IB Docs (2) Team
2. Methods used and reasons for success
Vietnam finally achieved independence in 1975 following wars against both the French and the US. It was the tactics used by the Vietnamese under the leadership of Ho Chi Minh and General Vo Nguyen Giap that explain this success.
Guiding questions:
What methods were used to achieve independence?
- The war against the French
- The war against Ngo Dinh Diem and the US
What was the role and importance of leaders in the fight for independence?
1. What methods were used to achieve independence?
As you have seen, in order to achieve full independence the Vietnamese had to fight the French, the South Vietnamese government after 1954, and - as the US became increasingly involved - the Americans. In all cases, the Vietnamese used guerilla tactics against the conventional military tactics of the opposing sides and in both cases guerilla tactics worked against superior military forces. Why was this?
The war against the French
'Our secret weapon is nationalism. To have nationhood, which is a sign of maturity, is greater than any weapon in the world. If the tiger ever stands still or is trapped out in the open the mighty elephant of France will crush him. However, the tiger of Indochina is going to hide in the jungle by day. He will steal out at night and he will leap upon the back of the elephant and tear great chunks out of the elephant's hide - and slowly the elephant will bleed to death. it might take three years, it may take five, it may take ten, but that will be war in Inochina'
Ho Chi Minh, 1946
Starter: What points is Ho making in this interview of 1946 about the nature of the fight against the French?
Firstly, the French - and later the Americans - underestimated the Vietnamese. They also made the mistake of looking for military solutions to political problems. In contrast to this strategy, the Vietnamese concentrated on both political and military aspects. Political training for the Viet Minh solider was seen of being more important than his military training. Political cadres were attached to all sections of the Viet Minh army. Cadres were also sent to the villages of Vietnam to spread anti-French propaganda and to encourage ideas on land reform.
Task One
ATL: Thinking skills
In pairs read the following sources.
What can you learn from these sources about the reasons for the success of the Viet Minh in gaining peasant support?
Source A
The nation has its root in the people.
In the Resistance war and national reconstruction, the main force lies in the people. Therefore, all the people in the army, administration and mass organizations who are in contact or live with the people, must remember and carry out the following twelve recommendations:
Six forbiddances:
1 — Not to do what is likely to damage the land and crops or spoil the houses and belongings of the people.
2 — Not to insist on buying or borrowing what the people are not willing to sell or lend.
3 — Not to bring living hens into mountainous people’s houses.
4 — Never break our word.
5 — Not to give offence to people’s faith and customs (such as to lie down before the altar, to raise feet over the hearth, to play music in the house, etc.).
6 — Not to do or speak what is likely to make people believe that we hold them in contempt.
Six permissables:
1 — To help the people in their daily work (harvesting, fetching fire-wood, carrying water, sewing, etc.).
2 — Whenever possible to buy commodities for those who live far from markets (knife, salt, needle, thread, pen, paper, etc.).
3 — In spare time, to tell amusing simple and short stories useful to the Resistance, but not betraying secrets.
4 — To teach the population the national script and elementary hygiene.
5 — To study the customs of each region so as to be acquainted with them in order to create an atmosphere of sympathy first, then gradually to explain to the people to abate their superstitions.
6 — To show to the people that you are correct, diligent and disciplined.
https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/ho-chi-minh/works/1948/04/05.htm
Source B
For a Vietnamese of that generation there was only one question: which side are you on, the Vietnamese side or the colonialist side? And from this passion, the Vietminh over a period of eight years welded an extrodinary political and military force. To be a peasant, consigned by birth to a life of misery, poverty, ignorance, the Vietminh showed a way out. A man could be as good as his innate talent permitted; lack of privilege was for the first time in centuries not a handicap - if anything, it was an asset. One could fight and die serving the nation, liberating both the nation and oneself. Nepotism and privilege, which had dominated the feudal society of the past, were wiped away. One rose only by ability
David Halberstan, Ho, pg 93
General Giap planned the war in three stages, which unfolded as he had planned.
Stage 1: 1947
Retreat and rebuild the Viet Minh. They established bases in the secure, mountainous Viet Bac area near the Chinese border
Stage 2: 1948 - 48
The Viet Minh went on the offensive, concentrating on guerilla attacks with the aim of wearing down the offensive
Stage 3: 1950 - 51 and 1954
The Viet Minh launch direct counter-offensives against the French. In 1950 the Viet Minh successfully attacked a French force at Cao Bang, near the Chinese border.
This and other attacks gave them control of the northern part of North Vietnam by early 1951. Although they suffered set-backs in 1952 and 1953, Ho and Giap realised that time was on their side and that the longer it dragged on, the stronger opposition to it would grow in France - which is what happened.
Thus in early 1954, the French decided to try and end the war quickly. This led to the Battle of Dien Bien Phu. The French now had an advantage in that they were being supported by the US (see previous page). Nevertheless, Dien Bein Phu ended in a resounding defeat for the French.
Task Two
ATL: Thinking skills
Watch the following video and make note on the following:
1. The French aims in setting up a base in enemy territory at Dien Bien Phu
2. The ways in which the French underestimated the Vietminh
3. The ways in which the French plan went dreadfully wrong and why it went so wrong
4. The American response
5. The results of this battle and French defeat
Task Three
ATL: Thinking and commumication skills
You are a foreign correspondent writing for a European newspaper. Write an article on the Battle of Dien Bien Phu and the reasons for the French defeat. You will need to put the war in context, provide a headline, interviews etc. What are your predictions on what will happen next?
Note that the war against the French is also covered in episode 1 of the excellent Ken Burns series on the Vietnam War. This can be found on YouTube. Watch from 30 minutes to 60 minutes.
The war against Ngo Dinh Diem and the US
As you read on the previous page, the Geneva Accords were not accepted by either side, and Diem's rule quickly alienated all sections of society leading to the formation of the National Liberation Front. Althought the NLF consisted of many different groups, in reality the leadership was communist. Opponents to Diem's regime became known as the Viet Cong (VC).
As under the French, the political and military tactics of the VC allowed them to gain increasing support after 1956. Tactics included the following:
Politicising the peasantry: telling the peasants how they were being exploited and promising real independence, land reform and peace. By emphasising the struggle against 'US imperialism' and portraying Diem as an American puppet, they were able to increase support
Terror: assassinating village officials. Teachers were often targets as they were seen as agents of the Diem government. This use of terror helped show the power of the communists.
Raids: From 1961. the VC stepped up their attacks against the Diem regime carrying out raids on villages on towns
Infiltration from the North: fighters, weapons and supplies began moving along the jungle trails from the North, known as the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
By 1961, the US estimated that the NLF had extended its control to 80 per cent of South Vietnam's countryside and had 19,000 troops. Diem thus faced a wide-spread rebellion. In these circumstances, support from the US grew in the form of advisors and military hardware. Under Johnson, this developed into a war involving US troops; the first US marines landed in Vietnam in 1965.
Task One
ATL: Thinking skills
Continue watching the CNN video from 16 minutes to find out more about how the US got directly involved in Vietnam, and it's military strategy under Johnson. Answer the questions below (Click on the eye).
14. What was the significance of the Gulf of Tonkin incident?
15. What kind of attacks were launched by the Viet Cong?
16. What two actions did the US take now against North Vietnam?
17. What was Johnson’s belief re the true aim of communist actions in North Vietnam?
18. What was the role of the USSR in Vietnam?
19. What tactics did the USA use in Vietnam (keep coming back to this question)
20. What was the impact of Vietnam being ‘a television war’?
21. What problems did the US face in fighting this war? (keep adding to this question)
22. What was the impact of the US bombing of the Ho Chi Minh Trail?
23. How did the Sino-Soviet split affect the Vietnam conflict?
24. What kind of opposition developed in the US against the war?
25. What was the nature of the Tet offensive of 1968?
26. What was the significance of the Tet offensive?
27. What was the attitude of Nixon towards peace initiatives?
As you will have seen from the video, the US failed to learn from the French' mistakes. They continued to use more conventional tactics - 'Search and Destroy' missions and bombing missions against which the guerilla tactics of the VC were very successful
Task Two
ATL: Thinking skills
Watch the People's Century 'War of the Flea' video from 12 minutes 40 seconds and watch to 38 minutes
Make notes on tactics used by the Viet Cong.
Task Three
ATL: Thinking, research and communication skills
Using the information from the video above as well as the following sites discuss in groups:
1. Why the VC tactics were effective. (Check your answer by clicking on the eye below).
2. Divide your points into: military tactics, political campaigns, mobilisation of the people, use of terror.
Useful sites for extra information:
Military advantages of the VC over the Americans
Vietnamese forces in the Vietnam War
VC tactics were effective because:
they seized weapons in small scale engagements where their superior position and superior numbers would give the assurance of easy victories (90% o f their weapons seized from Saigon or US forces up to 1964)
They relied on surprise attacks and lethal booby traps
They cut most of the roads leading to Saigon so that political liaison between the capital and the villages was effectively broken
There was a tight organization; new recruits joined a 3 person cell attached in turn to a 3 cell squad which worked tightly together on military operations
They followed a 12 point code to show respect to local communities
Every soldier was encourage to know what his/her role was; they were given political training and self-criticism was encouraged
Even when they were supported with weapons from the North down the Ho Chi Minh Trail allowing them to do more large scale attacks, guerilla tactics continued throughout
The guerillas could always choose targets and accept or reject combat at will
They used the tunnel system extensively
Their knowledge of the terrain and the support of the local people remained essential to their strength and success
They carried out political education in the villages
They were ruthless against opponents assassinating or kidnapping officials who were working for the Saigon government
In much of South Vietnam, the NLF became the only government operating its own schools, hospitals etc
The VC maintained a viable economy in the areas they controlled; they collected taxes and revenues from commerce
They reorganised the villages economically; they encouraged villages to set up village organisations which controlled taxes and planned defense
Task Four
ATL: Thinking skills
Now discuss US tactics and why these were ineffective. Also the problems that the US faced in Vietnam.
Click on the eye below for suggestions to this questions.
The bombing of North Vietnam meant that the North got increasingly involved in the fight against the US so that by 1967 virtually all first line combat troops of the VC were provided with modern Chinese and Soviet weaponry
The bombing raids in the North also failed to have any serious impact on the rural economy and failed to break the morale of the North
Search and destroy tactics alienated the local population but were also ineffective in allowing the Americans to hold land; they could clear land of VC in the day but when they returned to their bases at night the VC could return
Defoliation through Agent Orange further alienated the local population; thousands of refugees were created through US tactics. As Tabor writes, 'to oppose the guerilla tactics, the American tactics were compelled to destroy the very country they were fighting for...every battle meant the attrition of native support and the creation of a new VC'. (Tabor: The War of the Flea)
The US faced the problems of fighting an enemy who knew the territory, had the support of the local population and was mostly indistinguishable from the local population
The US also faced the problem of supporting a government in the south which was ineffective and corrupt. Diem's nine successors were all corrupt and oppressive and failed to improve public support or to improve the fighting quality of the AVRN which was very poor.
Time was on the side of the Vietnamese; the American government could only maintain public and Congress support for a limited time for a war that they were clearly not winning.
The Vietnamese were fighting a total war mobilising all their resources to fight the US; the US was trying to fight a limited war and so was never put on a war footing. There was a lack of unity and co-ordination within the American military machine
The extent of public opposition at home further made it difficult for the US to continue the war. There had been no declaration of war by the US on North Vietnam and there was a lack of unity within the country. there was no media censorship and the images on TV about the suffering of the Vietnamese further eroded public support for the war
The US never understood the nature of the Vietnamese conflict. The Americans were involving themselves in a civil war in a country that had fought against foreign domination for centuries; the Americans were portrayed as foreign aggressors and the Vietcong were able to portray themselves as liberators from foreign rule
2. Role and importance of leaders of independence movements
As you will have seen from your reading and tasks on the Vietnamese wars, two men stand out as key for Vietnamese independence: Ho Chi Minh and General Vo Nguyen Giap
Task One
ATL: Thinking skills
Read this time line on Ho Chi Minh's life.
a. What factors influenced his political thinking?
b. What strategies did he use to try to liberate Vietnam?
c. What qualities did he show as a leader?
This video also gives an overview of Ho's life, political influences and the key actions that he took to try to liberate Vietnam. Watch and add to your notes.
Task Two
ATL: Thinking skills
Using the information above, and what you have learned so far about Ho from your previous tasks, discuss in pairs or small groups what factors made Ho so successful as a leader of the independence movement.
Task Three
ATL: Thinking skills
Read the following obituary for Giap.
What qualities of Giap are highlighted? What criticisms are made?
General Vo Nguyen Giap obituary (the Guardian)
Military commander who led Vietnamese forces to victory over the US and French
Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn