Between March and May of the year 1954, a climatic confrontation between the French and North Vietnamese armies took place which decided the outcome of the First Indochina War, the precursor to the Vietnam War (Pringle). This climactic confrontation, called the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, was a major loss for the French, and a decisive victory for the army of Northern Vietnam, the Viet Minh. The French made several misjudgments in the battle, one was to tempt the Viet Minh’s General Giap into a frontal assault at Dien Bien Phu (Prados). This was a mistake as Dien Bien Phu was located at a valley, most of which was surrounded by the Viet Minh (Prados). The French also unassumingly believed that the Viet Minh did not possess a large artillery …show more content…
France’s loss at Dien Bien Phu led to the division of Vietnam that was decided upon in the Geneva Agreements of 1954. During the Battle of Na San, where the French and Viet Minh had previously fought over the T’ai region, General Jean Gilles, a commander of the French Union Forces in Indochina, had ordered French troops to build a fortified camp that would be supplied from the air (Morgan). Giap launched a frontal assault against the French here but massive casualties forced him to withdraw (Morgan). General Henri Navarre was commander of the French forces at Dien Bien Phu and sought to utilize a similar strategy (Cooper). Navarre ordered his troops to build an encampment near the border of Laos after hearing rumors that Giap would be headed to Laos (Cooper). The encampment would be surrounded and supported by fortified hillsides called Gabrielle, Anne-Marie, Dominique, Eliane, Isabelle, Claudine and Beatrice (Cooper). The strategy utilized by Navarre was intended to be defensive in nature, and was intended to prevent Giap’s advancement into Laos …show more content…
During the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, an operation called Operation Vulture was proposed that would involve the rescue of French forces by US troops while simultaneously commencing with an air strike that would turn the tides for the French (Prados). Unfortunately for the French, Operation Vulture was not approved (Waite). The US wanted the British to support them in their rescue of French forces, however the UK Joint Chiefs as well as several key figures were skeptical that air strikes could destroy the well-entrenched Viet Minh positions around the valley at Dien Bien Phu (Waite). As a result, Operation Vulture was rejected, and the French were left to their fate at Dien Bien
Turse argues that what happened at My Lai was not a one occurring event but one event in a series of event that took place in Vietnam. In his monograph, he talks about the massacre at Trieu
Appy’s book is valuable to its readers in showing how Vietnam became the template for every American war since, from novelties like the invasion of Grenada to the seemingly never-ending conflicts post-9/11. But before all that, there was Vietnam, and, larger lessons aside, Appy’s book is a fascinating, insightful, infuriating and thought-provoking study of that conflict, from its earliest days
Herring begins his account with a summary of the First Indochina War. He reports that the Vietnamese resisted French imperialism as persistently as they had Chinese. French colonial policies had transformed the Vietnamese economic and social systems, giving rise to an urban middle class, however; the exploitation of the country and its people stimulated more radical revolutionary activity. Herring states that the revolution of 1945 was almost entirely the personal creation of the charismatic leader Ho Chi Minh. Minh is described as a frail and gentle man who radiated warmth and serenity, however; beneath this mild exterior existed a determined revolutionary who was willing to employ the most cold- blooded methods in the cause to which he dedicated his life. With the guidance of Minh, the Vietminh launched as a response to the favorable circumstances of World War II. By the spring of 1945, Minh mobilized a base of great support. When Japan surrendered in 1945, the Vietminh filled the vacuum. France and the Vietminh attempted to negotiate an agreement, but their goals were irreconcilable.
The Vietnam War: A Concise International History is a strong book that portrays a vivid picture of both sides of the war. By getting access to new information and using valid sources, Lawrence’s study deserves credibility. After reading this book, a new light and understanding of the Vietnam war exists.
E-History (2012, N.d.). Retrieved March 25, 2012, from http://ehistory.osu.edu/vietnam/essays/battlecommand/index.cfm.
Lieutenant Colonel Moore led his unit, the 1st Battalion, 7th U.S. Cavalry to South Vietnam, and led them in the famous Battle of Ia Drang. Surrounded by enemy soldiers, and with no clear landing zone that would allow them to leave, Moore managed to persevere against the overwhelming odds and complete his objective. Moore's dictum that "there is always one more thing you can do to increase your odds of success" and the courage of his entire command are given credit with the outstanding outcome (Galloway). Despite the fact that Moore's outstanding leadership and tactical prowess led to more than a 4-to-1 ratio between North Vietnamese casualties and U.S. casualties in their first major engagement of the war. Many consider this early battle a small preview of the U.S. tactics later in the Vietnam Conflict.
The war was also known as the American War (in Vietnam, as opposed to the Vietnam War in America), the Vietnam Conflict, the Second Indochina War, and also the War Against the Americans to Save the Nation (The History of the Vietnam War). It started on November 1, 1955 and ended on April 30, 1975 (At a Glance June 2012). The main conflict that started the war was the aspiration of North Vietnam to unify the entire country under a single communist government that was modeled after the ones seen in the Soviet Union (now Russia) and China (Vietnam War |
The Battle of Long Tan took place on the 18th of August 1966 in a rubber plantation in Phuoc Tuy Province, South Vietnam. The soldiers fought in very tough conditions; “the battle was like no other in that it occurred admits the trees and bushes of a rubber plantation,” (Parks, 2005). The plantation already gloomy was made darker by tropical downpour. Men were being killed by rifle and machine gun bullets, mortars and shrapnel from grenades fired into trees to blast splinters into the sheltering soldiers. The Australians were nearly surrounded, isolated and running out o...
The French looked at the wars in numbers and how many lost on each side. They gathered from all the battles that they were winning because the Vietnamese casualties far outweighed the French; nonetheless they were wrong. To a certain point, the French were fighting a game that they could not win at any cost. The French had the military superiority, but the Vietnamese had the manpower and the Guerilla tactics. The Indochina War ended with the French losing terrible at Dienbienphu, where a whole French garrison was wiped out.
The book, Cold War Mandarin Ngo Dinh Diem and the Origins of America’s War in Vietnam 1950-1963, by Seth Jacobs is a comprehensive retelling of the rise and fall of Ngo Dinh Diem’s government in South Vietnam. In that retelling Jacob focuses on the major events that took place in Vietnam as well as showed how America backed a leader that did nothing to booster his nation and led America into one of the worst wars in its history. The Diem regime was a corrupt and tyrannical government that used the United States’ fears of communism to push its own goals that ultimately led to its own demise. Jacob viewed the escalation of America’s involvement in Vietnam as the following, “The nine-year “experiment” that ended when Diem died was America’s crossover point from advice and support to active cobelligerency in a Vietnamese civil war” (8).
Most historians view the nature of the Vietnam War as rooted in the history of the French colonies in Vietnam and the growing ethnic, political, and economical division between Catholic and Buddhist Vietnamese. (Brigham, Robert, Hoffman, Kenneth)
“Vietnam: A Mistake of Western Alliance” is not the only piece of writing by Mark Atwood Lawrence about the Vietnam War. He has written two books on the topic: Assuming the Burden: Europe and the American Commitment to War in Vietnam and The Vietnam War: A Concise International History. He has also written other essays about the war and co-edited The First Vietnam War: Colonial Conflict and Cold War Crisis. He received degrees from Stanford and Yale and is a Professor of History at The University of Texas at Austin (Mark Atwood Lawrence).
... many French commanders not even knowing where their own subordinate units were located.11 The French placed their defense in old, outdated tactics of static warfare. Gone were the days of two sides slugging it out against prepared reinforced defense structures. Closely integrating concentrated armor, infantry, and closely supported by aviation assets all combined to crush France in a matter of only six weeks. France was simply not prepared for this new age of warfare.
...nd innocent villagers of My Lai, it was a time when American’s questioned their own as being “bad guys” or “good guys”. Were America’s tortuous and cruel acts to be considered patriotic or dishonorable? Some Americans, with bitter feelings for all the American lives lost in the Vietnam War, gave credit to Lieutenant Calley for leading troops in participating in such an atrocious event. History shows that there is still much debate on some facts of the massacre and many stories and opinions, although we will never know the facts exactly, what we do know is that America will never forget this tragic event, it will be talked about in American History for many years to come, and the Vietminh hearts will always fill with sadness when they think of the many lives that were lost on that tragic day in history, their minds will always have unspeakable memories of that day.
Vietnam was a struggle which, in all honesty, the United States should never have been involved in. North Vietnam was battling for ownership of South Vietnam, so that they would be a unified communist nation. To prevent the domino effect and the further spread of communism, the U.S. held on to the Truman Doctrine and stood behind the South Vietnamese leader, Diem.