Vietnamisation

Timeline

The Cold War

The United States and the Soviet Union engaged in a 45-year geopolitical war since 1947: the Cold War. 1991 marked the official end of the Cold War when the Soviet Union was forced to collapse and dissolve itself.

Vietnamisation, wich set in motion the withdrawal of the US on Vietnam, permitted the North Vietnamese to push their way through South Vietnam until they reached Saigon.

Fig. 1 Propaganda posters for demoralizing and encouraging the defection of Viet Cong

The Vietnam War

The conflict in Vietnam was primarily caused by the independence movement against French colonial rule. Before WWII, Vietnam was formerly known as a colony of the French, and the Japanese took control of the area during WWII.

Then, Communist Ho Chi Minh made his appearance and fight for the freedom of the country of Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh reached out to the United States for help to return Vietnam to an independent nation. In fear of the spread of communism, the US refused to help Ho Chi Minh as they did not want a communist leader in Vietnam.

Ho Chi Minh began to have success in his fight for an independent Vietnam during the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954, a battle that's main intentions were to rid Vietnam of the French military, claim back their land and rid it of French colonial rule. Ho Chi Minh's victory in this important battle sparked concern in the US government, pushing them to intervene in Vietnam's War, they began sending aid to the French in Vietnam and provided help to ensure that Ngo Dinh Diem would be elected in the South.

US Intervention

US intervention in Vietnam was a result of the Domino Theory, popularised through Eisenhower's speeches, in a reference to the strategic importance of South Vietnam to the United States in its drive to contain Communism in the region.

• Eastern Europe witnessed a similar 'domino effect' in 1945 and China, in charge of North Vietnam, had become communist in 1949. The US felt it was necessary to step in and prevent this from happening again before it was too late. By sending money, supplies, and military personnel to the South Vietnamese government, the US became involved in the Vietnam War.

Policy of Vietnamisation

Vietnamisation's primary aim was to make the ARVN self-sufficient so that it could defend South Vietnam itself, without the aid of the US military, allowing President Nixon to withdraw all his troops from Vietnam.

The policy initiated the US-led training provided to the Vietnamese troops and the shipping of equipment needed to supply them. Other factors of the ARVN's structure included...

• Village locals were recruited as civilian militia, and left in charge of securing the rural areas of Vietnam.
• The AVRN's goal was directed toward seeking out the Vietcong.
• Later in 1965, the AVRN was replaced by US troops to seek out the Vietcong instead.
• The AVRN increased from 393,000 to 532,000 in just three years, 1968-1971.
• The AVRN began to be self-sufficient, and the first notable withdrawal of US troops due to this was on 7 July 1969.
• By 1970, four billion dollars worth of military equipment were supplied to the AVRN.
• Specialised training in military strategy and warfare was given to all AVRN officers.

Fig. 2 U.S Navy instructor watching a Republic of Vietnam Navy student assembling an M-16 rifle.

Nixon Vietnamisation

The policy of Vietnamisation was the idea and implementation of Richard M. Nixon during his time as President of the United States. Nixon enlisted the Joint Chiefs of staff to prepare a six-step withdrawal plan in hopes to decrease the number of US troops in Vietnam by 25,000. Nixon's plan started with Vietnamisation, was followed by strategic isolation of the battlefield and ended with the application of US air power which generated efficient air support for ARVN troops, against North Vietnam during the Linebacker air campaigns.

His idea for the Policy of Vietnamisation came from several different contexts:

1. Nixon believed that there was no route to a victory in Vietnam and knew that with the United States' best interests at heart, he had to find a way to end the war.
2. Nixon recognised the fact that he could not enlist the use of nuclear weapons to end the war, Vietnamisation was his other option.
3. His belief that the South Vietnamese should be able to defend their nation and people meant that taking responsibility for their government is something he thought the South Vietnamese should do.
4. As an anti-communist, Nixon did not want to see the success of communism, therefore had a cause to prevent South Vietnam from falling to it.
5. Nixon had the backing of the people with his idea of Vietnamisation, a poll in 1969 showed that 56% of Americans that took part felt that the extent of US intervention in Vietnam was wrong. This meant he had very little opposition to his plan.

Fig. 3 President Richard M. Nixon

Vietnamisation Failure

From a distance, the Vietnamisation failure can be primarily chalked up to the fact that during Nixon's plan to withdraw his US troops from Vietnam, he also extended the war in Vietnam into Cambodia and Laos. At the beginning of the gradual withdrawal of US troops, it seems that this plan was working, South Vietnamese troops were being trained by the US military and began being self-sufficient. But this expansion of the war meant that Nixon needed to enlist more US troops, he publicly recognised this by announcing that he needed 100,000 troops for the war effort in April 1970, causing widespread public meetings and protests across the US.

Although Vietnamisation made South Vietnam a member of the most militarized countries in Asia, recruiting half of the population, it was deemed a historic failure because it pulled US troops more deeply into the war.

Fig. 4 Trained drill instructor with new Vietnamese recruits.