Vietnamization
•Anti-war demonstrations became very popular in the U.S.
•President Nixon was elected in 1968 on a peace platform (Tricky Dicky)
•Nixon wanted to find a way out honourably
•Developed Vietnamization with help of Henry Kissinger and Henry Cabot-Lodge•The plan had a two track formula
•1.) Make the south well trained enough militarily that they could withstand the north on their own
•2.) Strengthen the south’s government to attract a broader base
•President Nixon was elected in 1968 on a peace platform (Tricky Dicky)
•Nixon wanted to find a way out honourably
•Developed Vietnamization with help of Henry Kissinger and Henry Cabot-Lodge•The plan had a two track formula
•1.) Make the south well trained enough militarily that they could withstand the north on their own
•2.) Strengthen the south’s government to attract a broader base
US Withdrawals
•American’s began to make their first withdrawals in Aug. 1969
•The air war increased
•B-52s dropped more bombs on North Vietnam than during all of WWII
•1971 almost entirely an air war
•1972 200,000 troops
•Jan. 1973 a cease fire is signed (Americans got their POWs back after 20 years of fighting)
•Aug. 1973 all U.S. forces out of Vietnam
•Spring 1975 all of south Vietnam falls to the north and becomes Communist
•The air war increased
•B-52s dropped more bombs on North Vietnam than during all of WWII
•1971 almost entirely an air war
•1972 200,000 troops
•Jan. 1973 a cease fire is signed (Americans got their POWs back after 20 years of fighting)
•Aug. 1973 all U.S. forces out of Vietnam
•Spring 1975 all of south Vietnam falls to the north and becomes Communist
Effects of the Vietnam War
•Costs the U.S. 150 billion dollars
•57, 939 men killed
•Loss of a country to Communism
•Limitations brought in on the President’s powers to wage war (Vietnam never declared a war)
•Made the U.S. look bad worldwide
•Conscription was ended in U.S.
•57, 939 men killed
•Loss of a country to Communism
•Limitations brought in on the President’s powers to wage war (Vietnam never declared a war)
•Made the U.S. look bad worldwide
•Conscription was ended in U.S.
Summary: Vietnamization was used to make the south to be able to stand on its own and strengthen its government