The Cold War: Nixon in Vietnam - Vietnamisation, Cambodia and Invasion of Laos - Episode 36

Summary

In this episode by "I'm Stuck - GCSE and A-Level Revision," President Nixon's strategies in Vietnam, particularly Vietnamization, are explored, dropping into the realm of military and political maneuvers during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Nixon aimed to withdraw U.S. forces while ensuring South Vietnam's security as a non-communist state. Vietnamization intended to replace American troops with South Vietnamese forces, but corruption and low morale among the South Vietnamese troops posed challenges. The expansion of military efforts into Cambodia and Laos, with significant U.S. involvement, faced criticism and opposition domestically. These strategies aimed to weaken North Vietnam's position and pressure them into a peace settlement but faced several on-the-ground challenges.

Highlights

• Nixon introduced 'Vietnamization' in 1969 to initiate withdrawal from Vietnam while bolstering South Vietnamese forces. 🛡️
• The increase in payment and weapons for ARVN troops aimed to sustain their fight against North Vietnam. 💰
• Vietnamization failed to fully achieve 'peace with honor,' revealing limitations in Nixon's strategy. ⚖️
• Spillover into Cambodia with Operation Menu aimed to cut supply lines and pressurize North Vietnam. 🌿
• The invasion of Cambodia generated significant controversy and domestic opposition. ⚡
• Operation Lam Son 719 in Laos revealed the limitations of South Vietnamese forces, needing substantial U.S. air support. 🚁

Key Takeaways

• Nixon's 'Vietnamization' aimed to replace U.S. troops with South Vietnamese forces, but its success was limited. 🇻🇳
• The extension of the war into Cambodia highlighted geopolitical maneuvers, aiming to disrupt Vietcong operations. 🌍
• U.S. military actions in neighboring regions increased domestic opposition and highlighted the complexity of withdrawing with 'honor.' 🇺🇸
• Corruption and low morale among South Vietnamese troops proved significant hurdles. 🤔
• Despite heavy U.S. air support, South Vietnamese forces struggled against the North, revealing ongoing challenges in achieving peace. ✈️

Overview

President Nixon's tenure was marked by his attempts to shift the burden of the Vietnam War onto the South Vietnamese through a policy known as 'Vietnamization,' while maintaining U.S. international image under 'peace with honor.' This strategy faced considerable obstacles, including the lack of preparedness among ARVN troops and inherent corruption, all set against a backdrop of American public dissent.

In a bold geopolitical move, Nixon expanded military activities into Cambodia, executing Operation Menu, targeting Vietcong supply lines to pressure North Vietnam into peace. While tactically impacting Vietcong operations, this led to increased U.S. involvement and sparked significant domestic opposition, highlighting the war's complex geopolitics.

In the face of increasing criticism and the looming 1972 presidential election, Nixon authorized Operation Lam Son 719, an incursion into Laos to dismantle North Vietnamese supply routes. Despite heavy U.S. aerial intervention, the operation exposed the ARVN's vulnerabilities, emphasizing the considerable challenges left in stabilizing the region as U.S. troops continued withdrawing.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 03:30: Introduction and Vietnamization This chapter introduces President Nixon's strategy for Vietnam, known as Vietnamization, which he pursued upon taking office in January 1969. The main objective of Vietnamization was to withdraw U.S. troops while ensuring that South Vietnam remained a non-communist state. Nixon's policy aimed to achieve 'peace with honor,' meaning the U.S. would exit the war but maintain a stable, non-communist South Vietnam.
• 03:30 - 08:00: Vietnamization Impact The chapter discusses the policy of Vietnamization implemented by President Nixon as a reversal of President Johnson's Americanization policy. Vietnamization involved the withdrawal of U.S. forces and replacing them with South Vietnamese forces. Nixon hoped that this policy would boost his domestic support and improve the U.S. negotiating position with North Vietnam. The strategy aimed to empower South Vietnamese forces to ensure the U.S. could step back while maintaining pressure on North Vietnam.
• 08:00 - 13:30: Cambodian Offensive This chapter discusses the United States' strategy during the Cambodian Offensive, focusing on President Nixon's actions and the political implications. Despite the North Vietnamese believing South Vietnam was secure, the U.S. aimed to strengthen its negotiating position. Nixon initiated the withdrawal of American troops shortly after taking office, significantly reducing their numbers from 543,000 in 1969 to 47,000 by June 1972. This move aligned with North Vietnam's objectives, as they sought reduced American presence.
• 13:30 - 17:30: Invasion of Laos The chapter titled 'Invasion of Laos' discusses the strategic decisions made regarding South Vietnam during a conflict. It details how resources were redirected to the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) in order to strengthen their position without direct involvement in an unwinnable conflict. This included raising troop benefits, increasing pay, and supplying advanced weapons like the M16 Armalite rifle, as well as planes and helicopters, which led to an increase in ARVN troop numbers.

The Cold War: Nixon in Vietnam - Vietnamisation, Cambodia and Invasion of Laos - Episode 36 Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 [Music] this I'm sorry in this video we are looking at President Nixon in Vietnam and first of all we will look at vietnamisation when Nixon became president in January 1969 he promised that he would stop the war fast whilst maintaining peace with honor and peace with honor was the idea that South Vietnam would stay a non communist state once the US had withdrawn and a key
• 00:30 - 01:00 policy under Nixon was vietnamisation and this was a reversal of Johnson's Americanization policy and vietnamisation consisted of the withdrawal of US forces and replacing them with South Vietnamese forces and Nixon hope that this policy would increase his domestic support whilst also strengthening the negotiating position with North Vietnam and it would strengthen the negotiating position because the u.s. was turned from the South Vietnamese forces so that the
• 01:00 - 01:30 North Vietnamese would believe that South Vietnam was secure from any threats and I would also strengthen the negotiating position but it showed the willingness of the u.s. to withdraw and that was fulfilling one of the main objectives of the North Vietnamese now Nixon began the program of removing troops soon after taking office and by June 1972 the number of Americans in Vietnam had decreased from 543 thousand in 1969 to 47,000 now Nixon didn't want
• 01:30 - 02:00 to abandon South Vietnam but he didn't want to stay in unwinnable conflict so that's why he started to pull resources into the arvin troops so that South Vietnam continued to have a realistic chance of success and this led to troops being paid more increased benefits and an increase in weapon such as the m16 Armalite rifle planes and helicopters now arvin troops were also increased in
• 02:00 - 02:30 size from 82,000 in 1968 to 1 million in 1970 so now we have to look at the impact of Vietnamization because Vietnam as a did seem to have the effect of transforming Arvin into an effective military force capable of resisting aggression from the north and this was put to the test in 1972 when the North launched its spring offensive although the Arvin suffered 8,000
• 02:30 - 03:00 casualties the North suffered almost five times as many and the Arvin were able to resist the offensive Darvin were also supported by the u.s. bombing campaign for me to October could operation linebacker one where a hundred and fifty thousand tons of bombs were dropped on Vietnam and this was able to boost morale within the Arvin however this doesn't take away from the underlying problems which did face them now firstly their morale stayed low thanks to the high number of casualties
• 03:00 - 03:30 and this and the lack of patriotism to amongst the Arvin meant that there they remained an ineffective fighting force now the other issue within Arvin was the corruption the office were chosen bases on their loyalty to the two regime rather than ability in their ability and this was another reason for them being an ineffective fighting force so whilst vietnamisation did have some positive effects domestically for the u.s. it was
• 03:30 - 04:00 unable to achieve Nixon's aim of peace with honor now the next thing to look at is the extension of the war into Cambodia and in March 1969 Nixon decided to start a military offensive in Cambodia titled operation menu and this had the objective of targeting Vietcong hotspots within the country in order to do a number of things and this included to sever the supply lines along the Ho Chi Minh Trail to pressurize North
• 04:00 - 04:30 Vietnam into an acceptable peace settlement and to compensate for the vietnamisation program and so retain confident in South Vietnam in March of 1970 Cambodia's head of state printin or Adamski anouk was overthrown by the pro US general lon no now this meant that North Vietnam showed support to the anti communist movement the Khmer Rouge which was led by Pol Pot now during March the
• 04:30 - 05:00 Khmer Rouge and pushed towards the capital Phnom Penh now this worried Nixon because he filled a communist he fed a communist regime in Cambodia now this meant that South Vietnamese forces along with US air support crossed the border into Cambodia Nixon also committed 20,000 troops into Cambodia and he hoped that this show of support would add pressure on North Vietnam to negotiate a peace deal even so he did
• 05:00 - 05:30 announce the same year that a hundred and fifty thousand troops would be withdrawn now there were many consequences of the cambodian expansion now for the Vietcong their ability was weakened because of a damage done to the jungle and large amount of the Vietcong supplies what either captured or destroyed now any possibility of a North Vietnamese offensive against itself was weakened therefore after the substantial losses the invasion of Cambodia also
• 05:30 - 06:00 increased u.s. involvement in Cambodia as they had to prevent a communist takeover of Cambodia now this occurred at a time where the US were trying to minimize their involvement in South Vietnam and pressurized North Vietnam into diplomacy the invasion led to a further opposition within America and for example on the campus of Kent State University in 1974 students were shot by u.s. national guards for protesting and
• 06:00 - 06:30 the same year in June the Senate voted to remove of a gulf of tonkin resolution now even so Nixon was determined to continue the war as he was determined not to lose it and they said he wanted to do this thing of withdrawing peacefully and with honor so as 1972 approached Nixon did fear a massive communist push and this was significant because 1972 was the year of a presidential election so therefore
• 06:30 - 07:00 next emphasize that it was necessary to disable the Ho Chi Minh Trail on its route through Laos and Congress had banned u.s. ground troops from entering either Cambodia or Laos the attack considered adequate force of 30,000 arvin troops and US Air Force and this operation was called Operation Lam son 719 North Vietnamese supply lines along the Ho Chi Minh Trail nevertheless
• 07:00 - 07:30 arvin troops were inferior to the North Vietnamese troops and were forced to have jaw and this proved that even with the US air support our virtue to the very limited chance of defeating the North Vietnamese and instead their attack simply led to the north adopting an offensive position as shown by a Spring Offensive so thank you for watching this video and see you soon bye