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01:00In 1945 and 1975, Indochina was wracked by one of the longest and most bitter wars of the century.
01:14The battle for Vietnam drew in millions of soldiers, Vietnamese, French, American, Australian, Korean, and British,
01:22and profoundly affected the lives of vast numbers of civilians.
01:39The American War, which lasted from 1960 to 1975, was a conflict fought with extreme ferocity and destructiveness.
01:50There was on the ground a guerrilla war of firefights, merciless search-and-destroy operations, and endless sieges,
01:58and also an air war of extreme intensity.
02:05Eight million tons of bombs wrought havoc on the landscape and people.
02:16The war that cost 1.3 million lives, including 58,000 American dead, was about much more than the fate
02:25of one small country.
02:29Twenty years before the first American combat soldiers set foot in Vietnam, the seeds for America's war had been sown.
02:56With the partitioning of Europe, east and west, after World War II, the Western powers were on the alert for
03:02communist gains in the territories of the old empires.
03:06Soviet expansion in Europe was perceived as the greatest threat.
03:29In October 1949, Mao Zedong proclaimed the People's Republic of China.
03:35The battle lines of the Cold War were now clearly drawn.
03:57To American strategists, the communist victory in China fueled the fear of Soviet and communist expansion.
04:09At stake, they believed, were economic interests throughout Asia and the Pacific and U.S. communication and trade links to
04:17the Indian Ocean.
04:20President Eisenhower believed that one Asian country falling to communism would bring down its neighbors in a domino effect.
04:30Soviet and Chinese power would advance southwards until even the Australian continent was threatened.
04:43It was Indochina that seemed to hold the key to the future of southern Asia.
04:51The region bordered the newly created Chinese People's Republic and was still a French colony.
05:01French strategy was to hold on to power by creating puppet states in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.
05:13The biggest obstacle to the French plan was the Viet Minh, a huge Vietnamese independence movement.
05:27In September 1945, under the leadership of Ho Chi Minh, the Vietnamese League for Independence, known as the Viet Minh,
05:36took Hanoi from the Japanese occupying forces and declared independence for the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.
05:47In the south, the Japanese surrendered to the British.
05:55However, France still considered Vietnam her colony.
05:59General Gracie, the British commander, ordered the Japanese re-armed to fight the Viet Minh to retake the colony.
06:07Thus, the French-Indochina war began.
06:15In the war between the French and the Viet Minh, the United States had, until recently, stayed strictly neutral.
06:24U.S. officials had originally supported the Viet Minh and its leader, Ho Chi Minh,
06:30and they also strongly opposed the French attempt to keep their old colony.
06:39However, that was before the rise of Communist China.
06:44Now, the fear was that if the Viet Minh beat the French,
06:49they would open the door to the Chinese and the Soviets.
06:54Cold War politics had come to Vietnam.
07:11The Soviet Union and China recognized the Viet Minh as the only legitimate government of Vietnam in January 1950.
07:21Already, China was giving Ho Chi Minh arms, ammunition, and training bases.
07:33The United States, for its part, recognized a French creation, the state of Vietnam.
07:39And U.S. President Harry Truman approved a program of military and economic help.
07:47But even before the order was signed, the situation changed dramatically.
07:59In June 1950, war broke out in Korea.
08:04Communist northern forces, backed by the Soviet Union and China,
08:08invaded the South, and the U.S. sent troops to intervene.
08:17By October, American units were locked in combat with Chinese divisions on the Korean battlefield.
08:25Now, it seemed to the United States more important than ever to contain China on every possible front.
08:33That meant a massive increase in backing for the French in Vietnam.
08:44By 1953, a year into the presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower,
08:49U.S. support for the French war against the Viet Minh had turned into a flood of arms and cash.
08:54The United States paid three-quarters of the cost, a staggering $1 billion in 1954.
09:14The problem was that even with colossal American aid, the French were failing to beat the Viet Minh.
09:23The guerrillas now numbered 120,000 trained troops, backed by 200,000 local fighters.
09:40As French casualties passed 50,000, in France, the public grew weary of the seemingly endless war.
09:51There were calls for negotiations with the Viet Minh.
09:55Pressure for talks grew even greater as the conflict in Korea ended.
10:01But Eisenhower and his vice president, Richard Nixon, were dead set against any compromise.
10:17In spite of U.S. opposition, some kind of peace effort in Indochina looked inevitable.
10:22The hope was that the French might win a major battlefield victory
10:26and so strengthen their hand in any talks.
10:34The result was a plan for a big offensive in late 1953.
10:41The main effort would be in southern Vietnam,
10:45but the French also meant to launch a blocking operation in the north
10:48that just might deliver a major victory.
11:10By now, vast tracts of French Indochina had fallen under Viet Minh control.
11:20In the northeast of Vietnam, the only French territory was an enclave around Hanoi.
11:28The insurgents' main military stronghold was in the Viet Bak,
11:33a mountainous region near the Chinese border.
11:36To the Viet Minh, already in control of vast areas of Laos,
11:41its royal capital, Luang Prabang, offered a tempting target,
11:45and the French were keenly aware of the danger.
11:57The French plan was to create at Dien Bien Phu, deep in hostile territory,
12:02a fortified base which would threaten the enemy's supply lines to Laos.
12:11Just as important, the fort might act as bait,
12:14luring the Viet Minh to attack with their best troops.
12:21The base could be supplied from Laos overland,
12:24and it could also be reinforced by air.
12:30The result they hoped for would be a set-piece battle
12:33that would allow superior French firepower
12:36to inflict a decisive defeat on the Viet Minh.
12:49In late November 1953,
12:52the Viet Minh's 316th Division advanced towards Laos,
12:57just as the French had expected.
13:00On November 20th, 800 elite French paratroopers,
13:05including a battalion of the Foreign Legion,
13:07were dropped near Dien Bien Phu.
13:11The reaction of the Viet Minh
13:13was to march elements of five more divisions
13:16towards the French camp.
13:24The French paratroopers at Dien Bien Phu
13:26quickly set about building fortifications
13:29and an airstrip.
13:30The idea was to mount offensive sweeps
13:33into the surrounding area,
13:35but soon the French were forced to think again.
13:44As the Viet Minh massed around the base,
13:46it became suicidal to venture far outside.
13:50Within two months,
13:51as the noose around Dien Bien Phu
13:53was drawn ever tighter,
13:55even a fighting withdrawal
13:57was no longer an option for the French.
14:10Even though his forces were now surrounded,
14:13the French commander,
14:14Colonel Christian de Castry,
14:16was completely confident.
14:18He was certain that aircraft
14:20could supply all the base's needs.
14:23Only enemy artillery posed any real danger.
14:32Some Viet Minh guns had begun to fire on the base,
14:36but the French were sure
14:37that only a handful could have been deployed
14:40in such difficult, hilly terrain.
14:46As for Viet Minh supplies and reinforcements,
14:50French air power would make sure
14:51they never reached Dien Bien Phu.
15:03Even though up to a hundred French planes
15:06attacked Viet Minh's supply routes every day,
15:09their efforts were having little effect.
15:11Too often, aircraft were grounded by the weather,
15:15and in any case,
15:16the Viet Minh were masters of camouflage
15:18and deployed huge numbers of anti-aircraft guns.
15:29In a massive effort over several months,
15:32General Voi Nian Jop,
15:33the Viet Minh commander,
15:35used 50,000 support troops
15:37to deploy more than 200 artillery pieces
15:40and anti-aircraft guns
15:41and a vast supply of ammunition
15:43around Dien Bien Phu.
15:45It was one of the most extraordinary feats
15:48of logistics in military history.
15:51To the 10,000 French now inside the base,
15:54the realization that they were surrounded
15:56by field guns and mortars
15:58and four deadly Soviet Katusha rocket systems
16:01came as a dreadful shock.
16:22The French base at Dien Bien Phu
16:24had been sited on a flat valley floor.
16:30The airstrip and headquarters
16:32were the focus for the main battle position,
16:36a complex of five strongholds
16:38codenamed Françoise,
16:40Huguette,
16:42Claudine,
16:43Eliane,
16:44Dominique.
16:46To break up attacks,
16:48strongpoints Anne-Marie,
16:50Gabrielle,
16:51Beatrice,
16:52and Isabelle
16:53had been created on a series of low hills.
17:00The base was manned
17:02by nine infantry battalions
17:03and two crack parachute battalions.
17:07For support,
17:08there were artillery and mortars,
17:10light tanks,
17:11and fighter bombers.
17:21By early March 1954,
17:2549,000 Viet Minh
17:26had deployed around Dien Bien Phu.
17:30Three infantry divisions
17:32and two independent regiments
17:35were supported by the field guns
17:37of the 351st Heavy Division
17:39on the hills to the east
17:41and by heavy mortars on all sides.
17:47Anti-aircraft guns
17:48were secretly placed
17:50to cover the air routes
17:51in and out of the valley.
18:01As the weeks went on,
18:03Viet Minh artillery fire
18:05caused more and more casualties
18:06amongst the French
18:07at Dien Bien Phu.
18:13The fortifications had never been meant
18:15to withstand heavy artillery
18:17and the French were horrified
18:19to find that neither counter-battery fire
18:21nor airstrikes
18:22were able to silence the enemy guns.
18:29They were too well dug in
18:31to hillside caves and bunkers
18:33and too well camouflaged.
18:38Any day now,
18:39the French knew,
18:40they would face
18:41an all-out enemy attack.
18:43It came on March 13, 1954.
18:55The Viet Minh assault
18:56began with a massive
18:58artillery bombardment.
19:02French gun positions
19:03in the central area
19:04were hammered.
19:07In three days
19:08after repeated human wave assaults
19:11and hopeless French counter-attacks,
19:13the Viet Minh took
19:14the northern strong points
19:15of Beatrice, Gabrielle,
19:17and Anne-Marie.
19:28The loss of their northern outposts
19:30cost the French 1,500 men.
19:34The Viet Minh
19:35had suffered much worse,
19:37nearly 7,000 killed and wounded,
19:39but they had proved
19:41that the French defenses
19:42could be overcome.
19:49They had also closed down
19:51the base's main airfield
19:53for good.
19:54the French would now
19:55have to depend
19:56on parachute drops
19:57for supply and reinforcement.
20:07After a two-week lull,
20:09the Viet Minh
20:09renewed their offensive.
20:17The battle raged
20:19for a fortnight
20:19with the French
20:20contesting
20:21every foot of ground.
20:24In the end,
20:25shocking Viet Minh casualties
20:27forced General Jaap
20:28to pause.
20:33Meanwhile,
20:35the French situation
20:36was getting desperate.
20:37Ammunition and food
20:39was short
20:39and 3,000 wounded
20:41were trapped inside the base
20:43in appalling conditions.
20:51with disaster looming on the battlefield,
20:54the French appealed
20:55to the United States
20:56for help.
20:57There was a plan
20:58to use American bombers
20:59and even to drop
21:01four nuclear weapons,
21:02which was codenamed
21:03Operation Vulture.
21:07But Eisenhower ruled out
21:09any American military intervention
21:11unless other allies
21:12took part.
21:13None agreed to help.
21:16The French at Dien Bien Phu
21:18were to be left
21:19to their fate.
21:39Although the outpost
21:40Isabel was still
21:41in French hands,
21:43it was by now
21:44cut off
21:44from the central stronghold
21:46at Dien Bien Phu.
21:50Besieged by the Viet Minh
21:51304th Division,
21:53Isabel was under
21:54heavy artillery fire.
21:59Incredibly,
22:00although attacked
22:01time and time again,
22:02the post would hold out
22:03until the very end
22:04of the battle.
22:13In the central sector,
22:15strongpoint Francoise
22:17had been abandoned
22:18and the Viet Minh
22:19had captured Dominique
22:20along with part of
22:21Elian and Huguette.
22:28However,
22:29there were two new
22:30strongpoints,
22:31Sparrowhawk and Juno.
22:38Meanwhile,
22:39the Viet Minh
22:40had adopted new tactics
22:41in an attempt
22:42to reduce
22:43their terrible casualties.
22:44secretly,
22:46they had dug
22:46more than 50 miles
22:47of trenches,
22:48creeping right up
22:49to the French perimeter.
22:55The final Viet Minh
22:56assault came on the night
22:58of May 1st,
22:591954.
23:10After a massive barrage,
23:12the Viet Minh infantry
23:13hit the remaining bunkers
23:15of Huguette and Elian.
23:19In spite of fierce French resistance,
23:22positions fell one by one
23:23until,
23:24on the evening of the 6th day,
23:26a huge mine demolished
23:28part of Elian
23:29and its last bunkers
23:30were overrun.
23:42At 5.30 p.m.
23:43on May 7th,
23:441954,
23:46Vietnamese forces
23:47occupied the French
23:48command post
23:49and the French commander
23:50ordered his troops
23:51to cease fire.
23:53It was 55 days
23:55to the minute
23:55since the battle
23:56had begun.
23:58At Tian Bien Phu,
23:593,000 French troops
24:01had been killed
24:02and 8,000 wounded.
24:05The Viet Minh
24:06had suffered much worse,
24:07with more than 8,000 dead
24:09and 12,000 wounded.
24:12But for them,
24:13the outcome
24:14had still been a triumph.
24:20On the eve
24:21of an international conference
24:22on Indochina,
24:23they had shattered
24:24France's resolve
24:25to carry on the war.
24:33The Viet Minh
24:34expected that
24:35the negotiations
24:35at Geneva
24:36would open the way
24:37for full Vietnamese
24:38independence
24:39and a major role
24:41for them
24:41in running
24:42the new country.
24:46In fact,
24:47the Viet Minh
24:48negotiators
24:49faced bitter disappointment.
24:55Behind closed doors,
24:56Chinese Prime Minister
24:58Zhao Enlai
24:59struck a deal
25:00with the French
25:00and forced
25:01Ho Chi Minh
25:02to agree
25:03that the country
25:04be divided
25:04into two zones.
25:11There was
25:12to be a cease fire,
25:13but there would be
25:14no immediate decision
25:15about who was
25:16to control Vietnam
25:17until elections
25:18settled the future.
25:43After Dian Bien Phu,
25:45the Viet Minh
25:45had controlled
25:46nearly three-quarters
25:47of Vietnam
25:48and parts
25:49of Laos
25:50and Cambodia.
25:53At the peace conference,
25:55Laos and Cambodia
25:56were confirmed
25:57as independent states,
25:59but Vietnam
26:00was divided
26:01at the 17th parallel.
26:06The Viet Minh
26:07were given control
26:08of the northern part,
26:09the Democratic Republic
26:10of Vietnam,
26:11with its capital
26:12in Hanoi.
26:17In the south,
26:19the state of Vietnam
26:20was to be run
26:21from Saigon.
26:25A demilitarized zone
26:27was established
26:27between the two regions.
26:33By agreement,
26:34190,000 French-led troops
26:37would be withdrawn
26:37from north
26:38south to south Vietnam.
26:4380,000 Viet Minh troops
26:45in the south,
26:46mostly southerners,
26:47would go to the north.
26:58For the French,
26:59the prospect
26:59of withdrawing
27:00from the northern part
27:01of Vietnam
27:02was deeply humiliating.
27:06However,
27:07they still assumed
27:08France would continue
27:09to play a major role
27:10in the south.
27:11The illusion
27:12would not last for long.
27:15France's role
27:16was already being taken over
27:17by the United States.
27:26I didn't last a year.
27:28I just came up with me.
27:29I just came up with me.
27:29I just came up with me.
27:30I just came up with me.
27:32On September 8, 1954,
27:35at a conference
27:36in the Philippines,
27:37the U.S. sponsored
27:38the creation
27:39of the Southeast Asia
27:40Treaty Organization,
27:41which would soon
27:42include South Vietnam.
27:50The Americans
27:51were now dealing
27:52directly with the new
27:53South Vietnamese government,
27:55led by Prime Minister
27:56Ngo Dinh Dien.
27:57They had begun
27:58to bypass
27:59the French completely.
28:09on October 9, 1954,
28:12the Viet Minh 308th Division,
28:14veterans of Dien Bien Phu,
28:16marched in triumph
28:17into Hanoi
28:18in accordance
28:19with the Geneva Agreement.
28:27At the same time,
28:28the last French troops
28:30in the north
28:30prepared to leave.
28:32With them
28:33went 850,000 refugees
28:35encouraged by a CIA
28:37black propaganda campaign
28:38and fearing for their future
28:40under Viet Minh rule.
28:47Before the very eyes
28:48of the French
28:49and the Vietnamese people,
28:51Vietnam was crystallizing
28:52into two separate states,
28:54each with its own government,
28:56its own army,
28:57and its own Cold War allies.
29:21For Ho Chi Minh,
29:23the North Vietnamese president,
29:25the years following
29:26the Geneva Agreement
29:27were bitterly disappointing.
29:30Ho was adored
29:32by millions of Vietnamese
29:33north and south
29:35as the man
29:36who'd driven out
29:36the French,
29:37but he had only won
29:39half a victory.
29:42South Vietnam,
29:43backed by the United States,
29:45refused to hold
29:46the elections
29:47that had been agreed
29:48at Geneva,
29:49the elections Ho had counted on,
29:51in which the U.S. knew
29:53he would win
29:54to reunify the country.
29:57Everything pointed
29:58to the fact
29:59that the division of Vietnam
30:00would be permanent.
30:11As a nationalist
30:12and founder
30:13of the Indo-Chinese Communist Party,
30:16Ho Chi Minh
30:16was fast transforming
30:18North Vietnam.
30:25The party took control
30:27of almost every sphere of life.
30:29The reconstruction
30:30of the war-ravaged economy
30:32was pushed ahead
30:33at incredible speed.
30:46One of Ho Chi Minh's
30:47highest priorities
30:48was to get
30:49as much aid
30:50for North Vietnam
30:51as he could
30:52from the Soviet Union
30:53and China.
30:57In July 1955
30:59in Moscow,
31:01he won promises
31:02of cash help
31:03for the North
31:03to stave off
31:04a food crisis.
31:09The Russians
31:10also pledged
31:11to send technicians
31:12and military advisors.
31:14At the same time,
31:15China meant to match
31:16or even better
31:17the Soviet offer.
31:30Although Ho Chi Minh's
31:31greatest ambition
31:32was to reunify
31:33North and South Vietnam,
31:35so far he had urged
31:37his followers
31:37to be patient.
31:39He had refused
31:41to back guerrilla warfare
31:42against the South.
31:43Both China
31:45and the Soviet Union
31:46were also insisting
31:47on caution.
31:48But by 1958,
31:51pressure to back
31:51an armed campaign
31:53was mounting.
32:04The tens of thousands
32:06of southern
32:07Viet Minh soldiers
32:08who came north
32:09after the Geneva Accords
32:11were by now
32:12restless and homesick.
32:16There was more pressure
32:18from inside the South,
32:19where the Viet Minh
32:20that had stayed behind
32:21were being wiped out
32:23by the new regime.
32:31In the northern government,
32:33an increasingly powerful
32:34faction of southerners
32:35led by Lei Duan,
32:37the Communist Party
32:37general secretary,
32:39was also arguing
32:40for strong measures.
32:44In January 1959,
32:48with Ho Chi Minh's blessing,
32:49the North Vietnamese
32:50Communist Party
32:51voted to support
32:53armed revolution
32:53in South Vietnam.
32:57To help the campaign,
33:004,500 Viet Minh southerners
33:02were prepared
33:03for infiltration
33:04back into the South.
33:24By 1957,
33:26two years after taking power
33:28in South Vietnam,
33:30Ngo Dinh Diem
33:31had impressed
33:31the United States.
33:33He had used the army
33:34forcibly against gangsters
33:36and armed religious groups.
33:39It had looked,
33:39for a while,
33:40as if President Diem
33:42could create
33:42a viable non-communist state
33:44in South Vietnam
33:45and win the support
33:47of the Southern people.
33:59In fact,
34:01Diem had no intention
34:02of introducing the democracy
34:03or the social reforms
34:05that the United States wanted.
34:07He unleashed
34:08a savage campaign
34:09against his political opponents,
34:11using the army
34:12and police
34:13to make mass arrests.
34:21There was widespread torture
34:23and summary executions.
34:27At the same time,
34:29Diem's own family
34:30built up enormous wealth
34:32and power,
34:33while most of the South Vietnamese
34:34continued to live
34:36in dire poverty.
34:42By September 1960,
34:45to the immense frustration
34:46of the United States,
34:47which was pouring in aid,
34:49Diem's regime
34:50was detested
34:51by vast numbers
34:52of South Vietnamese.
34:57There was already
34:59virtual civil war,
35:00with armed rebellions
35:02breaking out
35:02all over the country.
35:04Increasingly,
35:05the revolts
35:06were being led
35:07by nationalist
35:07and communist guerrillas,
35:09and some trained men
35:11infiltrated down
35:12from the north.
35:18Over 12 months,
35:201,400 local government officials
35:23and civilians
35:23were killed
35:24and a further
35:25700 kidnapped.
35:31In South Vietnam,
35:33the guerrillas began
35:34to mount bold attacks
35:35on military posts,
35:36convoys,
35:37and railways.
35:48As events in South Vietnam
35:50spiraled towards chaos,
35:52in January 1961,
35:55John F. Kennedy
35:55took office
35:56as the 35th president
35:58of the United States.
36:02Almost at once,
36:04Kennedy faced a series
36:05of Cold War crises.
36:07Soviet Premier
36:08Nikita Khrushchev
36:09was preparing
36:10to resume
36:11atmospheric testing
36:12of atomic weapons.
36:14Khrushchev also promised
36:15to increase
36:16Russian support
36:17for communism
36:17around the world.
36:25The climax came
36:26in August 1961
36:28with a tense standoff
36:30in Europe
36:30as the Russians
36:31sealed off East Berlin
36:32and began to build
36:34the Berlin Wall.
36:41Kennedy's reaction
36:42to the sense
36:43of mounting threat
36:44was to order
36:45a massive strengthening
36:46of American defenses.
36:48He ordered the call-up
36:50of 150,000 military reservists.
36:54A program was launched
36:55to build public
36:57nuclear fallout shelters
36:58right across
36:59the United States.
37:06There was a surge
37:07in arms production,
37:09especially of strategic
37:10nuclear weapons.
37:21with so many
37:22immediate crises
37:23demanding the attention
37:24of the president,
37:25Vietnam was far down
37:27the White House agenda.
37:29All the same,
37:30concern was growing.
37:35The South Vietnamese guerrillas
37:37were now 17,000 strong.
37:39In September 1961,
37:42there were 450 attacks,
37:44some involving hundreds
37:46of guerrillas at a time.
38:06shortly after the decision
38:08to mount an armed revolution
38:10in South Vietnam,
38:11an organization
38:12had been created
38:13to control the military
38:15and political effort.
38:29This organization,
38:31the National Liberation Front,
38:33represented a wide range
38:34of political,
38:35ethnic,
38:36and religious groups.
38:52The military wing
38:54of the NLF
38:55was the People's Liberation Army.
38:58The army included guerrillas
39:00who had been sent down
39:01from North Vietnam,
39:03Viet Minh veterans,
39:04and local armed groups.
39:14The main purpose
39:15of the force
39:16was to support
39:17the political battle
39:18and the civilian leaders
39:20of the front
39:20kept tight control.
39:23President Siem
39:24christened them
39:25the Viet Cong,
39:26the Vietnamese communists,
39:28and the name stuck.
39:32The Viet Cong
39:33meant to follow
39:34the same kind of political
39:35and military strategy
39:36that had won the war
39:38against the French.
39:40Politics, diplomacy,
39:41and violence
39:42would be carefully coordinated
39:44so each always worked
39:45with the others.
39:50For the time being,
39:52military activity
39:52would take second place
39:54to the political effort.
39:56Many hoped
39:57that a full-scale war
39:58would never be necessary.
40:03others,
40:04particularly those
40:05closely connected
40:06with the North,
40:07saw a military campaign
40:08as the key to victory
40:10and expected it
40:11to pass through
40:12three critical stages.
40:29In the first phase
40:30of the revolution,
40:31with the National Liberation Front's
40:33insurgents greatly outnumbered
40:35by Saigon's army,
40:37the task for guerrilla units
40:38would be to survive
40:40in the face
40:40of government attack.
40:47safe base areas
40:48would be created
40:49as defensive sanctuaries
40:51and as springboards
40:52for small-scale guerrilla attacks.
40:57In the second phase,
40:59the insurgents
41:00would deploy larger units
41:01and would seek out
41:02bigger battles.
41:05The opposing forces
41:06would be more evenly balanced
41:08and under relentless pressure,
41:10the enemy would become
41:12defensive and static.
41:18In the third phase,
41:20at the key moment
41:21when the NLF
41:22became stronger
41:23than the government army,
41:24they would launch
41:25large-scale assaults
41:27against enemy installations
41:28and seek out decisive
41:30conventional battles.
41:34This phase,
41:35the general offensive,
41:37combined with uprisings
41:38in the cities and towns,
41:39would bring the downfall
41:41of the Saigon regime
41:42and the reunification
41:43of Vietnam.
41:59While the revolution
42:00was in its early phase,
42:02the NLF
42:03meant to build up
42:04its organization
42:04as fast as it possibly could.
42:08Political agents
42:10founded dozens
42:11of associations
42:12to bring every kind
42:13of support
42:14into the movement.
42:19There were associations
42:21for women,
42:22farmers,
42:23students,
42:24and workers.
42:25In less than two years,
42:27the front claimed
42:28300,000 members.
42:39At the same time
42:40as it built up
42:41grassroots support,
42:43the NLF meant
42:44to intensify
42:45its military operations.
42:47Bigger attacks
42:48on government forces
42:49would gain
42:50the movement prestige.
42:52Meanwhile,
42:53intensive training
42:54and preparation
42:55by North Vietnamese
42:55officers would forge
42:57the Viet Cong
42:58into an efficient
42:59and formidable
43:00fighting machine.
43:30as the NLF
43:31tightened their grip
43:32on the countryside,
43:34the South Vietnamese army
43:35began to behave
43:36exactly as the guerrillas
43:38had expected them to.
43:40They grew increasingly defensive,
43:42staying in fortified posts
43:44and never venturing out
43:46after dark.
43:50Battles only happened
43:51when the guerrillas chose
43:53and the army suffered
43:55a steady drain
43:56of casualties.
44:03by now,
44:04there were 900
44:05American military advisors
44:07in South Vietnam
44:08charged with building up
44:10and training
44:11the South Vietnamese
44:12armed forces.
44:14They were appalled
44:16by the army's
44:16dismal performance
44:17against the guerrillas
44:18but saw no reason
44:20why the South Vietnamese
44:21shouldn't be able
44:22to cope.
44:25What they wanted
44:26was a much more
44:27aggressive approach.
44:40American advice
44:41was that the army
44:42should get out
44:43on mobile operations
44:45and find the bigger
44:46enemy units.
44:49the civil guard
44:50and militia
44:51could look after
44:52local security.
44:56The Americans
44:57developed a
44:58counterinsurgency plan
44:59supposed to better
45:01coordinate the different forces
45:02but progress
45:04on the ground
45:04was painfully slow.
45:11while the handful
45:13of American personnel
45:14struggled to improve
45:15the situation
45:16inside South Vietnam
45:18in Washington
45:19military planners
45:20worried about
45:21the external threat.
45:22The fear
45:24was that North Vietnam
45:25or even China
45:26might take advantage
45:27of the South's weakness.
45:36already
45:36with the approval
45:38of the White House
45:38a contingency plan
45:40had been drawn up
45:41for putting in
45:42American combat troops
45:43if an invasion
45:44looked imminent.
46:01If North Vietnam
46:02or China
46:03looked likely
46:04to invade the South
46:05the American
46:06contingency plan
46:07Op Plan 32
46:08called for rapid deployments.
46:14A marine expeditionary
46:16force would be
46:17based at Da Nang
46:18an army division
46:20near Saigon
46:21and another
46:23near Pleiku.
46:26Another division
46:27might be sent
46:28to bolster Thailand.
46:32If the invasion
46:33actually happened
46:34U.S. forces
46:36would be increased
46:36by another three divisions.
46:40Aircraft carriers
46:41and land-based bombers
46:43would be positioned
46:43for massive attacks
46:45on North Vietnam
46:46while amphibious
46:48airborne
46:49and ground forces
46:50would mount
46:51a full-scale invasion
46:52of Northern territory.
47:08by now
47:09the guerrilla war
47:10in South Vietnam
47:11looked so dangerous
47:12that American military planners
47:14believed the country
47:15might collapse
47:16even without
47:17a Northern invasion.
47:20The Joint Chiefs of Staff,
47:22the President's military advisors,
47:24argued that the best option
47:26was to implement
47:27Op Plan 32 anyway
47:29and put three divisions
47:31into South Vietnam.
47:34The first 20,000 men
47:36would show the United States
47:38was serious.
47:39They believed the rest,
47:40up to 70,000 troops,
47:42would be enough
47:43to clean up
47:44the guerrilla threat
47:44altogether.
47:53Although the Secretary of Defense,
47:55Robert McNamara,
47:57was in favor
47:57of sending in troops,
47:59President Kennedy
48:00had no desire
48:01to embroil American soldiers
48:03in an Asian guerrilla war.
48:07But neither could the President
48:09afford accusations
48:10that he was soft
48:11left on communism.
48:15In November 1961,
48:18Kennedy approved
48:19a compromise plan
48:20drawn up between McNamara
48:22and the Secretary of State,
48:24Dean Rusk.
48:33Phase one of the Vietnam plan
48:35would see a big increase
48:37in financial support
48:38for the South Vietnamese Army.
48:44The number of American military advisors
48:47in Vietnam
48:48would be raised
48:49to over 3,000.
48:53More American equipment
48:55would be sent,
48:56including helicopters,
48:57300 pilots to fly them,
48:59and maintenance personnel.
49:02For the time being,
49:03the President put off
49:04a decision
49:05on the second phase,
49:06the possible deployment
49:08of American combat troops.
49:29By the end of 1961,
49:32the South Vietnamese Army
49:34was being expanded
49:35to 200,000 men.
49:40South Vietnam
49:41also had marine units,
49:43a small air force
49:44flying American aircraft,
49:46and a navy
49:47for coastal patrol.
49:50As well as
49:51the regular armed forces,
49:53there was the 68,000-man
49:55paramilitary civil guard
49:56and various local militia.
50:08since the United States
50:10had started rebuilding
50:11the South Vietnamese Army
50:13back in 1955,
50:15the force had been organized,
50:17armed,
50:17and trained
50:18to fight large-scale battles.
50:24The danger
50:25had been expected
50:26to come from
50:27the North Vietnamese
50:27or Chinese armies,
50:29not from guerrilla bands.
50:37Commanders
50:37had been taught
50:38to mount big operations
50:39and to use
50:40massive firepower
50:42wherever they could.
50:43In fact,
50:44the South Vietnamese Army's
50:46entire structure
50:47and military doctrine
50:48had been copied wholesale
50:50from the United States
50:51armed forces.
50:59senior American commanders
51:01had no doubt
51:02they were teaching
51:02the South Vietnamese
51:03the right tactics
51:05for the war
51:05they had to fight.
51:07Their main worries
51:08were about leadership
51:09and morale.
51:13President Siem
51:14had appointed
51:15his generals
51:16for their political loyalty
51:17rather than their abilities,
51:18while junior officers' promotions
51:21depended on family connections.
51:26As for the men,
51:27they were sometimes
51:28so poorly supplied
51:30they had to steal food.
51:32Desertions were running
51:34at 400 a month.
51:56as the NLF guerrillas
51:58began recruiting and training
52:00all over South Vietnam,
52:01they quickly built up
52:03their combat forces
52:04to 17,000 men and women.
52:10These were the main force troops
52:12uniformed and trained
52:14to fight anywhere
52:14in units hundreds strong.
52:19Main force battalions
52:21were under the direct control
52:22of the NLF high command
52:24and a high proportion
52:26of their officers
52:26were trained troops
52:28from the north.
52:42The NLF were also creating
52:44regional and local forces.
52:47Regional troops
52:48were controlled
52:49by district commanders.
52:53They were less well-armed
52:54and trained
52:55than the main forces,
52:56but their scattered units
52:58could come together
52:59to create powerful formations
53:01whenever they were needed.
53:08Local guerrilla units
53:09were based in the villages.
53:11They were part-time soldiers
53:13whose main job
53:14was to defend areas
53:16where the NLF
53:16was gaining control.
53:22in villages
53:23where the movement's influence
53:24was weaker,
53:25they served to intimidate opponents
53:27and show the wishes
53:28of the NLF
53:29were always to be taken seriously.
53:40The vast majority
53:41of new recruits
53:43to the NLF
53:43were teenagers
53:44with no military experience.
53:47In the hamlets,
53:48they were organized
53:49by political officers
53:50into three-person cells.
53:53Long ago,
53:55the Chinese communists
53:56had found that three
53:57made for a group
53:58more tightly knit
53:59and loyal
54:00than any other number.
54:09Although some weapons
54:10from the north,
54:11including Chinese mortars
54:13and machine guns,
54:14were beginning
54:15to reach NLF units,
54:17most guerrillas
54:18had to use
54:18whatever they could get.
54:21Rifles and equipment
54:22captured from the government army
54:24or left over
54:25from the French war
54:26made up the bulk
54:27of the arsenal.
54:40There were also
54:41secret factories
54:42making small arms
54:44and turning out grenades
54:45and mines
54:46in enormous numbers.
54:53local forces
54:54depended
54:55on even more
54:56primitive weapons.
54:57Some were designed
54:58mainly to frighten intruders,
55:00but others
55:01were extremely dangerous.
55:06Punji traps,
55:07sharp spikes
55:08hidden in pits,
55:09could easily disable
55:10an enemy soldier.
55:12Punjis were often contaminated
55:14to increase
55:15the risks of infection.
55:36by the end of 1961,
55:39the Saigon government
55:41was forced to admit
55:42it was faced
55:43with a full-scale war.
55:45every week,
55:47over 1,000 people
55:48were being killed.
55:54All over the country,
55:56the NLF
55:56were organizing
55:57whole districts
55:58along communist lines
55:59controlling education,
56:01health,
56:02and agriculture.
56:14There were whole areas
56:15which had seen
56:16no government troops
56:17or officials
56:18for years.
56:27In spite of all
56:29the setbacks,
56:30American military advisors
56:31in South Vietnam
56:32were still confident
56:34the fight against
56:34the communists
56:35could be won.
56:37By this time,
56:38they themselves
56:39were getting more
56:40deeply involved
56:41in the battle.
56:43Advisors were strictly
56:44forbidden to engage
56:46in actual combat,
56:47but the reality of war
56:49was starting to take over.
57:01On December 11th,
57:03the helicopters promised
57:04by President Kennedy
57:05arrived at the Saigon docks.
57:11With them came
57:13400 U.S. personnel
57:14to maintain
57:15and fly the aircraft.
57:18Within weeks,
57:19the helicopters
57:20and their American pilots
57:21would be in action
57:22on the Vietnamese
57:23battlefield.
57:24officer,
57:39to be
57:41and as
57:54it's
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