Notes - Karnow book

Chapter 3 - Heritage of Vietnamese Nationalism

Trieu Au - Vietnamese equivalent of Joan of Ark
fought for independence vs. China (3rd Century A.D.)

Vietnamese nationalism vs. imperialists, mandarins, capitalists, big landlords
[MC all except]

Ho's names:
Nguyen Tat Than (cook in UK)
Van Ba (teacher)
Nguyen Sinh Cung (born)
Nguyen Ai Quoc - the patriot
Ho Chi Minh - enlightened

Ignorance of Vietnam's history (French and U.S.)

2 important elements of Vietnam's character:
Wet rice farming led to a strong collective spirit
Frequent wars led to Vietnamese evolving into a breed of warriors

Status of women in Vietnamese society was higher due to Trien Au and Truong sisters exploits

Vietnamese vs. Chinese tactic - better to conquer hearts than citadels
plays up political and moral qualities
plays down military advantage

Vietnam was NOT a peaceful nation prior to French arrival  [TF]
Trinh (N) vs Nguyen (S) were fighting factions

p120 Loyalty to the Emperor - Can Vuong (oath)
the rich give their wealth, the mighty give their strength, and the poor give their limbs [MC]

Vietnamese insurgents (vs French) lacked a unified direction
1 in the North, they persecuted Vietnamese Catholics
2 movement beaten by ruthless French "collective responsibility"

mission civilistrace    vs.     exploitation
British in India - "association"
French in Vietnam - "assimilation"

Reality was direct French Rule

Paul Doumer - liberal politician (income tax) 
made Vietnam (IndoChina) profitable for France

Most lucrative innovation - monopolies in alcohol, salt, and opium

#1 export = rice,  #2 was rubber


Ho was a patriot before a communist
Yet he chose communists as they split from the socialists

Lenin showed Ho that anti-colonial nationalism and revolution were inseparable

Ho's writings were circulated in Vietnam during his absence.

Ho was a propagandist and organizer (he learned in the Soviet Union and China)

French repression included air attacks against villages and slaughtering innocent villagers

IndoChinese Communist Party
- to include Laos and Cambodia
- called for full independence
- rule by the proletariate
* radical requests comparared to what Ho asked for from President Woodrow Wilson in 1918

Bao Dai was 18 years old and too weak to press French for reforms
Ngo Dinh Diem was his advisor and broke from Bao Dai

Ho cultivated his celibate image as Uncle Ho (although this was probably not true)

1940 Japanese crushed the French in Vietnam, U.S. in the Philippines, British in Malaya 
Asians ended European colonialism
Unlike others, Ho sided with the Allies and not the Japanese.

Vietnamese Independent League - VietMinh
formed in Vietnam as Ho returned after 30 years


Chapter 4  War with France

Sept 2, 1945 Ba Dinh Square
Ho asserted independence based on the Declaration of Independence

Ho was pragmatic to help Vietnam
Why would communist Ho approach the U.S.
Reasons U.S. wouldn't support Ho
1 US support of France
2 Fall of China to communism

FDR helped France to regain colonies so that France would fight Germany

FDR was inconsistent with IndoChina

U.S. Far East State Department urged France to give independence
U.S. European faction of the State Department supported France and they won the argument

$2.5B given to France by U.S. in Vietnam to fight spread of commmunism
This was more than the $ given to France in the Marshall Plan

OSS was the precursor to the CIA

Ho seemed to prefer U.S.
He used U.S. aid to oust the Japanese in WWII

1945 Deer Mission
U.S. OISS supported Ho in jungles, saved his life in exchange for
missions to look for downed U.S. pilots

Peter Dewey - first American OISS killed in Vietnam (South)

Without Japanese in Vietnam in WWII, Ho's rise to prominence probably would have never happened

Vo Nguyen Giap was #2 to Ho

Giap embraced French culture although he repudiated colonialism

Ho chose North Vietnam because:
1 proximity to China (weapons and agents)
2 rugged terrain (to hide)

End of WWII
Japan crushed French in Vietnam who had been cooperating AND the Japanese were doomed to defeat.  Who would fill the void?

Bao Dai - collaborated with the Japanese

Famine caused by Japan (and drought too) helped to rally the peasants
20% of the N. Vietnamese population died

Bao Dai's decision to abdicate gave Ho prestige and sovereign power to the VietMinh

Potsdam - British control So, Nationalist China controlled No., divided at the 16th parallel

Sept 24, 1945 the VietMinh strike and mark the start of the IndoChinese War

VietMinh atrocities follow French atrocities

Ho controlled and influenced the North

But in South Cochinchina, rival factions caused constant problems (there was no VietMinh solidarity)

Reunification of N & S preoccupied Ho for the rest of his life
Ho Chi Minh offensive, Ho Chi Minh City, Tet

Pattern emerged - French and U.S. would talk with communists only AFTER they capitulated

Revolving door of the 4th French Republic

French public supported the repression of Vietnam and return to the "empire"

Ho vs. France was equated with Soviet Union's ambitious designs elsewhere in the world.
Because of Stalin's actions, the U.S. gradually accepted this "thesis" (situation)

Dean Acheson - saw no distinction between nationalism and communism (Stalinists)


Chapter 5

Soviet Union and China both recognized the DRV

Truman - containment extended to Asia (supported France)

French - limited goal in Vietnam - return colony
USA - global goal in Vietnam - domino theory
* this gave French leverage to "blackmail" the U.S.

Containment - affected U.S. policy for decades

French agreement for Bao Dai solution and Vietnamese independence and unity lacked credibility from the start

Ho ignored, even though he promised neutrality in the Cold War

1950 - Once recognized by the USSR and China, Ho's status changed in the US view from nationalist to communist

$75M slush fund for Truman, approved by Congress, then $15M given to France on the advice of Acheson
Voice of America - Vietnamese language propaganda material was added

$3B spend in 4 years to help French

1945-54 50,000 French casualties

U.S. abandoning French in IndoChina was a possibility/suggestion by U.S. intelligence and policy people - TRUE

Dean Rusk - Assistant Secretary of State for 3 administrations
His view remained unchanged for 20 years

U.S. recognized Bao Dai and U.S. established an embassy in Vietnam

Famine 1945 aroused Vietnamese nationalism and anger against Japanese and French

Giap controlled a real, not rag tag army of VietMinh, supported by China

France's loss of the Chinese frontier region of Vietnam was their greatest colonial defeat leading to total loss in IndoChina

Giap's goals
1 Red River Valley in the North
2 Mekong Delta in the South

Nixon's Vietnamization = France's jaunissment

Dien Bien Phu - Gettysburg, Waterloo, Stalingrad
decisive battles of history

Giap - humans and weapons
humans were more important

French Navarre was tricked into Dien Bien Phu by Giap in Laos (ploy)

Timing
53 Stalin dies
54 Korean War settled by armistice
World looked to settle IndoChina War and ease tensions

French people were sick of the "dirty war" undermining European situation

China feared that the U.S. would replace French in IndoChina and menace China

Eisenhower would not act without British help to save French in IndoChina

Giap was successful in his attack vs. French
Attacked slowly and with tunnels and mortars
(He did not use the human wave as the Chinese had in Korea)

French surrendered one day before the Geneva Conference began in 1954

The only outcome of the 1954 conference was a ceasefire and end of hostilities
VietMinh were betrayed by China and Jo En Lai
JFK used this to send U.S. troops to Vietnam



Chapter 6 - America's Mandarin

Ngo Din Diem - background

U.S. could find no one better, but they were not fooled
LBJ compared Diem to Churchill

Diem ruled for 9 years

Diem prophesized that the communists would win in Vietnam due to weakness

Diem - not that popular on return to Vietnam as Prime Minister from exile

U.S. State Department vs. Joint Chiefs of Staff
argued over supporting Diem's government

Catholic exodus from the North was politically important to Diem

Even though propaganda was used, (Virgin Mary) these Vietnamese truly feared what would happen to them at the hands of the communists

Diem fixed elections over Bao Dai in the South, but Diem opposed countrywide elections

Communists in the North, betrayed at Geneva, felt elections would never occur (USSR and China did nothing)

China suggested the admission of 2 Vietnams to the United Nations, but the U.S. objected
* this mistake may have averted the war

Ho faced an economic crisis in the North and barely avoided another famine

But Agricultural Reorganization started a bloodbath and fear among peasants
Ho admitted mistakes were made (thousands dead)
Communists have never released these figures

Diem's crackdown of suspected VietMinh in the South also caused problems

Agrovilles under Diem were like strategic hamlets later (U.S.)

Peasants supported either side which left them alone, VC or Army
VietMinh had slight edge due to land reforms

Diem could resist pressure from the U.S. because U.S. needed an anti-communist government in Vietnam.
Diem was a puppet who pulled his own strings, and the U.S. too.


Quotes
Ch 3
When France arrived in Indochina, the Annamites were ripe for servitude
Paul Doumer

Ch 6
President Diem is the Churchill of the decade... in the vanguard of those leaders who stand for freedom.
LBJ




Pictures
from textbook



Maps

Very important to have on test