The Origins of the Vietnam War

182 Pages·2001·6.736 MB·English

by  Fredrik Logevall

The Origins of the Vietnam War
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SEMINAR STUDIES IN HISTORY
The Origins of the Vietnam War
FREDRIK LOGEVALL
First published 2001 by Pearson Education Limited
Published 2013 by Routledge
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Copyright © 2001, Taylor & Francis.
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ISBN 13: 978-0-582-31918-9 (pbk)
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is
available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Logevall, Fredrik, 1963–
The origins of the Vietnam War / Fredrik Logevall.
p. cm. -- (Seminar studies in history)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-582-31918-8 (alk. paper)
1. Vietnamese Conflict, 1961–1975. 2. Vietnam--History--1945–1975. I. Title.
II. Series.
DS557.6 .L64 2001
959.704´3--dc21 2001029311
Set by 7 in 10/12 Sabon Roman
CONTENTS
Introduction to the Series vii
Note on Referencing System viii
Acknowledgements ix
List of Abbreviations x
Maps xi
Chronology xiii
1. INTRODUCTION: THE PROBLEM 1
PART ONE: THE BACKGROUND 5
2. THE FRANCO-VIETMINH WAR 7
The Coming of the French 7
Ho Chi Minh 10
The Franco-Vietminh War 16
Dien Bien Phu 19
PART TWO: THE ORIGINS OF THE VIETNAM WAR 23
3. THE DIEM EXPERIMENT 25
The Geneva Conference 25
A Yogi-like Mystic 29
Frictions in the West 30
American Realism? 32
Turmoil in the South, Consolidation in the North 33
4. THE CRISIS DEEPENS 39
A New Team in Washington 39
The Fall 1961 Decisions 43
The Credibility Imperative 45
Fleeting Gains: 1962 47
Summer of Discontent 49
Give Peace a Chance? 51
No Nhus is Good News 54
5. THE COMING OF MAJOR WAR 58
LBJ’s World 58
A Bleak Picture 60
Reassessment in Hanoi – and in Allied Capitals 61
Seeking ‘More Flags’ 64
vi Contents
Tonkin Gulf 65
Choice and Decision 68
An Opening for Diplomacy? 72
Escalation 75
The Johns Hopkins Speech 77
Forty-four Battalions 79
PART THREE: ASSESSMENT 83
6. AN AVOIDABLE WAR? 85
PART FOUR: DOCUMENTS 93
Who’s Who 133
Bibliography 137
Index 146
INTRODUCTION TO THE SERIES
Such is the pace of historical enquiry in the modern world that there is
an ever-widening gap between the specialist article or monograph,
incorporating the results of current research, and general surveys,
which inevitably become out of date. Seminar Studies in History is
designed to bridge this gap. The series was founded by Patrick
Richardson in 1966 and his aim was to cover major themes in British,
European and world history. Between 1980 and 1996 Roger Lockyer
continued his work, before handing the editorship over to Clive
Emsley and Gordon Martel. Clive Emsley is Professor of History at the
Open University, while Gordon Martel is Professor of International
History at the University of Northern British Columbia, Canada, and
Senior Research Fellow at De Montfort University.
All the books are written by experts in their field who are not only
familiar with the latest research but have often contributed to it. They
are frequently revised, in order to take account of new information
and interpretations. They provide a selection of documents to illustrate
major themes and provoke discussion, and also a guide to further
reading. The aim of Seminar Studies in History is to clarify complex
issues without over-simplifying them, and to stimulate readers into
deepening their knowledge and understanding of major themes and
topics.
NOTE ON REFERENCING SYSTEM
Readers should note that numbers in square brackets [5] refer them to the
corresponding entry in the Bibliography at the end of the book (specific
page numbers are given in italics). A number in square brackets preceded by
Doc. [Doc. 5] refers readers to the corresponding item in the Documents
section which follows the main text.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We are grateful to the following for permission to reproduce copyright
material:
Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum for an extract by President
Lyndon B Johnson in Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States:
Lyndon B Johnson, 1965, Government Printing Office, Washington, DC,
pp. 394–7; The Kennedy Library for an extract from Box 301 National
Security Files, Vietnam Country Series, Memos and Miscellaneous, Con-
fidential, 1 November 1961; The New York Times for an extract from the
article ‘Pham Van Dong … on Viet Nam’ in the New York Times14/4/1965;
Gareth Porter for an extract translated from Le Duan, the General Secretary
of the Vietnamese Workers’ Party and the editor, Gareth Porter, for the
translation of an extract from Ho Chi Min letter dated 22/10/1945 in
Vietnam: The Definitive Documentation of Human Decisions, 2 vols,
edited by Gareth Porter, 1949; US Department of State for extracts from
‘Taylor Papers’ T–157–69 30/12/1964, National Defense University and
Humphrey Memorandum, Washington, February 17, 1965, Minnesota
History Society, Hubert H Humphrey Papers – Vietnam 1965–1968.