Two Vietnams and the road to war, 1954-1963

H2 History - syllabus 9174, 2027

What this lesson teaches

  • I can judge how the Cold War played out in Korea, Vietnam and Cuba, and how each conflict changed the Cold War.

    Syllabus 9174, Paper 1, Theme I, Learning Outcomes. evaluate the manifestation of the Cold War conflict across different contexts over time, and its impact on the Cold War

Make a guess

The Geneva settlement called for national elections in Vietnam in 1956. What do you think Diem did?

  1. Held them and accepted a narrow defeat by Ho.
  2. Held them in the South and won a fair majority.
  3. Refused to hold them, with US support.
Show the answer

Refused to hold them, with US support.

Diem argued free voting was impossible in the North, and Ho was expected to win. Without elections, division hardened into war.

Diem's unpopular South Vietnam and Hanoi's decision to support armed struggle turned division into war.

In the South, Ngo Dinh Diem became president in 1955 with American backing. He refused to hold the 1956 elections, arguing that free voting was impossible in the communist North. The USA supported this, partly because Ho was expected to win.

Diem's rule was narrow and repressive. He favoured fellow Catholics in a mainly Buddhist country and imprisoned opponents. His campaigns against former Viet Minh members drove many into armed resistance.

In 1959, North Vietnam's leaders decided to support armed struggle in the South. Supplies began moving down what became the Ho Chi Minh Trail. In December 1960 the National Liberation Front (NLF), called the Viet Cong by its enemies, was formed to fight Diem.

Diem's position weakened further. In 1963, Buddhist protests, including self-immolations, drew world attention. In November 1963, South Vietnamese generals overthrew and killed Diem, with American approval of the coup. Several unstable governments followed.

Diem
President of South Vietnam from 1955; overthrown November 1963.
Hanoi's 1959 decision
Support for armed struggle in the South.
NLF
Formed December 1960.

Real examples to use

Diem's referendum, October 1955

Diem claimed about 98 per cent of the vote against Bao Dai in a rigged poll, then declared a republic.

Ap Bac, January 1963

A small communist force beat a much larger South Vietnamese army unit, exposing its weakness.

Thich Quang Duc, 11 June 1963

A Buddhist monk burned himself to death in Saigon in protest at Diem's rule. Photographs turned US opinion against Diem.

Worked example: Weighing local actors in an H1 essay

An essay asks how far South Vietnam's weakness shaped the war.

  1. Weakness: Diem's repression and the post-1963 instability fuelled the insurgency.
  2. North Vietnam: Hanoi's 1959 decision and the Ho Chi Minh Trail drove the war.
  3. USA: American support kept the South alive and later escalated the war.
  4. Judgement: South Vietnam's weakness made escalation likely, but Hanoi's aims and US commitment shaped the war.

Watch out for this

The Viet Cong was simply an army sent from North Vietnam.

The NLF drew on southerners opposed to Diem, though it was directed and supplied by Hanoi and later reinforced by northern troops.

Check your understanding

Why did Diem refuse to hold the 1956 elections?

  1. He argued free voting was impossible in the North, and expected Ho to win.
  2. The UN cancelled them because of fighting in the countryside.
  3. Ho Chi Minh refused to take part unless French troops left the South first.
Show the answer

He argued free voting was impossible in the North, and expected Ho to win.

Right. The USA backed his refusal.

Sources and context

Background reading for this chapter.

  • Johnson explains why Americans are in Vietnam

    Paraphrase of President Lyndon Johnson's address at Johns Hopkins University, 7 April 1965.

  • McNamara recommends more troops

    Paraphrase of a memorandum from Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara to President Johnson, 20 July 1965.

  • The Geneva final declaration

    Paraphrase of paragraph 7 of the final declaration of the Geneva Conference on Indochina, 20 July 1954, as cabled by the US delegation.

  • Nixon appeals to the silent majority

    Paraphrase of President Richard Nixon's televised address to the nation on the war in Vietnam, 3 November 1969.

  • Eisenhower explains the stakes, 1954

    Extract from President Dwight Eisenhower's news conference of 7 April 1954, answering a question on the strategic importance of Indochina, a month before the French defeat at Dien Bien Phu. A US government record in the public domain; text from the American Presidency Project.

  • a Defense official ranks American aims, March 1965

    Extract from "Action for South Vietnam", a paper prepared by John McNaughton, Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, Washington, 10 March 1965, two days after the first US Marines landed at Da Nang. Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, volume II, document 193. A US government document in the public domain.

  • the Secretary of State on American commitments, July 1965

    Extract from a paper by Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Washington, 1 July 1965, written for the President's meeting on whether to send large numbers of combat troops. Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, volume III, document 39. A US government document in the public domain.

  • the Under Secretary of State dissents, July 1965

    Extract from "A Compromise Solution for South Viet-Nam", a paper by Under Secretary of State George Ball for the same meeting, Washington, undated (circulated 1 July 1965). The President's security adviser predicted that Johnson would "listen hard to George Ball and then reject his proposal". Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, volume III, document 40. A US government document in the public domain.

  • the Secretary of Defense explains the strategy, November 1965

    Extract from a draft memorandum from Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara to President Johnson, "Courses of Action in Vietnam", Washington, 3 November 1965. Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, volume III, document 189. A US government document in the public domain.

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