Trenton Adams
October 15, 2020
HIWD 375-B01
With the rise of communism after World War II, the United States embarked on a journey
of containment that would lead the county down a long road resulting in two major struggles in
Southeast Asia. Once China went communist, leaders of the United States felt that it was only a
matter of time before communism spilled into other counties in the region. The new policy of
containment eventually led America into wars in Korea and Vietnam. The affects these two wars
had on the countries involved would be felt for generations to come, especially the war in
Vietnam. There are many factors that contributed to the Vietnam war and it is important to
understand what lead to the war and events that transpired during it. This essay will break down
the cultures, politics, battle strategies, operation tactics, and how each home front played a role
on the war in Vietnam.
To completely understand the origins of the Vietnam war, there must be a dissection of
the history of the country’s culture. Migrants from China moved into present day Vietnam and
established a free dwelling there until the kingdom was conquered by Trieu Da, a military leader
for China during the Han Dynasty.1 After many revolts The Viets finally removed themselves
from Chinese oppression during the Ming Dynasty with the use of guerilla warfare.2 Even though
the Chinese were no longer in control of the region, the Vietnamese culture was heavily
influenced by Chinese culture. This can be seen in the Viets absolute obedience to a ruler after
1 Addington, Larry H. America’s War in Vietnam: A Short Narrative History. Indiana: Indiana University
Press, 2000, p. 3.
2 Ibid, p.3.
the Great Tay Son Rebellion.3 Another major influence on the Vietnam War was French
colonization in the country. The French arrived in the early 1800s and re-established control over
Vietnam after the French were driven out during World War II. This is important to note because
the French received support from the United States to re-establish its colonial dominance over
the Viets.
Another platform that played a major role in the road to the Vietnam War was politics. Ho
Chi Min would rise to leadership in North Vietnam with the goal of uniting all of Vietnam under
a communist government. Ho learned about communism due to his hate of French colonization.
He joined the Communist Party of France because he liked the anti-colonization rhetoric in Karl
Marx’s theory.4 The institution of Ho’s communist government put North Vietnam on a collision
course with the United States of America. With the Korean War still fresh in the minds of
Americans and the policy of containment in place, the United States backed the South Vietnam
democratic government and eventually sent in troops to prevent the North Vietnamese from
unifying Vietnam under a communist government.
This is where the history of Vietnam plays a major role on the actual Vietnam War. Early
in the war the Viets made head way with the use of guerilla warfare. This contributed to the
unsuccessful implementation of traditional warfare initially attempted by the United States. As a
result, there were numerous casualties on both sides with little to justify the number of deaths.
President Johnson began to order bombing to take place in North Vietnam; however, the
bombing would surge and then minimize.5 Johnson also restricted how far into Northern Vietnam
3 Ibid, p.6.
4 Ibid, p. 17.
5 Shore, Zachary. “Provoking America” Journal of Cold War Studies 17, no. 4 (2015). https://muse-jhu-
edu.ezproxy.liberty.edu/article/606022.
the bombings could go with the defining line of 19 degrees south in early April of 1968.6 This
tactic would prove to be detrimental to the United States due to the time the North Vietnamese
being able to recover during the times of minimization. Once Richard Nixon became the
President of the United States, the American people began to grow weary of the war. Nixon
would continue to carry out bomb attacks using American B 52s in what was termed as
Operation Linebacker.7 This operation would make some headway in getting the North
Vietnamese to come to the table for peace talks. After the peace talks broke down, Nixon
launched Linebacker II, which was another barrage of bombing in Northern Vietnam.
Peace talks would resume after Operation Linebacker II with little success. By this time
the American home front wanted nothing to do with the war in Vietnam. Many things attributed
to a negative outlook on the war from an American standpoint. One of the main issues Americans
had during the war was the selective service or the draft. Before its reform in 1967 any man that
did not purse higher education was eligible to be drafted and go to war.8 Once the draft was
reformed, it eliminated that loophole and young Americans began to move out of the county to
dodge the draft.9 Another issue that brought further protest of the Vietnam War was a lack of
confidence in the United States government. Several factors contributed to this lack of
confidence. One of the contributing factors came to be known as the Pentagon Papers. The leak
of these papers to the press exposed the planning process for the war and the papers did not
match what the leaders were saying. Another contributing factor to the lack of confidence in the
6 Van Geffen, Theo. “U.S. Mini-air War Against North Vietnam: Protective Reaction Strikes, 1968-1972.”
Air Power History 66, no. 2 (2019). https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/docview/2248169521?
pq-origsite=summon.
7 Haun, Phil. Jackson, Colin. “Breaker of Armies, Air Power in the Easter Offensive and the Myth of
Linebacker I and II in the Vietnam War.” International Security 40, no. 3 (2015). https://muse-jhu-
edu.ezproxy.liberty.edu/article/610051.
8 Addington, Larry H. America’s War in Vietnam: A Short Narrative History. Indiana: Indiana University
Press, 2000, p. 134.
9 Ibid, p. 134.
United States government was the Watergate Scandal. When the Pentagon Papers were released,
President Nixon got paranoid and formed a team of agents to carry out wire taps and perform
illegal investigations in an attempt to find information on individuals who may expose Nixon and
his decisions for the Vietnam War.10 This team of investigators would eventually be caught in the
act while attempting to break into the headquarters of the Democratic National Convention. This
would lead to President Nixon’s resignation and contributed to the growing unrest among
Americans on the home front.
As the war in Vietnam continued to drag on, the United States planned to gradually
withdrawal troops and began to train the South Vietnamese army how to defend their country
without American assistance. This plan did not go as planned. When the South Vietnamese were
humiliated in Cambodia on a sort of a dry run, the only way to salvage the democratic region of
Vietnam was an armistice. Although both sides came together and agreed, it would not last for
long. The North Vietnamese carried out major attacks in South Vietnam as American troops were
being withdrawal. As communist supporting civilians in South Vietnam joined the movement, it
did not take long before the South Vietnamese had to surrender. After a long and drawn out war,
Vietnam became a united country under the umbrella of a communist government. The
contributing factors discussed in this essay are important factors to take into account when trying
to understand what lead to the Vietnam War, how the war played out, and the affects the war had
on the countries involved.
10 Ibid, p. 142.
Bibliography
Addington, Larry H. America’s War in Vietnam: A Short Narrative History. Indiana: Indiana University
Press, 2000.
Haun, Phil. Jackson, Colin. “Breaker of Armies, Air Power in the Easter Offensive and the Myth of Linebacker I and
II in the Vietnam War.” International Security 40, no. 3 (2015). https://muse-jhu-
edu.ezproxy.liberty.edu/article/610051.
Shore, Zachary. “Provoking America” Journal of Cold War Studies 17, no. 4 (2015). https://muse-jhu-
edu.ezproxy.liberty.edu/article/606022.
Van Geffen, Theo. “U.S. Mini-air War Against North Vietnam: Protective Reaction Strikes, 1968-1972.” Air Power
History 66, no. 2 (2019). https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/docview/2248169521?pq-
origsite=summon.
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