Vietnamization

(noun)

A policy of the Richard M. Nixon administration during the Vietnam War, as a result of the Viet Cong's Tet Offensive, to "expand, equip, and train South Vietnam's forces and assign to them an ever-increasing combat role, at the same time steadily reducing the number of U.S. combat troops".

Related Terms

Examples of Vietnamization in the following topics:

  • The Vietnam War

  • The Peace Accords and the Legacy of Defeat

    • The 1973 Paris Peace Accords on "Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam" officially ended direct U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War.
    • The Paris Peace Accords of 1973 intended to establish peace in Vietnam and end the Vietnam War.
    • The governments of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam), the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam), and the United States, as well as the Provisional Revolutionary Government (PRG) that represented indigenous South Vietnamese revolutionaries, signed the Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam on January 27, 1973.
    • Schlesinger stated that he would recommend resumption of U.S. bombing in North Vietnam if North Vietnam launched a major offensive against South Vietnam.
    • More than 3 million Americans served in the Vietnam War, some 1.5 million of whom actually saw combat in Vietnam.

  • Containment in Vietnam

    • The Vietnam War was fought on the principle that the spread of communism needed to be contained.
    • The U.S. war in Vietnam was fought on an ideology that communism and the spread of the Soviet Union needed to be contained, a policy that was contested in U.S. politics in the 1960s and 1970s.
    • Nixon reduced U.S. military presence in Vietnam to the minimum required to contain communist advances, a policy called Vietnamization.
    • This law ended U.S. military involvement in Vietnam and led to violent communist takeovers of South Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.
    • Distinguish between Goldwater's stance on victory, Johnson's adherence to containment, and Nixon's move toward détente as foreign policies in Vietnam.

  • A Growing War in Vietnam

    • The Vietnam War (1957–1975) was fought in South Vietnam and the bordering areas of Cambodia, Laos, and North Vietnam.
    • The Vietnam War (1957–1975) was conducted in South Vietnam and the bordering areas of Cambodia, Laos, and North Vietnam.
    • By the end of 1961, the American advisers in Vietnam numbered 3,205.
    • At the time of Kennedy's death, no firm policy decision had been made regarding Vietnam.
    • Interpret U.S. involvement in Vietnam in the context of the larger Cold War

  • Vietnam Becomes Nixon's War

    • At the time Nixon took office in 1969, roughly 300 American soldiers were dying each week in Vietnam.
    • Adjusting to Nixon's policy of Vietnamization, General Creighton W.
    • Abrams, commander of the American military forces in Vietnam, advocated for smaller-scale operations against the logistics of the two North Vietnam armies, the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and the National Liberation Front (NLF); more openness with the media; and more meaningful cooperation with the South Vietnamese forces.
    • Nevertheless, the actions led to charges that Nixon had a "credibility gap" regarding Vietnam.
    • Analyze Nixon's strategies for ending American involvement in the Vietnam War

  • Gradual Withdrawal

    • Adjusting to Nixon's policy of Vietnamization, General Creighton W.
    • Abrams, commander of the American military forces in Vietnam, advocated for smaller-scale operations against the logistics of the PAVN/NLF (People's Army of Vietnam/National Liberation Front), more openness with the media, and more meaningful cooperation with the South Vietnamese forces.
    • In 1971, the policy of Vietnamization was put to the test with Operation Lam Son 719.
    • One half of the invasion force was killed or captured during the operation, and Vietnamization was seen as a failure.
    • After this, only 24,000 American troops remained in Vietnam and President Nixon announced that they would stay there until all U.S.

  • Commitment to Vietnam

    • Johnson, committed to preventing the expansion of communism, increased U.S. involvement in the war in Vietnam.
    • Kennedy, he did not consider the turbulent situation in South Vietnam a priority.
    • To help contain the post-coup chaos, Kennedy increased the number of US advisors in South Vietnam to 16,000.
    • Westmoreland expanded American troop strength in South Vietnam.
    • President Johnson believed in the "Domino Effect" and escalated America's involvement in Vietnam.

  • Champa Art in Early Vietnam

    • Champa art and architecture in Vietnam was been formed by the interaction of local customs with Indian, Chinese, and Indonesian influences.
    • While the art of Northern Vietnam was strongly influenced by Chinese domination and reflected Confucian and Mahayana Buddhist traditions, southern and central Vietnam were a part of the Indic kingdom of Champa (ca. 500–1500 CE).
    • Champa was an Indic civilization that flourished along the coasts of central and southern Vietnam between 500 and 1500 CE, lying on important trade routes that linked India, China, and the Indonesian islands.
    • The civilization weakened under persistent conflict with external forces, culminating in 1471 CE with the conquest and obliteration of the capital Vijaya by the Đi Việt of northern Vietnam.

  • "Americanizing" the Vietnam War

    • Westmoreland expanded American troop strength in South Vietnam.
    • These guerrilla attacks prompted the administration to order retaliatory air strikes against North Vietnam.
    • Its original purpose was to bolster the morale in South Vietnam and to serve as a signaling device to Hanoi.
    • The US launched Operation Rolling Thunder, a strategic bombing campaign of North Vietnam in 1965.
    • Summarize the escalation of U.S. involvement in Vietnam under the Johnson Administration.

  • Indochina: The Background to War

    • In January 1946, the Viet Minh won elections across central and northern Vietnam.
    • Control of the north was given to the Viet Minh under Ho Chi Minh, and the south continued under Emperor Bao Dai (former Emperor of Vietnam and at the time the chief of state of the State of Vietnam or South Vietnam).
    • However, the United States and the State of Vietnam refused to sign the document.
    • North Vietnam also invaded and occupied portions of Laos to assist in supplying the guerrilla fighting National Liberation Front in South Vietnam.
    • The war gradually escalated into the Second Indochina War, more commonly known as the Vietnam War in the West and the American War in Vietnam.