:
North continues
to attack South

¡  April 1975: South

surrenders
§  War officially over
OPERATION BABY LIFT
HO CHI MINH

¡ May 19, 1890-Sept. 2,

1969

¡ Leader of North
Vietnam
§  Fierce Vietnamese
Nationalist and Communist

¡ Nickname: Uncle Ho

¡ Deaths attributed to
him: 1.7 million
 NUMBERS

¡ U SA deaths: 58,000 ¡ N orth Vietnam

¡ Wounded: 150,000 § Military deaths:
§  1.1 million
¡ M IA: 10,000
§ Civilian deaths:
§  US govt. says 30,000
¡ S outh Vietnam §  North Vietnam says
2 million
§ Killed: 110,000
§ Wounded: 500,000
§ Civilian deaths:
415,000
 VIETNAM TODAY

¡  Vietnam remains a communist country today.